Technology | China’s Top Runner PV auctions are growing from a small base to potentially representing the majority of utility solar deployment by next year. Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Yvonne Liu speaks to John Parnell about the companies and technologies gunning to take advantage.
Set across a semi-arid stretch of land in far south India, the world’s second largest solar plant and India’s biggest to date is a pertinent symbol of India’s emergence as one of the most dominant renewable energy markets on the planet. Already under intense pressure to physically construct the entire project capacity in just eight months, heavyweight Indian infrastructure conglomerate Adani also had to withstand unseasonal and unprecedented extreme weather in late 2015.
Module degradation | When the phenomenon of so-called snail trails first emerged over a decade ago, they prompted concerns of a major new problem afflicting PV modules. Sylke Meyer, Mark Turek, Thomas Manke, Stephan Großer and Christian Hagendorf, who have contributed extensively to understanding the science behind snail trails, review the latest thinking on the phenomenon and what it means for plant performance.
Battery storage | Lithium-ion batteries are becoming a popular choice stationary storage systems but so far lack any consistent standards governing safety and performance. Matthias Vetter and Stephan Lux from Fraunhofer ISE report on two major research projects that could pave the way for new safety standards for li-ion batteries.
Forecasting | Short-term PV forecasting offers a multitude of benefits, from trading on wholesale power markets to improved plant operation. Sara Verbruggen reports on some of new the technologies driving forward improvements in the accuracy of forecasting techniques.
Resource assessment | Irradiance sensors are vital tools for protecting investment in valuable solar power plants and ensuring they perform optimally. In the second of two articles on a major study they are leading to better understand these diminutive components, Anton Driesse and Joshua Stein discuss how inaccuracies in irradiance measurement can be quantified and managed.
O&M | Operations and maintenance has traditionally been thought of as something that happens after a PV power plant has been built and connected. But as Emanuele Tacchino writes, planning for the successful operation of a project, particularly a new PV market, begins long before construction.
Market update | At the end of 2016 China published a long-awaited plan that will determine the course of PV deployment for the next five years. China solar industry expert Frank Haugwitz unpicks the plan and assesses the country’s chances of surpassing 100GW of capacity this year.
Finance | The emerging solar markets of Southeast Asia each present their own unique set of conditions from a financing perspective. Reporting back from the Solar Finance & Investment Southeast Asia conference in Thailand at the end of 2016, Tom Kenning looks at how a promising solar region is bringing in the investors.
System integration | Taiwan has set itself a target of 20GW of PV by 2025, but standing in the way of that are acute land shortages and some extreme weather conditions. Tom Kenning reports on the creative technological and construction solutions being found to address Taiwan’s unique challenges.
