By Janice Lin, founder and president of the Green Hydrogen Coalition
One of the planet’s most abundant elements, hydrogen has the capacity to be a game-changer in decarbonising the global energy system, writes Janice Lin, founder and president of the Green Hydrogen Coalition
Energy storage systems were historically used for grid balancing purposes within Europe, limiting their use to such applications or to be considered as “auxiliaries” to renewable generation assets. However, as market prices evolve and new revenue streams emerge, stakeholders must discover the diverse applications that such systems can tap into, writes Naim El Chami
Alongside the recent rapid boom in bifacial solar deployment, extensive work has been underway to fine-tune the yield modelling of bifacial systems. Drawing on case studies from the ATAMOSTEC test site in Chile, researchers involved in the collaborative venture describe how it is helping improve understanding of bifacial yield and the lay the foundations for a set of new rules to inform system design and installation
As larger floating solar projects become a more common sight around the world, bankability is increasingly coming to the fore to satisfy the demands of financiers. Jeremy Ong, Ken Tay and Harald Hammer look at some of the areas where careful due diligence is vital to managing and mitigating technical risks for lenders
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
By Dirk C. Jordan, Chris Deline, Bill Marion and Teresa Barnes, NREL. Mark Bolinger, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Despite the importance of reliability to the cost competitiveness of PV, large data sets enabling high-level investigation of the technology’s performance in the field are relatively scarce. Dirk C. Jordan, Chris Deline, Bill Marion and Teresa Barnes of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Mark Bolinger of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study a unique data set of 100,000 PV systems in the US, drawing out tips for better reliability that have relevance to other parts of the world.
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
By Vicente Parra, Ruperto J. Gómez, José C. Vázquez and Francisco Álvarez, Enertis
A comprehensive understanding of the performance 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
By Joseph C. Johnson, technology and quality senior analyst, Clean Energy Associates
In the second part of a two-part blog series, Clean Energy Associates’ Joseph C. Johnson examines just how long volatility in polysilicon pricing can continue.
By Joseph C. Johnson, technology and quality senior analyst, Clean Energy Associates
In the first of a two-part feature Joseph C. Johnson, technology and quality senior analyst at Clean Energy Associates, explores recent polysilicon price volatility and its impact on the upstream solar sector.
