Not everyone loves world records
Dear readers, On sunny May 26, Germany set a new world record. At midday, approximately 1.1 million PV installations supplied 22 gigawatts of solar electricity; roughly 40 percent of total power generated in Germany. This corresponds to the output of 15 nuclear power units. No country thus far has ever supplied this amount of solar […]
Will the shale gas boom outshine PV?
United States: The US is increasingly relying on shale gas and oil as strategic domestic energy sources. The US government seems to see shale gas and solar as complementary energy sources, whereas a report by the European Union argues that a solar park has a higher efficiency per square meter of land area.
Will solar power plants perform as expected?
India: The Indian solar market is principally made up of megawatt-scale feed-in tariff (FIT) projects. Project allocation in India is governed by various national and state level policies. Bridge to Indias Tobias F. Engelmeier examines if the plants will perform.
Waiting game
Saudi Arabia: In May, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unveiled an expansive renewable energy program, whetting the appetite of the solar industry. But until full details of the program are made clear, players are sitting tight.
Under pressure
Ardour Solar Index: Anti-dumping decision adds fuel to the sell-off. 1Q12 results provide no consolation for investors.
Tier-1 prices stabilizing
Chinese factory gate prices: Chinese module prices dropped by 2.7 percent in the European Union but increased slightly in all other regions.
The oil of the future
Raw materials: Lithiums use as a raw material in batteries has given it a starring role in the energy age of tomorrow. However, the expected boom in electric mobility could create bottlenecks in the supply chain for PV powered systems.
Taking it all back
Interview: PV module recycling has become a hot topic, following their reclassification under the WEEE Directive as electronic waste. Nicholas Defrenne, Managing Director of non-profit PV module recycling organization CERES tells pv magazine why he believes CERES business model out-trumps that of PV Cycles. He also discusses the potential money to be made and the challenges the business faces.
Sun and ice
Off-grid solar: The Alliance for Rural Electrification reports on a rural micro-grid project that powers a 60 home village on Santo Antão, the largest of the islands of Cape Verde, an archipelago off the coast of Western Africa. The most important application of the solar PV micro-grid, which includes an individual energy allowance scheme, is the production of ice to preserve fish.
Slow start
Brazil: The largest country in South America and sixth largest economy of the world by gross domestic product has introduced net metering for solar power and is beginning to open the electricity grid to photovoltaics.
