The Tamil Nadu utility is planning to slash its net metering tariff from INR 6.63 – 7.23/kWh to potentially as little as INR 2.20/kWh in response to recent record-low tariffs in the state and as a means to increase uptake of rooftop solar.
Announcement
Catch up with the Solar Superheroes!
A busy summer season sees our heroes traveling the globe to wow onlookers with their solar-honed skills. But the specter of Coal’s polluting prowess is never far from the surface… read the latest installments now! Episode 3, Part 2 & Episode 3, Part 3.
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Installations
Indian state of Maharashtra announces 2 GW of solar projects
The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO) issues call for developers to build 500 MW solar park and construct 1.5 GW of solar projects to solarize state’s agriculture feeder infrastructure.
Installations
Togo to increase rural electrification from 7% to 40% by 2022 through solar
The government of the small African country has launched a program to bring solar power to two million people without access to electricity.
Markets & Policy
German, Austrian firms collaborate on 98 MW Chile solar farm
The Huatacondo solar park in northern Chile is being constructed by AustrianSolar Chile SpA, which has collaborated with Germany’s Oppenhoff & Partner on contractual matters.
Installations
Renewables could create 300,000 jobs in India over next five years: report
India’s Council on Energy, Environment and Water states, in a joint report with the Natural Resources Defense Council, that the growth in renewables in India could create 300,000 new jobs over the next five years.
Markets & Policy
Open letter: European PV industry needs urgent measures
The PV research and upstream organizations ETIP, EUREC and Solarunited have submitted seven requests to all EU policy makers. According to the three entities, the entire PV supply chain must be preserved in Europe in order to give a future to the market and the R&D sector. The reason for the letter was the insolvency of Solarworld, which has spread fears that Europe could completely lose contact with the global market.
Installations
NextEra plans deeper moves into solar
The world’s largest wind and solar asset owner has identified opportunities for 9-10 GW of solar as it expands into renewables and away from risky conventional merchant generation.
Installations
Austria´s new PV installations reaches 156 MW in 2016
A small increase of 2.6 % was recorded in the Central European country last year. The Austrian Photovoltaic Association is still calling for an adjustment of the state´s Green Electricity Act to unleash the limited PV extension.
Markets & Policy
Featured
So close, no matter how far in former Yugoslavia
Ex-Yu roundup: The history of the former Yugoslav countries is mired in political upheaval and war, and irreversibly shaped by the country’s dissolution in the 1990s. While Slovenia and Croatia have gone their own way in leading the charge towards solar deployment, a lack of funding and policy transparency coupled with bureaucratic inertia is limiting PV rollout.
Kenya’s newly signed 160 MW of solar PPAs: expensive?
Kenya signed this month PPAs for 160 MW of new solar PV plants at a price of US$0.12 per kWh. The price has sparked controversy.
...Uruguay’s installed PV capacity tops 88.4 MW
According to new statistics, new PV installations for last year totaled 24 MW. Furthermore, solar was able to cover 2% of power demand in 2016.
...India interstate charge waiver prompts new 750 MW solar tender from SECI
The decision by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to halt interstate transmission charges for solar power until at least 2019 key catalyst in SECI’s decision to tender further 750 MW of solar at Bhadla Solar Park.
...Installations
Featured
Module replacement as a last resort
Repowering: The German Renewable Energy Act (REA) places strict limits on exchanging solar modules to restore profitability to PV plants. Plant operators should contact the network operators in advance to preserve the old feed-in tariff and avoid having to pay back tariffs already received. Proving solar panels are defective can be very complicated.
NASA tests new roll-out solar array in space
The space agency has successfully deployed its new roll out solar array in space for testing. The new panels are lighter and more flexible than the standard folded arrays on older satellites.
...Sharp to build 16 MW of rooftop PV in Thailand
Sharp Solar Solution Asia (SSSA), a unit of the Japanese group, will install solar panels on top of stores owned by Bangkok-based hypermarket retailer Big C. The two companies are now discussing the possibility of expanding the agreement to include an additional 11 MW of PV capacity.
...JRE starts building 17.1 MW solar plant in Japan
Japan Renewable Energy (JRE) has broken ground on a new solar plant east of Tokyo.
...Spain’s Balearic Islands to replace thermal power generation with solar parks
The government of the archipelago is planning to decommission parts of thermal power plant Es Murterar and to increase the share of renewables through the deployment of large-scale PV capacity.
...Technology
Featured
Quantifying Risk: CEA introduces benchmarking
Quality assurance: Having been involved in assuring quality with over 16 GW of PV installations, Clean Energy Associates is putting its experience to good use. Its new Supplier Benchmarking Program brings together its proprietary data set with an analytical methodology, delivering a tool to judge the ability of PV module suppliers’ ability to deliver on promises of durability and reliability. Director of Technology and Quality George Touloupas sets out the program.
