The eyes have it
Conspicuous solar: Getting the public to embrace solar energy has never been a straightforward task, but as the technology moves past its awkward teen phase, some genuinely impressive and innovative adaptations of solar PV are beginning to turn heads.
Thin edge of a major wedge
Thin film production equipment: A Chinese manufacturer developing hundreds of megawatts of thin film manufacturing capacity is a big deal. This alone made the announcement from CNBM that it was placing large orders with European cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) PV equipment suppliers at the 2016 SNEC trade show a significant one. But what do we know about the deal? pv magazine investigates.
Trackers spread globally as designs improve
Tracker update: A new pv magazine survey of the top international tracker companies shows that more than five dozen countries now have installed PV tracker arrays totaling more than 14.8 GW of cumulative capacity.
(Untitled)
On the road with pv magazine Where weve been: Intersolar Europe, Munich At the time of going to press, the hotly anticipated Intersolar Europe exhibition in Munich, Germany, is still a few days away, but by the time you read this the show will be a few weeks in the past. This years installment promised to […]
Match product to project
Inverters: Huawei claims to have assumed the mantle as the worlds largest inverter supplier in terms of shipment volumes. William Zhou, vice president of Sungrow Power Supply, begs to differ. Zhou sets out why and makes the case for central inverters in a diverse marketplace.
The scale up has been stunning
EPC: Indias Sterling and Wilson has emerged on to the solar landscape at a rapid pace. Bikesh Ogra, the president of Sterling and Wilsons solar business, says that the companys long pedigree in electrical contracting and service provision has allowed it to grow quickly while bringing solar expertise into the team. Ogra believes that even some of the startlingly low bids in Indias solar tenders can be achieved.
Things are starting to recover
European markets: There are signs of rapid growth in the European storage market, and the PV market on the continent may be turning a corner. Ash Sharma, the senior director solar research at IHS Technology shares this and other insights, including a 10% module price decline looming large in the 2016 marketplace.
Trackers are clearly the best way to deliver improved IRRs
Tracking: Lead by the U.S. market and delivered through maturing technology, trackers have moved into the mainstream. With new opportunities, new market entrants have leapt into the space. Pivoting from CPV solutions, Chinas Arctech Solar is expanding into the Chinese and international markets with its tracking solution. Guy Rong, the President of Arctech Solar believes it is only the beginning.
We are the technology driver
PV production equipment: Meyer Burger has established itself as one the largest technology providers in the solar space, with a suite of technology offerings across production processes. These include PERC upgrade tooling, SmartWire cell interconnection technology, a heterojunction platform and innovative diamond wire solution. But can the Swiss provider compete against the fast rising Chinese rivals? pv magazine spoke to CEO Peter Pauli.
We produce standard wafers directly from the melt
Wafer technology: The production of PV wafers is a dirty and multi-step process. 1366 Technologies, from outside of Boston, Massachusetts, believes its Direct Wafer technology can simplify and dramatically reduce the costs of wafer production. But step change technology is never easy, particularly amongst the standardized PV landscape. Frank van Mierlo, the CEO of 1366 Technologies, says that the company is well on its way to realizing its ambitious goal.
