Current affairs
The PV manufacturing industry’s switch to larger wafer formats is already having impacts all the way down the supply chain – some of which are still emerging today. For junction boxes that house bypass diodes and other components that keep the power flowing out of a module, handling the higher currents produced by these larger products has been a challenge requiring a quick response. Meanwhile, a notable number of failures and quality issues with junction boxes new and old suggest that the design and processing of this vital component could be in need of renewed attention.
Final thought – MENA solar comes into focus
Ahmed S. Nada, president, Middle East Solar Industry Association
State aid key for green hydrogen
With ambitious emissions reductions targets in place for 2030, the European Union is expected to allow for fairly generous national subsidies and state aid schemes to support emerging technologies such as renewable hydrogen.
China’s push for decarbonization
The carbon market is finally a reality in China. After 10 years of delays, regional pilot schemes and general uncertainty, China’s national carbon market became a reality on Feb. 1, 2021. Over time, the scheme is expected to support China’s gradual shift away from coal toward more solar and wind in power generation.
Supply chain challenges during Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought many challenges for people working in supply chain management, writes Torsten Nimtz, the regional director of renewables for Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. The two most significant of these challenges are rising prices and declining reliability.
New support for Europe’s green transition
The European Commission will propose a number of new laws this summer and fall that are set to boost investment in renewable electricity and green hydrogen, reports Andreas Walstad in Brussels.
UK ETS – will it deliver?
U.K. carbon prices have looked relatively strong since the market launched in May. There is now optimism that the U.K. emissions trading system (ETS) will drive investment in renewables and green hydrogen. However, linking with the EU ETS is seen as key for the market to flourish in the longer term.
Trends in sustainable debt
While sustainable debt issuance has historically been dominated by the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and mostly driven by green bonds from the energy and financial sectors, it has diversified in recent years and is now a global market with a huge range of issuers, thanks to the variety of instruments that have been created since 2007. As part of pv magazine’s UP Initiative quarterly theme on sustainable electricity and corporates’ critical solar role, Maia Godemer, BloombergNEF (BNEF) research associate, discusses this growth and its implications.
Final thought: Solar ethics, forced labor
Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
Final thought: Europe’s PV ‘moonshot’
In 1962, John F. Kennedy may have said: “We’re catching the sun! Why? Because it’s challenging!” While not his precise words, the sentiment stands. Kennedy created a vision of going to the moon in the early 1960s. He did not mention all the details about thrust and fuel, the rocket type or construction techniques. He focused on the idea of something bigger.
