PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the second quarter of 2018 were slightly higher than the previous quarter, although activity slumped specifically in June, following China’s decision to suddenly cap utility-scale and distributed generation projects. The quarter was also characterized by activity in India, partially driven by a major Chinese manufacturer. The report will also analyze first half year capacity expansion plans and targeted locations, globally.
After defining the term Industry 4.0 according to the authors’ interpretation, this paper elaborates on the opportunities and challenges that the Industry 4.0 transition will bring to the PV sector. The topic is approached from various angles. How can the PV industry and the related value chain itself progress to Industry 4.0? And how does this reflect in different application sectors, such as construction and automotive? This paper presents a future scenario towards which the industry could be heading; some of the steps already being taken and some of the main challenges ahead are described. The value of PV technology as an enabler for other sectors, such as edge versus cloud computing, to move into Industry 4.0 is also touched upon. Additionally, a number of enablers and boundary conditions are highlighted in the context of Industry 4.0 and their relevance to the PV industry (legislation, cyber security, etc.) The status of Industry 4.0 in PV compared with other sectors is also explored. Wherever appropriate and possible, examples of projects and activities that illustrate the described topics are given.
An analysis of R&D spending of 20 publicly listed PV module manufacturers in 2017 has been undertaken to replace Photovoltaics International’s previous list of 12 companies tracked over a 10-year period.
A number of the original companies tracked have subsequently de-listed from stock markets and gone private, which meant that a broader analysis, including other listed companies was required to provide a good representation of global R&D spending trends in the PV wafer, cell and module segments of the upstream solar market.
Welcome to Photovoltaics International 41. An emerging theme in the industry further downstream is the growing variety of bankable PV modules. It’s a topic we’ll be picking up on 23-24 October at our PV ModuleTech conference in Penang, Malaysia.
This issue of PVI captures the ongoing work to drive improvements across the full range of those technologies. From the exploration of next generation CIGs cells to the commercial improvements of PERC by Trina Solar, this edition neatly captures that variety.
Fraunhofer ISE reviews the latest results from efforts to improve the texturing of diamond wire sawn wafers.
Trina Solar presents a roadmap for PERC improvements that it claims could halve costs while pushing efficiencies to 24% in around seven years.
ECN and imec explore the latest developments in integrated cell to module manufacturing approaches from the more familiar multi-busbar and multi-wire to shingling and woven fabric and foil-based module technologies for back contacted cells.
Elsewhere, CSEM INES zooms in on a major limiting factor for silicon heterojunction cells, metallization.
All the regular features including our news reviews and R&D spending report make a return, plus lots more.
Following on from this bumper edition, PVI42 will be published in Spring 2019.
Smoothing and firming are often discussed to make renewables appear more like conventional generation to the grid operator, but how smooth and how firm does that generation need to be? How can the attributes and operations of energy storage be appropriately measured relative to cost? Andres Cortes and Ben Kaun of the Electric Power Research Institute discuss recent work addressing these issues
Trade tariffs, technology changes, new suppliers and shifting timelines. US developers and EPCs are riding out challenging times. John Parnell looks at the scale of the upheaval and how module pricing and module technology changes are feeding into the day-to-day work of deploying megawatts
With so many options open to them, EPCs and developers are faced with confusing choices to make over the right PV module technologies. Finlay Colville and Mark Osborne explore the importance of stringent third-party testing in avoiding asset underperformance
Developers and investors must be proactive to ensure the quality of modules they purchase is as high as possible. Vicente Parra and Ruperto Gomez detail some of the practices they can follow to mitigate module quality risks during the manufacturing process
The value of warranties attached to PV modules is coming under increasing scrutiny as plants age and more is understood about the degradation of modules in the field. Gustaf Schuler discusses the ins and outs of PV warranties and the best methods for mitigating risks
Cloud-aggregated virtual power plants using residential or C&I battery storage as part of a smart energy management system can benefit the grid, integrate renewables and EVs and hopefully add a powerful long-term value proposition for home storage. Andy Colthorpe and David Pratt report on how some of the UK’s first VPP projects are proving the concept
