Chinese PV manufacturer TW Solar (Tongwei Co., Ltd.) TW Solar spoke to pv magazine at the recent World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi about its strategy for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and other global markets.

The photovoltaic industry is expected to achieve annual global expansion of 300 GW as early as this year. That sounds like a lot, but is it enough? In view of climate change and rising energy demand, it is time for a new vision.

pv magazine publisher, Eckhart Gouras, interviewed Diego Mesa, the Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy at the BNEF Summit in New York. Mesa recounted the history of solar PV adoption in his country and provided details on the most recent developments, including the construction of Colombia’s largest solar park by Italian group Enel and the first large scale battery project by Canadian Solar.

China is once again the focus of attention across the global solar PV industry. The country’s manufacturers have had a turbulent 2021, but domestic demand remains strong, particularly from the booming residential rooftop segment. Despite the supply challenges, China will likely reach 50 GW this year and possibly even 100 GW next year. Given the dynamic market and policy landscape, pv magazine publisher Eckhart K. Gouras recently caught up with long-time China solar expert Frank Haugwitz, the founder of the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA).

The Canadian Solar chief repeated his belief the trend of ever-cheaper solar panels has come to an end and revealed, at the online BNEF event, his company is set to launch a 700 W module.

The Dutch event has attracted bumper crowds this week as the Dutch solar PV market continues to defy skeptics with its tremendous growth.

Last Friday, the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) officially released its “RTS – Technical and Administrative Guidelines for Commercial and Industrial Projects” to further support the development of rooftop solar (RTS) in Vietnam. Earlier in the week in a JinkoSolar-organized webinar, Tuan A. Nguyen of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MOIT) Institute of Energy provided an update on Vietnam’s growing PV market and especially the RTS segment. Mr. Tuan also coauthored the RTS Guidelines for C&I Projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic featured prominently at this week’s inaugural pv magazine Virtual Roundtables Europe, which took place this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Not only did the pandemic lead to the virtualization of pv magazine’s established June Roundtables, but it was a big topic in the final session on Wednesday dealing with markets and specifically the further development of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in Europe.

pv magazine recently attended the opening ceremony of TBEA’s GW-class new energy equipment manufacturing base in Bangalore, India. Bangalore is the capital of Karnataka state in southern India and the city also hosted the recent Intersolar India exhibition and conference in the same week as TBEA’s inauguration ceremony.

At the recent Solar Power International trade show in Salt Lake City, Utah, part of the larger North America Smart Energy Week, pv magazine met with Hank Wang, President of the Americas Region at the Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow. The company expects to ship 2 GW of products to North American markets this year with utility-scale products making up the bulk of these shipments.