Magazine Archive 2016

India market update: Raj Prabhu, CEO and cofounder of Mercom Capital Group, proffers a comprehensive update on India’s solar situation and notes that falling tariffs are causing concern across the market.

Global funding: Mercom capital CEO and cofounder Raj Prabhu delivers an update on recent solar investment, finding a weak fundraising quarter for the sector as corporate funding drops to $2.8 billion in Q1 2016.

Turkey: The significant 1 GW cumulative PV milestone looks set to be passed in Turkey this year, although the pathway to this milestone has been littered with obstacles. The government is taking steps to reign in the unlicensed (< 1 MW) market, but needs to see its next round of licensed projects actually be built. A sustainable 1 GW annual market looms, but just how can it be achieved?

Iran solar potential: Everybody is talking about Iran. A country that in recent times was cast to the peripheries of the global economy is now being ushered back on to the floor, which has piqued the interest of PV investors worldwide.

String inverters: Heralded by some developers as a way to reduce O&M costs and meet the challenges of optimizing park design, large string inverters for PV power plants have made headway in some markets. And as solar spreads to harsher and more remote regions, string’s strength is coming ever more to the fore.

Interview: JinkoSolar’s Chairman of the Board Xiande Li outlines the company’s ambitions as it zeroes in on the module supplier global top spot, incremental cost reductions and further expansion into some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing solar markets.

Array Changing Technologies Winner #1: The Nextracker NX Fusion has the potential to open up PV arrays smaller than 1 MW to tracking technology, increase yield and potentially reduce solar’s LCOE. This was the sentiment expressed at pv magazine ’s Array Changing Technologies feature and award jury meeting, the result of which was Nextracker being selected as the 2016 joint award winner. Alex Au, Nextracker cofounder and CTO, outlined how he feels the NX Fusion’s approach will change the face of tracking applications. Array Changing Technologies Award Winner #2: The jury commented that the SonnenCommunity represents “completely out of the box” thinking and “a whole new business model.” But will regulatory hurdles get in the way. Sonnen’s Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Philipp Schröder told pv magazine many markets are open, and others accessible via partnerships.

China PV: The Chinese government has set an ambitious annual PV installation target of 18.1 GW for 2016, but the deadline remains in limbo, writes Corrine Lin of EnergyTrend.

IEEE PVSC: SPV Market Research’s Paula Mints was an engaged attendee at the recent IEEE PVSC conference in Portland, U.S., held at the beginning of June. Here is a snapshot of how the conference unfolded over the course of five days, and the main themes that were discussed.

Mexico: With pricing set as the challenge, the solar sector is getting ready for Mexico’s second electricity auction. The first tender’s incredible $45/MWh average tariff could well set the precedent – and the handicap – for the next one in September. Meanwhile, the private PPA market is making little progress as high volume consumers deliberate over the best strategy to meet the clean energy requirements now in place.