Magazine Archive 10-2016

PV manufacturing: As part of our focus on quality and reliability issues, pv magazine brings you an interview with DuPont research fellow Bill Gambogi and Director of Corporate Marketing Bob Olsen, who discuss the work DuPont is doing with materials and quality testing for the lifetime of solar projects.

Volatility and growth: The solar industry should expect growth to continue, accelerating in some markets and stalling in others. Profitable for a few and low margin for many – business as usual for the global solar industry is to expect the unexpected.

Module price index: Across most of the globe, module prices have plummeted as the industry comes out of a strong manufacturing period.

Inverter cost pressures: Exposure to the cool cost-reduction winds blowing in from China has triggered consolidation of the solar inverter market even further. What strategies can leading suppliers employ in order to stay competitive?

Renewable Energy India Expo: The 10th Renewable Energy India Expo presented a snapshot of the world’s most enigmatic solar market approaching a crossroads. Halls packed with people and largely Chinese firms suggest all is well for India in 2016, but analysts and experts taking a longer view warned of potential problems further down the line.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Of course, until it doesn’t. At the 12th Solar Power International trade show, held last month in the extravagant desert city, the trade show floor buzzed with announcements spanning much of the solar supply chain. From the rise of single-axis tracking to a host of 1,500 V components […]

Cell and module testing: While there are different technological routes to high efficiency, many of them pose challenges to testing equipment providers. pv magazine assembled experts from five flash and test equipment providers to get a sense of the technology and business trends facing the segment.

Battery Storage: A lot of ink has been spilled in recent months about Australia’s emergence as an early global testing ground for PV applications with battery storage. The excitement seemed to reach fever pitch this summer, when SolarCity CTO Peter Rive identified the country as a key future market in which batteries could affordably be deployed alongside rooftop PV systems.

Rooftop applications: Great idea, huge potential market, tough nut to crack. Solar shingles have been spoken of and introduced to the PV market at various times over the past five years. But none have flown. pv magazine ’s Charles W. Thurston re-examines that market to see whether solar shingles can finally shine.