The Solar Energy Industries Association’s “ambitious goal” of solar supplying 20% of U.S. electricity in 2030 looks more like a forecast, and vision for rapid decarbonization is coming from the climate movement and the American Left, not SEIA.

As the European elections approach, it will be vital to have MEPs that are committed to solar and help ensure that the lowest cost and most flexible clean energy technology is the leading contributor to the EU’s 2050 climate strategy, writes Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe.

Over the past few years, solar energy has undergone a remarkable transformation. From its position as one mainstream energy source among many, it has now become the world’s preferred source of power, writes Martin Haupts, CEO of Phanes Group.

Europe saw the largest upswing of new PV installations over the past year, in particular after the minimum import price on modules ended. Installations grew by 23% in 2018, reaching 12 GW. IHS Markit forecasts the region to surpass 19 GW in 2019. The reason for this revived growth, writes Research & Analysis Manager Josefin Berg, is a combination of the increased cost competitiveness of PV, more initiatives outside of subsidy schemes, and new policy initiatives to meet 2020 and 2030 targets.

To keep up with the global shift to renewable energies, the Taiwanese Government has passed the first large set of amendments to its Renewable Energy Development Act since the legislation’s inception in 2009. The amendment bill passed its third reading on April 12, 2019, and was designed to optimize the renewable energy environment, to keep up with the changes to the Electricity Act and to increase civic engagement.

In the coming weeks, months, and years, pv magazine will be digging deeper and expanding our sustainability horizons, defining – with your help – the most effective courses of action. What follows is an overview of current sustainability initiatives in the solar and, to a lesser extent, storage industries.

Welcome to the final day of Intersolar Europe 2019! Follow pv magazine live to keep updated on the latest solar PV and storage developments, events and trends from this year’s event, as they happen. Stay tuned!

In a recent survey, DNV GL found that demand for blockchain-related skills in the solar sector is 50% higher than in other energy industries, while 33% of respondents said that the use of drones is having a significant impact on their businesses. However, the solar industry needs a common framework to help advance digitalization further.

As Australia’s federal election campaign slowly grinds to a halt, one thing is indisputable: Climate change has emerged as the make or break issue in this year’s election. The main parties have come up with a wide range of policies, but some of them are more supportive of the green energy sector than others.

It’s unclear exactly what the interest is in the California-based supercapacitor maker, but it could be more about the process than the product.

Spain’s Holaluz has agreed to buy electricity from up to 500 MW of solar capacity that China’s Chint Energy plans to build in Spain. The investment has been estimated at roughly €350 million.

The Portuguese government has approved legislative amendments that it says will facilitate its plans to auction off 1.35 GW of solar capacity this summer. The Portuguese energy minister, meanwhile, said that the government hopes to see €6 billion of investment in solar by 2030.

The UK Labour Party has revealed plans to facilitate the installation of solar panels on 1.75 million homes, with a particular focus on low-income households.

The Swiss power group and Italian utility Evolvere have started a blockchain pilot project designed to facilitate transparent, secure peer-to-peer energy trading.

State-owned Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has once again extended the bid submission deadline for its latest 3 GW, manufacturing-linked solar tender, following a tepid response.

After close to a decade of dramatic module cost declines, a new era of subsidy-free, utility-scale PV projects in dawning in Europe. But rather than ever-cheaper commodity modules, Radu Roman expects that technological innovation, particularly at the module level, will boost performance and continue solar’s subsidy-free expansion. Roman is Jinko Solar’s product and business development manager for Europe and will be a panelist at the Future PV Roundtable in Munich on Wednesday, May 16.

The Hi-MO 4 offers power ratings up to 430 watts, with module efficiencies as high as 19.2%, as the latest high-powered module to hit the floor at Intersolar Europe.

Electric vehicles could account for more than half of all passenger cars and buses sold throughout the world within the next two decades, according to a new report by BloombergNEF. Sliding lithium-ion battery costs will make EVs cheaper than vehicles based on internal combustion engines by the mid- to late-2020s, the research firm says.

Tests by U.S.-based PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) show that monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon PV modules produced by India’s Vikram Solar met and exceeded international quality and performance benchmarks.

Research by NREL and First Solar has produced highly accurate, real-time estimates of available aggregate peak power that a curtailed solar power plant can deliver to support the broader needs of the grid.

The notion of a circular economy is gaining traction, both in and out of the solar and storage industries. Recently, the European Commission wrote, “The circular economy is now an irreversible global trend,” and there are many initiatives taking place around the world to build a more circular society. As part of our new UP campaign, pv magazine spoke with material solutions provider DSM Advanced Solar to see what it is doing in this area.

The testing company’s first inverter scorecard found widespread failures of basic tests in UL- and IEC-tested products.

A combination of a heat sink effect, with radiation and passive convection heat dissipation results in cooler modules, and higher power output. This is the technique applied by Coolback, which launched its new backsheet concept at Intersolar Europe this week. Coolback Simon Meijer sets out the technology, effects and strategy to market.

In 2017, JinkoSolar was the first Chinese company, and the second solar company, to achieve cradle to cradle certification – a pioneering initiative aimed at designing products in an environmentally and socially positive way. pv magazine spoke to Radu Roman, Product & Business Development Manager – Europe at JinkoSolar about the process, why it is so important to the company, and what’s in store for the future.

Sungrow has presented a new 1500Vdc string inverter at Intersolar Europe 2019. The SG250HX, a standout 250 kW inverter, is already available for pre-sale.

The Finnish utility has switched on a 5 MW/6.2 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system at a hydropower plant in Sweden.

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority is seeking public input on the massive Asian Renewable Energy Hub proposed for the country’s Pilbara region.

Pumped hydro storage is highly cost competitive for large-scale energy storage, according to a report published by the San Diego County Water Authority. The report models a pumped hydro project as securing better financing terms than battery storage.

Canadian company CellCube Energy Storage Systems and Pangea Energy have signalled their intention to install a 50 MW/200 MWh energy storage system in Port Augusta, South Australia.

Moixa has wrapped up an £8.6 million funding round led by Honda. The U.K. smart battery specialist will use the funds to finance the global expansion of its business managing residential battery systems, electric vehicles and smart charging facilities, as well as the aggregation of battery capacity for grid services.