PV Tech Power Papers

After years of not living up to its solar potential, Brazil is on the cusp of a solar boom. A confluence of factors has led to rapid investment and deployment in the country, but a few hurdles still need to be overcome, writes Sean Rai-Roche.

Women still make up just 32% of the renewables workforce worldwide, but initiatives are emerging with the aim of improving gender diversity at all levels. Molly Lempriere takes a look at the current state of play, and how companies are looking to attract a more gender diverse workforce.

As demand for solar grows, so too must its international workforce. But there are concerns that a shortage of skilled workers could stymie deployment just as it’s needed to accelerate. Jules Scully assesses where the solar skills gap is looming and industry efforts to ease it.

Battery energy storage systems are placed in increasingly demanding market conditions, providing a wide range of applications. Christoph Birkl, Damien Frost and Adrien Bizeray of Brill Power discuss how to build a battery management system (BMS) that ensures long lifetimes, versatility and availability.

Sometimes called ‘community batteries,’ energy storage systems are being installed at neighbourhood level in Australia. Experts from the Australian National University explain how this type of battery storage can benefit a very wide range of stakeholders.

With over 25 years’ experience as a firefighter and now part of a group that specialises in battery storage safety, Paul Rogers at Energy Safety Response Group knows all about fire safety from both sides of the fence. He tells Andy Colthorpe about some of the pressing issues that need attention.

Crucial to clean power generation, battery energy storage systems need advanced fire protection. Steve Kenny, general manager for Advanced Fire Detection at Honeywell Building Technologies talks about why the detection of off-gases is an important line of defence.

Prior to 2019, there was an ample number of insurers willing to provide renewable energy insurance, leading to plentiful, affordable cover being available for solar power project finance transactions. However, with increased claims and risks, price rises and lower availability of cover is impacting the sector. Duncan Gordon, head of Renewable Energy at specialist energy insurance brokerage and risk management firm Gallagher, provides an overview of how solar power project owners can navigate a challenging insurance market.

With an electricity mix currently dominated by fossil fuels and limited land availability for ground-mounted projects, Singapore is turning to floating PV (FPV) to increase its renewables capacity as it aims for 2GW of deployed solar by 2030.

As operational solar assets mature, news of repowering projects is steadily ramping up. Alice Grundy takes a look at what’s influencing decisions and just when the right time to repower is.