Venture capital investors love to use baseball as a metaphor for their wins and losses. The technique to score a home run puts the hitter at risk of being caught out or missing the ball: swinging for the fences is an all-or-nothing strategy.
In 1854, Matthew C. Perry - the Commander of the US Navy - compelled Japan to openup to its economy to foreign trade, after more than 200 years of a self-imposed isolation policy enforced by the ruling Tokugawa Shogun. The Commander arrived in Japan with four black-coloured US Navy warships, billowing black smoke. Later the term ‘Black Ships’ would be coined in Japan to symbolize any threat imposed by Western technology.
Net metering is becoming an increasingly divisive issue in the US, with a dividing line as distinct as night and day. Solar companies and their customers count their sunshine dollars earned or saved – utilities count their revenue losses.
The PV industry has historically trusted global PV installation figures released by PV inverter market leader, SMA Solar Technologies due to the fact it had a direct route to a major part of the sector. This was often supported by market research figures or at least an alternative measure to compare different figures produced due to the difficult task in accurately reporting annual global installation levels. Not surprisingly, when SMA claimed its own market share figure for inverter sales the figure was rarely questioned.
Enlightening opinions from US energy commissioners on what they really think about renewables and the electricity industry's incumbents can only be said out loud once they've left their post: a reversal of poacher turned gamekeeper.
As California's "dumb" grid gets smart over the next decade, a clever convergence between technology and PV systems is also required. Otherwise, attempts to harmonize the state's 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard are at risk of turning into a cacophony for policymakers, utilities and technologists.
Despite the phenomenal success of California's Renewable Portfolio Standard in creating a market for utility-scale solar, many in the industry are forecasting the end of the transmission line for large central stations stranded out in the desert.
It was a victory of sorts on this beautiful spring day for Germany’s solar industry. The protest at Berlin’s Brandenburger Tor was immense: orange balloons released into the light breeze, flags from a number of Germany’s solar companies were vehemently waved and whistles were heartily blown in protest as well as in agreement. The most imaginative of the protesters were a group carrying a coffin through the crowds. Symbolic, simple and effective.
How much carbon is emitted in producing a solar PV module and launching it on the market? This could be an important question which project developers, installers, investors, government agencies and end customers will ask solar PV manufacturers in the future.
With 95% of module shipments in 2011 accounted for by a manufacturing group that is comprised of technologies specific to the c-Si community and thin film manufacturer, First Solar, for those seeking a disruptive alternative to compete with this dominance there are few options that command as much attention as CIGS.
