First developed by NASA, flow batteries are a potential answer to storing solar – and wind – for eight to 10 hours, far beyond what is commonly achieved today with lithium-ion. In the second of a two-part special report, Andy Colthorpe dives deeper into questions of bankability, market segmentation and manufacturing strategies

In the sixteenth edition PV Tech Power we examine the ever complex module technology market and the best routes to ensuring module quality for your project from manufacture to in the field performance. We also examine the bifacial plus tracker options available, review India’s latest policy challenges (and opportunities) as well as virtual power plants, flow batteries, solar contract standardisation and much more.

The Internet of Energy is set to provide flexible, sustainable and affordable power for all. But we must not get complacent. Gianluca Mauro, Co-founder and CEO at AI Academy, argues that for this future to be realised, energy leaders need to develop a digital mindset.

First developed by NASA, flow batteries are a potential answer to storing solar – and wind – for eight to 10 hours, far beyond what is commonly achieved today with lithium-ion. In the first of a two-part special report, Andy Colthorpe learns what the flow battery industry faces in the fight for commercialisation.

Islands around the world provide ideal conditions for trialling new approaches to energy provision. David Pratt reports on some of the work going on globally to bring the benefits of cutting-edge renewable energy, storage and smart grid technologies to the world’s geographically isolated communities.

Welcome to the latest edition of PV Tech Power. Installed solar power capacity already rivals nuclear power and could well surpass it by the end of 2018. Rapid improvements in solar cell technology, module configuration, system design and financial innovation have been a big driver. Increasingly, we are seeing this mammoth legacy fleet continue to benefit from technical improvements ranging from intelligent monitoring to using machine learning and energy storage to predict when charging a battery offers a better return than feeding the grid. We’ll explore a range of activities covering hardware and software, from module to market, that are helping asset owners maximise the value of solar.

PV Tech Power’s annual Africa-focused special report is an opportunity to gauge the fortunes of solar and other renewables in a region where they arguably offer the most. Last year we charted some of the sector’s key milestones and argued that it looked as though the pace of progress was set to gather pace. A year on, that certainly seems to have been the case.

2017 was tet another record-breaking year for energy storage. Riding high on expectation, the industry is braced for challenges and successes in equal measure this year too. We canvassed opinions from some of the world’s leading trade associations and representative bodies on the year just gone and what 2018 could bring

The commercial and industrial segment is one of the most promising sub-sectors of the energy storage space. Julian Jansen of IHS Markit describes recent efforts to model the US C&I storage landscape and what it reveals about this dynamic emerging market. As told to Andy Colthorpe

Islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters such as hurricanes. John Merritt looks at some of the emerging solutions to building more resilient energy systems through the deployment of microgrids that combine multiple energy generation and storage technologies