Technical Papers

In an emerging US solar market with an influx of foreign direct investment (FDI) and rapidly evolving technology, PV manufacturers who are looking to establish or expand a base of US operations may benefit from choosing a firm specialising in the design-build project delivery method. With faster speed to market and greater flexibility, design-build offers numerous advantages for solar companies seeking an immediate edge over the competition. Design-build’s shorter project timelines help manufacturers meet aggressive production targets, while its streamlined structure offers the adaptability to support manufacturers’ ongoing initiatives to improve products and processes.

As a fast-growing segment of the industry, floating solar is also a novel technology that comes with a variety of new operational risks. Bobby McFadden, kWh Analytics, Chris Bartle of Ciel & Terre and James Markos of Willis Towers Watson explore some of these and their implications from an insurance perspective.

The dollar-per-watt metric has traditionally formed the basis of PV module purchasing. But as Anza CEO Mike Hall argues, this simplistic formula can lead to costly mistakes and stand in the way of getting the best value from procurement decisions.

The COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent string of global political and economic crises have forced companies to reassess how they operate in the face of constantly shifting policy and supply chain dynamics. This article explores how the PV industry can make informed decisions on choosing the best locations to base manufacturing operations in a world characterised by unpredictability.

Grid bottlenecks have emerged as a significant obstacle standing in the way of the energy transition in the United States, with gigawatts of projects sitting in interconnection queues. Michele Boyd, Will Gorman, and Diane Baldwin report on work taking place at the federal level to address the interconnection challenge.

In late 2023, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE put into operation the world’s first medium-voltage string inverter as part of a project to explore the power electronics for the next generation of large-scale PV power plants. According to the project’s leader, Michael Geiss, the signs are looking positive for the introduction of medium voltage in PV.

The potential of solar power in Africa is beginning to be realised, with 2023 seeing record levels of deployment. JP Casey explores some of the latest trends shaping the continent’s solar sector, where the C&I segment in particular is surging ahead.

Despite Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia, the country’s solar sector continues to develop. Lena Dias Martins reports on the opportunities solar developers are finding amid the horrors of war.

Covering 15 states, the MISO area is one of the largest transmission networks in the US, yet solar and storage have had a battle to gain recognition in the territory. Jonathan Tourino Jacobo reports on recent progress as well as the ongoing regulatory obstacles still holding deployment of the technologies back.

Solar and storage are playing a central role in Japan’s goal of enhancing energy security. Uranulzii Batbayer and Aniket Autade of Rystad Energy look at recent developments in the market to assess Japan’s progress in reaching its 2030 targets.