Operations & Maintenance

Sharp Corporation’s energy solutions business, which includes its activities in solar, will continue to operate as a brand in its own right, following the sale of a majority share in the group by Foxconn.

Gantner Instruments has launched a new solution for monitoring PV power plants at the string level. The ‘string.bloxx All-in-one’ system recognises design and production errors with high resolution down to the PV module level.

A new technical study that is more detailed and extensive than previously achieved, the US Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has significantly increased the potential for US building rooftops to generate electricity from solar PV (photovoltaics) systems.

A key theme of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue conference last week was how Germany’s Energiewende (‘energy transition’) has not only proven how to foster an explosion of renewable generation capacity through support schemes, but also how to integrate those renewables. Grid operators from Germany and Denmark discussed questions of feasibility, past, present and future.

SunPower has launched its ‘Equinox’ solar PV system to the US residential market that is claimed to be the first solution in the country in which every major component has been designed and engineered by one company to work seamlessly together, delivering the highest power, long-term performance and aesthetic appeal. With a typical SunPower Equinox installation, only the solar panels and a Smart Energy management device are visible, reflecting SunPower's minimalist architectural approach at the system level.

In common with every other PV market in the world as it matures, attaining grid parity for the technology is the ultimate goal for Japan. As an electricity market in general, meeting electrical supply with demand will of course become ever-more important.

PV microinverter producer Enphase Energy has secured more than 20MW of orders with long-standing customer, Spruce Finance for its owned and operated residential solar systems in the US.

Skytron energy will provide monitoring and supervision for around 20MW of PV projects in Japan.

NEXTracker has introduced NX Fusion, a product bundle of pre-engineered single-axis tracker and AC power system solutions that integrates a solar power plant’s most critical mechanical and electrical components into a single tracker power block.

India’s ambitious solar energy target could spark the creation of one million jobs, but producing a skilled workforce may be challenging, according to new report.