Factory floor – 09-2026
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Table of content
Factory floor – 09-2026
09-2026 / 2026
Preview
Factory floor – 09-2026
09-2026 / 2026
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Excerpt from the magazine
Shedding light on ultraviolet-induced degradation
Recent testing to better understand power degradation during highly accelerated UV exposure indicates that ultraviolet-induced degradation observed in the laboratory is real, partially reversible, and – perhaps most importantly – entirely preventable. Cherif Kedir of the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC) shares the results of its latest round of module testing.
8 hours ago
Coordination can bring value to Brazil
More curtailment and steeper ramp rates are proving costly in Brazil, but a lack of regulation for virtual power plants (VPPs) is limiting the potential for distributed assets to smooth out the demand curve. Henrique Ribeiro from S&P Global explains how VPPs could better support Brazil’s transition while reducing reliance on expensive thermal generators.
Sep 26, 2026
Fighting coastal corrosion
Salt in the air can wreak havoc with projects that lack the necessary corrosion resistance, proving costly for asset owners or the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies that built them. Alexander Gebert, sales director at Tobsteel, argues that quality stainless steel fasteners can save costs for solar investors and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors in the long run.
Sep 25, 2026
Adapt to deliver
The US solar industry has become remarkably good at building utility-scale projects. The challenge now is delivering on the exact day the interconnection agreement expects. Chinmay Pingulkar of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) supplier Mortenson Construction outlines key considerations for project scheduling.
Sep 24, 2026
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The great British takeoff
Despite grid connection headaches and the realities of securing planning approval, solar deployment in the United Kingdom has returned to healthy volumes with a growing capacity pipeline. With ambitious capacity targets set for 2030, pv magazine catches up with Solar Energy UK’s Chris Hewett for the latest on a market that’s showing promise.
Sep 22, 2026
Green hydrogen’s growing share in chemical production
The chemical industry requires enormous amounts of hydrogen for a wide range of products and processes. In the final part of pv magazine’s Renewables 24/7 series, we head to the world’s largest chemical plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, BASF and Siemens Energy are demonstrating how to integrate a green electricity-powered electrolyzer into a massive industrial complex.
Sep 19, 2026
Taking system responsibility
A consortium in Germany is testing the use of grid-forming inverters to connect large-scale battery storage systems at the distribution grid level. Such systems can and must provide this capability at scale if renewables are to become the backbone of any region’s energy system. As part of pv magazine’s Renewables 24/7 special, Jochen Siemer takes a closer look at this project.
Sep 18, 2026
Global progress on 100% renewables
Christian Breyer and Mark Z. Jacobson, two prominent scientists tracking the global rollout of renewable energy systems provide an update on solar’s role in the equation. Frustratingly, political and regulatory blocks continue threatening to derail progress but the economic, environmental and grid flexibility benefits that the combination of solar and storage can provide are unmatched by legacy fossil fuels. As part of pv magazine’s Renewables 24/7 special feature this month, these two top experts shared their views on the state of the energy transition with pv magazine’s Blathnaid O’Dea.
Sep 17, 2026
‘A modern economy runs on electricity’
Renewable energy, 24/7. Many still associate this with terms like “mammoth task,” “challenge,” and “radical change.” While these are not entirely inaccurate in describing the energy transition, they obscure the essential point that renewable energy actually presents a huge economic opportunity. As part of our Renewables 24/7 series, pv magazine spoke with German energy expert Tim Meyer about the many opportunities wrapped up in the energy transition, and why deployment of renewables at scale is now a necessary condition for the success of any advanced economy.
Sep 15, 2026
Spacebound silicon
Solar has a long history in powering satellites and space exploration, and high-powered devices based on multijunction PV cells made from “III-V” materials such as gallium arsenide or indium gallium phosphide have supplied this niche market as far back as the 1960s. But those devices are made with rare materials and complex processing, limited to small batches produced at high cost.
Sep 14, 2026
Section 232 and US module prices
As the dust settles from the Aug. 6 announcement of tariffs and minimum import prices on polysilicon and its derivatives, Jesse Pichel and Lev Seleznov of Roth Capital Partners explain the impact the long-awaited decision is expected to have on US module pricing and what it might mean for investment in US manufacturing.
Sep 12, 2026
Socket to the sun
Ten states in the United States have passed laws permitting plug-in solar, with more to follow imminently. Low-income households, renters and temporary workers under pressure from high electricity bills are welcoming plug-in solar as a low-cost, portable and convenient solution. Precise business models have yet to emerge and there are technical and regulatory teething problems to address, as industry figures tell pv magazine.
Sep 11, 2026
Strait and narrow
War in the Middle East and disruption to trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz have hit global energy markets hard, given the region’s importance to oil and gas exports. Fabian Skarboe Rønningen and Nishant Kumar of Rystad Energy examine ongoing impacts of the crisis on global energy import/export flows.
Sep 10, 2026
Fighting coastal corrosion
Salt in the air can wreak havoc with projects that lack the necessary corrosion resistance, proving costly for asset owners or the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies that built them. Alexander Gebert, sales director at Tobsteel, argues that quality stainless steel fasteners can save costs for solar investors and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors in the long run.
Sep 09, 2026
Polysilicon playbook
Now that the United States has finally announced the outcome of its Section 232 investigation into polysilicon imports, industry analysts and investors alike have been weighing up the expected pros and cons of the policy’s likely impacts, particularly on ingot, wafer and cell manufacturing.
Sep 08, 2026
Heterojunction’s long road to the US solar factory
For a cell technology that has spent much of the past three decades on the verge of a breakthrough, heterojunction (HJT) is enjoying another moment in the spotlight. This time, however, the setting is somewhat unexpected – rather than the established manufacturing centers of China and Southeast Asia, some of the most significant new commitments to HJT are emerging in the United States, Finlay Colville reports.
Sep 07, 2026
