The company says the central assumption of the report – a $1.18 per watt floor price – is wrong and that the headlines resulting from the report could harm its trade case.
Announcement
Array Changing Technologies 2017
A new format for 2017 sees the Array Changing Technologies feature split over three issues. A panel of European experts assessed the tech shaping Europe’s solar market for June, with a similarly experienced panel on board for July’s North American selection. The winner will be announced in September, so read on to discover which of the 20 entries have been shortlisted for the top prize!
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.
Announcement
We are hiring!
We are looking for an editor for the Indian market. Check out the offer here and send your application to editor-jobs(at)pv-magazine.com
Installations
Mexico: 35% of 3.6 GW of solar assigned in last year’s auctions is under development
Mexico’s solar association Asolmex revealed that a good portion of the 28 solar projects selected in the 2016 renewable energy auctions is at an advanced stage of development or under construction.
Manufacturing
Solartech to ramp up PERC cell production
Solartech Energy has revealed plans to expand output of passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells by installing two new production lines from August, from four at present.
Installations
Spain’s Canary Islands approves 15 solar projects
Projects include a solar park and several installations of hundreds of kilowatts, all of which located in the island of Gran Canaria.
Markets & Policy
SolarPower Europe outlines 10 steps towards a digital solar future
The European solar body has published ten regulatory asks on solar and digitalization that it believes can help expedite the uptake of PV and smart grids across the continent.
Installations
Hevel starts construction on 10 MW PV plant for Russian oil giant Lukoil
The plant, which will be located in the Volgograd region, is Hevel’s first solar project in the region. With this new project, Lukoil’s installed solar capacity will near 30 MW.
Installations
Kong Sun completes 30 MW in China
The Chinese PV investor connected a new solar array to the grid this week in Huanghua, Hebei province.
Technology
Heraeus develops new low activity tabbing paste for PERC applications
New white paper by the German-headquartered silver paste specialists examines effect of new generation of tabbing pastes on mono- and multi-PERC solar cell wafers, leading to higher efficiencies.
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.
Parcel delivery giant UPS announces 25% clean energy target by 2025
Global firm commits to cut emissions from ground fleet by 12% by same date, and targets one in four of all vehicle purchases to be electric or hybrid by 2020.
...U.S. cities move forward on the Energy Transition, without Trump
The annual U.S. Conference of Mayors has endorsed a 100% renewable energy target for 2035, electrification of transport and other measures, following 31 cities setting or already meeting 100% renewable energy goals.
...Australia: AEMC proposes reforms to keep the lights on
In its latest power system security report, Australia’s policy maker for the energy markets has included a set of reforms to guard against technical failures that result in rolling blackouts.
...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.
German Development Bank finances 10 MW solar project in Tunisia
The solar facility will be built by Italian PV developer Ternienergia in the south of the country.
...Solar-powered petrol pumps highlight ironies of India’s clean energy drive
Growth in solar panel installs at gas stations across India has fuelled uptake in petrol sales in regions where fossil fuel consumption had been falling, exposing one of the ironies of cheaper and reliable PV power.
...Enel puts online 150 MW of solar in the United States
The Aurora project further advances Minnesota, the Midwest’s leading solar market
...Spanish government approves Ellomay’s 300 MW solar project in southern Spain
The project is planned to be developed in the municipality of Talaván, in the southern region of Extremadura.
...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.
Patent lodged for natural photosynthetics for power generation
Solar microbial fuel cells can generate electric power by photosynthetic and storage this to be used later when there is no sun.
...Air pollution contributing to 25% solar panel output reduction, study finds
Accumulation of airborne particles on solar panels may cut energy output by more than 25% in some parts of the world, shows a new study carried out by researchers of Duke University, in cooperation with colleagues at the Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
...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.
...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.
...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.
Australia’s CEFC backs lithium mining project to tune of $15m
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation pledges AUS$20 million to part-fund the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia.
...China’s East Hope Group signs $300m MoU with Adani to build Indian manufacturing unit
The two industrial giants will develop a large fab at a port in the Mundra economic zone in Gujarat, which will manufacture solar power generation equipment as well as other goods.
...Neo Solar Power inaugurates 200 MWp Taiwan solar module fab
The Taiwanese solar cell specialist has opened the country’s first automated high-efficiency module production facility at Hsinchu. NSP will produce its new Glory BiFi module at the site.
...China’s Sinomach Group plans solar module factory in Moldova
The Chinese industrial conglomerate intends to take advantage of the fiscal incentives offered by the local government for industrial projects.
...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.
Germany allocates more funds for PV storage incentives
Due to increasing demand, the German government has provided more funds for 2017.
...Europe presses the gas on decarbonization drive with launch of two campaigns
Electrification Alliance and “Make Power Clean” initiative unveiled over past few days to increase the volume on decarbonization across Europe. Solar body SolarPower Europe at forefront of both movements.
...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.
...Keep up to date
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Press Releases
Mobisol acquires Lumeter to expand solar pay-as-you-go solution
Lumeter’s first-class PAYG software combined with Mobisol’s large consumer and productive use solar hardware systems unlock an untapped market
Solar Frontier’s CIS solar panels installed at Kaosu Packing Factory Buildings in Thailand
Solar Frontier K. K.
TMEIC introduces next generation SOLAR WARE SAMURAI 3.2MW inverter
The new inverter is the latest addition to TMEIC's portfolio of PV utility-scale solar inverters for industrial markets, offering 3. 2MW at 1500V.
Better Energy and ATsolar will make solar energy more affordable
Better Energy teams up with long-standing partners from ATsolar in strategic global partnership. Together, they are tailoring finance and technology solutions to drive down the cost of going solar.