The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has announced a 10.17% decrease to next year’s feed-in tariff (FIT) rates for solar PV installations, which is much higher than the average decrease of 4.25% in the global PV industry. This will make 2019 a tough year for Taiwan’s PV industry, with wider-than-expected impacts on the whole market.

On November 2, China’s National Energy Administration held a symposium to evaluate the results of the 13th Five-Year Plan for solar PV development at its halfway point, discussing the adjustment of PV and thermal generation targets in the plan. As a result of this, there is renewed positivity regarding China’s domestic solar demand in 2019-2020.

Solar PV has come a long way as a power generation technology. As highlighted in SolarPower Europe’s Global Market Outlook for 2018 to 2022, solar added 98 GW of net generation capacity last year, eclipsing all other forms of electricity generation. But solar needs to do a lot more, and to do it very soon if we want to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and keep global warming to below 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels.

As the deployment of renewable energy continues to expand around the world, driven by various inputs, such as capital allocation and investment, falling capital costs, competitive LCOE and various policy mechanisms, we are now moving towards a new era for renewable energy. ‘Renewables 2.0’ will have significant, wide-ranging consequences for all market players, as regulators reduce their support and power producers seek new revenue models. In this article, Duncan Ritchie, partner at Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory, will look at the key market developments for renewables, explode the myth of grid parity, highlight the need for flexibility and explain the importance of new financing solutions that are capable of meeting the new complexities brought about by ‘Renewables 2.0’.

With the release of second quarter financial results, the rankings of global module shipments in the first half of the year can be confirmed. JinkoSolar shipped 4.8 GW to take first place in this period.

As expected, Germany’s second chamber of parliament has passed a new package of laws. They will enter into force on January 1, 2019. Among the the changes are the extraordinary FIT cuts for rooftop systems between 40 and 750 kW in size for February, March and April, and new tenders for wind and solar totaling 4 GW.

U.K. renewable investment firm Octopus has signed another private PPA in Italy, this time with EGO Group for 63 MW of unsubsidized solar PV projects. Meanwhile, Canadian Solar Inc. has signed a 10-year PPA with TrailStone GmbH for the energy generated from a 17 MW project in Sicily.

As the dust settles on an imperfect, but still welcome, international agreement thrashed out at COP 24, the chairman of the European Energy Research Alliance has criticized the solar industry for its lack of representation in Katowice.

The Saudi developer is reportedly suffering fines of $700/MW/day for late delivery of a project at the Benban solar complex in Egypt as 180 MW of plants near completion.

Con Edison states that it has become the number two solar power generator in North America with the finalization of its Sempra purchase which included 980 MWac of operating solar.

Citing a recent dip in solar tariffs, the central government has withdrawn a plan to install 12 GW of PV capacity – out of total 15 GW envisaged – via the state-owned NTPC Ltd.

The services will be provided for Alten Africa. The IPP says the project is its first utility-scale system in Kenya. The country has recently presented its universal electrification strategy, which places emphasis on solar PV generation.

After approving a major solar+storage project at Darlington Point this week, Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) Department of Planning and Environment has just greenlit two more utility-scale solar PV projects: The 170 MW Suntop Solar Farm and the 47 MW Gregadoo Solar Farm.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water is calling for expressions of interest (EoI) for 2 GW of grid connected solar PV projects. The last date of submissions is December 20.

Scatec Solar ASA, in partnership with the Rengy Development Group, has closed financing on its 47 MW solar PV project in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine.

Alta Devices’ gallium arsenide solar research cells have been certified with a 29.1% efficiency, setting a new single junction solar cell efficiency record. The most significant change, however, isn’t actually the efficiency; it is that the weight fell 30%, and from the words of Alta Devices, its process has lowered material costs to “essentially nothing”.

Photovoltaic manufacturers in Asia are importing deposition reactors from the EU to test the latest word in silicon solar cell passivation. Two thin buffer layers sandwiched between silicon wafers and metal contacts are increasing the efficiency of conventional solar cells and setting new records. Equipment suppliers expect the technology to spread through the industry and boost their bottom line.

NREL has proposed a new methodology for determining solar module degradation rates, taking into account measurement challenges such as sensor drift, inverter nuances, soiling and others – keeping the focus on the solar modules themselves.

The United Kingdom has announced £9.5 million (around US$12 million) in funding for the creation of a new research consortium and 12 projects to speed the uptake of smart energy systems.

PXiSE will deploy its Active Control Technology to manage up to 50,000 distributed energy resources across Horizon Power’s 2.3 million square kilometre network, which it says will enable higher levels of renewable energy.

Swiss equipment supplier Meyer Burger has received a CHF 74 million (US$74.4 million) order for a 600 MW production line combining heterojunction and smart wire technologies. The order was placed by an unnamed manufacturer, with the line expected to begin cell and module production in the second half of 2019.

The thin film PV maker projects 5.4 to 5.6 GW of module shipments next year, more than double its current projected 2018 volumes of 2.6 to 2.7 GW.

In its Q3 2018 report, VDMA finds that German PV equipment providers are continuing to enjoy much improved fortunes compared to the previous year. Solar cell and thin film equipment suppliers account for the vast majority of bookings.

Australia-based perovskite solar cell specialist Greatcell Solar has failed to secure refinancing for its activities and has been forced to appoint administrators. The company lays the blame at the federal government’s door, pointing to the R&D rebate changes and policy settings that are unsupportive of renewable energy investment as the reasons behind its downfall.

Meyer Burger’s largest single shareholder has requested the company change strategy. Sentis Capital has urged the Swiss technology company’s board to raise sufficient capital for it to set up its own GW-sized production facility for its heterojunction and tandem cell PV technology. Meyer Burger has responded that it is view of only one shareholder.

Driven by the ambition to reduce costumer bills, Northumbria Water is turning its head to storage systems for peak shedding and uninterrupted power supply. The MW-scale storage project will use second-life EV batteries from Renault.

The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment has given the green light to a massive solar farm coupled with a utility-scale energy storage facility. The Australian project proposed by Edify Energy is valued at AU$407 million.

Australia’s New South Wales Government has launched its ambitious pumped hydro roadmap designed to back the rising level of wind and solar in the energy mix. Meanwhile, the board of government-owned energy provider Snowy Hydro has given the green light to its landmark $4 billion pumped hydro expansion project, Snowy 2.0.

Politicians take note: “The energy transition is not a question of technical feasibility or economic viability, but one of political will.” Indeed, according to a new study, it is possible to rapidly transition to a Europe 100% powered by renewables and with zero greenhouse gas emissions. Solar PV leads the charge, followed by wind. Overall, eight policy recommendations have been laid out to achieve this bold goal by 2050.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is calling for permanent tax credits for clean electricity, storage and EVs as part of a set of demands for the form of any new infrastructure package. What does this mean for solar?