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Sharp – in the storage market by investing in the startup Younicos
(Germany), which develops software to control batteries. 156 Most
solar PV installers offered energy storage solutions to German
customers during 2015, and energy storage was offered with
commercial solar systems in some US markets. 157 Sonnen
(formerly SonnenBatterie; Germany) launched its solar-plusstorage
systems for customers in Australia, Germany and the
United States to compete with Tesla’s (United States) Powerwall
system, also introduced in some markets in 2015. 158
Even as technologies advanced, the poor quality of some cells
and modules continued to raise concern, with reports of modules
as young as two years old failing in the field. 159 In China, the rate of
module failure (and replacement) accelerated in 2015. 160 In some
developing and emerging countries, uncertainty about energy
yield has contributed to reluctance to provide financing, which is
holding back development. 161
Inverters address active system functions – such as power
conversion and active grid support – and (especially for central
inverters) pose the greatest risk to overall system reliability. Thus,
manufacturers are working to improve long-term reliability and
system-prediction methods. 162 New inverter products provide
more functions, such as safety and storage management, to
appeal to a broader customer base and provide needed grid
services. 163 In 2015, several companies launched partnerships or
products to help integrate solar PV systems with batteries: for
example, Enphase launched a next-generation management
system, and SolarEdge collaborated with Tesla to provide
an inverter that is compatible with Tesla’s Powerwall battery,
launching the product in early 2016. 164 A proliferation of virtual
power plants, especially in Germany and the United States, and
growing demand for integrated home systems is forcing inverter
manufacturers to make “smarter” systems. 165 There is also a trend
towards 1,500-volt direct current inverters, which reduce power
loss during transmission. 166
Rising competitiveness in the inverter industry, a shift to utilityscale
installations and increased acceptance of Chinese products
has put price pressure on the global inverter market. Even as
demand increased in 2015, prices declined. 167 Both Enphase and
SMA (Germany) restructured and laid off staff in 2015. 168 Even so,
SMA sold its one-millionth Sunny Boy TL inverter in June, after
30 years in the business, and saw strong demand in overseas
markets. 169 A few months later, KACO (Germany) and the Saudi
Arabian Advanced Electronics Company (AEC) launched Saudi
Arabia’s first inverter manufacturing line. 170
The CPV industry had another challenging year. Despite
record module and cell efficiencies of CPV technologies, and
declining system prices since its introduction to the market,
CPV has not achieved economies of scale and has been unable
to compete with falling prices of conventional solar PV. 171 Most
notably, in early 2015, Soitec (France) announced plans to exit
the industry. 172 Suncore (China) also announced plans to halt
CPV module production, and Silex Systems (Australia) stopped
operations in late 2015; by early 2016, the industry was in crisis
following the exit of its largest manufacturers and was in the
process of restructuring. 173 Those remaining in the industry were
working to improve products and to expand their focus, including
actively marketing in the MENA region and China, and forming
partnerships to expand project pipelines. 174
CONCENTRATING SOLAR THERMAL
POWER (CSP)
CSP MARKETS
2015 was a year of challenges and changes for concentrating
solar power (CSP), also known as solar thermal electricity (STE).
Capacity growth in the CSP market decelerated somewhat in
2015. Global operating capacity increased by 420 MW to reach
nearly 4.8 GW at year’s end. 1 (p See Figure 18 and Reference
Table R7.) Nonetheless, a wave of new projects was under
construction as of early 2016, and several new plants are expected
to enter operation in 2017. 2
The year was a turning point in market expansion beyond Spain
and the United States, which account for nearly 90% of installed
CSP capacity. 3 By year-end, facilities were under construction
in Australia, Chile, China, India, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and
South Africa. 4 Morocco and South Africa surpassed the United
States in capacity added, with Morocco becoming the first
developing country to top the global CSP market. 5
Whereas early commercial CSP development focused entirely
on parabolic trough technology, markets now are balanced
fairly evenly between parabolic trough and tower technologies.
Fresnel and parabolic dish technologies have become largely
overshadowed. 6 For the first time, all of the facilities added in 2015
(as well as facilities added in early 2016) incorporated thermal
energy storage (TES) capacity, a feature now seen as central to
maintaining the competitiveness of CSP through the flexibility of
dispatchability. 7
Morocco was highly active and brought the 160 MW Noor I
plant online. 8 Noor I forms part of the 500 MW multi-stage
Noor-Ouarzazate CSP complex, which is expected to be fully
operational by 2018. 9
South Africa brought its first commercial CSP capacity online in
2015 with the 100 MW KaXu Solar One facility and the 50 MW
Bokpoort facility. 10 A further 50 MW was added in early 2016
when the Khi Solar One facility came online, bringing South
Africa’s total capacity to 200 MW; an additional 200 MW also
was under construction. 11 Grid access in areas of high insolation
has emerged as a key challenge for South African CSP projects,
many of which are being planned in regions with constrained
transmission networks. 12
The United States followed, adding the 110 MW Crescent Dunes
facility to end the year with more than 1.7 GW in operation. 13 This
followed a record year in the country in 2014, during which almost
0.8 GW was brought online. 14 As of early 2016, no new CSP
capacity was under construction in the United States. Permitting
challenges, a surging solar PV sector and low natural gas prices
have resulted in indefinite delays to several large CSP projects. 15
Spain remains the global leader in existing CSP capacity, with 2.3
GW at year’s end. However, no capacity came online in 2015, and,
as of early 2016, no new CSP facilities were under construction or
being planned or developed in the country. 16
While Noor I in Morocco was the highlight for the North
African market, developments also were under way in other
countries in the region. For example, in early 2016, Egypt
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