PV Tech Power Papers

Bifaciality and trackers have become almost synonymous with modern plant design, but modelling gains in a real-world environment is notoriously difficult. Liam Stoker reports from a panel at the Solar Finance & Investment Europe conference which explored how new technologies are driving yield upside.

With green hydrogen from renewables at the core of a number of decarbonisation strategies globally, the first large-scale projects face a number of challenges integrating into the energy system. Molly Lempriere explores the barriers to developing large-scale green hydrogen, the technologies easing interaction and the benefits of hydrogen for grid balancing and storage.

After a challenging year, India’s solar sector stands primed for something of a rebound. But a host of familiar issues, from the perilous state of DISCOMs to regulatory uncertainty, run the risk of stymying future growth. Vinay Rustagi, managing director at consultancy Bridge to India, talks to PV Tech Power about the future prospects for Indian solar.

Vietnam experienced enormous growth in solar deployments in 2020, with as much as 9GW being installed as the successful FIT policy drew to a close. Edgar Gunther explores how that policy came to be so successful, and what the future holds for solar PV in Vietnam.

Asia is expected to dominate floating solar’s growth over the next four years with up to 70% of global installations of floating PV to take place in the continent. But what are the key drivers behind this surging demand, and what can other continents learn from it? Jules Scully investigates.

Andy Colthorpe takes a look at what’s happening and what’s expected to happen in the Japanese large-scale PV market, with data and analysis courtesy of RTS Corporation and interviews with Vena Energy Japan, Sonnedix Japan and Baywa Japan.

Having been hailed as the new king of electricity markets, Liam Stoker charts solar’s journey up until this point, explores how it has earned the crown and poses the question: what next for PV?

The US energy storage industry remained “remarkably resilient” during what most of us have found to be a difficult year - to say the least. Andy Colthorpe speaks with Key Capture Energy’s CEO Jeff Bishop and FlexGen’s COO Alan Grosse - two companies that made 2020 one of growth in their energy storage businesses - to hear what lessons can be learned and why economics rule.

Key to the rapid success and growth of the energy storage industry in the US, China and other maturing markets has been the presence of a small number of system integrators. IHS Markit association director Julian Jansen examines what it is that system integrators do that makes them so vital to the industry and why the future ahead looks to be one characterised by growth, competition and consolidation.

While fire incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in energy storage systems are rare, they can have devastating consequences for the industry and pose a threat to safety. Tom Bensen, Nick Warner, Ryan Franks and Michael Bowes from energy storage and fire safety expert group Energy Safety Response Group (formerly Energy Storage Response Group) discuss some of the most important aspects of creating a safe battery storage industry