[October 2011 Issue]

BUSINESS IN BRIEF

MARKET UPDATE

Solyndra Shutdown Is No Surprise
New Government Incentive Delivers Massive Upside to China Solar Market
Top 10 Solar PV Power Plants
Utility-Scale PV Growth in the U.S. Is Not Set in Stone

COVER STORY

Considerations Implementing Smart PV Modules
As with all other PV system components, market pressures demand constant improvements in cost, reliability and efficiency of today’s distributed power electronics solutions. If implemented correctly, the integration of these solutions directly onto the PV module is an ideal way to achieve such advances.
-By Sam Arditi, Ron Hadar, Smriti Mishra

GLOBAL LEADERS IN PV

Kyocera: Setting the Global Quality Standard
Kyocera , the multinational technology corporation based in Kyoto, Japan, has been manufacturing innovative solar power solutions for over 35 years.
-By Jeanny H. Lim

VIEWPOINT

The Good News: Why Climate Change Doesn’t Matter?
Of course, climate change is a real threat to us and our environment. But there are many highly valid reasons to become more energy efficient, conserve energy through behavior change, and transition to renewable─entirely independent of climate change concerns.
-By Tam Hunt

FINANCIAL & INVESTMENT

Solar Call: Q2 2011 Roundup
In the second quarter of 2011, the index of solar companies tracked by Lincoln International underperformed the S&P 500 with the Solar Stock Index declining 24% while the S&P remained flat.
-By Jack Calderon, Chaim Lubin

PV BoS Cost Analysis: Ground-Mounted Systems
GTM Research analysts explore the current and forecasted balance of system costs associated with ground-mounted PV projects.
-By Shayle Kann

GLOBAL MARKET REPORT

Indian PV Market: Can I or I Can’t?
A developer in dilemma and update of solar PV project developments at Gujarat, India
-By Nilesh Patel

Poly-Based Technologies: Advance at a Rapid Pace
SunSi CEO David Natan talks on the polysilicon market and Trichlorosilane (TCS) business.
-By Jeanny H. Lim

PRODUCT SHOWCASE
Arnold 72/865 | ALPHA® PV Ribbon | Commercial Monitoring Solution | TRITAN | FlexTool | Festo Sliding Fork | ELASTOSIL® Solar 2200 | AKASOL® PVL 2-1000V + Primer | Copper-Gallium and Indium Rotary Sputtering Target | Designers’ Turnkey Digital Print-to-Laser Cutting System | Solamet® PV414 | CI-1083-L and CI-1081-H | GP TOPO-D. Scan

CELL & MODULE

A Magic Combination
N-type silicon wafers, IBC solar cells (Zebra), and silicone module encapsulation technology (Simba) bring a breakthrough in the productivity of cells and modules.
-By Franco Traverso

CPV Plants Map 2011
The CPV World Map 2011 shows operational and pre-operational installations across five continents.
-By PV Insider

PRODUCTION & INSPECTION

The Challenge of Accelerated Weathering Testing of PV Modules
Accelerated weathering is the only way to find out how long a product lasts.
-By Andreas Riedl

First Major Step in Crystalline Silicon Manufacturing
Making the right vacuum pump choice can reduce manufacturing cost and environmental impact.
-By Mike Boger

A Smooth Cycle for PV Modules: Progress in Silicon Recycling
The vast number of photovoltaic modules, will, one day, become a huge amount of electronic waste. Masterminds in the solar sector are, hence, already intensively discussing the recycling topic.
-By Kay Rehberg

The Importance of Edge Sealing with TFPV
Why bother with yet another process step with production of thin-film photovoltaic modules? Because it does make a difference.
-By Juergen Weiss

COMPONENT & MATERIAL

Tips for Better Solar Systems
The substructures of solar systems are frequently neglected. However, the careful selection and installation of the substructure in a system can pay off in the long term.
-By Falk Antony

Developing Game Changing Solar Tracker
In early 2010, Ron Sade, President of Trabant Solar, decided it was time to bring his idea for a new solar tracker to market.
-By Tanmoy Basu

POWER SYSTEM

Solar Charging System Architectures
Utilizing an energy harvesting system capable of capturing energy from the natural environment and replenishing the battery allows the user to decrease the amount of time the device spends on a wall or Universal Serial Bus (USB) charger.
-By Umar Lyles, Brian Lum-Shue Chan, Yogesh Ramadass

Photovoltaic Impulse to Rural and Remote Electrification
An innovative architecture for PV solar, wind, grid & generator on grid/off grid UPS functions energy & CO2 emission saving.
-By JosE Luis Iribarren, Dr. Raquel Ferret

Electricity Peak-Shaving System Optimizes Solar PV Usage
A solution incorporating solar PV, energy storage and power distribution maximizes return on investment on solar.

DESIGN & INSTALLATION

Optimizing Revenue through Quality Assurance
Why many PV systems fail to achieve optimized energy production levels?
-By Benjamin Compton, Dr. Henrik te Heesen

Slovak Solar Parks
The Vario green energy group has completed 6.2 MW solar plants putting six solar parks on the grid in Slovakia.
-By Stella Lee

Solar Tiles on Every Building
Solarcentury is envisaging solar tiles on the root of every building.
-By Stella Lee

CASE STUDIES

Athens International Airport Goes Green
Suntech Power is counting on the Greek photovoltaic market. The company collaborated with a local partner to install solar panels at Athens International Airport.
-By Jerry Stokes