The power sector is undergoing a global transformation. Over the past decade, the costs of renewables have dropped substantially, solar power by as much as 80 percent. With the comprehensive knowledge and broad experience, Stäubli makes an important contribution to the PV industry and the vision of a more sustainable future. Renewable energy generation keeps… Read more »
Category: Solar
Smart batteries
PES had a great exchange with Tynan Coles, CEO at Soltaro. Did you know there are now smart batteries? It seems that we are in a period where software can be added to anything to improve performance. We heard today about the built in possibilities, which allow the user to control the output of the… Read more »
Carbon reduction and energy cost stability for large UK manufacturing site
After establishing a solid position within residential solar markets across Europe, the commercial and utility scale sector has begun to strike up quite a liking for Solis. With a robust financial position, a focus on quality and customer service, the brand is fast becoming the inverter of choice for many large-scale solar developers. Building relationships… Read more »
Preventive maintenance on solar power plants
There are 4 common types of maintenance: corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance, risk-based maintenance and condition-based maintenance. The solar panel cleaning robot from SolarCleano is one of the key elements of predictive maintenance for solar power plants. What is preventive maintenance? Preventive Maintenance, also referred to as PM, is a proactive maintenance strategy that involves regular… Read more »
Creating added value through professional PV system monitoring for O&M
When service providers assume responsibility for the investments of others, they’re certainly aware that they’re taking on a great deal of responsibility for the success. That’s why they carefully select the components and systems in order to not only achieve the desired result for the investors, but also create a cost-covering corporate structure in the… Read more »
New solar cell technology bridges the gap between cost and climate change goals
Cutting-edge technology is combining with unmet demand in a now stagnant solar PV market to progress clean energy transitions. A new disruptive bifacial p-PERT PV cell technology, with over 90% bi-facility and higher stability, providing n-type Si performance in p-type silicon is coming to Europe and the U.S. Analysts predict that solar and wind energy… Read more »
Actionable ways to use emerging technology in field service
There are a variety of field service applications across industries involved with power and energy solutions. The constant desire for efficiency motivates industry leaders to evaluate which technological advancements provide opportunities to optimize. Be it enterprise-level, commercial or utility-scale, field service plays a vital role for maintenance and repair. The availability of technology enriches performance… Read more »
Top notch quality control
Friedrich P Witek, Senior Manager at SENTECH, took time out to bring PES up-to-date with the progress of this innovative company. Their quality control (QC) solutions are second to none, rolled out world-wide and their market presence is rapidly expanding. They have come on leaps and bounds since our last interview in 2016. Read on… Read more »
Checking coating systems for leak tightness
After installing a new system, or maintaining an existing one, leaks occur frequently. This is often due to joining errors, or forgotten defective seals. Correct handling of helium leak detectors is crucial for finding these leaks and controlling equipment for tightness. The more is known about the physical phenomena underlying the leak test as well… Read more »
High ambition with low carbon footprints
PES is thrilled to introduce both Norwegian Crystals AS, a new contributor to the solar value chain and Gøran Bye, a familiar name and the company’s CEO. With over 20 years of executive management and leadership experience within the PV industry in Europe, Asia, the US and the Middle East, he has now moved back… Read more »
Visions full of energy
The battery technology revolution starts now Every day the sun sends around 10,000 times more energy to earth than the world consumes in the same period of time. Only a fraction of it has been used so far. The decisive factor for a climate-friendly world of tomorrow is to use much more of this energy… Read more »
Securing solar parks against theft and vandalism using video surveillance
Given finite resources and an increasing demand for energy, renewable energies rank as one of the most important sources of electricity for the future. An expansion in their use is of key importance in many countries, to guarantee their energy supply and make it more climate-friendly. The topic of energy transition has made it onto… Read more »
Secure your site with temporary camera surveillance
Kooi Security was founded in 2010 by CEO Pieter Kooi. From their headquarters in Drachten, the Netherlands, the company was one of the first to offer solutions using temporary mobile camera surveillance. In the beginning the focus was mainly on the wind industry, but this soon expanded into many other sectors. Today Kooi is active… Read more »
Working with the power of the sun
Efficient energy solutions with photovoltaics, storage and energy management. A system that pays off for companies worldwide. There is no need to convince anyone that the construction of a solar power plant is an investment in the future, allowing us to become independent from energy grids, and with the perspective of large savings. In fact,… Read more »
Difficulty in finding labor
‘It’s hard to find good help these days.’ How many times have you heard that phrase? More times than there are entries on your CV? Skilled tradesmen have grown harder and harder to find, with 52% of contractors saying they are struggling to fill hourly craft positions, according to a September 2020 Associated General Contractors… Read more »
Challenges to measure IV and EL characteristics of solar modules in laboratories and production
The global photovoltaic industry is going through a rapid transformation that affects all parts of the value chain. Producers face an ever-increasing demand for modules and have to scale their operations at a very high pace. The manufacturers’ competition around offering the lowest levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) created a trend for larger modules, bifacial… Read more »
Argon recycle delivers improved cost-base, reduced CO2 footprint and increased sustainability
High purity argon, better than 99.9998%, is used as a shield gas in the production of silicon ingots, to be fabricated into wafers, for solar cells and micro-electronic devices. The argon is used to control the gaseous impurity levels present during the manufacturing process to an acceptable level. In response to the trend in the… Read more »
Tracker company embraces large-format modules with their new single-axis tracker
FTC Solar has been preparing for over a year for the arrival of their next generation solar modules. These preparations are now paying off with the release of the new Voyager+ solar tracker, a robustly engineered, single-axis, two-in-portrait configuration that optimizes energy yields and takes full advantage of the larger, more powerful modules. One array… Read more »
Repowering the planet by reducing solar power production costs
GameChange Solar is an American solar tracker and fixed tilt manufacturer based in New York, with the main mission of ‘repowering the planet by reducing solar power production costs’. It has grown exponentially from the beginning and in only 6 years, it has managed to reach almost 10GW sales, placing the company among Top 3… Read more »
How to stop shading impacting solar performance
Over the past 10 years, solar PV has become one of the most popular sources of renewable energy generation across many global markets. Figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed an 18-fold increase in the amount of installed solar PV capacity between 2010 and 2020, and IEA executive director Fatih Birol recently stated that… Read more »
Ease and efficiency for the installer and the customer
Eturnity’s CEO Matthias Wiget, was optimistic about the future when he spoke to PES recently. This company provides two very specialized digital tools to both installers / utilities and property owners. These automated solutions save time and address the customers’ needs, whilst simultaneously providing a fast and cost effective service to both the client and… Read more »
Calibrate, document, design and simulate.
