Clenergy launched the PV-ezRack Trapezoidal module mounting system at Intersolar Europe, 2012. The new high-quality universal mounting system is designed for PV-systems on trapezoidal sheet roofs with thicknesses of 0.4mm and above.
Sika AG, a globally integrated company supplying specialty chemicals and application knowledge has launched a new PV potting agent ‘Sikasil’ AS-787 SL. The new two-component silicone potting agent is claimed to offer a fast curing time that enables shorter cycle times and a high automation index for junction box potting for crystalline and thin film photovoltaic technologies.
When final numbers are counted for capital equipment suppliers to the PV industry for 2012, the data will reveal a somewhat misleading picture. And one that was certainly not on the radar of any PV equipment supplier just 12 months ago.
Engineered Conductive Materials (ECM) has developed a new fast curing conductive adhesive CA-100 for stringing and bussing next-generation CIGS solar modules. This material formulation is optimized for improved conductivity and stability on molybdenum and other substrates used in thin-film manufacturing.
Company executives and analysts alike face a number of difficulties in answering this very important question. To reach the answer requires strong fundamentals in solar PV economics. This, however, is unfortunately not enough. The data necessary to answer the question are difficult to collect and even more difficult to structure and maintain. Further, the data are highly dynamic: US incentives change in structure, decrease or expire and electricity prices change in both magnitude and composition. All of these variables affect a market’s attractiveness, which itself can change substantially over time.
Feed-in-tariffs are a controversial subject in the US where the energy industry likes to pretend that free market economics applies to this sector. You might expect clean energy antagonists to baulk: "Let the government set the price for electricity — are you crazy? Let the market decide."
Siliken has developed the ‘energybox’ PV system that offers more than 100 structural solutions for the design of any type of residential and industrial rooftops. The kit is scalable and therefore allows the covering of any rooftop size by connecting several energyBoxes in tandem. Siliken also developed a 72-cell module, which yields the same power with 20% fewer modules, therefore saving components, cutting operating costs and installation time.
Sun Chemical is now offering a broad range of metallization solutions for both additive and subtractive processes as well as module materials for use in the crystalline silicon (c-Si), thin film, printed electronics and other emerging markets. Products being highlighted include a variety of silver tabbing and aluminum backside pastes such as ‘SunTronic’ Cellmet 437W Backside Aluminum paste and SunTronic Cellmet 451W Silver Tabbing Paste.
AEG Power Solutions has announced the expansion of its product portfolio with a new central inverter with 630kW capability. Protect PV.630 has an efficiency factor of 98.4%. With an appropriate transformer, it can also be adapted to the medium voltage grid (e.g. 10, 20, 33kV). The new inverter is said to be the company’s next step in offering high-end utility-class inverters.
By 2016, the federal 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and the California Solar Initiative (CSI), the nation’s largest ratepayer funded program, will have expired. A key question lingering until then will be: “Can the US PV industry be weaned off government subsidies and therefore become self-sustaining?”
