Playing the long game
Emerging equipment markets: New manufacturing opportunities for c-Si solar photovoltaics will come from sunbelt markets, but it will take time.
Playing it safe
Crystalline silicon solar technologies: Industry talk has often been of a transition to high efficiency solar cell concepts but the PV market that exists today is risk averse, understandably, with standard modules made of polysilicon continuing to dominate.
A decade of growth
Solar Power International 2013: Later this month Chicago will host the 10th SPI trade show and conference. While the event has, as others, been hit by falling exhibitor and attendee numbers, the U.S. PV market is providing significant demand for PV components and SPI is receiving great interest from the global industry.
New low price suppliers
Module prices: Modules from China are being undercut by products from Southeast Asia and are no longer the cheapest on the market.
Looking into the future
Defect catalogue: Electroluminescence is without a doubt in vogue. But there is still some debate over what the method actually reveals and how the images should be interpreted. We present typical module defects revealed by EL imaging.
India expects 2.8 GW of new PV in 2014
REI: The Indian solar market is currently stuck in a waiting loop. The main obstacles curbing things from moving forward are the political zigzag course and funding problems. Nevertheless the future outlook remains positive. This was the conclusion at the 7th Renewable Energy India Expo (REI), which took place in mid-September in Greater Noida near New Delhi.
Global FIT overview
Feed-in tariffs: South Australia reduces its FIT to a fair and reasonable value. Brunei declares its intentions to introduce a FIT. The Czech Republic kicks an industry when its down. And a few more utilities in the United States have begun offering their customers FIT programs to compete with those already in place.
Geographic & customer segmentation demand
Evolution of an end market: NPD Solarbuzzs Michael Barker says PV industry changes trigger increased focus on specific geographic and customer segmentation.
FIT for purpose
Japan market update: Izumi Kaizuka of RTS Corporation discusses the project approval status for Japans FIT program and the countrys installed capacity of PV system for the Fiscal Year 2012.
Expanding into new lands
West Africa: The increasing internationalization of the PV market presents both opportunities and challenges. This is exactly what German component supplier and installer Krinner found when developing the 15 MW project in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
