Solars little black box
Junction boxes: Optimizing electronics are increasingly being integrated into junction boxes, posing new challenges for designs. Increasingly, collaborations are forming between junction box and electronics manufacturers. pv magazine takes a look across some of the latest products and ideas behind solars little black box.
The politics of it all
UK: The UK, which will see its FIT rates cut from August, is fast becoming a lesson for governments drawing up renewable energy policies in how not to do things. All eyes are on the country.
The worlds new PV capital?
Shanghai: Does the bustling metropolis that acts as a magnet for foreign talent have the capability of emerging as a photovoltaic hub? Evidence suggests that the possibility is in the pipelines.
What is the RPO opportunity in India?
India: The German-Indian consulting company Bridge to India looks at Renewable Purchase Obligations and Renewable Energy Certificates on the sub-continent.
A dangerous connection
Plug connectors: In the last few years, an increasing number of counterfeit plug connectors has appeared on the market. These counterfeits are not easy to recognize, but it pays off to be alert. The use of knock-offs can void the warranty and even cause a fire.
A question of survival
Thin film industry ranking: The surrounding market is difficult enough on its own, but the falling price of crystalline modules is putting many thin film producers under additional pressure. Due to the efficiency level of some of the technology used, they should actually be selling their products at more favorable prices. With this, however, countless companies are overburdened and, as such, face questions about their very reason for existence.
A sunny autumn?
Dear readers, Should we hope for a golden Indian summer? In Germany sunshine was definitely a commodity in short supply this summer. And the development of the photovoltaics market was not so rosy either this year. A global financial crisis, reductions in subsidies, sluggish demand, collapses on the stock markets as well as sharply lower […]
A thin film frontier
Japan: Previously having only a relatively minor slice of the thin film PV market, Solar Frontier has not been making too many waves. But from their coastal city Miyazaki in southern Japan, the company is raising new facilities with the potential to make a major splash.
All bets are off
Global market forecast: The first half of 2011 has been less than stellar for photovoltaics. However, there are indicators that demand will be stronger in the second half of the year. All bets are off though, writes Raj Prabhu, Managing Partner at Mercom Capital Group, if the European debt crisis cannot be contained, or if the U.S. falls back into recession.
Ammonium hydroxide attacks panels
Module test: Aggressive ammonium hydroxide develops in livestock barns, which may lead to corrosion on solar panels. Various institutions in Germany, among them the German Agricultural Society DLG and TÜV Rheinland, have reacted and now offer an ammonia test for panels. TÜV Rheinland recently commissioned an accessible test chamber and now awards an official quality seal, but DLG has doubts about the practicability of the test.
