With Cormac Gilligan, Director Cleantech at S&P Global Commodity Insights

Renewable energy sources are on the rise, in recent years mainly thanks to photovoltaics. But various challenges are about to slow down its dynamic growth: Grid challenges, unsolved storage issues, land availability - to only name a few.

At this year's Solarplaza Asset Management conference in Prague, Cormac Gilligan confronted the European solar PV industry with a tough truth: There will be a dip in growth within the next years.

So is the European solar party over already?

Definitely not, according to Cormac Gilligan, but different regions will develop with varying speed. In this episode, we take a look at recent trends, market challenges, and global and regional developments.

Tune in and learn about:

• Market outlook for Europe
• From Ireland to the Balkans: Global and regional challenges
• Cormac's top picks for solar investments in Europe and globally

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Matteo Baricchio, Hesan Ziar (both Researchers at TU Delft), and Marc Korevaar, Scientist at OTT HydroMet

PV modules generate the largest amount of electricity when directly exposed to the sun. In theory, using two-axis trackers would maximize the yield. For obvious economic reasons, a fixed installation towards the south is the more popular setup. But it is not the power output alone, that counts in the end, as power prices differ a lot throughout the day. They are low at noon, when there is plenty of energy available and higher in the morning and evening hours.

So what is the best setup from an economic perspective?

That is the question investigated by Matteo Baricchio and Hesan Ziar, two young researchers at the Technical University of Delft. In this episode of OTT CAST, we elaborate on their exciting research work, that compares East/West (E/W) vertical bifacial photovoltaic (PV) modules with conventional North/South (N/S) tilted configuration depending on the design choices and external conditions. We are joined by Marc Korevaar, our experienced Scientist at OTT HydroMet, who supported the researchers during their complex simulations with real measurement data.

Tune in and learn about:

• Potential of bifacial modules for East/West vertical installations
• Distinguishing performance from profitability
• Multi-use PV applications in combination with wind energy and hydropower

Our appreciation and thanks go out to our guests:

Hesan Ziar works as an assistant professor in the Electrical Sustainable Energy department of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science, at Delft University of Technology.

Matteo Baricchio is a PhD Candidate at the Delft Center for Systems and Control, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, at Delft University of Technology.

Further reading

Research paper: Modelling of bifacial photovoltaic farms to evaluate the profitability of East/West vertical configuration

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Craig Plaatjes, Global Product Manager at OTT HydroMet

Intersolar has been huge this year. 18 halls filled with new PV panels, battery systems, inverters, mounting equipment, cleaning robots, software solutions, and more, underscore the industry’s dynamics and hunger for innovation

In this episode of OTT CAST, we summarize our learnings and observations from the recent edition. Craig Plaatjes, Global Product Manager, and our host Martin Maly, Sales Manager Eastern Europe, were part of the team that represented OTT HydroMet with its brands Kipp & Zonen and Lufft at Intersolar 2024. Shortly before leaving Munich, they met at the hotel lobby to exchange thoughts and impressions. Please apologize for the occasional background noise.

Tune in and learn about:

• Intersolar 2024: The biggest solar show in Europe
• Hot topic: Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and green hydrogen
• Standards: How to make your PV plant compliant with IEC 61724-1

Further reading

Whitepaper: Solar Energy International Standards

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Sajad Badalkhani, Service & Technical Support Manager at OTT HydroMet

Food for geeks! Most measurement instruments are either analog or smart. This applies to our Kipp & Zonen portfolio for solar irradiance monitoring, too. But which one to choose for which application?

In this episode of OTT CAST, we welcome Sajad Badalkhani, an experienced technical expert for solar monitoring instruments. We discuss the technical differences between analog and smart sensors and who they are designed for. Sajad explains the concept of the Modbus protocol and introduces the SMP12, an ISO 9060:2018 Class A pyranometer with integrated heating and built-in sensors for remote monitoring of humidity and tilt angle.

