Magazine Archive 12-2010

Inventory update: Inventories saw a sharp increase this autumn. The declining political support behind photovoltaics seems to be a concern among participants of the Renewable Analytics EU PV Dealer & Installer Survey.

Singapore International Energy Week: Many questions were asked pertaining to the future of photovoltaics in Singapore, the region and Asia as a whole. Costs, efficiencies, protectionist solar markets, customized Asian modules and policies were mulled over. REC opened its integrated facility. And taboo words were uttered. pv magazine revisits the highlights of the week.

Interview CIGS: Up to now there has not been very much production of thin film CIGS modules, although their efficiencies are close to those of polycrystalline modules. Wolfgang Lange, Managing Director for Europe of Solar Frontier, explains why this may change next year. His company will soon be manufacturing cadmium and lead free modules in a gigawatt factory.

Industry ranking: Project planners and constructors of large photovoltaic power plants are developing very rapidly. Some companies that were unknown yesterday are at the forefront today. Others have had to bow out of the front places from one year to the next.

REC Interview: In November of this year, Norwegian manufacturer Renewable Energy Corporation officially opened its integrated solar facility in Singapore, backed by the Singaporean government as well as the proximity to the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS). pv magazine spoke with John Andersen Jr., Executive Vice President and Group Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Åsmund Fodstad about the new developments at REC, operations in Singapore, as well as the technological direction the company wants to take.

Rotating solar houses: Buildings that follow the sun also follow a trend. This year, four new buildings whose roofs track the sun were built in an industrial area in the spa town of Bad Windsheim, Germany.

Dear readers, Is the glass half full or half empty? What can be expected in the year 2011? Where are the most important challenges? The period known in German as “between the years” once again provides occasion to take stock and risk predictions. A glance at the figures for additionally built capacities in the past […]

Ardour Solar Index: China Central Bank and a possible 2011 supply-demand imbalance weigh on the index.

The story of solar electricity: The sixteenth part of our series of chapters from John Perlin’s book From Space to Earth examines different strategies of lowering the cost of photovoltaics.

Interview: Speaking to pv magazine about the future, Wim Goethals, CFO for Enfinity America Corp., explains how the company managed to successfully position itself on a global scale. He also discusses the financing pitfalls small-scale project developers should be aware of.