Editors' Blog

  • Kromatix technology can be applied to glass to create a variety of colours. Image: SwissINSO.

    SwissINSO adds colour to building-integrated solar

    By Julia Chan - 17 May 2013, 13:17

    In a 24 hour whirlwind trip to Switzerland, I visited the headquarters of technology start-up firm SwissINSO, where I was able to see first hand the development of a new technology that is set to bring more colour to the PV market, specifically the BIPV and solar thermal sector.

  • Residential solar finance landscape, according to GTM.

    Will 2016 be the end of the roof for third party lease models?

    By Felicity Carus - 14 May 2013, 11:07 | 2

    Third party leasing has become the dominant model for financing residential solar in the US. But as new sources of capital emerge and consumer confidence grows, Felicity Carus asks for how much longer this will remain the case.

  • The future of the module supply chain: gross margins improve, but perhaps only to high single digits

    New world order for solar emerges as mini-gold rush heads east

    By Felicity Carus - 07 May 2013, 12:34

    With the tectonic plates shifting in the global solar market, Felicity Carus tracks some of the trends that will emerge as the industry comes out of its period of consolidation.

  • Ray Kurzweil presents his cost curves on solar at Berkeley University earlier this month.

    Could Kurzweil be right about solar, the Google of energy?

    By Felicity Carus - 23 April 2013, 09:59

    Futurist and Google collaborator Ray Kurzweil has predicted a world entirely powered by solar. Having heard him speak earlier this month, Felicity Carus wonders whether he could be right.

  • California home with solar PV installed under the CSI.

    Community solar: can it replace the California Solar Initiative?

    By Felicity Carus - 16 April 2013, 09:46 | 3

    The California Solar Initiative has been a runaway success, driving over 1.5GW of installations, but its days are now numbered. In the search for ways to keep the momentum going, community solar is emerging as a hot contender says Felicity Carus.

  • Last week, BrightSource announced the cancellation of its 500MW Hidden Hills project. Image: BrightSource

    BrightSource’s Hidden Hills cancellation shows CSP under pressure

    By Felicity Carus - 09 April 2013, 15:55 | 1

    BrightSource’s cancellation of the 500MW Hidden Hills project announced last week demonstrates that the concentrating solar power (CSP) industry is under mounting pressure, if you pardon the steam generation pun.

  • The average contract price approved by the CPUC has increased since 2003.

    California regulators work the check-out at the solar market

    By Felicity Carus - 02 April 2013, 11:45

    A report on the costs of renewable energy contracts in California paint a positive picture for technologies such as solar. This and further evidence of a maturing market should be used by policymakers to justify a broader roll-out of renewables says Felicity Carus.

  • RPS map of the US.

    Fossil fuel industry’s attacks on RPS fading in the sun

    By Felicity Carus - 26 March 2013, 10:17

    America’s key policy for boosting renewable energy is coming under sustained attack from fossil fuel lobbyists. But with their economic importance in the ascendency, industries such as a solar are fighting back, says Felicity Carus.

  • Mergers and acquisitions market for shale assets.

    Solar player emerges as natural gas export’s unlikely champion

    By Felicity Carus - 19 March 2013, 11:15

    Falling shale gas prices in the US have prompted some to question how long the gas bonanza will last. When the bubble bursts, solar will be well placed to fill the void says Felicity Carus.

  • Energy Secretary nominee Ernest Moniz.

    Energy department nominee Moniz pro nuclear and natural gas but ‘bullish’ on solar

    By Felicity Carus - 12 March 2013, 09:49

    President Obama’s nominee for the next US Energy Secretary is a solar advocate but pragmatic on the need for medium-term solutions including gas and nuclear. Felicity Carus profiles Ernest Moniz.

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Publications

  • Photovoltaics International 19th Edition

    For manufacturers who had their heads in the bunker during 2012, fighting falling ASPs and eroding margins, the nineteenth edition brings you details of what lies in store for this coming year. Wright Williams & Kelly return in this issue with their popular analysis of payback on technology buys; crucially they analyze n-type wafers, Al2O3 passivation and copper metallization. SERIS shows us how to achieve 18.7% efficiencies using low-cost etching techniques on diffused wafers. We also have two important technology roundups: CIGS from Helmholtz Berlin, and PV module encapsulation techniques from Fraunhofer ISE.

  • Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2013 Production Annual

    In the ever-changing global solar markets, cost reduction and measures to increase cell efficiencies are the key tools available to PV manufacturers to create new opportunities and drive your business to the next level. Manufacturing the Solar Future 2013 is the third in the Photovoltaics International PV Production Annual series, delivering the next instalment of in-depth technical manufacturing information on PV production processes designed to help you gain the competitive edge.

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