Heraeus signs silver paste development partnership with China’s Solar Space
The German metallization and silver paste specialist will collaborate with Solar Space on the creation of regular new dual printing and other techniques in the pursuit of optimized metallization paste performance.
...China’s BYD to open PV R&D facility in Brazil
The facility at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas to become BYD’s first overseas R&D facility for PV, and will be set up with initial $1.5m in funding. Subsequent financial support will be based as a percentage of firm’s domestic net sales.
...Cheap gas and renewables are making U.S. merchant power untenable
A new report by Power Research Group and Wilkinson Barker Knauer finds that cheap natural gas, wind and solar make it impossible for merchant plants to recover invested capital, and threaten the basic operation of wholesale power markets.
...Bernreuter Research: Silicon consumption drops to 3.6 grams/W by 2020
The use of diamond wire significantly reduces wafer saw losses. Some photovoltaic manufacturers have begun to switch their production, after technical problems appear to have been resolved.
...Manufacturing
Featured
“The circular economy is possible”
Recycling: As PV module deployment continues to grow, so does the issue of end of life. Germany’s Loser Chemie has long worked on the recycling of thin film PV modules and has recently made major strides in applying chemical separation technology to the crystalline silicon (c-Si) space. The question is not how, but when large-scale recycling of PV modules will be reality, says Loser Chemie’s Wolfram Palitzsch.
India: GE signs 140 MW inverter deal with Solairedirect
Inverter division of GE is partnering with Engie subsidiary Solairedirect to supply 1 MW central inverter solutions to 140 MW of solar projects being developed in India, complete with 25-year service agreement.
...Ingeteam supplies inverters for 100 MW project in Australia
The Spanish company has delivered system components — including 1,500 V (DC) central inverters — to Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, as part of a turnkey deal for a solar array in Clare, Queensland.
...Bluecell halts solar cell production in Germany
Three years after acquiring the cell production business of insolvent Sunways, Bluecell has also given up. The 100 MW production equipment at the company’s facility in Arnstadt will be sold by the end of 2017.
...India: Anti-dumping case comes at crucial time for solar, says Mercom Capital Group
Government “highly unlikely” to disrupt soaring solar market by acquiescing to demands to introduce anti-dumping tariffs on solar modules and cells from China, Taiwan and Malaysia, says Mercom Capital, but others argue duties are only way to ensure survival of domestic industry.
...Energy Storage
Featured
More than just self-consumption
C&I storage: The commercial and industrial segment of the storage industry represents something of a middle ground between the known benefits of residential and large-scale storage. pv magazine looks at how this sector is shaping up, and which companies are most active in the space.
Italy simplifies rules for PV storage
The rules were harmonized with the regulation for revamping and repowering of PV systems issued by the GSE in March.
...ABB microgrid to control solar, wind power on island of Aruba
The microgrid will be supplied to WEB Aruba N.V., a utility that controls a large portion of the island’s power. Technology and software is designed to better integrate high levels of renewable power while also delivering storage backup and load shedding capabilities.
...JinkoSolar supplying 38.4 MW solar plant in Japan’s Hokkaido
The Tier-1 Chinese solar company will supply its solar modules to a new utility-scale solar installation being built at Tomakomai, located on the southern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
...Germany’s KfW granted incentives to 3,200 solar storage projects so far this year
The German development bank reports robust demand for storages systems combined with PV power generators. Starting from July 1, the repayment subsidy will drop from 19% to 16%.
...Keep up to date
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Press Releases
Obton enters the Canadian market with full effect through an equity investment into the experienced renewable energy developer Perimeter Solar Inc.
Obton enters co-ownership deal with recognized Canadian project developers, Perimeter Solar Inc. The co-ownership means that Obton now owns 49% of the company, who has more than 280 MW under development in Canada.
CleanCapital closes investment round led by FinTech leaders and pioneers
CleanCapital, an online marketplace for clean energy investing, announced today the closing of the first round in Series A funding, as part of an ongoing capital raise.
Sungrow and YUASA enter into strategic partnership in Japan
Sungrow announced that it has partnered with YUASA Trading Co. , Ltd, a renowned Japanese trading company, to distribute its PV inverters in Japan, aiming to provide better sales services for Japanese customers.
SolarPower Europe unveils SolarPower Live Map on solar’s brightest day
On the year's longest and brightest day, SolarPower Europe, launched the most dynamic and accurate tool for close to real-time mapping of solar power generation in Europe.