Bleskensgraaf, the Netherlands, 4 May 2019 – Sunport Power continues their collaboration with Eurotron by ordering full-size industrial production lines for their facility in Wuxi. Upon installation, the Chinese factories of Sunport Power in Nanjing, Pizhou and Wuxi will produce an annual 6.6 million solar panels yielding a combined power supply of 2 GW per… Read more »
Category: Solar
URBASOLAR and Swiss electrician AXPO create a European leader in photovoltaic
02 May, 2019. AXPO and URBASOLAR Group announce the signing of an acquisition contract of 100% of the latter’s securities by AXPO. This operation aims to consolidate and stimulate the growth of URBASOLAR which becomes the photovoltaic operator within the Group with the ambition to create a European leader, and secondly for AXPO group to… Read more »
No getting away for solar thieves
With innovative GPS/GSM-based security systems for solar panels and solar parks, viamon has made a name for itself globally for protecting solar parks around the world from theft. PES invited, engineer, founder and managing director Oliver Strecke, to give us his insight into the company’s technology and the expanding market. PES: Welcome back to PES… Read more »
Quality, service, reliability, integrity and innovation
Gordon Clements General Manager of VARTA Storage, dropped by to give PES his views on the energy storage market. A market, which he is sure will continue to grow. Systems have to evolve quickly and be adaptable to meet the consumers’ changing needs and there are many combinations on offer. PES: Hi Gordon, welcome back… Read more »
A plethora of batteries
PES met up with Stacey Delzeit, Sr Applications Engineer at Trojan, which as you know is a world-famous name in batteries. Despite making batteries for almost 100 years, R&D continues to produce new, exciting and innovative products, which provide great flexibility to the end user. There are still more markets to conquer and they relish… Read more »
Cost-effective business models powered by battery storage systems
The UK’s battery storage market has great potential, but the current political uncertainty in the country means that many projects are being put on the back burner. In which areas does it still make sense to invest in storage systems? PES wanted to find out more from Lawrie Wilson, Area Manager for the UK and… Read more »
A small component of paramount importance
Matthias Mack, Director Global Alternative Energies and member of the Management Board at Stäubli, came to talk to PES about electrical connectors. These small components play a crucial role in a long-term partnership between our company and the customer. This is built on reliability, thoughtful expertise, dynamism and exceptional quality, in both products and services…. Read more »
Everything that high-performance PV monitoring has to offer
With over 500 GW of installed capacity, photovoltaic power generation has long since become a global industry. Financial and economic interests depend on the reliable production of PV energy. The German PV expert, Solare Datensysteme, has specialized in monitoring PV power generation since 2007. Solar-Log™ data loggers and the Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ online portal offer… Read more »
Research and collaboration: the way forward
Martin Bellmann is a Senior Research Scientist at SINTEF. We were pleased to meet up with him at PES to discuss some of the research developments, driven by their customers. We were also keen to hear all about the Eco Solar EU project, which received massive EU investment, with excellent results. PES: Hi Martin, welcome… Read more »
Sputtering competence at a glance
Sputter deposition is a technology for the surface treatment of substrates. The technique is based on ion bombardment of a target, resulting in a vapor. One of the most common approaches for growing thin films by sputter deposition is the use of a magnetron source, in which positive ions present in the plasma. Well known… Read more »
Solar and renewable trends for 2019 and beyond
Peter Thiele, president of Sharp Energy Solutions in Europe, looks at the development of solar module technology and renewable energy in the year and decade ahead. 2018 was an exciting year for the solar and renewable energy market. An increase in the number of large scale photovoltaic cell and module factories, as well as an… Read more »
Measurement technology for best-in-class accuracy
Meyer Burger has been providing the most accurate cell and module measurement equipment worldwide for over 30 years. Solar cells and modules are sold based on performance categories. Therefore, precise performance measurement is critically important. Cell and module inspection systems detect possible quality insufficiencies and measure the performance. The PV market is driven by the… Read more »
Grid stability, transparency and planning security
The importance of reliable grid code compliance in times of increasing requirements Markus Holzapfel, Product Manager at meteocontrol GmbH spoke to PES about the reasons, the process and benefits for the industry of the certification of meteocontrol’s Power Plant Controller. PES: Welcome to PES Solar, it’s great to meet you. How did you end up… Read more »
