Commercial PV nears grid parity
Commercial Grid Parity Monitor: Solar PV energy is improving its cost-competitiveness in the commercial segments of many European and Latin American (LatAm) markets, finds the second issue of Crearas Commercial Grid Parity Monitor (GPM).
Egypt embraces the sun again
Egypt: Can the countrys lofty goals of installing a FIT-driven 2.3 GW of solar PV by 2017 be realized, or is this yet another unsustainable solar policy built on shifting sands? pv magazine investigates.
Going native
Indigenous PV: The potential for deploying solar PV on Indian Tribal Lands in the U.S. is promising. However, fulfilling that potential is a task that is far from trivial and by no means easy, write Curt Shannon of Conation energy and Paula Mints of SPV Market Research.
Growth while the sun shines
Japan market: Data from the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association has confirmed that Japan shipped record-breaking amounts of PV modules in 2014 as the market continued its march onwards, reports Izumi Kaizuka of RTS Corporation.
Inverting the status quo
Inverters at large-scale: The dominance of central inverters in utility-scale solar plants is being slowly eroded by improvements in three-phase string inverter technology. As costs shrink and system owners demand greater energy yield and monitoring performance from their arrays, will this inside-out trend prove sustainable in the long term?
Kenyas PV regulatory framework
Kenya: Ulrike Brückner of German law firm Rödl and Partner dissects Kenyas regulatory framework for PV power generation, and examines whether it is currently sufficient to support the countrys anticipated solar growth.
Legal insight into Mexicos power market
Mexican law: Mariangela Zerpa Dreyer of Rödl and Partner examines the relationship between Mexicos Electric Industry Law and the countrys wholesale power market, and explains how renewable energy sources like solar PV fit into this hopeful new landscape.
Lights-on logic
Microgrids: As extreme weather events become more regular in the U.S., solar-powered microgrids are emerging as a resilient backup power source for municipalities and organizations that are either underserved by the central grid or require a secure, steady supply of electricity. pv magazine finds many leading solar companies are now moving into this space.
Mexico: cost-competitive solar self-consumption
Grid Parity Monitor: Crearas Mexico-focused Grid Parity Monitor (GPM) finds significant variations in the countrys diverse PV segments, with self-consumption proving the most cost-competitive solar option.
On the positive side
NYSE Bloomberg Solar Energy Index: Top-weighted Hanergy reports profitable 2014, carrying index higher.
