Solar Boom

Introduction The climate and ecological emergency From black to green Goals and takeaways PART ONE The Solar Coaster 1 The History Of Solar Simple solar Let there be light 2 What Is Photovoltaic Technology? Modules Inverters Transformers Mounting structures Earthing Cabling Connectors String combiner boxes Switchgear and protection relays Metering SCADA and communications systems CCTV and security systems Meteorological equipment 3 Solar Sectors And Applications Rooftop Large-scale and utility Off-grid and stand-alone systems Floating solar Carports Buildings and facades Transportation Space applications 4 Who's Who In The Solar Industry Developers Local authorities Landowners District network operators ICPs EPCs O&Ms Asset owners and fund managers Asset managers TAs Other organisations involved in large-scale solar Roles within utility-scale solar organisations 5 The Competency Gap PART TWO PV Assets 6 Operational Assets - Fleet Status Operational phase - key players Defects, damage and dire installation standards 95 7 Operational Assets - Knowledge Is Power The warranty window countdown SOS and Road2Repower Revamp and repower 8 New-build Assets New-build market status New-build phase - key players CAPEX vs OPEX Garbage in, garbage out Why pre-construction module testing is a no-brainer Securing your supply chain 9 Lessons Learnt From The UK Solar Boom Lesson 1: Subsidy solitaire Lesson 2: Pump-and-dump shovel-ready flips Lesson 3: Invest in green and clean renewables Lesson 4: Just sign it off, Mr TA Lesson 5: Focus on CAPEX over OPEX Lesson 6: Shake off the module quality delusion Lesson 7: We do it this way in Europe PART THREE The Future Of Solar 10 Committing To A Solar-powered Future Quitting non-renewables and going cold turkey Focus on quality The age of revamp and repower When and where to build? EPC vs EPC-M Solar + storage = baseload renewables 14 Technology Treats Module and cell technology Tracking systems Optimisers and sensors Inverter technology AI, machine learning, analytics and big data Robots and PV Blockchain, cryptocurrencies and solar 12 Scaling Solar And The Big 'H' Connection congestion Decommissioning solar farms 13 The Renewables Revolution Continues 100% renewables and a Net-Zero future Conclusion: The Bigger Picture Solar Boom round-up Notes Further Reading Acknowledgements The Author Contact