Merger makes recycling process chain for photovoltaics more sustainable
LOSER CHEMIE GmbH, Chemische Werke Tangermünde GmbH and FRESITEC GmbH are merging and bundling their expertise in to the LFFICIENCY Holding. Why? So far, many related technologies of recovery of precious raw materials have been located in various holding companies. In order to be able to offer our customers even more consistent solutions from a… Read more »
Clean panels give optimum return
PES was interested to find out from Donald van Velsen, Product Manager at Kipp & Zonen, about the latest developments and feedback on their DustIQ. We also wanted to learn if the recent changes, following the merger with the Meteorology division of OTT HydroMet, would make any difference to their solutions. Read on to find… Read more »
Renewable, digital, decentralized: the future of energy supply
We are pleased to bring you our PES preview of Intersolar Europe 2019, the first major Solar/PV event of the year, which will take place in Munich from the 15th to 17th May. The global photovoltaic (PV) market continues to grow. According to analysts from IHS Markit, newly installed PV capacity is set to rise… Read more »
Mirror concept for silicon heterojunction solar cell smart manufacturing
Silicon heterojunction solar cells (SHJ) have gained more attention during this past decade as a good candidate for being the next generation of mainstream photovoltaics. This might be explained as a consequence of high solar cell power conversion efficiency at a moderate cost. The efficiency potential of SHJ solar cell is now demonstrated, with outstanding… Read more »
New metrics in highly accurate power measurements – from standard test conditions to energy rating
Standardization efforts by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for measuring PV devices have played a key role in the widespread application of this technology. With the maturing and diversification of the PV industry new standards, which define power measurements beyond standard test conditions (STC) are becoming more relevant. Such measurements, which are used for yield… Read more »
Colors of the sky: evolution of the spectral measurement technology and applications
‘Observe the evening red sky, which gives a reliable forecast of fair weather next day’. We’ve all heard this expression, which has a long history and valid phenomena for mid latitude regions. What is behind the ordinary bright and white sunlight, which is actually composed of a spectrum of colors that grade from violets and… Read more »
Flexibility, simplicity and modularity
PES caught up with Laura Sartore, CEO at Ecoprogetti, to get the latest from this innovative European provider of Turnkey lines for Photovoltaic Panels production, who has been in our business for over 20 years. Cost reduction and reduced downtimes are always in the forefront of R&D work, as well as European and safety regulations…. Read more »
The new challenges of the ultralight bifacial modules
New developments of transparent plastic materials in frontsheets and backsheets as valid alternatives to glass. The strong development of new types of cells and modules, like bifacial ones, has on the one hand been accompanied by glass-glass solutions and on the other has encouraged many manufacturers of plastic films to develop new products that are… Read more »
Bridging the energy gap with hybrid solutions
In the past decade, significant progress has been made to move the world towards a cleaner era in electricity production. Investment in renewables and advancing technology has resulted in a decrease in the overall cost of generating renewable power. In solar photovoltaic power, this decrease has been particularly marked. The cost of generation has plummeted… Read more »
Technological innovation and increasing investments drive the solar tracker market
Global energy consumption is steadily increasing, with an average increase in energy demand twice the year before. The demand was primarily met by fossil fuels, followed by renewable energy sources. In the year 2018, renewables accounted for more than 25% of global electricity supply capacity and this share is expected to increase significantly in the… Read more »
How to prevent PID financial losses
PID is being talked about more and more in our industry. Tsachy Hacohen Meler, V.P. Sales & Marketing, Vigdu Technologies LTD, invited PES to come and discover the latest way to avoid financial losses and improve efficiency. It seems there’s a new approach to PID, more so as the 1500V is now in play. PES:… Read more »
Navigant Research Report Shows the Global Zero Net Energy Housing Stock is Expected to Experience a 28% Compound Annual Growth Rate During the Next Decade
Europe is expected to lead regionally with ambitious regulations around near-zero net energy buildings May 1, 2019 – Boulder, CO – A new report from Navigant Research analyzes the global market for zero net energy (ZNE) homes, focusing on markets for new construction and renovations, multifamily and single-family housing types, and revenue associated with ZNE-enabling… Read more »
