Milan Topalov

Amid an increasingly unpredictable environment and a rise in extreme weather events, the solar industry must properly use its available data to protect assets and reduce risks, writes Gareth Brown, CEO of digital asset performance technology provider Clir Renewables.

While bifacial modules promise advantages in power production, they can create complex performance monitoring challenges. That will need to be resolved if project production uncertainties are expected to remain at levels and expectations currently set with the deployment of mono-facial modules, write Ajay Singh and Derek Jones of Campbell Scientific Inc.

The Silicon Industry Association has reported that silicon wafer prices have continued to fall due to an oversupply of silicon.

Simone Mandica of asset manager WiseEnergy details how solar installations can be repowered to extend their service life and maintain high standards of technology.

While solar has been the backbone of Japan’s renewable energy push, deployment has been stalling in recent years. Chris Wilkinson of Rystad Energy details the benefits of the country’s feed-in premium scheme, the potential for corporate PPAs and the importance of battery storage.

A combination of supply chain disruptions and extreme weather events that damage operational assets can lead to extended solar project downtimes. Rosa van Reyk, a senior underwriter at GCube Insurance, explores how the industry can ease supply chain pressure by rethinking cost efficiency and increased collaboration between developers and insurers.

Innovative power purchase agreement structures enable solar asset owners to boost returns and leverage their positions while providing offtakers with the opportunity to protect against increasing electricity prices and enhance their decarbonisation efforts.

Chinese solar PV manufacturer TCL Zhonghuan has planned to issue nearly RMB13.8 billion (US$2 billion) convertible bonds for its 35GW annual capacity ultra-thin high-purity mono silicon wafer and 25GW n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) 4.0 highly-efficient solar cell plants.

Allegations of fraud at Indian conglomerate Adani Group, which have knocked around US$125 billion off its market value since January, are unlikely to cause any perceptible damage to India’s long-term solar growth, according to two prominent members of the industry.

New PV instalments for the first two months of 2023 in China reached 20.37GW, up 87.6% from the same period last year when it reached 10.86GW between January and February 2022, according to China's National Energy Administration's latest data.