Electricity for amazing landscapes
Off-grid PV: Chilean energy efficiency company iEnergía, founded in 2008, brought solar electricity to 75 families in three different territories in the lake region in southern Chile.
Enduring to the end
PV backsheets: An overview of the global backsheet industry, recent innovation and an examination on what backsheet testing and standards should focus on.
Global FIT overview
Feed-in tariffs: Australias feed-in tariffs are under even greater threat from utilities. Germanys FITs continue their gradual decline. And Greece looks to reduce its financial obligations with ever greater retroactive FIT reductions.
Grid parity for commercial PV self-consumption
Grid parity: Grid parity is an economic reality for the commercial segment in major European markets such as Germany and Italy, says David Pérez, Managing Partner of the Eclareon Madrid and Milan offices.
Hanergys GW ambitions for CIGS
Thin film: Chinese renewable energy player Hanergy sure knows how to grab a headline. But can it make good on its targets for thin film PV technology? Hanergy has acquired three CIGS companies that had been struggling to make good on ambitious plans and has now announced plans for a major build-out of the technology.
High demand driving trade
Ranking silicon and wafers: The days of high overcapacity for silicon and wafer manufacturers are, due to the fast-growing global PV market, over for now. Because of strong demand, both IHS and GTM Research expect rising prices and capacity expansions throughout the sector.
Korea trajectory
South Korea: Renowned for technical excellence and innovation, South Korea has made a huge impact on global markets in a variety of high-spec industries. Yet despite a strong PV sector, are domestic installations reaping the benefits of such expertise and global reach?
Made in Germany: a model with a future?
Module manufacturing: The manufacturers of solar modules in Germany are confident that manufacturing in the country will also take place in the years to come. Successful module manufacturing in Germany depends on many different factors.
More private enterprise
China: As export markets contracted, Chinas PV industry turned a corner and is now building the worlds biggest PV installation market at home. A revamped subsidy regime has made feed-in tariffs the centerpiece of Chinas promotion of solar power. The focus is now on long-term PV plant performance, distributed PV and less intervention by local governments.
MPPT charge controllers: a performance analysis
Charge controllers: Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controllers have recently become increasingly popular and not just for off-grid PV applications, write experts from the two companies Steca Elektronik GmbH and AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH.
