Dear TaiyangNews Readers, As the year 2024 draws to a close, we look back to trace our steps and see how far we’ve come in a year that was not short of excitement. Without a doubt, this was a milestone year for the global solar PV industry. After installing a record of around 600 GW, we exceeded the 2 TW cumulative capacity, taking just 2 years to double from 1 TW, which took us 68 years to reach after the first solar cell was produced.Despite the growth, we have been facing severe challenges - with overcapacity not going away, another year of plunging prices, squeezing business margins, consolidation, geopolitical dynamics, trade wars, to name a few. The solar PV industry has been around for long enough times to know that the solar rollercoaster will get into smoother environments, even if it's not yet clear when exactly. At least on the demand side, it looks like global solar will continue to grow in 2025, even though we are seeing challenges for continued solar growth as the traditional energy world is lagging behind expanding grids and adapting policy frameworks to enable the solar-led energy transition proceed at the speed needed to fight the global climate crisis.However, for us at TaiyangNews, the year 2024 was also a significant one as we stretched our boundaries, quite literally, to reach out to our readers and industry stakeholders, venturing beyond the virtual realm. As this year draws to a close, we would like to thank you for being part of our journey. Our endeavor has always been to empower you with accurate and timely information about the latest solar technology and market developments - and in 2024 we ventured into new arenas to strengthen our mission supporting the solar sector.Here is a round-up of what we did: Partnered Offline Events Solar Made in USA Conference at RE+ Anaheim, California: We organized our 1st physical event, where we teamed up with EUPD Research & RE+ to create our Solar Made in the USA Conference on How to Manufacture Solar Wafers, Cells and Modules Competitively in the USA with the goal to provide a platform for stakeholders involved and interested in US solar manufacturing. SNEC 2024 Solar Leadership Conversations: At SNEC PV+ 17th (2024) International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition, TaiyangNews caught up with eminent leaders from the global solar industry. As part of TaiyangNews & SNEC 2024 - Solar Leadership Conversations, TaiyangNews hosted exclusive interviews with them, including solar pioneer Prof. Martin Green, wherein we discussed their visions and strategies and the future of the solar industry. 12th Bifi PV Workshop, Zuhai: We were the key media partner for this years Bifi Conference in China co-hosted by AIKO and ISC Konstanz, where we were responsible for moderating the executive panel with CTOs/CSOs from Aiko, Longi and Maxeon, among others. 7th Silicon Heterojunction Workshop in Catania, Sicily: Shravan Chunduri, Head of Technology at TaiyangNews presented at the world's prime HJT event on our research and assessment of HJT efficiency module developments. GWPVtech - Bringing Together PV Producers, German Machine Builders and Academia, Bangalore: As exclusive media partner, TaiyangNews moderated the panel discussions on both days of the event that brought together the solar industry and students from India and Germany at a time when the Indian manufacturing solar sector is booming as never before. TaiyangNews Online Events Our monthly online conferences including the world leading solar companies got bigger, while we added new topics, including inverters and battery storage. The presentations can be viewed by clicking on the speaker in the agenda of the respective event:Dec. 2/3, 2024: High-Efficiency Solar Technologies 2024 Part I: From TOPCon & HJT to XBC & Tandems: Innovating for Better and Lower Cost Solar Cells & Modules Nov. 19, 2024: Inverters & Battery Storage Conference: Technology & Application Trends for the Brain & Mitochondria of Latest Solar Power Systems Oct. 21-22, 2024: Reliable PV Module Design Conference: Building Long-Lasting Solar Modules Sep. 18, 2024: Advanced Solar Module Applications 2024: Discussing Innovation in Solar Module Design for Diverse Applications Aug. 27, 2024: TaiyangNews Solar & Sustainability 2024 Conference: Addressing Solar’s Supply Chain Transparency, Sustainable Manufacturing & Operation, and End-of-Life Challenges July 30 -31, 2024: TaiyangNews Global PV System Technology Trends H1/2024 Conference: Latest Solar Product Innovations Presented At SNEC Shanghai & Intersolar Munich July 18, 2024: Global Solar Market Developments: H1 Review & H2 Outlook: Discussing Solar Supply, Demand & Prices June 04, 2024: TaiyangNews Special Webinar on HJT Technology: Competitive LCOE – The Winning Formula of HJT Technology May 28 – 29, 2024: TaiyangNews Distributed Solar Conference: Optimizing PV Power Supply for Homes & Businesses May 7-8, 2024: TaiyangNews Cell & Module Production Equipment & Processing Materials Conference: TaiyangNews Expands Cell Production & Materials Event Coverage to Modules to Address Needs for Latest Insights in Cost-Completive PV Manufacturing April 10, 2024: Solar Power Plant Developments: Navigating Development, EPC, and O&M Challenges in Utility-Scale PV Projects Amid Financial Constraints Jan.30, 2024: HJT Solar Application Trends in Europe: TaiyangNews Special Webinar on HJT Technology Updates and Market Opportunities in Europe TaiyangNews Featured Products We have continued our monthly overviews on the highest efficient commercial module products and our weekly price index, providing a very convenient overview on PV silicon-module prices over the course of the entire year.TaiyangNews Reports for Free Downloads We have extended the scope of our reports, publishing for the first time a floating solar report:All this well and beyond our regular, daily, extensive coverage of news and developments in solar PV from around the globe. In 2025, you bet we are gearing up to bring you much, much more. Thank you for being our loyal readers on this journey. We look forward to your continued support in the coming year as well. For now, we slow down a bit for the next few days. While we will still publish a few stories in the coming days and you will find our TaiyangNews newsletter in your inbox, we will be fully back on January 3, 2025. Till then, here’s wishing you all happy holidays and a great start into the New Year! Sincerely, The TaiyangNews Team
