With federal support for renewables having been depleted in recent years, utilities in the US have taken a leading role in the deployment of solar and energy storage. Jules Scully examines how integrated resource plans are driving solar deployment.
The rapid evolution of photovoltaic technology has continued, as modules with peak power outputs in excess of 550W are emerging fast. Driven by a thirst for more power and increasingly larger cells, developers and EPC now face tougher procurement decisions than ever before. But is the industry ready for such a jump? Liam Stoker investigates
Despite only being released last year, the G12 210mm large area-size wafer has quickly attracted supporters, with more than 120GW of cell manufacturing expansions announced and a solar ecosystem evolving around it. Carrie Xiao analyses the figures behind its rise.
PV Tech’s analysis of ‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JA Solar’s capacity expansion announcements in the first nine months of 2020 have revealed the company has already announced a total of over 104GW of combined plans, including ingot/wafer, solar cell and module assembly.
Ginlong Solis has introduced to the European market its latest utility-scale string inverter. The ‘Solis 255kW-EHV’ high voltage (1500V) inverter is designed to maximize PV power plant yields in the new era of high-performance large-area solar panels including bifacial panels, while significantly reducing plant LCOE (Levelized Cost of eElectricity) costs, compared to central inverters.
Supply deals from major state-owned power groups in China and growing demand for component replacements look set to send inverter demand to new highs, PV Tech analysis has shown.
Soltec has launched its next-generation ‘SF8’ single-axis tracker system to meet the needs of utility-scale PV power plants adopting the new wave of large-area solar panels.
The rapid transition in the upstream manufacturing solar sector to significantly larger p-type and n-type monocrystalline wafers, cells and modules may be hailed as a new era for the industry in higher module performance and a leap in reducing PV power plants LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) in a rapidly changing downstream market that becomes subsidy free, bidding orientated and targeting grid parity and beyond. But issues such as reliability lurk just below the surface.
RainWise has introduced the ‘PVmet 500’ weather station series for commercial and utility-scale PV power plants, which is said to be the world’s first compact and customizable multi-function professional grade weather station specifically designed for PV efficiency monitoring. The PVmet 500 provides a cost-effective solution, measurement accuracy, and IEC-61724-1 compliance and handles multiple communication protocols for fast field acceptance.
