The race for high efficiency is only just beginning
LONGi Solar interview: The Chinese solar module manufacturer’s global expansion hinges a lot on its ability to continue offering desirable, durable and highly efficient monocrystalline products and innovation, says Gerald Patrick Müller, VP Sales for Europe.
Same floorspace, increased throughput
Module assembly: The PV production equipment market is fiercely competitive. In the module assembly space, some observe that Chinese providers are consuming ever-larger market share. However, with the number of countries in which solar manufacturing is carried out increasing, and the need for higher output essential for competitiveness, opportunities do exist for innovative suppliers.
Backsheets and end of life
Backsheets: Crucial for module durability and quality, but sometimes overlooked, backsheet composition may play a crucial role when it comes to module end of life. Implications of backsheet composition for recycling are revealed in a new study.
Optimizing safety
DC power optimizers: Adding module-level power electronics to a rooftop solar array has long been a question of cost and performance, but new safety regulations introduced in the U.S. and European markets may create an extra incentive for homeowners and businesses to adopt this technology.
“Our path is one that we are highly confident in.”
Thin film: Mark Widmar has been at the helm of U.S. CdTe producer and project developer First Solar for a little over 12 months. During that time he has made the big call to skip the company’s Series 5 module and go to the large format Series 6. But what does the future hold for its project development business in the time of change? pv magazine spoke to the First Solar CEO to find out.
New directions for U.S. solar veterans
Business model, technology innovation: SunPower and First Solar have long stood at the vanguard of the U.S. PV industry. But size and experience has never locked in success in solar. pv magazine checks out how the two company’s business models have evolved and continue to evolve, and in what new directions the two are heading.
Islands of opportunity
PV potential: Being at the highest risk of climate change impacts, several island nations are emerging as renewable energy champions. Solar and storage have hit an inflection point against diesel generation offering lower cost, cleaner electricity to island nations.
In need of encouragement
PV in Indonesia: To date, Indonesia has installed a tiny 71 MW of solar PV, of which only 8 MW are utility-scale plants. A law introduced this year aims to stimulate new PV investment, but does Indonesia’s government really like PV technology? pv magazine provides analysis of the new law and Indonesia’s solar energy sector.
Batteries to meet the demands of every application
BYD Interview: Prominent in the electric vehicle and solar module space, China’s BYD is also a battery storage pioneer. pv magazine caught up with the company’s Senior Global Sales Director Julia Chen and Alvaro Garcia Martinez MD of SR Energy – an official BYD partner – to discuss its latest high voltage B-Box modular battery.
Innogy adds muscle to Belectric’s one-stop shop
EPC: In January, German utility spin off innogy SE acquired pioneering solar EPC Belectric. The purchase price was in the high double-digit euro range. The move brought financial strength to Belectric’s market offering, but was as much a bringing together of like-minded teams as it was a piece of prescient timing, explains Ingo Alphéus, the new CEO of Belectric Solar & Battery GmbH.
