An interesting market
Turkey: With its booming economy and growing energy demand, Turkey is one of the most promising new PV markets, but financing and bureaucracy hurdles remain. Almost 9 GW of projects have applied for the first licensing round for large-scale installations, but commercial rooftop installations of up to 1 MW offer the best opportunities.
Business under uncertain conditions
EU trade case: As of June 6, provisional EU antidumping tariffs of 11.8 % have been imposed on Chinese PV crystalline imports. They will increase by up to 67.9% if no agreement has been reached by August 6. Industry insiders expect a compromise based on minimum import prices at the beginning of August, or by the beginning of December at the latest. The annoncement on additional provisional anti-subsidy tariffs for Chinese PV cyrstalline imports is also scheduled for August 6.
Calculus or defiance?
Module prices: Chinese manufacturers started to snub the European market after the European antidumping tariffs were announced.
Can sustainability make solar more competitive?
Green manufacturing: As solar manufacturers fight for their lives, some companies say the business case for sustainability is stronger than ever.
Degradation the danger within
Large scale applications: Degradation of modules is a well known phenomenon. However if module output degrades at a rate far faster than anticipated, it can lead to unanticipated costs down the road. A new study from Solarpraxis Engineering has brought to light how degradation in some module technologies can hold unseen dangers for investors and plant owners.
Glass, reinvented
Solar glass: Thin glass is absolutely critical for glass-glass PV modules, which are gaining in popularity. How thin can the industry go?
Global FIT overview
Feed-in tariffs: After the Lithuanian governments huge feed-in tariff reductions, solar developers are striking back in court. Australian states net metering schemes are falling like dominoes and the ACTs just went down. Germany and the U.K. steadily progress as planned with minor reductions.
Goodbye silver
Raw materials: After the price of silver exploded two years ago, the PV industry substantially reduced its use of this precious metal. In the current year the industry could experience a twofold benefit when it comes to costs as the price quoted for this precious metal has gone into a slump since the spring of this year. Nevertheless, the industry plans to replace silver with copper over the long term.
How dead zones can be reduced
Thin film PV: So-called dead zones that could not be avoided up to now in the conventional process of thin film production account for considerable efficiency losses in the PV module. Engineers at 3D-Micromac have developed a new technology, the one-stop patterning (OSP) procedure, to solve the problem. Wilhelm Stein, founder and CEO of Stein Engineering & Consulting, explains the technology.
Improved outlook
Mercom Capital global forecast: Demand for solar in 2013 looks promising despite the uncertainty surrounding the China-EU trade case, says Raj Prabhu, CEO and cofounder of Mercom Capital Group.
