Magazine Archive 2011

Smart grids: South Korea plans to build a nationwide smart grid to reduce energy imports, sustain economic development, and support the country’s ambitious carbon reduction goals. The smart grid roadmap includes five principle areas of research and development, and the test bed site spans an entire province: the island of Jeju.

Concentrating photovoltaics: In recent months, the market for terrestrial CPV has gained some momentum. As dual axis tracking is a must-have for CPV to maximize investment in materials and optimize conversion efficiency, it presents both an opportunity and a challenge for tracker manufacturers.

Silver: As a raw material of the contact grid, silver is the highest cost factor after the wafer in the manufacture of solar cells. Given the extreme price hikes this year alone, replacing the precious metal with industrial metals such as copper is becoming increasingly important. Yet this on its own will scarcely be enough to protect the industry from rising raw material costs.

Intersolar Awards: It was not just a parade of big names at the Intersolar Awards 2011, which took place in Munich, Germany as part of the trade fair. Newer names, a more global representation, and companies that came over from other industries were on the nomination list. Solar Promotion and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe (FWTM), with the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) presented the Intersolar Award ceremony.

Sustainability: For the solar industry, which produces “green” products, sustainability is hugely relevant. But do module manufacturers, for example, which happily promote their products’ environmental credentials, adopt sustainable production principles? A number of companies are investigating this topic. Here, pv magazine looks at the evaluation methods, their effectiveness and their industry relevance.

California: What does California’s climate plan mean for photovoltaics? At a time when the U.S. seems far from a national strategy to promote renewable energy, with Congress holding hearings on the supposed flaws of global-warming science, California is moving forward alone.

Dear readers, Is it worth regretting the passing of one’s youth? Certainly not in the case of photovoltaic technology. With its coming of age, the really exciting times for solar electricity are just getting started. And the amount of time required before the industry reaches maturity is already in sight. This was an impression underscored […]

Interview: He’s the one that brought photovoltaics to sunny Spain. Under Antonio Luque’s stewardship, the Institute of Solar Energy at the Madrid Polytechnic University (IES/UPM) became one of the world’s leading academic institutions in photovoltaics. John Perlin spoke with Antonio Luque in Madrid.

Desertec: At the conference “Desert Power for the People” concerns were raised over Desertec’s possible impact in the Middle Eastern and North African region. Could this be the swan song for the dream of a solar Sahara? The organization disagrees.