PV Tech Power Papers

Business | A growing number of tier-one PV module manufacturers have been changing business models in recent years from once being dedicated module suppliers to becoming project developers. Mark Osborne analyses the progress made by major PV manufacturers in their downstream ambitions in 2014 and expectations in 2015.

The market outlook for utility-scale PV installations is very positive. These PV plants have the capability of supporting grid operation, and the ability to do this is being increasingly required in grid codes. Testing the capabilities of very large PV inverters, however, is demanding for laboratories. Gunter Arnold, Diana Craciun, Wolfram Heckmann and Nils Schäfer from Fraunhofer IWES discuss current developments and resulting challenges and address the gaps and diversity in testing guidelines and standardisation.

As early as 2010, Phoenix Solar along with Saudi Aramco installed the first of three PV test facilities in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, putting four different module technologies (monocrystalline, amorphous-microcrystalline, CdTe and CIS) to the test in extreme climatic conditions. Klaus Friedl of Phoenix Solar LLC shares some hints and lessons learned from the tests.

Maximising production from a PV system is critical, since nearly all of the investment is made prior to system activation. Monitoring of PV systems allows operators to identify any performance or safety problems early so that they can be repaired quickly, thus minimising energy losses. Joshua Stein of Sandia National Laboratories and Mike Green of M.G. Lightning Electrical Engineering discuss some new monitoring strategies that are necessary for expeditiously identifying and locating system faults.

New inverter technologies offer installers the choice of central of distributed systems for PV arrays. Deciding which system is the most optimal to use isn’t always based on the size of a solar system, writes Alvaro Zanon.

A significant part of the risk management process associated with large-scale solar PV installations is ‘technical due diligence’, which seeks to define and minimise all technical risks associated with the project. Fred Martin and Nick Morley of TÜV Rheinland explore due diligence challenges for PV power plants in Japan.

More than ever, the global PV market provides attractive new investment opportunities, but the elements driving such rapid expansion also increase the risk of solar financial assets failing to meet long-term fiscal and performance goals. Boris Farnung, Björn Müller and Klaus Kiefer of Fraunhofer ISE, and Peter Bostock and John Sedgwick of VDE Americas explore major quality-assurance measures and the challenges today for achieving bankability of utility-scale PV plants.

The combination of storage technology with larger scale solar projects is an emerging science. Andy Colthorpe speaks to PV power plant pioneers, Belectric, about a project completed at the end of 2014 to install battery storage at a utility-scale solar installation in Brandenburg.

The effective operation and maintenance of large PV power plants is critical to ensuring these facilities perform optimally. Sara Ver-Bruggen looks at the latest O&M technologies and strategies emerging as plant owners seek to maximise their investment returns.

Maximising production from a PV system is critical, since nearly all of the investment is made prior to system activation. Monitoring of PV systems allows operators to identify any performance or safety problems early so that they can be repaired quickly, thus minimising energy losses. Joshua Stein of Sandia National Laboratories and Mike Green of M.G. Lightning Electrical Engineering discuss some new monitoring strategies that are necessary for expeditiously identifying and locating system faults.