PV Tech Power Papers

Bifacial technology is proving to be an effective means of reducing the levelised energy costs of PV systems, offering substantially improved energy yield for only a minor additional cost. Hartmut Nussbaumer, Markus Klenk, Joris Libal and Radovan Kopecek report on the state-of-the-art in bifacial PV systems, giving an overview of components such as modules, sub-constructions, tracking systems and inverters, and presenting comparative simulation and measurement results from bifacial and monofacial systems.

After weathering some major upheavals in 2018, the global solar industry looks in decent shape to take on the year ahead. Our team of reporters scope out the big themes for 2019, exploring the technology and market trends that will set the agenda over the next 12 months and beyond.

This year’s Solar Power International trade show dedicated what seemed like almost as much space to energy storage as solar. As Andy Colthorpe reports, this is likely a strong indication of the way the world is adopting renewable energy, particularly California, where storage looks set to play a key role in helping the Golden State realise its green ambitions

Andy Colthorpe speaks to Janice Lin of the California Energy Storage Alliance on what sort of role energy storage will play in reaching the ‘100% carbon-free retail electricity’ goal of the state’s SB100 legislation

Energy storage projects often fail to deliver value because of economic miscalculations. These computational issues, however, can now be mitigated by applying software, analytics and machine learning, write Enrico Ladendorf and Bryce Evans

Solar farm operators are coming under growing pressure to help maintain network stability by providing accurate generation forecasts. As Dr. Nick Engerer (CTO of Solcast) writes, innovations in short-term solar forecasting are providing operators with new options for making this task less of a distraction from their core business.

Cell cracks have been identified as a major cause of defects in PV modules, but their effect on performance is less well understood. Researchers Claudia Buerhop-Lutz, Thilo Winkler, Jens Hauch, Christian Camus and Christoph J. Brabec describe the results of ongoing investigations into how the electrical power of PV modules is impacted by cracking

Technologies purporting to alleviate performance losses in PV modules due to soiling from dust and other airborne particles are becoming more widely available. But do they work? Elisabeth Klimm and Karl-Anders Weiß of Fraunhofer ISE investigate

Amid reports of logistical and bureaucratic difficulties, Germany’s IB Vogt earlier this year became the first company to complete and energise one of the multiple projects that will eventually make up Benban, Egypt’s gargantuan solar park in the western desert governorate of Aswan.

PV systems incorporating bifacial modules require careful design and integration to maximise the additional yield they offer. Drawing on extensive field studies, researchers from LONGi Solar describe the optimum design of bifacial systems in the desert conditions of the Middle East, to which bifacial technology is especially well suited