In this issue we offer some insights into what the next wave of photovoltaic technologies may look like as that upturn gathers pace. Industry observers have been in broad agreement that the major next-gen PV technology innovations won’t happen straight away. But there’s also little doubt that the search is now on in earnest for the breakthroughs that will come to define the state of the art in the industry in the years to come.
The latest rounds of formal complaints against alleged breaches of trade agreements, the initiation of circumvention investigations, and preliminary announcements and rulings in various countries and trading zones all demonstrate that the multidimensional trade conflict in global PV markets is far from being resolved and is still simmering. The trade dispute is largely focused on the import of downstream products (c-Si wafer, cell and module) in current and prospective high-volume markets, such as the EU, the USA and potentially India. These
nations or trading zones have implemented, or have proposed to implement, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, predominantly targeted against Chinese downstream producers. New rounds of investigations might lead to existing tariffs being extended to Taiwanese manufacturers that directly or indirectly import into the USA, while the EU might scrap a previous quota and minimum price system and revert to tariffs. This paper gives a brief historical review of the global PV trade dispute, and analyses the formal and legal grounding of anticircumvention actions, which in general increase the complexities of business planning. Because more than 70% of the global downstream manufacturing capacity is located in China and Taiwan, the manufacturers in these regions have no choice but to embrace an internationalization strategy that consists of production offshoring. The paper concludes with the introduction of potential strategies and recommendations which take account of
increased complexities and uncertainties in business planning that arise from shifting trade barriers.
Solar companies are always looking for new markets in an effort to remain competitive. Monica Wilson offers some advice on how developers and contractors should navigate the legal labyrinth that will face them as they go global.
Investors are popularly characterised as risk averse and fickle when it comes to new technologies. David Giordano, of the world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock, tells John Parnell what has persuaded the investment community that solar is a safe bet.
Parallels are frequently drawn between the nascent energy storage business and PV 10 years ago – that it needs strong policy direction to take off. Andy Colthorpe profiles some of the areas that emerging as the world pioneers in supporting the deployment of storage.
Leading US firms SolarCity and SunPower have taken an early position in the fledgling residential energy storage market. Andy Colthorpe investigates how their involvement could shape their own fortunes and that of storage itself.
Investors are looking for steady and predictable returns from their PV plant assets. Ben Willis charts the rise of monitoring technology and how it is becoming an increasingly indispensable part of the PV equation.
The build-up of dust and other particles on PV modules can impact on the efficiency of a power plant. Understanding how soiling can vary in different regions of the world is crucial in maximising plant performance, writes Dmytro Podolskyy.
PV modules are commonly installed with mechanical fixings. But as installers look to drive down system costs, structural bonding is emerging as a reliable and cost-effective alternative, writes Michael Niederfuehr.
