BUSINESS IN BRIEF
MARKET UPDATE
Difficult Times Ahead for Solar Inverter Supplier
Solar Market Keeps Shining in 2011
PV Demand Drives Equipment Spending
VIEWPOINT
Taking Solar to the Next Level
For the solar industry to continue to scale up, it must achieve major cost reductions.
- By Rebecca Cole
Ways to Make Solar a Reality
SolarTech Consortium has been seeking to help find ways to speed PV development and adoption by the world.
- By Doug Payne
Electricity Needs to Go Smart
We use electricity every day, but what we might not know is that most of the world¡¯s electricity today is still running on the similar networks we used over 50 years ago. How does this impact us?
- By Roberto Bocca
FINANCIAL & INVESTMENT
Solar Call: Q3 Roundup
The third quarter of 2010 has seen a vast improvement in the solar industry with the stocks and valuations increasing almost across the board.
- By Jack Calderon, Chaim Lubin
POLICY & LEGISLATION
The New Italian Feed-in Tariff for the Solar Electricity
Italian PV market grew from few tens of MWs up to the current 1,600 MW. The National Action Plan released by the Italian Government few months ago forecasts 8,000 MW of PV power installed in Italy by 2020. The industry on the other hand says that at least 15,000 MW could be installed by 2020 under a business as usual scenario.
- By Gert Gremes
Regaining California¡¯s Clean Energy Edge
On clean energy, California squandered its early leadership in many ways. But California is ripe to regain its clean energy edge if the right policies are implemented and bold steps are taken.
- By Craig Lewise
COVER STORY
Beyond the Grid Parity Wave
Keeping the solar PV ¡®Wave¡¯ rolling after grid parity
For solar power to experience sustainable growth, strategies for making grid parity part of an ongoing process will be necessary.
- By Dr. Srinivasamohan ¡®Mohan¡¯ Narayanan
GLOBAL LEADERS IN PV
Grenzebach, A Skilled Technology Partner
Egbert Wenninger, Vice President Sales of Grenzebach, tells you how Grenzebach can make you a unique market player.
- By Jeanny Lim
GLOBAL MARKET REPORT
Solar in Holyland
Today in Israel, PV received great push by both governmental incentives and the business sector. Israel PV market has been growing rapidly since the introduction of FiT and the first cap in July 2008.
- By Vladimir Budyansky
PV: Big in Japan
Japan is a pioneer in PV, and right now the solar market in Japan is booming.
This article provides an overview of current trends in Japanese solar cells and modules manufacturing and discusses the Japanese solar market, looking at historical market growth, unique features, incentives, pricing and future outlook.
- By James Plastow
BIPV-NEW TREND
Solar Goes Vertical
Thin-film solar modules have entered a new dimension¦¡the vertical axis. High-tech thin-film modules are optimally suited for facade installations.
- By Dr. Ing. Claas Helmke
CELL & MODULE
CIGS: Opportunities and Limits
Drastically falling prices for mono- and polycrystalline modules are reducing the cost advantage of thin film and are putting the industry under severe pressure.
Will it come to a sudden end or be countered by a successful follow-up strategy? Many experts are placing their bets on the latter, banking on CIGS technology, which until now has been shadowed by competing thin-film technologies CdTe, a-Si and ¥ìc-Si. What is behind this positive appraisal of CIGS? Is it justified considering its modest success so far?
- By EuPD Research
Organic Photovoltaics: Progress, Challenges, and Path Forward
Low-cost and flexible Organic Photovoltaic (OPV) cells have come a long way in the last few years, with cell efficiencies now at more than 8% and the launch of first portable chargers that use these cells to generate electricity.
- By Vishal Shrotriya
PRODUCTION & INSPECTION
In-line Monitoring of Electrical Wafer Quality Using Photoluminescence Imaging
Solar cell efficiency and related performance data such as the open circuit voltage and the short circuit current are shown to correlate in a predictable fashion with electrical defect metrics that are derived from photoluminescence images taken on as-cut multicrystalline silicon wafers.
- By W. McMillan, T. Trupke, J. Weber, M. Wagner, U. Mareck, Y.C. Chou, J. Wong
Simple Wet Cleaning Solutions for Achieving the New Silicon Surface Preparation Criteria
Continuous improvement methodology, new materials and technological innovations have stretched the limits of silicon-based semiconductor and photovoltaic technologies into the 2010s.
- By Robert Pagliaro
POWER SYSTEM
The Evolution of PV Interconnection Requirements
As power sources become a larger percentage of the grid, utility companies must face a substantial threat to system reliability. These challenges, however, can be met through the coordination of policy, regulation and innovative grid management inverter technology, making renewable energy, and solar PV in particular, an optimum source of power for the future.
- By Elie Nsar
EXPO REVIEW
ELECTRONICASIA 2010, An Unrivalled Sourcing Hub
electronicAsia once again surpasses expectations in its 14th Edition, creating an unrivalled marketplace for the world¡¯s electronics manufacturing industry.
CASE STUDY
How the Firing Process Impacts the Energy Conversion Efficiency of Solar Cells
Over the last few years, solar cell manufacturers have strived to improve energy conversion efficiency at a lower cost. Optimizing the metal electrodes firing process in furnaces is a common way to achieve this goal.
- By Crystal Han, Ben Sun
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