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.

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.

Once a leading European PV market, the Czech Republic may resume development of large-scale renewables from 2021. Only wind, hydro and biomass projects, however, will be eligible, under a proposal from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Only rooftop solar, of up to 1 MW, would be backed by a ‘feed-in premium’ scheme.

The impressive growth is unlikely to replace coal-fired power generation as it will only be sufficient to cover predicted demand for electricity. The electrification of heating, manufacturing and transportation offer room for further development.

Italy’s main solar event, held in Rimini last week, saw an increasing number of visitors this year. The Italian solar market, however, has not come through on its capacity expansion promises, due to lower than expected development in the PPA segment for large-scale solar; although the upcoming renewables decree, expected to be issued by the end of this year, may spur development through a series of auctions and tenders. Residential and commercial PV continue to sustain the country’s solar growth.

Even in its low ball scenario, the International Energy Agency (IEA) imagines that installed solar PV capacity will overtake that of all other forms of energy apart from gas by 2040. Overall, it presents four scenarios in its 2018 World Energy Outlook, which show a changing energy landscape. While it finds that CO2 levels are, perversely, on the rise, and that many energy efforts in all but the most whimsical of its forecasts are far behind those needed to seriously address global warming, it still imagines coal, oil and gas playing a leading role in our energy mix going forward. It also sees “dramatic” transformation in the electricity sector. Long story short: Read something else if you want to take real climate action. We suggest The Drawdown.

In what it touts as one of the largest green bond transactions issued by a U.S. utility, Duke Energy Carolinas has issued bonds to further renewable energy development.

The solar park is set to be build in Sonagazi, on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh and must be developed under a joint venture with local power utility EGCB.

The tender concluded with a final price ranging between DKK 0.1000 (US$0.15) to DKK 0.1490 (0.22) per kWh. Overall, nineteen 1 MW projects from eight different bidders were selected.

The new rules will enable the microgeneration from solar power generators up to 300 kW for residential users, and 500 kW for industrial users.

The country’s fourth long-term power auction, originally scheduled for November, will now be held on December 18. The preliminary call for the auction was made in March.

While analyzing the role of social spillovers in the adoption of solar energy solutions, a research team has found that cultural and language barriers may represent a factor causing lower levels of development. In particular, they discovered that the adoption of rooftop PV solutions may be up to 20% lower in border regions between the French-speaking and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland.

A team of researchers from Germany’s Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg has developed a new approach to perovskite cell production, which they say could result in better stability and longer lifetimes. The team also made detailed observation of the perovskite’s formation and decay, which could help to inform further research into high performance solar cells.

Companies keen to offset their carbon emissions will be able to purchase renewable energy certificates at Singapore’s first blockchain-powered marketplace, launched by electricity provider SP Group.

In late September, Heraeus launched its Selectively Coated Ribbons (SCR) technology. The product will be rolled out in partnership with ribbon supplier Ulbrich. Delivering a 1.9 W power output boost without any equipment investment and with few process changes, Heraeus’ Toralf Eggert and Ulbrich’s Peter Berghofer claim SCR will make conventional busbars competitive with unwieldy multi-busbars.

Chinese monocrystalline manufacturer Longi Solar Technology has broken its own record for PERC module efficiency, reaching 20.83% in independent testing conducted by TÜV Süd.

The first annual Battery Performance Scorecard has turned up interesting findings, including the fact high temperatures can help or hinder power output – depending on the product, and seemingly in equal measure.

The German PV equipment provider saw sales increase by a third in the first three quarters of 2018. Full year 2018 guidance remains unchanged.

Despite a considerable increase in polysilicon sales, the Chinese manufacturer saw its turnover decline 7.5% year-on-year in the latest quarter.

The Taiwanese solar manufacturer secured the funds from a consortium of banks formed by First Bank, Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Mega International Commercial Bank and CTBC Bank.

Enphase’s 3rd quarter results saw revenues at $78 million with an estimated $10 million sales shortfall due to a component shortage, as the company shipped 204 MW of inverters. Future speculation saw an international play on the IQ8, the SunPower partnership, and energy storage driving growth.

A day after signing a 300 MW production capacity deal with the building materials company, the German company has announced exactly the same order – with the same customer – for a facility elsewhere in China.

CPUC has signed off on four lithium-ion battery projects in California, the United States, one of which at 300 MW is the largest battery project to date known by pv magazine.

Zinc battery specialist NantEnergy has acquired the U.S. energy systems and services business from Japanese electronics giant Sharp. The acquisition, according to NantEnergy, will provide the company with an important foothold in the U.S. market and allow it to provide “energy as a service” business models, using its Zinc-air battery, in multiple markets.

The rise of batteries will attract that headline figure in investment up to 2040, say analysts, as exponential growth in EV ownership, falling stationery system costs and the needs of the world’s grid-poor regions combine to boost lithium-ion technology.

BYD’s electric bus business is growing at an healthy rate. Geely’s EVs lag their more traditional counterparts – but are gaining ground.

At an event in London, a new tool was presented which lets the user track the UK storage landscape. The market is gaining traction amidst disfavourable policies for solar PV and other renewables from Westminster. The UK’s storage portfolio seems to be growing rapidly.