Price war in Hamburg
EU PVSEC: Cold, hard winds blew off the harbor as the 26th EU PVSEC came to a close in Hamburg. Many reported slow business and observed massively slashed module prices from Chinese manufacturers: an opportunity for the increasing competitiveness of solar electricity on the one hand, but a challenge for the innovative ability of the industry and the survival of European module and cell manufacturers on the other.
Prudent expansion
EU PVSEC interview: Hanwha SolarOnes Chief Strategy Officer and Board Secretary took time out of his busy schedule at this years EU PVSEC to sit down and talk to pv magazine about the Korean photovoltaic module manufacturers strategy for weathering the current solar market storm, and its future developments.
Rough diamond
Solar glass: Latest advances in TCO glass and coatings are forcing better efficiencies from thin-film silicon PV. While thin film PVs market share today is shy of initial forecasts, this is an industry that is growing.
Safety with system
Mounting systems: PV systems have to meet investors needs, keeping the return on investment attractive. The push for the lowest watt peak price installed is in full swing. On the other hand, serious consequences due to shortcomings in system integrity and quality of mounting components can emerge five to ten years after installation and destroy the investment. Renusols Stefan Ast elaborates.
Solar on a large scale
U.S. utility-scale market: In the United States, solar is very much shaped by how business is done in the conventional power market: large-scale and utility-oriented. A report on support mechanisms and PV development in the USA.
Spot market for PV panels: Capital is tight
Module prices: The fall in PV module makers revenues continues, but equipment manufacturers report growth.
The newcomer
PV plans in Serbia: At the end of July, the Serbian parliament adopted a new Energy Bill, which is one of the requirements the country must meet to gain European Union candidate status. Now, the country has four solar power plants with 13 megawatts of installed power in the pipeline.
The PEPPER project
PEPPER project: Oerlikon Solar leads the European Commissions PEPPER research project. Tobias Roschek, Product Manager of Development at Oerlikon Solar and Project Coordinator of PEPPER, explains what the project is about.
Thinking beyond the Noors and Shams
Interview: The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries have received prominent limelight due to some prestigious project announcements like Shams and Noor. Nevertheless, in order for the systematic and proper development of solar energy in the region, there is a need for structure. Emirates Solar Industry Associations President Browning Rockwell explains the market and the necessary steps to take.
Time for a Green Bank?
Financing in the USA: In the United States, the idea of founding a Green Bank or a Clean Energy Development Authority to finance renewable energy development is again being floated among Republican and Democrat legislators alike. Connecticut is taking the lead.
