PV Tech Power Volume 12

Storage integration | Our team profile 10 of the leading global system integrators working in energy storage today. This is a handful of the names that are designing systems, solving problems, executing projects and shaping the industry around us. By: Andy Colthorpe and John Parnell with Tom Kenning, Danielle Ola, David Pratt and Liam Stoker

Trade dispute | Battle lines have been drawn as another trade dispute convulses the US solar industry. John Parnell reports on an increasingly bitter war of words as the case hearings get underway.

Technology | Falling prices have seen single-axis trackers become standard issue in utility PV plants in many parts of the world. As the tracker market becomes more crowded, manufacturers are developing increasingly sophisticated technologies to stay ahead of the game and support wider PV power plant innovation. Ben Willis reports

Policy | State governments and agencies have a key role to play in fostering the growth of energy storage. Todd Olinsky-Paul of the Clean Energy States Alliance looks at the key policies, programmes and incentives being used by America’s pioneering storage states

The technical feasibility of floating solar PV and its long-term durability have often been questioned, but this year’s commissioning of a giant project on a lake in eastern China has launched the technology into the global spotlight.

Markets | The UK government has placed energy storage at the forefront of its industrial strategy. David Pratt and Lauren Cook report on how this is creating the right conditions for what many believe will be a boom market in years to come

Module failure | Defective modules causing power losses in PV systems need to be easily detected with a rapid and cost-effective inspection method. Researchers from Institute for Solar Energy. Research in Hamelin (ISFH) explain how UV fluorescence of module encapsulation polymers is used for the fast detection of module failures under daylight conditions without disconnection, allowing the inspection of up to 200 modules in an hour during daytime.

Grid storage | The advent of grid-scale energy storage means a whole raft of new technical, safety and risk-mitigation requirements for the industry to understand. Martijn Huibers, PhD and Paul Raats, MSc of DNV GL report on guidance designed to help stakeholders get to grips with this fast-emerging sector

Operations and maintenance | India’s solar industry has been focused on reaching a hugely ambitious target of 100GW of PV by 2022. But as Tom Kenning reports, the need to get smart on managing and maintaining solar assets is now becoming an overriding priority

Quality | The speed of solar deployment in India has raised concerns that quality maybe sacrificed for expediency. As Tom Kenning reports, although there are warning signs of a potential quality problem, efforts are underway to nip it in the bud.

Cell and module technology | One of the defining trends to emerge so far in 2017 has been an explosion of interest in bifacial PV technology. In the first of three articles in our bifacial special report, Radovan Kopecek looks at some of the key technologies vying for position at the vanguard of fast-growing part of the market.

Construction | Automated systems to speed up the construction of PV power plants have become a key tool in building bigger and cheaper projects. Sara Verbruggen looks at some of the state-of-art technologies helping the industry drive down system costs

Forecasting | Predicting the power production of a PV plant offers a multitude of benefits to plant owners and grid operators. Jose Ruiz-Arias looks at the challenges of accurate forecasting across different timescales and in different climate zonesForecasting | Predicting the power production of a PV plant offers a multitude of benefits to plant owners and grid operators. Jose Ruiz-Arias looks at the challenges of accurate forecasting across different timescales and in different climate zones.

System design | Despite the decline of subsidies in the UK, well designed commercial PV systems still offer potentially attractive financial benefits to businesses. Kirsty Berry and Andrew Hancock of Syzygy Renewables detail some of the key considerations in designing and executing a commercial solar system that will deliver maximum return on investment.

Data | The collection of inaccurate data at any point in the life cycle of a solar plant will undermine almost every aspect of the investment accounting. Mark Skidmore, Samantha Doshi, Matthia Heinze and Christos Monokroussos from TÜV Rheinland discuss the importance of precision data gathering in mitigating risk for builders, operators and financiers

Quality | The speed of solar deployment in India has raised concerns that quality maybe sacrificed for expediency. As Tom Kenning reports, although there are warning signs of a potential quality problem, efforts are underway to nip it in the bud.

Risk mitigation | The EU-funded Solar Bankability Project has developed a framework for managing the potential legal, technical and economic risks associated with PV projects. Here, members of the team behind the project set out some of the key tools and guidelines that have been devised to ensure ongoing quality management over the entire lifecycle of a PV power plant.