plant performance

Concerns have been raised that the US solar industry’s reputation could be impacted by underperforming assets if investors do not see their return profiles being realised several years down the line.

NovaSource co-founder discusses creating a data-led solution to draw asset owners away from in-house O&M, as well as how the firm will use its new capital from OMERS.

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 2022 comes to an end, PV Tech is reviewing the year in solar, reflecting on some of the biggest stories and trends of the last 12 months. Following on from our Q1 review, we take a look at how the industry navigated rising prices and detail some of the major acquisitions.

PV Tech spoke to experts in the artificial intelligence-solar space to explore how it was being used in the industry and the potential benefits it could bring to the sector

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.

With extreme weather events becoming increasingly common, Molly Lempriere takes a look at how to ensure a solar installation is prepared to manage wind, hail, heat and anything else nature has in store.

The cost of insuring operational solar farms has skyrocketed over the course of the year, triggered by carriers rethinking their approaches to natural catastrophes and other extreme weather events. This has placed additional importance on mitigation strategies. Kevin Christy, COO for North America at Lightsource bp, details how the solar developer has adapted its strategy in the field.

Utility-scale solar is evolving beyond traditional measurements, and performance ratio are one such metric that is likely to become obsolete, replaced by more modern criteria such as availability metrics. Carsten Steenberg, VP of product management and business development at Rainwise, explores the new metrics coming to the fore and discusses the importance of weather monitoring.