As solar becomes more sophisticated, the industry is leaning on more advanced software and AI to determine the best sites and optimum system designs. Molly Lempriere explores the role AI and other advanced techniques are playing in solar development.
Using an in-house tool and PVsyst simulation software, a team from Chint New Energy Technology Co. analyse the LCOE of utility-scale solar systems in various countries based on three technologies: PERC, TOPCon and HJT.
As solar projects become ever larger, sites with slopes and uneven terrain are becoming the norm for project development, leading tracker manufacturers to adapt their offerings accordingly. Molly Lempriere details the latest launches that aim to address this issue.
PV modules will keep changing in the quest for higher efficiency and energy yield. However, the rapid and sometimes simultaneous introduction of new technologies increases overall quality risk, writes George Touloupas, senior director at Clean Energy Associates.
Sky-high electricity prices and an increasing urgency to curb fossil fuel use have led to a surge in European solar additions this year. Jules Scully charts how the continent’s ongoing energy crisis is affecting EU renewables policy and PPA appetite.
The head of Enel’s 3Sun Gigafactory says the company is in advanced discussions over ventures further upstream than solar cells to make a robust supply chain in the US and explains the advantages of bifacial HJT and tandem technology to be produced at its planned US manufacturing facility.
While collecting verified bottom-up project data in real time has previously been cost-prohibitive, satellite data can now be leveraged to make comprehensive market intelligence attainable for investors. Daniel Cruise and Joseph Triepke, partners at energy intelligence firm Lium Research, reveal how satellites can provide more reliable insights into the construction of US utilityscale solar projects.
Earlier this year, ex-UK Prime Minister Liz Truss labelled solar projects “paraphernalia”, while her successor, Rishi Sunak, promised to not let the country “lose swathes of our best farmland to solar farms”. Molly Lempriere investigates how much land the UK needs for utility-scale PV plants as it transitions to net zero, and whether the sector’s growth poses any threat to food security.
Many of France’s large-scale solar projects have had to be set aside temporarily due to pressures from the energy crisis causing poor access to equipment and a rise in the levelised cost of electricity.
Europe is home to relatively low solar manufacturing capacities, with just 3% of global module supply in 2020. However, with industry players offering low-carbon products manufactured under robust labour regulations and without the cost of overseas shipping, Europe’s PV manufacturing industry finds itself in a very timely position to ramp up, writes Johan Lindahl, secretary general of the European Solar Manufacturing Council.
