More than 11 million PV inverters will be shipped in 2019 alone, and most of these will be connected to a software platform and controlled by the inverter companies. This creates an opportunity for suppliers to create new models and revenue sources, writes Cormac Gilligan, research and analysis manager at IHS Markit. And indeed, in recent years inverter suppliers have been rapidly developing ‘Internet of things’ software platforms to take advantage of this.

Although the National Energy Administration (NEA) held a seminar to talk about the development of the 13th five-year plan last November, a positive signal for domestic demand, the Chinese government still has not released new official targets for solar, as of February 2019.

Despite a number of unfavorable policy announcements, the global PV market still added 101 GW in 2018. It looks likely that this momentum will continue this year, with as much as 110 GW of new capacity expected.

The Turkish solar market finds itself at a crossroads in 2019, with previous policy settings coming to an end and more questions than answers being raised by recent government efforts. While the YEKA projects to date have delivered little in terms of installations, Muren Guler from Global Energy Ltd believes that ‘Mini YEKA’ could provide just the boost manufacturers, suppliers, and developers are looking for.

There is no denying that Turkey is an ideal fit for a major solar market and key player in the PV sector, located on the border between east and west. But while the country has shone as a solar star this decade, writes Eren Engür, Managing Partner at Icarus Energy, it is quickly fading as the government has failed to promote a sustainable solar sector. However, this could be about to change.

The Netherlands’ Organisation for Applied Scientific Research says renewables would not only contribute to a cheaper energy system but would also create more opportunities for new business, exports and jobs – as well as a cleaner environment.

Coming hot on the heels of major reports and a heated public debate about electric vehicles, a poll commissioned by the Climate Council has confirmed Australians believe electric cars are the future. Another poll, by The Australia Institute, has 50% of Australian voters supporting all car sales being electric by 2025.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems has demonstrated combining solar generation with agricultural activity is now not only viable at lower costs, but may be particularly suitable for arid regions.

A study has highlighted that the two growth phases of solar panel manufacturing – after the 2008 global downturn and again after 2011 – coincided with higher prices for the precious metal.

Stanford professor Mark Z Jacobson has said new nuclear plants may cost up to 7.4 times more than wind and solar facilities, with construction times longer by up to 15 years. Such a delay, he said, may see an huge amount of extra carbon emissions from fossil fuel power sources. His verdict comes as China this month set new guaranteed tariffs for nuclear power.

The storage supplier will set up a mixed-asset virtual power plant that will initially aggregate up to 2 MW of capacity as the first phase of a planned smart local energy system in southern England. Moixa aims to eventually scale the VPP up to 17 MW.

The Consortium for Battery Innovation has produced an interactive, online map highlighting the location of lead-battery storage installations worldwide.

Senator and 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren has announced plans for a targeted expansion of renewable energy development on public lands along with a moratorium on new fossil fuel leases.

Turkey’s unlicensed solar market has been the powerhouse of new PV capacity. Given the unlicensed segment is coming to an end, investors are questioning the prospects of the licensed alternative. pv magazine has tracked the progress and future potential of Turkey’s licensed PV market.

Washington is looking to become the fourth state to make the move to 100% renewable electricity, with only a senate review and the hand of Governor Inslee left in the path of SB 5116.

Mobility company Shuttl will also set up more than 50 EV charging points in prime locations and state-run power distributor BSES Rajdhani Power Limited will invest in testing facilities to support stabilizing the grid for EV charging, as well as pilot schemes on effectively integrating renewable electricity into its network.

The PV solutions division of DuPont Electronics and Imaging has revealed plans to work with the Fraunhofer ISE on optimizing testing protocols for crystalline silicon solar modules.

The state grid operator reported breaking 11 GW of instantaneous power from large scale solar on Saturday at 1.50pm. Just 20 minutes earlier, the CAISO grid was exporting a record 1.5 GW of electricity, and last Wednesday it hit 93% clean electricity for a moment.

Solar could meet approximately 68% of global energy demand with other renewables making up the rest, according to a new report. A 100% renewable energy system could also create 22 million solar jobs by 2050, the study claims. Keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C, though, would require FITs for projects up to 40 MW in capacity, auctions for bigger systems, removing fossil fuel and nuclear subsidies and providing more education and R&D and less red tape.

The discovery could provide a great leap forward in the feasibility of using hydrogen-powered cars to curb global transport emissions.

The polysilicon manufacturer will be one of the partners in a fund for the city of Leshan which appears to be planned chiefly to upgrade the poly production facilities of one of the company’s subsidiaries.

The solar manufacturer has revealed plans to invest around $875 million in production capacity for monocrystalline ingots, wafers and cells – and expects to raise a chunk of the cost with a shares issue this week.

A subsidiary of the poly maker and PV developer will commit more than $200 million of its cash to an investment fund which could then finance projects for one of its fellow GCL Poly Energy Holdings businesses.

With Narendra Modi being tipped to triumph again in the current Indian elections, Indian solar capacity is expected to grow robustly, at 15.3% per year, on the back of continued strong government support.

PV demand started weakly this year but will show an upward trend in the second half. Corrine Lin, chief analyst at PV InfoLink, examines supply and demand for polysilicon and predicts huge new capacities will come online in the west of China and shake up the market, spelling bad news for some international players.

The poly maker’s project development business has entered a sale and leaseback deal for a 140 MW project that will bring in a financial lift in the short-term but cost more than $31 million over nine years.

Hawaiian Electric Companies has laid out plans to source the equivalent of 135 MW of solar and 1,378 MWh of energy storage – as well as load shifting and frequency response from distributed energy resources through aggregators.

The 3.8 MW project is conceived for self-consumption of two facilities of the lead-acid battery manufacturer Exide in Castanheira do Ribatejo and Azambuja.

The Dendo Drive House includes a solar system, residential storage and a bi-directional charger. Mitsubishi says it reduces electric bills and fuel costs by enabling battery charging from the grid at night, when power prices are cheaper, and can also draw power from an electric vehicle.

The innovation is said to be able to produce 250 liters of hydrogen per day and can convert sunlight and water vapor from the air directly into hydrogen gas with an efficiency of 15%.