With offshore wind energy now open for business and milestones continually being reached, the sector is getting set for North America’s premier offshore wind event of the year – the AWEA Offshore WINDPOWER 2013 Conference & Exhibition. Given all that’s happened this year in the U.S. offshore arena – and what’s to come in the… Read more »
Research and guidance on restoration and decommissioning of onshore wind turbines. In 2010, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) published guidance on good practice during wind farm construction – a report that was embraced by operators the world over. Today, the organisation has crafted a report that covers the other end of a wind farm’s life cycle… Read more »
As cuts to FiTs threaten expansion across Europe, we take a look further afield at The Middle East & North Africa region – a potential sleeping giant in the PV market. MENA has amongst the world’s best conditions for solar power: abundant sunshine, low precipitation, plenty of unused flat land close to road networks and… Read more »
A man who’s very much at the heart of the global PV revolution, Lee Gordon is Morningstar’s inspirational President and CEO. And while the company is already world-leading supplier of photovoltaic controllers and inverters he has his mind set on not just being the biggest – but on being the best… PES: Welcome back to… Read more »
Multi-Contact explains why allegedly ‘compatible’ PV cables are so dangerous. This time, the warehouse burnt down completely. The solar system on the roof of the warehouse had caught fire again. It was the third fire on the 450-square-metre photovoltaic system within the time of just a few weeks. Although the fire service had quickly managed… Read more »
In an industry that is currently driven by efficiency and optimum performance, spectroscopy has perhaps never been such a critical factor in the evolution of PV technology. We take a closer look… With their modest cost, compact size and great flexibility, miniature fibre optic spectrometers are attractive options for the evaluation of materials and equipment… Read more »
Regular contributor to PES, Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum remains one of the most consistent operators in a constantly evolving industry. In this issue, we speak to Dr. Marlis Sydow, Head of Market Segment SOLAR/SEMI/COATING and Head of Market Research Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum. PES: Welcome back to the magazine. When we last spoke, you were focussed on… Read more »
In 2012, a consortium of 21 partners from 16 EU countries started the PV GRID project with the objective to prepare the grounds for the large-scale integration of photovoltaic systems in distribution grids across Europe and bring forward concrete suggestions on how this can be achieved. In this follow-up feature, we discover what progress has… Read more »
Industry leaders SEMI have come together to produce a roadmap that will push our technology forward, and provide a more efficient future for the sector. PES takes a look between the lines in an exclusive extract… The photovoltaic industry has to provide power generation products that are competitive with conventional and other renewable sources of… Read more »
If the industry has learned anything in the past 12 months, it’s that the world is changing; new markets are springing up in untapped territories while hitherto buoyant regions are becoming decimated by Feed-in Tariff reductions and fierce competition. The IEA has just taken the temperature of the global situation, and we’re delighted to be… Read more »
We’re delighted to welcome back Leo Scheiwiller, Corporate Market Field Manager Solar Energy for Sika AG to the magazine. An industry expert and regular face at solar shows worldwide, here he talks about the company and explains how it is pioneering a new route to cost savings and optimisation. PES: Welcome back to the magazine…. Read more »
A company that is focussed on increasing market diversification while strengthening its position as a leading solar monitoring system provider, Solare Datensysteme GmbH (SDS) is not without ambition. We asked Guy Thouin from SDS’s Sales & Marketing operation to talk us through its eventful past, enviable present and exciting future. PES: Welcome to PES magazine…. Read more »
It’s hard to imagine, but there are 600 million Africans living without connection to the electricity grid. However, a new social enterprise is taking an approach to this fundamental problem that could bring light to the darkest corners rural Africa. PES investigates… As highlighted by President Obama at the launch of his Power Africa Initiative,… Read more »
A German equipment manufacturer of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating systems, Solayer GmbH is currently one of the industry’s hottest organisations, with a focus on innovation and customer service. In this technical dispatch, we take a look at what makes their solutions tick. Solayer’s strengths lie in the development of novel functional optical layers for… Read more »
A company with over five decades of experience in various sectors, Spitzenberger & Spies GmbH is a firm believer in the mantra: “If there is a better way, we will find it”. The company has underlined this with its range of PV applications – as we discover in this technical feature. Testing possibilitiesOne of the… Read more »
The topic of self-consumption is one of the most discussed in the photovoltaic industry. And while self-consumption is not limited to the immediate use of electricity generated during the day, it is also applied to extend the availability of electricity during the night-time with the aid of battery storage systems. Indeed, they can help elevate… Read more »
As Director of Customer Projects for Schmid Silicon Technology (SST) GmbH, Bodo Vetter enjoys a privileged overview of our evolving industry. A longstanding contributor to PES, SST is at the forefront of the PV solar value chain and as such, is uniquely-placed to report on the ebbs and flows of the European marketplace. PES: Welcome… Read more »
Aesthetic limitations for PV have been a considerable barrier in implementing projects, but with few options, compromises have had to be made. Now, advances in technology are making PV glass a viable, and attractive alternative. PES speaks to SwissINSO’s Rafic Hanbali…. PES: Welcome to the magazine. Would you first like to introduce your company and… Read more »
