BUSINESS IN BRIEF
MARKET UPDATE
New Solar Funding
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Still Dominate
Q2 PV Module Shipment
Solar Inverter Market Outlook
COVER STORY
The Paradox of Solar Adoption in the United States
It¡¯s messy. It¡¯s inefficient. It¡¯s working.
While the lack of action in the U.S. Congress may disappoint parts of the American body politic, a growing array of policymakers and industry participants are busy flexing their solar muscles. This momentum, in turn, is expanding into commercial solar finance.
- By Nancy E. Pfund, Sarah M. Ham
VIEWPOINT
A Winning Strategy for India
There are many unique and often perplexing challenges to bringing increased solar energy to India. How can you untangle the complexities to deploy large-scale solar power stations that will help address the country¡¯s growing power shortage needs?
- By Sourabh Sen
Burning Man, Abundance and Utopianism
A massive, do-it-yourself project reminds us of Earth¡¯s limited resources through various means.
- By Tam Hunt
FINANCIAN & INVESTMENT
Venture Dept¦¡Another Tool for Cleantech
Because of their capital intensive nature and lengthy project timelines, cleantech companies may be more likely than other emerging technology companies to experience a funding gap. In light of these realities, cleantech companies in many cases will find venture debt¦¡a financing structure containing both debt and equity features¦¡to be a viable option.
- By Meryl Epstein, Brady Berg, Travis Morello
GLOBAL LEADERS IN PV
Masdar PV, Fast-growing Thin-Film PV Module Provider
Over the coming years, Masdar PV aims to establish itself as one of the leading providers of thin-film PV modules worldwide. The foundations for this have already been laid at its Ichtershausen plant, near Erfurt, Germany. Masdar PV CEO Frank Wouters discusses the company¡¯s strategies to compete in the market and plans for the next phase of growth.
- By Jeanny Lim
GLOBAL MARKET REPORT
What¡¯s Happening in the Czech PV Industry?
A series of legislative changes started in the Czech Republic in reaction to unpredictable drop of investment prices of photovoltaic systems. Passed changes will drastically reduce feed-in tariff and potentially could discontinue development of photovoltaic sector in the Czech Republic.
- By Ing. Bronislav Bechnik, Ph.D.
The South African Photovoltaic Market Gears Up to Feed into National Grid
South Africa¡¯s severe shortage of generation capacity is possibly the biggest obstacle to the region and country¡¯s financial growth.
- By Ryan Hammond
CELL & MODULE
Cheaper, Better Solar Cell Is Full of Holes
A new low-cost etching technique developed at the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) can put a trillion holes in a silicon wafer the size of a compact disc. As the tiny holes deepen, they make the silvery-gray silicon appear darker and darker until it becomes almost pure black and able to absorb nearly all colors of light the sun throws at it.
- By Bill Scanlon
Low-cost Third Generation Solar Cells Option
Third generation solar cells are potentially said to overcome the efficiency limit of 31-41% for single band gap solar cells.
- By Bruno Diaz
Roll-to-roll Electroplated CIGS Cells and Modules
A low-cost roll-to-roll electroplating process is utilized to deposit the CIGS precursor layers. The electroplating technology provides well-controlled composition along the length and width of the flexible substrates demonstrating its uitability as a low-cost CIGS precursor deposition method.
- By Mustafa Pinarbasi
Metal Mirrors Hold Tremendous Promise for CPV Applications
New technologies like metal mirrors can contribute to even greater efficiency gains, and their proven reliability, high volume capacity, and economies of scale can help open the door to a lower cost of capital.
- By Stefan Braendle
New Life for Solar Cells
The Norwegian Innotech Solar Group develops and applies processing technologies for solar cells in order to restore their maximum capacity and thus provides efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendlier modules.
The Power of 6-inch Monocrystalline Cell
Upsolar has designed its highest level of wattage to date in its monocrystalline (mono-cSi) module offerings, featuring high-quality 6- OR in symbol l(¡°) with R(200) (156 mmx156 mm) cells.
PRODUCTION & INSPECTION
Significant Cycle Time Reduction in the PV Module Lamination Process
In a PV module, a good encapsulation system is the most important guarantee to protect the active energy-conversion components against the harsh natural environment. This article presents knowledge to optimize significantly the lamination cycle by a systematic study of related parameters and an optimized new ultra-fast cure EVA encapsulant.
- By Yun Luo, JosE Ignacio Fidalgo Mart nez, Ryan T. Tucker, Sean Ferrigan, Ronald F.M. Lange
COMPONENT & MATERIAL
Challenges Faced by Backsheet Manufacturers
Reliability and longevity of the solar modules depend greatly on the packaging materials: superstrate, encapsulant, and substrate.
- By Marina Temchenko
POWER SYSTEM
Intelligent Power Conversion
How the next generation of renewable energy inverters will change the future of distributed energy production and distribution?
- By Dr. Leo Casey
New Feed-in Devices for Solar Power Plants
With the new SolarMax 300 TS, Sputnik¡¯s developers were able to increase the
European efficiency from 94.8 to 95.5% in comparison to its predecessor SolarMax 300 C.
DESIGN & INSTALLATION
Possibility to Solar Africa
One of the off-grid specialists, Phaesun GmbH provides households, small businesses and public institutions in Mozambique with solar energy. Tobias Zwirner, Managing Director of Phaesun, founded the company with 5 shareholders from different countries in 2001. As a person in charge of this project, he explains PV systems are one of the best solutions for rural electrification.
- By Stella Lee
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