Magazine Archive 2014

Solar EPCs in the US: North American engineering, procurement and construction companies are competing for fewer large projects. Increased specialization, efficiency improvements, and accelerating mergers and acquisitions are among the strategies used by companies to survive in the market.

NYSE Bloomberg Solar Energy Index: Pressured by Asian market uncertainty and expected price declines.

Flashing and cell testing: In part two of pv magazine’s spotlight on approaches to the flashing of high efficiency cells, the approaches of Berger Lichttechnik, Sinton Instruments, and Pasan are explored.

Solar lighting in India: With many people living in remote areas, there is a lot of potential for solar lighting in India where companies like Tata Power Solar have been supplying this market for more than a decade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to fulfill his electoral promises to electrify India. But there are also concerns that a wider distribution of LED lights could cause problems for wildlife and spread insect-borne diseases. .

Solar cells: Passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) technology is taking the solar industry by storm, with nearly 5 GW of installed capacity. What is the attraction of PERC, and what are its limitations?

It was never meant to be easy. Convincing the world that PV is a mainstream and affordable electricity source has proven to be a tricky business, and over the last three years many of us in PV have had friends and colleagues exit the industry and seen companies fall by the wayside. However, when looking […]

Taiwan: The preliminary antidumping tariffs on solar exports to the United States were met with some degree of indignation by Taiwan’s solar industry. But the solar manufacturers presenting their products at PV Taiwan 2014 were confident that the country’s superior quality in PV cell making will eventually carry them through this rough patch.

Ozymandias folly: Political power grabs, irresolvable disputes, and a chronic misjudgment of the Middle East’s delicate but determined power base put paid to Desertec’s plans to harvest MENA’s solar resources for Europe.

Solar insurances: Some insurance solutions for solar panels are quite good, but in a different way than people suppose, explains Jan Willem Vos, an insurance specialist and independent risk mitigation specialist for solar PV projects.