
[June 2010 Issue]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF
MARKET UPDATE
Top 10 PV Module Suppliers 2009
IMS Research reveals the 2009 rankings list for PV module suppliers and explains how shipments of modules far exceeded completed installations.
VIEWPOINT
China’s Impact on the Solar Industry
Less than a decade ago, China was not a player in the global solar industry. Now, the solar center of gravity has shifted from Europe to China.
- BY MIKE HALL
“Grid Parity” Is a Red Herring
“Grid parity” is a range of prices per kWh over which potential customers with varying individual circumstances and a range of prices and performances of the systems being offered to them, will find PV systems more or less attractive.
- BY ANDY BLACK
COVER STORY
Korean Solar Industry Speaks
InterPV asked the leading PV companies in Korea and abroad for their hopes for the Korean solar industry and views on the market and its future.
- BY JEANNY LIM, SARAH JEONG
GLOBAL LEADERS IN PV
JA Solar: Grabbing the World’s Attention
Peng Fang, CEO of JA Solar, one of the worlds largest suppliers of high-performance solar cells and solar products, talks about how the company has become one of the largest solar cell makers in the world sending waves out across the global solar industry.
- BY JEANNY LIM
FINANCIAL & INVESTMENT
USA: A Hot Investment
Demand is growing for grid-connected PV solar power, and the U.S. could potentially eclipse pioneering countries such as Spain and Germany to become the leading PV market in the world by 2012.
- BY BRAD BAUER
POLICY & LEGISLATION
Italy: Uncertainties with the “Conto Energia”
In Italy, the revised third version of the “Conto Energia” the regulation which will determine the Italian subsidy rates for solar energy is being awaited intently. Recently, however, a new written draft has been discussed.
- BY PATRICK JONAS
Germany: Towards an Active Role of Distributed Generation
Integrating a higher amount of renewable energy will not be possible if distributed generators do not play an active role in the operation of the electricity network.
- BY DR.-ING. ANTONIO NOTHOLT-VERGARA
GLOBAL MARKET REPORT
Current Status of PV and Market Developments
Despite the negative impacts of the economic crisis in the first half of 2009, PV is still growing at an extraordinary pace.
- BY ARNULF JAGER-WALDAU
Global Solar Market: A Bright Future Ahead
To learn what a solar equipment provider has to say about the global solar industry, InterPV talked with Karl Schanz, Technical Manager of ASYS Solar, a solar metallization provider.
- BY SARAH JEONG
CELL & MODULE
10 Questions about First Solar
First Solar was recently ranked number 1 in IMS Research’s rankings for the top ten suppliers in the global solar industry. InterPV had an opportunity to learn more about First Solar’s achievements and plans for further development.
- BY SARAH JEONG
Solarfun Faces Strong Demand
Yu Ouyang, VP & GM of Domestic PV System at Solarfun, talks about Solarfun’s technological developments, 2025 business plans, and strategies for China, one of the most important markets
to the company.
- BY JEANNY LIM
Solar Frontier: In the Forefront of CIS Revolution
Brooks Herring, Director of International Business at Solar Frontier, a manufacturer of CIS PV modules, reveals the company’s plans and strategies for 2010.
- BY JEANNY LIM
PRODUCTION & INSPECTION
Precision Measurement and Quality in Solar Glass Processes
The glass used in crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels is textured or prismatic. This, combined with unique requirements for the solar panel industry, has glass manufacturers who have moved into this fast growing photovoltaic glass market looking for new technologies to inspect the glass.
- BY KENNETH WAWREW
COMPONENT & MATERIAL
Finding Life after Silicon
Silicon was used as a semiconductor for the earliest of solar devices and is still in use in many solar projects but the time’s they are a-changing and silicon solar cells are starting to fall out of favor.
- BY KATRICE JALBUENA
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