Up to code for decarbonization
The International Energy Agency predicts that India will record the world’s fastest growth in energy consumption from buildings through 2040. The energy demand could create a big market for solar installers and equipment providers, particularly in the commercial and industrial sector. While building codes now include provisions for renewable energy integration, effective implementation will be key to ensuring compliance, reports Uma Gupta.
Rush hour
Urban transportation is key to modern civilization. It has enabled humans to travel long distances and is one of the building blocks of industry and leisure. But it has come at a cost. In the first quarter of 2022, pv magazine’s UP Initiative will focus on the rise of e-mobility. We will examine urban transportation and the role electric vehicles, trains, and two- and three-wheelers can play in greening the electricity grid. In addition to technological innovation, we will also investigate market projections, the policies and infrastructure required, and the role solar and storage will play in taking this nascent industry full throttle.
Israel’s expanded ambitions
Israel has everything to make its energy system move around solar – a solid economy, growing energy demand, high levels of solar radiation, and a highly innovative business landscape with thousands of high-tech startups.
An inclusive, rural European Green Deal through agrisolar
Combinations of sustainable agriculture with solar PV systems have immense potential in the EU, writes Miguel Herrero, policy adviser at SolarPower Europe, and the coordinator of the organization’s agrisolar workstream. According to SolarPower Europe’s most recent policy briefing, if agrisolar is deployed on just 1% of arable land, it could deliver more than 700 GW of technical capacity, amounting to more than 25% of the EU’s current electricity consumption. If the EU taps this potential, it could lead the world in this efficient global solar PV innovation.
An endless appetite for PV
With growing demand for healthy fruit and vegetables, both plastic and glass greenhouses are increasingly supplying Chinese tables. Rene Moerman, the founder of China-based Xilia, toured a number of sites where solar PV has been integrated into greenhouses.
Curtailing corrosion: making mounting structures last
Raw material quality is vital for solar power plants, particularly given higher expectations for their lifetimes, as 30+ years is becoming increasingly common for PV arrays. Steel is the main structural material used in such installations today, so the use of quality protective coatings in their construction has never been more important, writes Jérôme Guth, the solar segment leader for ArcelorMittal Europe.
The shipping news
Large-format PV modules are a key development in solar technology and advocates say their emergence has the potential to be one of the most significant innovations the industry has ever seen. But many people remain unconvinced that bigger is actually better.
Unplugged
An O&M provider to a project in northern Germany has been left scrambling to acquire replacement connectors after a series of failures. pv magazine investigates the case and finds that it all could come down to a simple click (or was it two?).
In Conversation: Don’t be afraid of BIPV
Necessity, as it’s said, is the mother of invention. For architect Samira Jama Aden, who plays a central role at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin’s BAIP consultancy for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), the need for solar to be part of our built environment is becoming unavoidable. And for Aden, her mission is personal.
Scaling up SPS
As technology redefines the delivery of network services, grid operators in remote areas the world over are searching for more cost-effective and reliable alternatives to traditional poles and wires. Standalone power systems are the solar application that is at the forefront of the switch, and they’re ramping up fast.
