PV Tech Power Papers

Later this year, a new set of industry guidelines will for the first time codify a set of best practices for EPC contractors. Ahead of publication, members of Solar Power Europe’s O&M task force look at some of the critical areas of PV system integration where high-quality EPC work can most effectively influence a project’s lifetime performance.

A comprehensive understanding of the global performance and extra gain offered by a bifacial module remains an elusive goal for PV owners and EPCs due to variations arising from different design, manufacturing and testing methods. Vicente Parra, Ruperto J. Gómez, José C. Vázquez and Francisco Álvarez of Enertis review the main sources of variability and outstanding uncertainties that must be addressed as the industry seeks to define standard rules for reliably selecting, purchasing and deploying bifacial PV modules.

Travel restrictions imposed by countries in response to the coronavirus pandemic have contribution to a slowdown in investment in rural electrification projects. Thomas Hillig examines the extent of the investment freeze and possible solutions to get capital flowing into much needed projects again.

The European Union has pinned its hopes for an economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on green and digital technologies. Molly Lempriere looks at the part solar could play as details are fleshed out.

With federal support for renewables having been depleted in recent years, utilities in the US have taken a leading role in the deployment of solar and energy storage. Jules Scully examines how integrated resource plans are driving solar deployment.

The rapid evolution of photovoltaic technology has continued, as modules with peak power outputs in excess of 550W are emerging fast. Driven by a thirst for more power and increasingly larger cells, developers and EPCs now face tougher procurement decisions than ever before. But is the industry ready for such a jump?

Our ability to generate renewable energy is scaling up fast, and solutions to integrate that energy will rely on technologies like blockchain to help keep new solutions on track. Power Ledger’s executive chairman and co-founder, Dr Jemma Green, looks at the role blockchain plays within her company’s platform to integrate and automate solar energy trading and balancing.

The optimal integration of distributed energy resources such as solar, battery storage and smart thermostats becomes an ever-more complex and pressing question. Rahul Kar, general manager and VP for New Energy at AutoGrid Systems looks at the role artificial intelligence can play in smarter energy networks.

Battery system integrators must navigate a broad array of technologies and varying market drivers when putting systems together. Andy Colthorpe speaks to Powin Energy and Sungrow about the engineering challenges involved in building lithium-ion battery storage systems at scale.

In the second of a two-part series for this journal, Jens Noack, Nataliya Roznyatovskaya, Chris Menictas and Maria Skyllas-Kazacos from CENELEST, a joint research venture between the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology and the University of New South Wales, examine the potential of vanadium redox flow batteries in the future energy system.