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Recent industry analysis from NanoMarkets has suggested that although current business cases for PV are running out of steam, the building-integrated PV (BIPV) sector may be able to revive PV’s fortunes. The arrival of ‘true’ BIPV – not just flush-mounted BIPV panels, but PV-enabled glass, tiles, siding, etc. – renders possible new business cases that would otherwise simply not be an option with conventional PV. This paper puts forth a business analysis of the BIPV industry, providing case studies and data on the burgeoning sector.

As PV power generation adoption becomes more widely adopted globally, the grid-connected inverter market looks set to take its rightful role as a critically important element of solar installations. The grid-connected inverter market will deliver power quality and the stability of the electricity networks in order to ensure a stable and reliable grid operation. In order to keep up with these developments, network operators will release new grid codes to monitor the increased uptake, to which manufacturers must adhere. An additional obstacle for the inverter manufacturers is the wide range of requirements and norms that vary from country to country and, in many cases, even from utility to utility. This article presents a review of the new challenges facing grid-connected PV inverters in the light of these new developments.

As it makes its way towards a non-subsidised market, the photovoltaic sector has to deal with decreasing margins. To ensure investment goals are met in spite of this, it is imperative that PV power plants generate optimal yields. Comprehensive quality assurance for PV power plants covers all phases of the completion process from the planning to system operation. This article explains the extent of standard quality assurance measures that include yield assessments, module measurements, system testing and yield monitoring. It outlines the potential of linking these quality assurance measures and stresses the importance of the measures themselves being of high quality. Up-to-date scientific findings from Fraunhofer ISE are presented in order to further optimise quality assurance measures.

PV industry module and component manufacturers have brought down costs significantly over the last four years. This trend is clearly evident as most publicly traded companies continue to grow revenue despite falling module and component prices. However, it is far less clear how downstream system integrators are handling the drop in system prices and contributing to value creation. System prices are generally higher in the U.S. than in Europe despite lower module prices in the U.S. This disparity often raises questions on the part of European PV professionals where these costs come from, and secondly, what have U.S. system integrators done to reduce costs. This article is the second of a two-part series shedding light on how U.S. integrators contribute to a decreasing installed-PV-system cost roadmap by championing value creation in the downstream segment. Focusing on the residential market segment, Part I delved into activity cost savings through innovation in engineering and construction [1]. Part II illustrates how changes in marketing and sales, rebates, interconnection, supply chain management and customer support have evolved considerably over the last several years to result in reduced costs.

PV industry module and component manufacturers have brought down costs significantly over the last four years. This trend is clearly evident as most publicly traded companies continue to increase revenue despite falling module and component prices. However, it is far less clear how downstream system integrators are handling the drop in system prices and contributing to value creation. System prices are generally higher in the U.S. than in Europe, despite lower module prices in the U.S. This disparity often raises questions on the part of European PV professionals where
these costs come from, and secondly, what U.S. system integrators have done to reduce costs. This two-part series will shed light on how U.S. system integrators have undertaken tremendous efforts to decrease cost and add value through innovation by focussing on labour-intensive value creation in the downstream segment. Part I will focus on the residential market segment by delving into activity cost savings through innovation in engineering and construction, while Part II will illustrate how changes in sales, rebates, interconnection, and the supply-chain management over the
last five years have reduced costs.

Despite the collapsed Spanish market and the general state of the world’s economy, the past year was not a bad year at all from the perspective of installed power capacity of large-scale PV power plants. Installed power capacity surpassed expectations while also bringing new markets into the spotlight, which means that the traditional market leaders of Spain, Germany and the U.S. are no longer the only ‘key’ markets. With the exception of Germany, the past year’s most noteworthy market boost was seen in the Czech Republic and Italy, with similar shake-ups seen in the Asian tiger countries of China and India. With many large-scale PV power plants recently brought into commission in these countries, China and India are brimming with potential for the near future.

Renewable energy and, specifically, the integration of photovoltaics in residential development will play an important role in the context of global sustainability and resource conservation. Just like EPIA outlines in its Solar Europe Industry Initiative (SEII) plan (2010-2012), as distributed PV and other renewable energy technologies mature, they can provide a significant share of European electricity demand. However, as their market share grows, concerns about potential impacts on the stability and operation of the electricity grid may create barriers to their future expansion. Additionally, low-cost, high-quality integration of PV in buildings and other objects poses major development challenges. The goal of the SEII is to unlock the potential for making PV a mainstream energy source, with special attention on aspects of system integration.

Interconnection of inverters to the electrical grid is a key issue for the widespread integration of distributed energy resources, especially when the scenario surrounding international standards is so unclear. As a pre-normative research step, a round-robin test of two small-scale photovoltaic inverters was performed by nine DERlab laboratories during 2009. The test activity was focused on the verification of individual test procedures, common interpretation of standards and requirements, and determination of problems related to the equipment and facilities involved in conducting round-robin tests. Compilation of test results and first conclusions of this activity will be presented in this paper.

U.S. electric utilities are beginning to explore participating in the U.S. solar markets in new and unique ways, including utility ownership of solar projects, innovative program designs that purchase solar energy from customers or third-party providers, and providing financing for customer or third-party projects. Known as Utility Solar Business Models, these utility innovations are expanding and diversifying the market in new and unique ways, driving hundreds of megawatts of new business, but how these new projects and programs impact the solar value chain and what is driving the change varies from utility to utility. This article lays out the evolving nature of utility engagement with solar markets, defines utility solar business models generally, and explores some of the specific program that utilities are proposing.

Building-integrated photovoltaics or BIPV is one form of solar electricity that looks set to dominate the solar market in the coming years. The increase in BIPV installations is already evident in some European countries as governments begin to tweak their policies in order to provide a platform for this technology. The past few months have seen countries such as France and Italy make efforts to up the installation rate of this integrated form of solar, increasing the feed-in tariff (FiT) rate quite substantially for BIPV and lowering it for the more common installations such as roof and ground-mounted systems in order to increase the uptake. This BIPV-dedicated section will focus on the new policies implemented in France and Italy, concentrating on France's policies as a blueprint for others. It will provide a focus on why governments are so keen to increase incentives in favour of BIPV and what the future implications of this market shift will be.