Solar Investors Guide #4 - New trends in PV projects

At the threshold of industrial solar
 

Solar park construction is picking up pace worldwide. The bottleneck isn't materials or components — it's the availability of suitable land, grid connection points and enough people to carry out the installation work.

Above all, labour costs can tip the balance between a project that stacks up financially and one that doesn't, between careful work and rushed work. That is why autonomous robotic assembly systems topped the agenda at The smarter E Europe this year. Human hands and human judgement are still needed, just differently than before.

Suppliers to the project business are adapting accordingly. DC and AC connection assemblies, cabling and the often-underrated small parts now arrive pre-configured and ready for site, built to the specifications of developers and investors and packed in convenient batch sizes.

This is how industrialisation is coming to a process that, until recently, still relied heavily on manual labour: the installation and commissioning of solar projects. The industry stands at the threshold between craft and industry, ready to plan, build and operate solar parks anywhere in the world to a consistently high standard, with standardised components and standardised processes.

In this issue:

• Very soon, robots will change the game
• Cybersecurity: keep your eyes open
• Innovation awards: more power, more projects, more ideas
• Wholesalers: positive signals, but not yet a reason for euphoria
• PTC: harvesting sunlight for industry