In early 2015, snow and ice in parts of North America created unexpected problems for solar plant operators. As winter approaches once again, Gwen Bender reflects on the challenges of keeping a project running profitably in harsh weather conditions.
Sustainable energy company SunPower has unveiled a remote operations control centre (ROCC) for monitoring and operating large-scale PV power plants that SunPower holds in the US, including installations that are sold to 8point3 Energy Partners LP, a YieldCo joint venture established by First Solar and SunPower.
A year on from its acquisition of monitoring and control firm skytron energy, First Solar has fleshed out further details of the operations and maintenance (O&M) business the two companies are jointly developing.
More than 7.7 million people were employed in the renewables industry in 2014, an 18% rise from 6.5 million the previous year, according to a new report from the International renewable energy agency (IRENA).
European solar power services company Photon Energy claims an emphasis on new business areas including operations and maintenance (O&M), opened up new revenue streams to boost its group performance in the past quarter.
The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has agreed to a partnership with the China PV Investment and Finance Alliance (CPVFA) in order to reach the objective of opening wide-scale and varied sources of investment in PV asset development in China.
Trade body the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has established a task force to develop best practice guidelines in the field of solar operations and maintenance (O&M).
