From the nuclear question to Japan's softening stance on foreign solar imports, Andy Colthorpe rounds up the main themes that came out of PV Expo in Tokyo last week.
MacDermid’s HELIOS nickel, copper, and silver wet chemical plating baths, which are a key part of an integrated laser patterning, plating, and thermal anneal system, produces 30µm fingers and 4N pull strengths, while reducing costs by US$0.06/cell.
Earlier this month, the first grid-connected utility PV power plant in Rwanda and East Africa was officially opened. PV Tech spoke to Rwanda's high commissioner to the UK, Williams Nkurunziza, about what the project means for his country and for the region.
The PV Expo exhibition and conference takes place in Japan this week and will look both to the present task of executing projects from a 50GW-plus pipeline and to the longer term challenges faced by an industry entering the final years of its feed-in tariff (FiT).
Tigo Energy has announced certification of its TS4 platform - the world's first universal junction box (Jbox) solution. The TS4 platform enables module manufacturers and installers to standardize on a single Jbox design that can feature any number of Module Level Power Electronic (MLPE) capabilities such as ‘Rapid Shutdown Safety’ and monitoring within a standardized platform, reducing inventory and labour costs compared with traditional solar PV installations.
Building a PV power plant is one thing; making sure it pays is a whole different game. Laura E. Stern explains the benefits of combining physical and financial solar asset management in maximising a plant’s profitability.
The inclusion of the investment tax credit (ITC) in President Obama’s 2016 budget is of course good news but it is the beginning not the end of the debate.
Lightweight crystalline PV modules promise a potentially large new market for solar, as well as addressing a variety of problems such as transportation costs. But further work is needed to establish their performance and durability, says Fraunhofer's Cordula Schmid.
