Magazine Archive 2011

The history of energy: Nuclear or solar – that was the question in the early 1950s. U.S. President Eisenhower urged the United Nations to bet on nuclear energy to counteract the Soviet propaganda against the American atom bomb. “Atoms for peace” was the catchword of the day.

Interview: At this year’s Fab Managers Forum, SEMI PV Group Europe presented its latest international technology road map for photovoltaics. Arnd Boueke, Head of Development Solar Cell at Sunways AG and Ralf Lüdemann, Managing Director of SolarWorld Innovations GmbH talk about the objectives and backgrounds.

CEO interview: PV module quality, materials, production, and market issues are set to be the themes of a workshop in Berlin, Germany, on May 12. Organized by PVExperts and Sunnyside upP GmbH, a key focus will be on production line quality. Markus Steinkötter, CEO of Sunnyside upP talks to pv magazine .

India: After the launch of India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the world’s solar markets have been closely monitoring its progress. Particular interest is focused on the mission’s movement from the policy stage into execution. In its first quarterly report on the region, Mercom Capital Group discusses its progress.

Ardour Solar Index: First quarter results are likely impacted by volume weakness in Italy and France.

Israel: With high irradiation and impressive technical prowess, PV in Israel is ripe for development. But despite its attractive feed-in tariffs (FITs) and prosperous solar thermal market, the industry has historically taken a back seat. The Negev desert is currently helping its talents to shine through, but there are still a number of administrative barriers in the way.

Lead times: The oversupply in the European photovoltaics markets has increased even further. Anxiety is spreading among manufacturers and distributors, as there is little visibility on when market demand will resume.

Industry ranking: For many cell producers, capacity expansion was the order of the day last year. This year, that trend is expected to continue. The pv magazine ranking of the leading crystalline cell manufacturers reveals who’s ahead of the pack.

Module prices: The spot market ended the first quarter of 2011 with new price drops.

France: Through a new cap for newly installed PV systems, the French government limits the sales volume of modules in the French market to a total annual capacity of 500 megawatts – a regulation which is not welcomed by every French module manufacturer.