Singapore: A base for solar business
APVIA: Despite boasting only 5.5 MW in installed capacity, Singapore is far from a backwater for photovoltaics. With its status as a business and banking hub, it is increasingly becoming a base for solar companies and that was the message from this years PV Asia Pacific Expo (APVIA).
Rare sunny moments
Dear readers, Will it or will it not happen? Many visitors at this years Renewable Energy India Expo asked themselves this question. The reason being that during the three day trade exhibition in November, a thick smog covered the megacity and the sun only managed to penetrate the yellowish-gray veil on a few occasions. The […]
Q.Cells second rising
Industry consolidation: Solar PV is a major pillar of the Hanwha Groups strategy for quality growth in the future. Its acquisition, completed in October, of the bankrupt Q.Cells is a clear part of this strategy. As the new venture Hanwha Q.Cells was launched, company representatives chose to highlight synergies between the companies. But how good is the fit and how long will Hanwha remain committed to PV in the face of losses from its PV business segment? pv magazine investigates.
On the horizon
Net metering: A new net metering scheme should help Israels solar PV market grow more quickly in 2013 and there are signs that grid parity may soon be achieved.
On target for P2 and P3
Laser scribing: Widely used in silicon thin film PV production, lasers still have a way to go to be used to the same extent in CIGS production.
What we need is awareness
West Africa: How can photovoltaic technology achieve a breakthrough in Ghana? Arthur Manu, Solar Dealer in Nkoranza in the Brong-Ahafo Region in mid-western Ghana, explains the market potential of solar in the country.
In search of new markets
Chinese factory gate prices: Chinese tier-1 and tier-2 module suppliers are working hard to keep prices stable.
Improved grid stability
Smart inverters: With the popularity of PV prompting a move away from large centralized power generators to numerous decentralized small-scale generators, the latest generation of inverters have a significant part to play in modernizing grids for a renewables age, as TÜV Süds Christian Dirmeier and Ma Zhengdong explain.
Green power to gas
Power to gas solution: The electricity grid is under pressure to restructure itself to accept more renewable power. Power has been generated from gas conventionally. Now there is a practical option to go the other way too, power to gas, giving renewable-generated power a smart solution for storage and use.
