As solar finds itself deployed in further and more far flung climes, it is also having to operate in increasingly harsher climates. In this article, VDE Renewables assesses how such climates affect PV performance and what must be taken into consideration when formulating O&M strategies.
Solar PV has taken off in the MENA region in recent years, driven by positive governmental policy, prominent tenders and decarbonisation targets. But challenges remain, both for smaller companies wishing to enter the market and in the operation of plants. Molly Lempriere takes a look at the market drivers and the challenges of competing.
Operations and maintenance will face huge changes as automation and predictive analytics transform the way projects are managed, writes Sean Rai-Roche.
UK-based solar PV inspection and data analytics company Above details how its ‘Follow PV’ project, launched alongside the University of Essex, is enhancing the research and development of autonomous drone technology in utility-scale solar.
Toni Weigl, head of product management for floating PV at BayWa r.e., explores the current trends for designing and developing floating solar projects and poses the question, where next for floating PV?
Amidst a need to scale up solar this decade, PV Tech Premium speaks to Vassilis Papaeconomou, managing director at renewables service provider Alectris, to learn how the solar industry can scale up efficiently, what asset owners and operators need to be aware of when buzzwords such as ‘digitalisation’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ are mentioned, and what the industry might learn from more mature technologies such as wind.
As it matures, the solar industry is moving beyond the use of Performance Ratios (PR) as the go-to performance metric for operational sites. Christopher West, head of central engineering - solar PV delivery unit at Statkraft, argues the case for PRs to be replaced by alternative, more evolved methods of assessment.
