PV Tech Power Papers

The so-called ‘king of electricity markets’ is rapidly approaching an inflexion point, wherein solar PV will become the most prolific source of new-build power this decade. However to pave the way, numerous hurdles in the technological, manufacturing, O&M and grid fields will need to be surpassed. Liam Stoker, Jules Scully and Sean Rai-Roche discover solar’s 2030 blueprint.

The phrase ‘game changer’ is used often, sometimes in hope rather than expectation. Lithium batteries have definitely changed the game for the energy transition, but require smart technologies and strategies to optimise them — which can be equally important — writes Sebastian Becker of TWAICE, a predictive analytics software provider.

In the US, there is a growing trend for battery storage systems to be directly paired with onsite wind and solar generation, creating hybrid resources. Will Gorman from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looks at when and where this configuration makes sense — and why sometimes it doesn’t.

Andy Colthorpe speaks to Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, one of the original inventors of the vanadium redox flow battery, about the origins of the technology and its progression.

Power purchase agreements are a constantly evolving sector, with new structures and styles emerging as the solar sector matures. Pexapark’s PPA transaction manager Amanda Niklaus takes a look at how these agreements are being tailors to fit the “new world”.

Finlay Colville, head of research at PV Tech, reviews the PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings two years after their initial launch, reflects on those manufacturers to have moved up and down the ratings hierarchy since its launch and ponders how the rankings will evolve in the coming quarters.

Toni Weigl, head of product management for floating PV at BayWa r.e., explores the current trends for designing and developing floating solar projects and poses the question, where next for floating PV?

The 2021 edition of PV Evolutions Labs’ Module Scorecard saw a record number of module manufacturers recognised, but equally highlighted a growing incidence of module failure rates. Liam Stoker unpicks some of the key trends from this year’s edition of the scorecard.

Pressures on PV plant performance have led the solar industry to be more demanding and forensic of the data operational projects generate, as well as the power. Jules Scully explores the growing role software is playing in the utility-scale solar arena and how it must evolve further still to meet expectations.

As solar finds itself installed in further flung climes, so it must operate in harsher conditions. PV CAMPER, a collaborative effort including some of the world’s leading academic and research institutes, has set itself the aim of uncovering data to help drive the industry forward. Here, members of PV CAMPER discuss some of their preliminary findings.