Made in China
China: Massive production overcapacities continue to buffet the Chinese PV industry. At Solarcon China 2012 in Shanghai on March 22nd, Ewout Vandamme, Business Development Manager for sawing wire supplier NV Bekaert SA, mentioned a staggering 37 percent production utilization among Chinese wafer manufacturers in the last quarter of 2011.
A new opportunity awaits
Solarex Istanbul 2012: The fifth edition of Solarex Istanbul, International Solar and Photovoltaic Technologies exhibition 2012, closed its doors on April, 14 after hosting another round of PV players from the region and beyond.
Advancing Li-ion
Lithium-ion batteries: Whether for off-grid applications or for self-consumption micro-grid systems, lithium battery storage technologies have steadily expanded their application scope and efficiency. REAPsystems together with the University of Southampton conducted research on a new version that can potentially increase efficiency and reduce cost.
Big plans
Greece: There is a lot of activity at present in the Greek PV market, as became clear at the Ecotec trade fair in Athens. 2012 is set to become the most successful year in the history of Greek photovoltaics. Energy Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou has great things in mind with the Helios Project.
Buy now, pay later
Solar leasing: The success of solar leases in the U.S., a kind of residential solar power purchase agreement, continues to impress and a range of non-conventional financial products and initiatives are delivering significant funding for PV. The securitization of PV installations is now appearing as the next development along these lines. pv magazine investigates whether this innovation represents a good deal or will end up giving PV a bad name?
Checked decline
Module prices: Another sharp decline is not expected. Nevertheless, prices continued to drop with the exception of a-Si thin film modules.
Chinese tiers draw together on price
Factory gate prices: Module price declines continue, but the rate appears to be slowing. For the first time, Chinese tier-1, 2 and 3 suppliers are all in the same price region.
Consume it yourself
Self-consumption: At a time when government subsidy programs like FITs are declining or disappearing at a startling pace, the self-consumption of PV can become an important new selling point for installations. But are there unintended legal or economic impediments to generating your own PV power, and consuming it yourself?
Controlling edge sharpness using Rz
Screen printing: Continuously finer lines and spaces in printed electronics cause higher requirements on resolution and edge sharpness of the screen printed line work. Lines with improved edge sharpness allow increasing the line and space density of electrical circuits. Additionally, fingers with improved edge sharpness will increase the yield of PV-cells. Wim Zoomer, member of the Academy of Screen Printing Technology, elaborates how this is done.
Its a real blood bath
Industry ranking: The growth curves of crystalline solar cell manufacturers have taken a downward turn. Right now, theres not a lot of money being made. Manufacturers are just trying to stay in the market longer than the competition.
