Magazine Archive 2020

A new EU framework designed to incentivize cross-border renewables financing could help accelerate the roll-out of solar PV projects across Europe. However, investors are awaiting more clarity about how the system will work in practice.

Time: GMT +4 | Currency: United Arab Emirates Dirham (US$1 = AED 3.7) | Population: 1.2 million | Average temperature in January: 18.8 C° For some people, World Future Energy Summit 2020 will mark their first visit to the United Arab Emirates, and many will automatically think of visiting Dubai, as well as the capital, […]

While lithium batteries have taken center stage for energy storage, vanadium redox flow batteries could gain considerable traction in 2020. In previous years, vanadium battery installations around the world have done little more than provide proof of concept and a test bed for manufacturers, argues David Gillam from Mastermines. He looks at what may have changed since then and why a surge in batteries utilizing vanadium may be closer than many believe, with China taking the lead.

As one of the world leaders in PV+storage deployment, Australia has ample opportunity to develop a two-way energy system that could provide critical services to the grid and deliver additional revenue streams for rooftop PV and battery prosumers. Although still in their early days, some virtual power plant (VPP) projects are already proving their worth.

As a relatively new and rapidly emerging PV technology, perovskites present an opportunity for the European Union to once again play a prominent role in solar manufacturing. So argues Louis Huber from the European Perovskite Initiative, a group that is trying to coordinate European perovskite PV activities across research, industry and politics.

We are pleased to present the next batch of energy yield results from the outdoor test field at Xi’an, China. In this issue, we outline the results from March 2020, alongside additional analysis from George Touloupas, director of technology and quality at CEA.

The first finalists in the 2020 Modules award category are:

It was going to be ambitious: four Roundtables with scores of speakers and panelists covering the major themes facing the solar industry in Europe today, in front of a vibrant community of solar professionals. The pv magazine Roundtables Europe 2020 program was always going to be big, bold and comprehensive. And then came Covid-19.

Germany-based Pfeiffer Vacuum, which supplies vacuum pumps and other related technologies to a range of different industries, is celebrating 130 years in business in 2020. pv magazine recently caught up with Rudolf Konwitschny of the company’s leak detection application team to discuss the role of vacuum technology in Li-ion battery production.

Distribution system operators have their work cut out for them, as they are tasked with the ever-increasing challenge of managing their networks at times of increasing EV penetration, the electrification of heat, and distributed behind-the-meter generation and storage. As transmission system operator markets have opened to demand-side flexibility across Europe and beyond, we now see a trend of DSOs at the very early stages of a similar transition, writes Philippa Hardy, principal analyst at Delta-EE. DSOs are now starting to call on behind-the-meter assets to support local network management and balancing. This provides cost savings for DSOs, while offering opportunities for DSF providers and asset owners.