Magazine Archive 2013

Solar PV project investment: A profitable investment in PV parks during a financial crisis mandates very specific characteristics from the investor. Yuval Eshet provides some examples from the Israeli company Sunflower Sustainable Investments Ltd.

Peru: Thanks to optimal solar conditions and the country’s solid budgetary situation, the photovoltaics industry in Peru is on the verge of a golden age. However, the contribution of solar electricity to the power requirement of the most economically advanced Andean country is still modest. Apart from long-term tender invitations, projects with mining companies may provide momentum in the very near future.

Intersolar North America: One the major events in the North American PV calendar will take place this month (July 8-11). PV appears to be enjoying steady growth in the U.S. however there are some doubts as to whether new projects will come online in the utility-scale space and if the residential sector will be negatively affected by attempts to wind back net metering.

Dear readers, Hardly anyone will have traveled to Munich for this year’s Intersolar Europe with great expectations. After all, the situation in the industry is not exactly positive at the moment. However, the event was better than expected. Although the number of visitors and exhibitors declined sharply on the previous year, most exhibitors reported informed […]

Intersolar Europe 2013: A decreased number of exhibitors and attendees were behind the glum expressions of Intersolar Munich organizers Solar Promotion at the opening of the event. The shadow of the Sino-EU trade dispute loomed large. However this decline didn’t mean that good business wasn’t done, with many reporting new opportunities and the large number of new products on display.

Ardour Solar Index: The solar rally continues as component prices stoke margin recovery story. Investors were unfazed by the China/EU trade case.

Chinese factory gate prices: Shipments to Europe slowed down. The average price of Chinese c-Si modules was stable at US$0.662 per watt-peak.

PV project output: Draker’s Clarity DC tool monitors and analyzes solar PV performance on the DC side of the inverter. Draker’s CEO, Charles “Chach” Curtis, gives an overview of the product that won the company the Bloomberg New Energy Pioneers Awards in April this year.

The engineering department of Solarpraxis AG answers reader questions regarding rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV installations. Please send your questions to: pv-engineers@solarpraxis.de.

Japan: Several PV projects are in the pipeline in Japan but is the grid equipped to handle all the solar electricity generated? Izumi Kaizuka of RTS Corporation finds out.