By 2025, Taiwan aims to reach a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 20 GW. However, by mid-2018, just 11.2% of this goal had been met. TrendForce analyst, Rhea Tsao, examines the situation and discusses what needs to be done to reach the target.

Module degradation tests are essential not only for effective plant operations, but also to ensure an optimum ROI. However, fixed laboratories, where such tests are usually carried out, involve transportation issues, while it is not always economically feasible to send in mobile laboratories. So how can degradation in these instances be measured? Leonardo Enrique Pérez Abreu, Technical Manager of the Testing & Optimization department at Enertis discusses this issue.

World Overshoot Day marks the day the world has used up its annual budget of the resources it could have sustainably consumed. Despite efforts in relevant sectors, the date is creeping forward every year. Twenty years ago, it was in late September.

India is currently the second largest market in the world for PV module demand. With China’s domestic demand frozen since the 31/5 notification, the country’s total module demand in 2018 will likely only achieve 32-34 GW. This will allow India, which may surpass 10 GW in annual demand, to reach 13% of global PV demand this year. As a result, the future of India’s trade war has become an influential factor in the global PV industry.

Jay Lin, CEO of PVGuider discusses why the effects of light induced degradation (LID) in PERC cells cannot be completely eliminated. To explain the difficulty, we first need to understand the LID behavior of the cells, he says.

Chinese EV maker BYD passes the 600-sales mark in Europe with a deal – announced at the International Motor Show – which also takes it past 100 sales in Scandinavia, and more than 35,000 worldwide.

The investigation will be carried out by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research on behalf of the national enterprise agency and at the request of PV association Holland Solar and Uneto-VNI, the country’s installers’ association.

Through the listing on the French stock market, the independent power producer hopes to raise enough capital to increase its renewable energy assets from 2 GW to 5 GW. Impala intends to subscribe to the offering and remain majority shareholder.

The 17 MW installation, to be located in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, is expected to begin commercial operations in March.

This year’s version of Berkeley Lab’s Tracking the Sun report saw residential installs fall 6% to $3.50 / W, small business fall 11% to $2.90 / W and large business fell 5% to $2.20 /W in 2017, with light changes in early 2018. However, these averages cover wide price variances in different markets.

The world’s number one poly maker claims the worst of the fall-out after Beijing’s policy change has already occurred, and will press ahead with plans to expand production capacity – but its development business may need to find new sources of funding.

Cheaper modules for its PV development activity boosted profits in the first half but, with no mention made of Beijing’s May 31 bombshell, it is notable 98.1% of revenue came from its domestic market.

The funds will be used to finance the Battle for Solar Power Programme, a loan scheme for households and businesses willing to install rooftop PV under net metering or net accounting mechanisms.

The EU-funded research project has presented its first results. Its goal is to examine different regulatory frameworks for prosumers with photovoltaic systems in eight European countries.

A simulation of Poland’s two upcoming mixed wind/solar auctions held by the Polish wind energy association has shown that wind may prove more competitive than solar, especially in the auction for projects over 1 MW. The real auctions are expected to be launched between November and December.

In an interview with pv magazine, vice president of GoodWe, Ron Shen, talks about the company’s plans for Germany, Spain, Africa and India, in addition to its goal to triple production capacity to 15 GW in China. He also discusses the effect of China’s 31/5 policy change, and plans for an initial public offering (IPO).

Renewable energy sources, notably solar and wind, are reaching price and performance parity on and off the grid, shows a report from accountancy firm Deloitte, highlighting seven trends that are driving this transformation.

In PERC modules, both light and elevated temperature induced degradation (LeTID) and light induced degradation (LID) must be mitigated. What makes this tricky, however, is that the mitigation process of the first, counteracts that of the second, says Karin Krauß, R&D project manager, Rehm Thermal Systems. At the pv magazine Roundtable in Taipei next week, she will discuss possible solutions with cell and module manufacturers, and EPCs.

The Dutch company provides lithium iron phosphate batteries and employs artificial intelligence solutions for mobility-as-a-service applications. It aims to develop its technology further with the help of the University of Twente.

A team led by Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne has developed a low-dimensional perovskite layer it says can be used as a capping layer on perovskite solar cell material, improving stability and water resistance. The team reports a 20% efficient cell incorporating the material.

Solar battery systems should maintain power supply when the grid goes down. Right? Well, it’s not always that simple. A recent pv magazine Australia webinar, hosted in partnership with SMA, was looking into different homeowner needs and ways to install an emergency power or ‘full home backup’ system. Here are the answers to some of the webinar attendee’s questions.

The German module manufacturer is planning a further expansion of capacity in Europe. In France and Armenia, new production lines for solar cells and modules are planned to start this year.

At pv magazine‘s first quality roundtable in Latin America – at Intersolar South America in Sao Paulo – we were joined by international players such as JinkoSolar and DuPont, as well as public and private Latin American entities striving to bring more quality to the PV supply chain from the US-Mexico border to Tierra del Fuego.

The 12th Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo opened its doors today; the booming music and bright sunshine mirroring India’s ambitious goals to become the biggest RE market in the world. In the opening conference, the government’s commitment to renewables was underlined, while BNEF said the country will have one of the highest penetrations of solar and wind, globally, by 2050. Companies are also starting to look to India for manufacturing opportunities, although the landscape is still filled with uncertainty.

Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer, Motech has announced plans to reduce its workforce by 300 and further adjust production capacity, while Sino-American Silicon’s CEO has revealed the company may exit the wafer business.

German-headquartered project developer juwi Renewable Energy has inked an agreement with the University of Queensland to deliver a solar+storage hybrid power solution at its research station located in the Great Barrier Reef.

The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) has published a list of the 75 Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for three 100 MW solar PV plus storage projects. A detailed call for project proposals will be circulated to the 75 consortiums by December 2018.

The two companies joined to build one of Europes largest storage systems. The project will provide grid management services, such as primary control reserve. SMA says it is just one of four others large grid management storage systems it will commission in Germany over the next few months.

The World Bank is helping Gambian utility NAWES find a consultant for the nation’s first large-scale scheme, to be developed under the national Electricity Restoration and Modernization Project. The solar plant may have a capacity of up to 20 MW, and could be linked with a storage system.

The Centrale électrique de l’Ouest guyanais was started by French hydrogen specialist HDF Energy in May. The $90 million plant, expected to generate 50 GWh per year, is being built near Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in northwestern French Guiana, and will meet the energy needs of the nearby municipality of Mana.