An inflection point for European solar is beginning to take shape as the industry finds itself in a period of acceleration and transformation. pv magazine’s European editors – Emiliano Bellini, Sandra Enkhardt, Gwénaelle DeBoutte, and Pilar Sánchez Molina, along with Jonathan Gifford – look at four trends shaping the market.

Welcome to the second day of the pv magazine Roundtable Europe event! Coming up this morning, is the cornerstone on Sustainability and Made in Europe, followed by the Innovation Hub: Hydrogen, battery storage, and e-mobility. Make sure you stay tuned!

Welcome to the first day of the pv magazine Roundtable Europe event! We have a packed two-day schedule planned for you comprising four cornerstone issues that will define the industry as it cements itself as a key pillar of the continent’s energy transition: Quality, Asset Management, Sustainability and Made in Europe, and the Innovation Hub: Hydrogen, battery storage, and e-mobility.

In the first installment of a new monthly blog by IHS Markit, Edurne Zoco, executive director for clean energy technology, writes that high prices and increased freight costs are putting solar PV procurement teams under extreme pressure, particularly those teams with connection deadlines this year that were anticipating a more favorable pricing and logistic environment in the second half of 2021.

Until 2016, Nepal suffered from chronic power shortages. At that time, just 65% of the country’s population had access to electricity. Assessing the situation, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimated that the country has the potential for 2.1 GW of installed PV capacity. Although the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has officially been able to buy solar power under long-term PPAs since July 2014, the majority of projects granted these contracts have been large-scale hydropower plants. Following slow activity, plans are finally afoot, however, to boost the country’s solar footprint.

In its latest report, IHS Markit predicts that energy storage installations in Australia will grow from 500 MW to more than 12.8 GW by 2030. Today, Australia makes up less than 3% of total global installations for battery energy storage and is the seventh largest market globally. By 2030, it is forecast to comprise 7% of global installations and become the third largest market. This growth will be largely driven by three distinct market segments: residential, standalone front-of-the-meter, and collocated with utility-scale renewables.

The Commercial and Industrial (C&I) solar sector currently accounts for 75% of power demand in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, due to the unreliable nature of energy supply from the grid, consumers under this segment have been forced to invest in alternative sources of energy, which they consider to be more reliable and less expensive, such as the use of captive solar solutions.

China’s project development segment is dynamic, to say the least. Having undergone significant changes toward a “subsidy-free” footing, developers are now facing requirements to integrate storage, deploy hybrid arrays, and pursue self consumption through BIPV and agrivoltaics applications, writes Frank Haugwitz, the director of the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA).

Recent financial statements from the big module manufacturers indicate that higher prices for polysilicon and PV glass since the third quarter of 2020 have dealt a severe blow to profits in the module business. Module manufacturers have gradually scaled down capacity utilization since the Lunar New Year, as demand has been weaker than expected, given the absence of China’s usual June 30 installation rush, as in past years. In April, Tier-1 module makers further cut utilization rates to 55-70%. PV InfoLink’s Corrine Lin examines the price trends that are developing in 2021.

Nigeria and Ghana-based Starsight Energy has spent an undisclosed amount to acquire a half stake in the Kenyan subsidiary of East African peer Premier Solar Group.