Growing 43% year over year in 2016, the US solar industry is taking off at a pace no one could have foreseen. Naysayers may cite the industry’s slow start, hampered by high upfront costs and initial niche appeal as reasons why solar still will not experience a consumer boom. But panellists at the opening session of the 13th annual Solar Power International convention made it clear just how solar energy could exceed expectations and is poised for not only growth, but mainstream acceptance.
Over the past 12 months, the US solar business has been on a rollercoaster ride, with the high-profile bankruptcy of SunEdison and the merger of SolarCity and Tesla stealing the headlines. Danielle Ola talks to the experts about some of the key trends shaping the world of solar finance
and investment in the US.
The hardest and most ‘controversial’ aspect of analyzing capacity expansion announcements is converting them to actual or ‘effective’ new nameplate capacity.
SolarWorld has launched a new era of modules for free-field and flat roof systems. The new ‘Sunmodule Bisun’ is a solar module active on both sides (bifacial) that converts light from all directions into electrical energy. This ensures up to 25 % more yield per installed kWp, depending on the surface on which it is installed. The modules are expected to be provided in 270Wp through 331Wp configurations. SolarWorld has also developed a new racking system for flat roofs that is optimized for the bifacial technology.
JRT Photovoltaics, a subsidiary of the Jonas & Redmann Group has optimized the testing and sorting of solar cells, claiming to significantly reducing the total cost of ownership (COO) with its ‘CTS 3600’ single-track cell tester & sorter
Heraeus Photovoltaics has launched a new PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) metallization paste. The SOL9631 front-side paste has a new and unique glass chemistry combined with a new organic vehicle system. Due to a denser microstructure it is tailored for ultra-fine line printability for screen printing.
Sungrow Power Supply Co officially released the world’s first 1500V string inverter. The SG80HV has a power output of 80KW rated at 1500VDC. With a 2.5MW PV power block design and the ability to lift the maximum efficiency to 99%.
SunLink Corporation has expanded its portfolio of photovoltaic project solutions with the launch of the ‘TechTrack Distributed’ single axis tracker. TechTrack Distributed introduces ‘dynamic design,’ providing site flexibility and reductions in total project costs. TechTrack Distributed is the second single-axis tracker in the company’s TechTrack product line, joining the internationally deployed TechTrack Centralized. The new system is being showcased at Solar Power International 2016.
PV thin-film equipment and module producer Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (Hanergy TF) has claimed to have bounced back from a non-cash loss of around US$1.58 billion in 2015 to a first half 2016 net profit of around US$105.8 million.
US-based Burnham Nationwide has developed the BurnhamEYE, a mobile application that provides a consistent and secure way of documenting, reporting, and archiving data in order to verify the quality and code compliance of solar installations.
