Making the connection: Fires & electrical balance of systems
Walmart’s allegation that some of the fires in the solar plants on the roofs of its stores were started by connectors echoes concerns the industry has had for some time. And the problems go far beyond one manufacturer or installer.
Battle of the module reliability rankings
While module makers are attempting to get the best possible scores for their products on 3rd-party tests, 3rd-party testing providers are also offering competing products to rank products. We look at what’s similar and what’s different in the tests.
PVEL looks at the risky business of inverters
The testing company’s first inverter scorecard found widespread failures of basic tests in UL- and IEC-tested products.
Rise of bifacial lifts profits for the world’s tracker companies
Things are hotting up in the tracker world as the desire to squeeze down the price per Watt of solar power intensifies. And the rise of the trackers is attracting some well-known businesses to buy their way into the field.
Bifacial adoption and uncertainty: A call to action
In this op-ed for pv magazine, PVEL CEO Jenya Meydbray looks at challenges in the process of adopting new technologies as they relate to the deployment of bifacial modules.
pv magazine’s Mexican editor Jorge Zarco wins journalism prize
The editor-in-chief of pv magazine Mexico won first prize in the interview category at this year’s Solar Energy Journalism Awards, organized by the Mexican Solar Energy Association.
Canadian Solar expands into O&M
One of the world’s largest PV makers, Canadian Solar has long developed, built and owned solar assets. The company hopes to leverage that experience to increase tight margins.
Trump talks up Section 201 solar tariff
While attending a National Governors Association’s meeting President Trump claimed benefits of the Section 201 solar tariff, while disparaging Chinese product quality.
Issues with bypass diodes
As the latest in its investigation into quality issues at pv plants, Heliolytics looks at failure modes in bypass diodes – and what can be done about them.
Short circuits: How they happen and how to prevent them
This article is the fourth in a series which will discuss specific system reliability issues seen in North American systems. Each article will focus on a specific failure mode, giving an overview and examples of defect presentation. A longer summary article diving into a broader industry context and defect prevalence will follow this series.