In an exclusive dispatch for PES, Upsolar’s Enrico Carniato shares why ‘staying lean,’ ‘being green,’ and ‘venturing downstream’ represent the cornerstones of sustainable growth in the PV industry. In the not-so-distant past, solar PV was a nascent market with few technology providers and customers who primarily turned to renewables for the environmental good. Today, PV… Read more »
A regular on the global exhibition circuit, the family-owned company VON ARDENNE has just returned from Intersolar, where delegates were able to get a closer look at its range of advanced vacuum coating equipment for the photovoltaic and solar thermal industry. We caught up with the firm and found out for ourselves what makes it… Read more »
Considering expanding your operation into the bustling ‘new’ U.S. market? You’d be in good company and the rewards are surely there for the taking. However many international firms come up short, as Haresh Patel of Mercatus explains. Here, he outlines how to succeed where others have failed. At the recent Intersolar in San Francisco, the… Read more »
The European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) is upon us once again and the 2013 show promises an even wider audience, with early registration figures confirming an accelerated trend towards further globalisation. We take a look at the stats and offer an insight into the conference itself. Advance figures of EU PVSEC… Read more »
Solar Power International (SPI), one of the solar energy industry’s most powerful and comprehensive educational conference and product exhibitions, will be held this October in Chicago, Illinois. We take a closer look. More than 15,000 exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees from the solar energy world (and related fields) will come together for four days of action-packed… Read more »
The impressive success so far of the German Energiewende (energy turnaround) is vital to the wider PV industry in that the country is cloudy, high-latitude, heavily industrialised and highly competitive. Nevertheless, there are doubters who are quick to point out when it falters – a short-sighted move, given the undisputable facts… While the examples of… Read more »
Concentrated Solar Power is a technology that’s in a global ascendancy right now, and it seems that small components can be key in helping it achieve the Holy Grail of Grid Parity. It’s all about getting the balance right… The last few years have been rocky for the solar energy industry. The on-going effects of… Read more »
PLATINUM GmbH, headquartered in Wangen im Allgäu, Germany, is a leading provider of premium photovoltaic solutions. The company’s portfolio ranges from inverters to energy management solutions, with quality and efficiency at the forefront of their operation. PES takes a look… The quality, performance and reliability of all PLATINUM products are based on comprehensive expertise and… Read more »
PV is a pioneering industry in so many regards, and we at PES are proud to feature companies that have made such a big difference to technological innovation – and the wider planet. Today we welcome ECM Greentech, courtesy of company spokesman, Benjamin Deneux. PES: Welcome to PES. Would you like to begin by introducing… Read more »
Dr. Alexander Los, Director of EKO INSTRUMENTS Europe B.V. talks us through the complex (yet ever-more understood) world of forecasting – crucial for an effective PV undertaking. Forecasting wind and solar radiation is probably one of the most complex topics in the renewable energy generation process. The variable and intermittent character of renewable energy sources… Read more »
We go back time and again to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association publications for one very simple reason: they’re the most reliable, and the most incisive, industry barometers available. And this newly-released report is no different, collating as it does all the essential data from our global sector. We’re poud to present an exclusive extract…. Read more »
Quality assurance is of fundamental importance for solar panels. The failure-free operation of the panels is a prerequisite for efficient power generation, long life, and a high return on the investment. To ensure this failure free operation a fast, simple and reliable method to evaluate a solar panel’s performance is required, both during the production… Read more »
Advances are being made in the field of concentrating optical units – and silicones are leading the charge. Inexpensive optics can cut down on precious solar-cell surface area – this is the basic idea behind photovoltaic concentrators. Many manufacturers use concentrating optics composed of Fresnel lenses to achieve this aim. The lens system is increasingly… Read more »
While some European countries have effectively snubbed growing PV markets by slashing FiTs, several fresh untapped markets are emerging in different parts of the planet. We identify the world’s new solar hotspots… In 2011, Europe accounted for more than 70 per cent of the world’s new PV installations; in 2012 this number was around 55… Read more »
It is no secret that manufacturing success in Europe lies not in attempting mass production on the scale seen in Asia, but in creating the technical and process solutions that are needed to serve this mass production. These are the dedicated and highly-technical companies making new and clever equipment needed by vital and growing global… Read more »
One of the industry’s leading module recycling companies, Loser Chemie GmbH develops and distributes future-oriented and environment-friendly products, plants and processes. It’s currently focussing on getting the very most out of PV recycling, but as Dr. Wolfram Palitzsch (CTO) and Ulrich Loser (CEO) observe, there are a few obstacles that need to be negotiated along… Read more »
We take a look at this ambitious Scottish design, which posed an immense challenge for its project planners due to its steep inclination of almost 45 degrees…Tom King has come full circle. The managing director of Sustainable Renewable Technologies (SRT) began his career as a land surveyor in the coal mining industry in exactly the… Read more »
A well-established company that enjoys an excellent reputation as an optical metrology solution provider in Europe, omt has been servicing the PV sector since the mid-2000s. Since then, the company has gone on to introduce its industrial Raman microscope and, just last year, the 3-in-1 microscope. PES: Welcome back to the magazine. When we last… Read more »