The newly developed app from ETU Software enables quick and precise measurements of the building, by taking digital measurements based on a photo and target-oriented inputs to simulate the photovoltaic system. This allows the user to document and provide initial estimates while still on site. SimpleMeasure saves time in the bidding phase and enables the… Read more »
Innovate, achieve, advance
How EKO Instruments plan to support the next generation of scientists, students and engineers; young people, working to imagine, invent and create solutions to seemingly impossible challenges. While ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) can still feel like a relatively new concept, popularised in the 1990s and 2000s, spurred on more recently by the growth of social… Read more »
Collaboration with sustainability at its core
PES had a great interview with Steve Davies, PV Market Manager at DuPont Teijin Films and Alessandro Anderlini, Business Manager responsible for the EMEA markets in Coveme’s PV Solar and Specialty Films Divisions. This is a good example of suppliers and manufacturers collaborating to provide the best product for their clients. Sustainability is of paramount… Read more »
How much sun will you harvest today?
PES was delighted to catch up with Birk Kraas, Commercial Head of Meteorological Services at CSP Services. He leads a team with experience in highly specialized and customized measurement equipment. Between them, they have built up a large bank of knowledge and know-how over many years. Being able to carry out work remotely, as well… Read more »
Overcoming module degradation
CEO & Founder, Simon Meijer, gave PES a thought-provoking introduction to COOLBACK. Their aim is to keep modules cooler, adding strength with less materials, whilst keeping an eye on their carbon footprint. What could be better than an R&D oriented company to lead the way in curbing module degradation? PES: Thank you for taking some… Read more »
Smart Energy Week 2021
Solar Power Events is pleased to return to in-person gatherings with Solar Power International (SPI), Energy Storage International (ESI), and Smart Energy Week 2021 this September 20th through 23rd. The event will be held at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Powered by North America’s leading clean energy… Read more »
On top of the world
From one extreme to another Derek Jones, Renewable Energy Group Manager at Campbell Scientific, speaks to PES about their measurement systems. They use the latest, best technology, to provide the most accurate data to the solar industry. They have a full range of solutions which can be tailor made for clients and cover an extreme… Read more »
Inspired by Mars
Atonometrics was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2007, with the mission to provide high-quality test and measurement equipment to the small but growing photovoltaics industry. The company founders came from a long background in test and measurement equipment for the semiconductor industry. The experience of the management team included over 30 years of R&D, product… Read more »
Innovation, quality, strategy and vision
Headquartered in the suburbs of Shanghai, APsystems was originally founded in the Silicon Valley over 11 years ago by Dr Zhi Min Ling, current Chairman & CEO and Dr Yuhao Luo, CTO of the company. Today PES Solar reports back from an interview with Olivier Jacques, President, Global Executive VP of APsystems, who draws a… Read more »
More than 65% of households are now supplied by green energy companies
According to the latest research from Cornwall Insight, households with ‘green’ suppliers – those only offering electricity tariffs backed by Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGOs) certificates – rocketed from less than 20% in 2017 to 65% 2021. This percentage would be even higher if green tariffs from suppliers that also offer standard non-green also… Read more »
The change is blue
Sulzer Chemtech and Blue Planet announce partnership to help address climate change Sulzer Chemtech is enabling the further development and optimization of Blue Planet’s innovative carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) solutions. The groundbreaking process will leverage Sulzer Chemtech’s advanced carbon reduction technologies for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in industrial applications while producing highly sustainable… Read more »
Aksiom and Ara Partners acquire UK renewable energy company Anesco
Aksiom Services Group, a partnership between Ara Partners and the Aksiom Group, has acquired Anesco Holdings, the parent company of the Anesco Group, for an undisclosed sum. Anesco joins the group’s growing portfolio of companies who are developing and building low carbon infrastructure and helping accelerate global decarbonisation. As a UK market leader in renewable… Read more »
LASER, PLASMA, OXYFUEL – Precision in XXL format
To process exceptionally large or thick plates precisely – that is a job for specialists such as Otto Klostermann GmbH. They have both many years’ experience and a comprehensive Knowhow in processing large plates as well as an appropriate range of machines in XXL format. When it comes to thermal cutting – no matter whether… Read more »
Smart technology
Huawei Smart PV solutions take solar technology to the next level. For example, simple monitoring of PV systems makes it possible to monitor operations and identify potential for optimization. Smart technology from Huawei is also able to increase efficiency – ensuring maximum return on investment. Huawei is an international leader in advanced and efficient solar… Read more »
ZX Lidars has provided wind data in support of over £150bn of green energy investment displacing 245 million tonnes of CO2 emissions globally
Lidars highlighted as key enabler in energy transition following review of market statistics provided by BVG Associates and Natural Power The measurement of wind characteristics at a potential wind farm development site with Lidar is today’s modern approach to renewable energy development. A digital approach to a very simple need – how windy will it… Read more »