PV Tech Power Papers

Smoothing and firming are often discussed to make renewables appear more like conventional generation to the grid operator, but how smooth and how firm does that generation need to be? How can the attributes and operations of energy storage be appropriately measured relative to cost? Andres Cortes and Ben Kaun of the Electric Power Research Institute discuss recent work addressing these issues

Trade tariffs, technology changes, new suppliers and shifting timelines. US developers and EPCs are riding out challenging times. John Parnell looks at the scale of the upheaval and how module pricing and module technology changes are feeding into the day-to-day work of deploying megawatts

With so many options open to them, EPCs and developers are faced with confusing choices to make over the right PV module technologies. Finlay Colville and Mark Osborne explore the importance of stringent third-party testing in avoiding asset underperformance

Developers and investors must be proactive to ensure the quality of modules they purchase is as high as possible. Vicente Parra and Ruperto Gomez detail some of the practices they can follow to mitigate module quality risks during the manufacturing process

The value of warranties attached to PV modules is coming under increasing scrutiny as plants age and more is understood about the degradation of modules in the field. Gustaf Schuler discusses the ins and outs of PV warranties and the best methods for mitigating risks

Cloud-aggregated virtual power plants using residential or C&I battery storage as part of a smart energy management system can benefit the grid, integrate renewables and EVs and hopefully add a powerful long-term value proposition for home storage. Andy Colthorpe and David Pratt report on how some of the UK’s first VPP projects are proving the concept

The Indian solar juggernaut shows few signs of slowing down en route to its huge target of 100GW by 2022. But, as Tom Kenning, recent policy developments could create a few bumps in the road along the way

As described in the previous pages, tracking and bifacial technologies combined offer the prospect of higher energy outputs. Javier Guerrero, R&D manager at Soltec, one of the pioneers of bifacial tracking, explains some of the lessons the company has learned about optimising tracker design for bifacial modules

The term “big data” has recently become something of a buzzword in PV circles. But how are companies using this data and is it generating useful intelligence or merely information overload? Catherine Early reports

Community solar is the fastest growing segment in the US. Ben Willis looks at some of the legal and financing drivers helping propel the sector forward, and the ongoing challenges it faces in fulfilling its potential