Keeping on top of the impacts of dust and sand on power output is crucial to making solar a viable option in desert regions such as the Middle East. A fierce debate is currently raging over which methods are the most effective. Ben Willis listens to some of the arguments.
Chile has long been a strong contender for PV deployment with a growing economy, great solar resources and plenty of land. But as Tom Kenning learns, the market has several challenges ahead on its path to two-cents solar.
As the solar industry continues to squeeze out cost reductions, 1,500V architecture is tipped to make its mark in 2017. John Parnell looks at the potential pitfalls and likely winners as utility-scale plants dial up the voltage.
The Spanish photovoltaic market, once the darling of the global industry, has been ailing for almost a decade. But a new government finds itself with a mandate to build capacity, repeal taxes and redress the balance. James Blackman polls the market on its hopes for a new start.
The timely and skilful interpretation of performance data from the monitoring of operational PV power plants is vital to improving the management and thus profitability of those plants over their lifetime. Achim Woyte shows how data mining and artificial intelligence can serve the management of solar assets.
The importance of the investment tax credit in stimulating solar development has become an article of faith in the US, and its extension at the end of 2015 was welcomed as a vital lifeline. But as Danielle Ola hears, complexity, tightening supply and inefficiencies mean tax equity has a growing number of critics.
Project Briefing: Middle East's largest PV plant lands in Jordan - Assessment of the local conditions, grid connection, components, O&M, finance involved with Inside First Solar’s 52MW Shams Ma’an plant.
The UK government and energy regulator recently outlined initial proposals for overhauling the country’s energy system. Andy Colthorpe speaks to Anthony Price, director of the Electricity Storage Network trade group, about how the long-awaited document has been received and the key role it envisages for storage.
All parts of the PV supply chain are under pressure to reduce costs and boost the competitiveness of solar. A new rover vehicle developed for site surveying work promises to help significantly reduce labour costs in the construction of large-scale solar projects.
The potential for storage to help stabilise the grid has finally been recognised in the UK, where battery projects took all of the 200MW on offer in a recent frequency response tender. David Pickup looks at the evolving role of storage in the future grid and how further policy support can help it flourish.