LONGi Capacity Planning: By end 2021, Mono wafer: 65GW, mono module: 30GW
On April 30, 2019, LONGi released its 2018 annual report and first quarterly results. The report shows LONGi’s operation revenue in 2018 was ¥21.988 billion, an increase of 34.38% over the previous year and net profit attributed to shareholders of listed companies was ¥2.558 billion. As of the first quarter 2019, the company’s total assets… Read more »
Meyer Burger concludes divestment of wafer business to Precision Surfacing Solutions
Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) today announced that it has concluded the divestment of its photovoltaic and specialised materials (e.g. semiconductor and sapphire glass industries) wafering equipment and service business to Precision Surfacing Solutions (PSS). The sale was agreed and announced on February 7, 2019. The purchase price is CHF 50 million… Read more »
Q CELLS modules power 2.5 MW rooftop project at 21 supermarket sites in Italy
Project F is a series of solar rooftop installations on 21 supermarkets, located across northern Italy, installed and operated by the Italian developer Manni Energy Srl and utilizing nearly 9,000 Q.PLUS-G4.3 solar modules from Q CELLS. [Berlin, Germany, April 30, 2019] Hanwha Q CELLS GmbH (“Q CELLS” or “The Company”), the German subsidiary of one… Read more »
Meyer Burger receives further order from a Chinese manufacturer for its MAiA® platform
Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) today announced that it has received an order from a Chinese PV manufacturer for its MAiA® platform with an order volume of CHF 10 million. Key factors for the customer’s decision were not only the lowest cost of ownership in the PV industry but also Meyer Burger’s… Read more »
ECOPROGETTI, The Italian Specialist in Photovoltaic Production Process, launches the new High-Speed Automatic Bussing Machine
Since 2010 Ecoprogetti developed and supplied its Automatic bussing machine for Fully automatic lines, today after continuous improvements and innovations, Ecoprogetti is pleased to launch the NEW GENERATION of High-Speed Automatic Bussing, for fully automatic soldering of the interconnections between the strings of solar cells. This machine is designed with a high-performance induction soldering system… Read more »
Q CELLS launches latest half-cell solar module Q.PEAK DUO-G6
The new iteration of the award-winning Q.PEAK DUO module range is manufactured with larger wafers for about 6% power output increase, and is available now in Europe and Korea. [Thalheim, Germany, April 29, 2019] Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd. (“Q CELLS” or “The Company”), one of the largest solar cell and module manufacturers in the… Read more »
teamtechnik successfully establishes ECA gluing process for HJT cells on the market
The ECA process developed by teamtechnik for joining high-efficiency bifacial HJT (heterojunction) cells has proven successful in series production. Many leading module manufacturers whose production involves this technology are already opting for the Stringer TT1600ECA for their HJT solar modules. ECA is an abbreviation for electrically conductive adhesive. In this technology, a conductive adhesive is… Read more »
New research enables further savings with the Alfa Laval DuroShell heat exchanger for LNG
With the DuroShell plate-and-shell heat exchanger, Alfa Laval continues to lead the way in technology for fuel gas systems. Optimized for use as an LNG vaporizer, the robust DuroShell provides higher thermal efficiency than conventional plate-and-shell designs, as well as market-leading fatigue resistance. Thanks to new research into glycol freezing, it can now be used… Read more »
From Tech-Day to Oktoberfest – Established workshop of the international off-grid industry takes place for the first time in Augsburg in September
Augsburg, 26 April 2019. Under the motto “Get rid of the grid!”, Messe Augsburg organizes for the first time the OFF-GRID Experts Workshop, the leading event for self-sufficient power supply with solar, wind and hydropower plants, with Phaesun GmbH as its specialist partner. The specialist event for installers, dealers, planners, users and organisations from all… Read more »
Meyer Burger completes transformation of Executive Board: Michael Escher to step down as Chief Commercial Officer
As part of the transformation programme announced on October 16, 2018, Meyer Burger Technology Ltd (SIX Swiss Exchange: MBTN) planned to adapt the Executive Board to reflect the future structure and size of the company. Today Meyer Burger is completing the transformation of the Executive Board with the announcement that Michael Escher will step down… Read more »
AUGUSTA ADVISES ON 300MW OF FRENCH SOLAR DEALS
Specialist financial advisor oversees three deals since December 2018, all involving utility-scale solar projects in France. London, 25 April 2019 – Augusta & Co. (Augusta), a specialist financial adviser to the renewable energy industry, has overseen the sale of a 51.7MW solar portfolio to Tenergie. This marks Augusta’s third solar-based deal in France since December 2018,… Read more »