Turkey has around 5GW of installed solar capacity, but potential for much more. Ekin İnal and Chris Down explore the latest developments in Turkey’s solar market and the regulatory reforms that could help PV take a much larger share of the country’s energy mix.
When Hitachi suspended development of its planned new nuclear power plant at Wylfa in early 2019, many thought the news would blow a hole in the country’s decarbonisation plans. But as costs continue to fall, even the UK government, not usually considered to be renewables’ closest ally, has pointed to the technologies’ role in plugging that gap. Liam Stoker looks at what might be required.
At the end of 2018 the Japanese government caught solar developers by surprise with a raft of punitive regulatory changes. Tom Kenning reports on the short- and long-term impacts these could have on the country’s PV industry.
Solar power is at the heart of an ambitious plan to tackle environmental degradation and poverty in the Sahel region. Tom Kenning reports on a programme that, if successful, could bring a multitude of environmental and economic benefits to a fragile part of the world.
Bifacial technology is proving to be an effective means of reducing the levelised energy costs of PV systems, offering substantially improved energy yield for only a minor additional cost. Hartmut Nussbaumer, Markus Klenk, Joris Libal and Radovan Kopecek report on the state-of-the-art in bifacial PV systems, giving an overview of components such as modules, sub-constructions, tracking systems and inverters, and presenting comparative simulation and measurement results from bifacial and monofacial systems.
Welcome to the eighteenth edition of PV Tech Power. Bifacial system costs come under the spotlight. DNV GL looks at floating solar design. We also have papers on O&M business models, the European solar finance market that is supercharging the post-subsidy pipeline, an in-depth look at Turkey from the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and much more. Our regular Storage and Smart Power section returns with Andy Colthorpe at the helm as always.
After weathering some major upheavals in 2018, the global solar industry looks in decent shape to take on the year ahead. Our team of reporters scope out the big themes for 2019, exploring the technology and market trends that will set the agenda over the next 12 months and beyond.
The solar industry endured an eventful 2018 with the US establishing its trade tariffs on module imports and China hitting the brakes on deployment, yet, through sheer determination, everyone ended the year feeling fairly optimistic. There is lots of cause for hope in 2019. Module prices are down for the timebeing, seeding subsidy-free markets. We are on the cusp of technological gains that can tilt that balance even further in solar’s favour. Traction with energy storage is clearing up grid headaches and creating new sources of revenue. Our ultimate 2019 briefing addresses all this and more. Our regular Storage and Smart Power section, meanwhile, includes an in-depth look at California’s vibrant market as decrees turn into deployment.
This year’s Solar Power International trade show dedicated what seemed like
almost as much space to energy storage as solar. As Andy Colthorpe reports, this is likely a strong
indication of the way the world is adopting renewable energy, particularly California, where storage
looks set to play a key role in helping the Golden State realise its green ambitions
Andy Colthorpe speaks to Janice Lin of the California Energy Storage Alliance
on what sort of role energy storage will play in reaching the ‘100% carbon-free retail
electricity’ goal of the state’s SB100 legislation