Tune in and learn about:

• Pros and cons of analog and smart sensors
• Introducing the Modbus protocol
• Next level monitoring with the new Kipp & Zonen SMP12

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Maarten van Pel and Renske Cox, Ambassadors for Sustainable Travelling at 4x4electric.com

Special Holidays Episode! This Dutch couple has seen quite a big part of the world. Maarten van Pel and Renske Cox always have been passionate travelers. But one day, they decided to stop flying. This decision gave birth to a spectacular idea and their biggest adventure yet: Driving from the Netherlands to Cape Town and back – powered mainly by solar energy.

In this episode of OTT CAST, we welcome two dedicated ambassadors for sustainable traveling. Maarten and Renske talk about their 13-months trip with more than 38.000 kilometers driven in a Skoda Enyaq, a battery electric vehicle (BEV). Thanks to PV panels on the rooftop and in the trunk of their car, they were able to generate more than half of the needed energy form the sun.

Tune in and learn about:

• Impressions from Africa, a beautiful continent full of contrasts
• How and where to charge a BEV with solar panels
• Effective use of Kipp & Zonen CMP3 pyranometer to optimize charging performance

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Dr. Stephan Treuke, Coordinator River Basin Management at Emschergenossenschaft

The river Emscher in Western Germany has a turbulent history. Within one century, it turned from a leisurely meandering stream to Europe’s dirtiest river and, most recently, to a restored recreation area.

In this episode of OTT CAST, we discuss the history and the challenges of the double transformation that the Emscher went through. Our guest is Dr. Stephan Treuke of the Emschergenossenschaft, the organization responsible for the river basin management.

He sees big restoration projects not as isolated hydrological problems but as cross-discipline opportunities to develop and improve the infrastructure of a whole region.

Tune in and learn about:

• The history of a river confined to a concrete channel and released again
• Challenges and potentials of river basin management for regional development
• What industrial regions around the world can learn from the Emscher restoration

Further reading
Homepage: English website of the Emschergenossenschaft

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Dawid Brudny, Vice President at APM PRO

In a coalescing world, safe and efficient transportation of people and goods becomes increasingly important. Thus, it comes with little surprise that weather monitoring for roads, railways, and air traffic rank among the most innovative applications across meteorology.

The company APM PRO is a successful innovator of the Polish and Eastern European road industry. Recently, APM PRO has developed Control Pro Ice, an automated de-icing system that ensures safe traffic at tunnel entrances. Thanks to specialized meteorological and pavement condition sensors, the system detects any slippery conditions and automatically triggers a sprinkler system to cover the affected sections of road with de-icing agent.

For this episode of OTT CAST, we’ve visited Dawid Brudny, Vice President at APM PRO, to talk about this project, the importance of on-site meteorological measurements, and other innovations in the road weather industry.

Tune in and learn about:

• The automated de-icing system Control Pro Ice
• Why tunnel entrances have their own micro-climate
• The importance of meteorological measurements for safe traffic

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/

With Marc Korevaar, Scientist, and Sajad Badalkhani, Technical Support & Services, both OTT HydroMet

Dirty PV modules generate less energy than clean ones. This phenomenon called “soiling” sums up to losses of several billion dollars every year. Cleaning increases efficiency, but comes at a cost, too. So, finding the right cleaning schedule and method is key to a higher profitability.

In this episode of OTT CAST, we discuss the different sources of soiling and how it is impacting solar energy generation. Marc Korevaar, scientist, and Sajad Badalkhani, Technical Support & Services Manager, present solutions to measure the degree and take actions based on solid data.

Tune in and learn about:

• Impact of soiling on solar energy generation, leading to losses of several billions of dollars every year
• Different kinds of soiling, from sand to dust to leaves to pollen and bird droppings
• The measurement principle of the Kipp & Zonen soiling monitoring system DustIQ

Further reading

• OTT HydroMet Blog: Firmware Update Improves Response and Handling of DustIQ
• PV Magazine: Soiling – a multi-billion dollar issue

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CONTACT
https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/