Financial, Legal, Professional

Finlay Colville, head of research at PV Tech and Solar Media, offers exclusive insight into the PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings and explores how the industry’s major module manufacturers can be grouped entering 2021.

A string of high-profile cyberattacks on energy infrastructure highlights the vulnerability of solar farms as they become increasingly reliant on digital systems. Alice Grundy looks at the rising threat of cyberattacks and the measures asset owners can take to mitigate the risks.

Finlay Colville, head of market research at PV Tech Power publisher Solar Media, discusses what’s inside the Q3 2020 update of the PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings report and how it details a module supplier’s strengths and weaknesses.

José Rojo speaks to Roger Font of Banco Sabadell for his take on the financing landscape for unsubsidised PV projects following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The growing volumes of variable solar and wind generation on the grid raise the risk of depressed wholesale prices, particularly at times of high generation and low demand. James Brabben of Cornwall Insight explores the phenomenon of so-called price cannibalisation and how its most serious potential impacts on the renewables industry can be avoided.

On 1 January this year, the solar investment tax credit, responsible for fuelling the rapid growth of the US market, began its decline. Cecilia Keating assesses what impact it will have.

As utility-scale PV projects continue to spread across the United States, Mark Bolinger, Joachim Seel, and Dana Robson of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory cover key technology and market trends in this synopsis of their annual “Utility-Scale Solar” report series.

After several years with a moratorium on renewable energy incentives and no new build, Spain is seeing a new generation of projects being developed without subsidies as grid parity is achieved. Whilst this has encouraged an increase in renewable energy projects, it could be harmful to profits and have serious economic risks for investors. ÅF Pöyry Management Consulting’s Javier Revuelta considers the potential risks of taking a long-lasting grid parity in Spain for granted, how to mitigate these problems, and why it’s relevant to us all.

A new toolkit has been launched to support companies in Europe that want to meet more of their energy needs from solar and other renewable energy sources. As SolarPower Europe’s Bruce Douglas explains, alongside much-needed regulatory reform the resource will help unlock the immense corporate renewables sourcing opportunity.

The growing volume of PV waste presents an emerging environmental challenge, but also brings substantial value creation opportunities as the idea of bringing decommissioned PV modules back to life becomes more feasible. Researchers from imec, VITO and SoliTek chart the development of the second-life PV business as it transitions from theory to practice.