Guest Blog

With PV cleaning robots posing significant advantages for solar O&M, Ben Figgis of the Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute of Hamad bin Khalifa University, explores recent developments of standards in the field.

Timo Moeller, president of International NovaSource Power Services and head of NovaSource in Europe, stresses the need for the industry to entrust experts at every step of the project lifecycle, or risk deterring investment.

The solar industry’s manufacturing footprint, and indeed the projects themselves, are becoming ever larger, with more panels and other associated equipment being packaged and shipped globally. Now, as Emilie Oxel O’Leary, CEO at Green Clean Solar explains, the industry is getting serious on its end of life obligations and establishing a true circular economy

Ryan D. Quint, senior manager at North American Electric Reliability Corporation take a look at the key considerations – and difficult balance – of managing grid connection from a transmission operators point of view.

Solar project sites with meaningful terrain variance are becoming the norm. Nextracker’s latest innovation in single-axis tracking mitigates the cost and schedule risk associated with deploying projects on challenging terrain.

Jan Vedde, senior project manager for European Energy, takes a look at the key technological trends in the solar PV market, from changes to silicon cell manufacturing to the benefits of bifaciality.

Last year analysis by renewables performance aggregator and insurance provider kWh Analytics highlighted the extent of solar asset underperformance against P50 estimates in the US. Here, the company’s Sarath Srinivasan details some of the reasons behind that underperformance.

Prior to 2019, there was an ample number of insurers willing to provide renewable energy insurance, leading to plentiful, affordable cover being available for solar power project finance transactions. However, with increased claims and risks, price rises and lower availability of cover is impacting the sector. Duncan Gordon, head of Renewable Energy at specialist energy insurance brokerage and risk management firm Gallagher, provides an overview of how solar power project owners can navigate a challenging insurance market.

Accurate generation modelling and forecasting is integral to not just the financial performance of operational solar farms, but how they are integrated into modern grids. A study from Monash University in Australia has proven how artificial intelligence approaches can help drastically improve performance forecasts. Dr. Christoph Bergmeir, who led that study, details its key learnings.