The commercial and industrial segment is one of the most promising sub-sectors of the
energy storage space. Julian Jansen of IHS Markit describes recent efforts to model the US C&I storage
landscape and what it reveals about this dynamic emerging market. As told to Andy Colthorpe
Islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters such as
hurricanes. John Merritt looks at some of the emerging solutions to building more resilient energy
systems through the deployment of microgrids that combine multiple energy generation and
storage technologies
In 2017 China’s domestic PV market surpassed 50GW. Meishi Tan asks whether such
astonishing levels of deployment can be sustained and, if so, what the future drivers of growth will be
Australia’s large-scale PV segment has been one of the star performers of the past
year. Vincent Dwyer and Jacqueline Fetchet look at the past and future drivers for this dynamic
market and ask whether recent momentum can be maintained
Examining a PV power plant to ascertain its health is a key measure when
warranties for components expire. Romain Elsair and Marcos Blanco of Greensolver outline some
of the main steps involved in effective end of warranty inspections
In April an international working group will publish a bundle of
standardised contracts aimed at aiding the rollout of PV worldwide. Sara Verbruggen previews the
template contract for solar O&M and assesses its impact in streamlining this aspect of the business
Bifaciality is a complex area of PV technology and currently there is some confusion over
what bifacial gains can be expected and how these transfer to system cost reductions. Radovan
Kopecek and Joris Libal describe how bifacial gains are defined, what bifacial gains can be
expected and what this means for real applications
When estimating the expected yield of a PV plant for financial risk assessment
purposes, understanding the uncertainties of any model is crucial. Mauricio Richter of 3E investigates
some of the emerging practices for obtaining and interpreting data to ensure the most accurate results
With India going all out to achieve its target of 100GW of PV by the year 2022, the quality of
equipment used in installations is becoming increasingly important. Satish Pandey and Abhishek
Sharma of Mahindra Susten explore the role of on-site testing in quality control, based on the early
results from India’s first mobile PV lab
In a four-year project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and
Energy, a consortium of German experts assessed the quality of actual PV power installations.
The researchers now report on how the effects of several common module failures on module and
string performance highlight the importance of consistent quality assurance to prevent risks to
financial success
