Singed birds and bad PR: Solar and wildlife issues
Wildlife: Solar scaremongers had reason to take flight earlier this year when images of fried birds at solar parks in the U.S. hit the headlines. But solars role in avian mortality is nothing to get in a flap about, as pv magazine discovered.
Resource adequacy
Capacity markets: Amid the normal European fragmentation on energy matters lies an unresolved capacity market question, with the UK proposing radical plans. If introduced, what role can renewables including solar PV play in building upon the growth of capacity markets in the UK and beyond?
Optimization in the cloud
Energy management: Start-up company Tado made news with an intelligent control unit that activates heating or air-conditioning systems when the owners approach their home. The devices will soon be available for use with solar electricity as well.
New on the block
Ghana: An interview with Steffen Behrle, Team Leader Renewable Energy in Ghana for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), which implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
Moving forward
Investment policies: UBS and Citigroup are advising investors to prepare for a move away from fossil fuels towards solar, thanks to the rise of electric vehicles and the falling cost of battery storage. The question now is whether their investment bank peers will follow suit.
Uninterrupted, affordable, clean sources of energy
IEA Executive Director interview: In September, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report entitled Capturing the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency. The study concluded that energy efficiency is a crucial hidden fuel whose value goes far beyond the cost effects of energy savings. pv magazine attended the reports release in Berlin and spoke with IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven about energy efficiency and the role of PV in IEA energy scenarios.
Microinverters vs. optimizers
Module-level electronics: The challenge of increasing the yield of a typical solar module has been taken up with aplomb by both microinverter and power optimizer suppliers over the past few years. Yet with both technologies claiming the upper hand in terms of power performance, pv magazine examines both sides of what looks increasingly like the same coin.
Let there be solar light
Solar streetlights: Candilux, a manufacturer of solar-powered streetlights, and solar electronics manufacturer Phocos installed off-grid lighting at a sports field in Erbach in southern Germany. Susanne Kircher of Phocos discusses the details of the project.
Leading by doing
Sometimes statistics make for happy reading. With 15.9 GW of installed PV capacity and 143,000 jobs contributing $15 billion to the economy, the American solar industry is delivering some impressive numbers. Add to that more than 4.5 GW of new capacity over the last three quarters, as well as the contribution PV is making to […]
Grid parity for PV power plants
Grid parity monitor, fourth edition: Eclareon has published the fourth in its series of analyses investigating the growing competitiveness of PV in different applications and markets. In the latest edition, David Pérez from Eclareon concludes that utility scale PV is competitive with market prices in Chile, and the outlook is increasingly positive in Morocco, Italy and Mexico.
