Implementing standards
While Bureau of India Standards (BIS) certification is an honest attempt by the Indian government to mitigate risks associated with poor quality of modules, there are several reasons why this particular objective is currently not being met. pv magazine India’s Uma Gupta investigates India’s efforts to ensure quality in its booming PV industry.
Unstoppable power
This year, pv magazine is setting a new editorial agenda. Via our program, UP, we will be diving deep into the topic of what it means to be truly sustainable, looking at what is already being done, and discussing areas for improvement. Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we will share our findings across our various digital platforms, in our print magazines, and via our roundtable events and webinars. Are you UP for it?
Commercial appeal
Has Vietnam’s moment in the sun finally arrived? New solar installations soared in 2018, pushing the nation’s cumulative installed PV capacity from just 8 MW to 106 MW, according to statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). And while development has continued to surge at the utility scale since the start of this year, it’s the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment that may ultimately offer the greatest long-term promise.
U.S. opportunities, as seen from above
The United States’ solar market is growing again this year, and it is expected to accelerate further in 2020 and 2021, with heavy construction continuing through the end of 2023. For PV module suppliers, the different market segments require varying strategies for success.
In conversation: Campaigning from rooftops to industrial sites
Walburga Hemetsberger joined SolarPower Europe as its new CEO around six months ago. It’s been a busy time, with the European elections and attempts to implement net zero emissions strategies that have kept Brussels hustling and bustling. At the same time, Europe’s solar industry association has been trying to push its industrial policy and rooftop campaign. Hemetsberger sat down with pv magazine for an update.
Under-the-radar US residential markets
All American residential solar markets were not created equal. While states such as California, New York and Massachusetts have legacy markets that have existed in strength for well over a decade, some have taken longer to find their footing. A look at three promising U.S. states for residential solar.
Australia’s top end eyes mega PV exports
A number of massive PV projects have been proposed for Australia’s north, with the concept built around clean power exports to Southeast Asia. Is it Desertec Down Under? Proponents are certainly hoping for more success.
In position to undermine utilities
Plenty of ideas surrounding the future design of the U.S. grid model are floating around the solar industry these days, but few seem as compelling as the solar+storage-based microgrid. These local electrical communities are proliferating, particularly on the East Coast and West Coast, including the hallowed turf where once mighty utilities — like now-bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) — defended their monopolies.
China’s market in transition
By the end of 2018, China was home to around one third of global cumulative PV capacity, with around 175 GW of operational PV systems. In the context of China’s power sector, writes Frank Haugwitz of Asia Europe Clean Energy Advisory, the cumulative installed capacity makes up 9% of the total existing power generation capacity and contributed approximately 2.7% to total electricity generation.
PV’s Polish cold turkey
Considering the remarkable advances made by the solar sector since the Rio ‘Earth Summit’ of 1992, PV was notable by its absence at the Convention of Parties (COP) climate change summit held by the UN in Poland.
