Technical Papers

In the first edition of PV Tech Power ten years ago, our cover article looked at the issue of PV module quality, which had come to the fore after a period of heavy cost-cutting in the industry. Following a decade of technological innovation, the overwhelming dominance of Chinese manufacturers and a global explosion in solar capacity that has seen costs fall dramatically, we are revisiting the issue. Will Norman asks if the seeds for a looming quality problem have already been sown.

The rapid deployment of solar and other renewables is creating new pressures on the efficient operation of electricity markets. Stephen Woodhouse looks at whether a shift from national to locational pricing offers a solution to optimal market design as decarbonisation efforts gather

The co-location of renewable generation and energy storage demands new contractual arrangements to make such projects commercially viable. Jack Rankin, Miguel Valderrama and Brian Knowles of Pexapark explore how hybrid PPAs are becoming a favoured solution for structuring deals that capture the full value of both assets

The streamlining of all phases of a PV project will be essential to ensuring anticipated deployment goals are met. Tom Kenning looks at the AI-enabled technologies helping speed up project construction and easing a shortage of skilled labour

Digitalisation offers PV plant operators the opportunity to shift from preventive to predictive maintenance practices. Eduardo Sarquis reports on research aimed at shedding further light on the system performance benefits of moving to a predictive O&M strategy

Booming solar deployment in solar markets worldwide has led to fears that a bottleneck in the availability of qualified contractors could squeeze project completion rates. As JP Casey discovers, the reality is more complicated than that

The rapid emergence of new PV technologies such as bifacial has in some cases outpaced the evolution of suitable technical and regulatory specifications. The occurrence hotspots in non-shaded areas of half-cell bifacial solar modules highlights the need for a rethink of international standards, write Sergio Suárez, Jose María Álvarez, Daniel Villoslada, Ignacio Fernández, Sofía Rodríguez and Gustavo Navas

Despite having a healthy solar target, Ireland’s most recent renewable energy capacity auction saw a disappointing result for PV. Lena Dias Martins looks at the obstacles causing delays and barriers to the rollout of solar on the Emerald Isle

Proposals to shift the UK’s legacy programme for incentivising large-scale solar to a fixed-price mechanism are under consultation. Marianne Anton looks at the potential impact on project revenues of the proposals on the table

The latest round of the UK’s renewable energy support scheme saw solar scoop almost 2GW of new capacity. Gareth Simkins examines the winning projects and looks ahead to assess how solar is likely to fare in future rounds