Magazine Archive 05-2018

It’s almost time to celebrate pv magazine’s 10th birthday! To officially mark this special occasion, pv magazine will be hosting a spectacular party at next month’s Intersolar Europe exhibition in Munich, Germany, which will also coincide with the exciting new magazine re-design and relaunch! The new-look pv magazine, refreshed and reinvigorated for 2018, will continue to deliver all of the usual technology-focused insight […]

Battery manufacturing in Europe: The European battery cell manufacturing landscape is sparse compared to its appetite for electric vehicles and stationary storage. Moves are afoot to alter that reality however, not least in Sweden, where Northvolt aims to develop a 32 GWh production facility within the next decade. pv magazine speaks with Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson to find out more.

Solar finance: Supporting the growth of solar PV and other renewable energies in developing nations in Africa and Asia obviously requires vast sums of capital. But beyond hard cash lies an ecosystem of support, expertise, and advisory bodies attuned to the acute needs of such regions, as Lucia Fuselli of the European Investment Bank (EIB) explains.

There will be no reversal in the fortune of the solar industry. While not every year is likely to post double-digit growth, the direction of travel is set fast, guided by lofty targets for a cleaner planet and driven by the technological advances designed to get us there. It is astounding to think that a […]

Stock index: Solar stocks outperformed the market in April (4-25). The Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) rose 1.3% versus the S&P 500 (down 0.2%), and Dow (down 0.3%).

… But is he gone for good? We are talking about Frank Asbeck and his company SolarWorld. It was only last August that I reported on the comeback of Asbeck as an investor and the new/old CEO of the PV module production and sales company that had risen from the ashes of insolvency.

Under the hood of PV’s biggest manufacturers: The top 10 PV manufacturers in 2017 are a familiar bunch, and it is important to understand why, amid the shifting trends and divergent fortunes of leading players, the current crop of companies are where they are – a top 10 list, given context, is a window into the machinations of the solar industry.

China analysis: Growth in distributed PV (DPV) installations propel another strong year for China’s PV market, but there exists some cloudiness around policy decisions that could bring uncertainty to the sector.

Solar supply chain: Market prices across the supply chain become inconsistent as upstream/midstream companies differ in capacity expansion progress. Corrine Lin examines the polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module fluctuations to expect this year.

China update: There is no denying that 2017 proved to be the most remarkable year yet for China’s PV industry. From whichever way one looks at it – be it installation figures, exports, manufacturing capacity growth, or innovation – the 12 months that shaped China’s solar industry were equally impressive and somewhat surprising, with even the national government perhaps shocked by the progress made.