Sandra Enkhardt
Hanwha Q Cells posts $165m loss in Q3
The South Korean PV manufacturer saw sales increase slightly in the last quarter. Net losses, however, more than quadrupled compared to the previous period.
German parliament approves incentive cut for 40-750 kW solar systems
Through a new package of measures for the energy sector, the German government has introduced a significant incentive reduction for commercial and industrial solar, but has also allocated an additional 4 GW of solar capacity in tenders up to 2021.
SMA revises down 2018 guidance, again
The outlook for sales and operating result has once again been lowered by the inverter maker. EBITDA is now expected to show a mid-to-high double-digit loss.
PV Info Link expects solar demand to reach 112 GW in 2019
That would mean a market increase of around 25% on this year. Demand is predicted to become particularly strong in the second half of the year.
Germany added 182 MW of new PV capacity in October
The vast majority of the newly reported capacity was small and medium-sized PV rooftops. For ground-mounts, as in September, there was little volume. By the end of October, the government’s annual target of 2.5 GW of new capacity was almost reached. Solar FITs will fall another 1% in December.
Renewables surpassed fossil fuels capacity in Germany last year
In their annual monitoring report, Germany’s Federal Network Agency and the Federal Cartel Office have analyzed the figures for 2017. At the end of last year, renewables accounted for around 112.5 GW of operational capacity, while conventional sources totalled 105.1 GW.
German government plans softer FIT reduction for commercial solar
The coalition government has reached agreement on the FIT reduction for rooftop PV not exceeding 750 kW in size. According to a draft bill, seen by pv magazine, the FIT will be reduced to €0.0987/kWh from February, with further cuts in March and April, which would take it down to €0.0890/kWh.
Greenpeace Energy wants to buy Germany’s RWE coal business, replace it with 8.2 GW of renewables
The Hamburg-based green electricity provider wants to shut down RWE’s coal power plants and replace them with 8.2 GW of wind and solar systems. Approximately €7 billion would be invested in the new facilities, which would be built without any public support. Key to the initiative will be citizen participation.
IEA versus the reality of solar PV
In the recently released World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) foresees a steady decline in the global expansion of PV to 2035. In response, Dutch researcher Auke Hoekstra has updated his graphic, IEA versus reality in solar PV.
PV snaps up all capacity in Germany’s second mixed wind-solar auction
The German Federal Network Agency has selected 36 solar PV power projects with a combined capacity of 201 MW in the mixed energy auction, which ended with a final average price of €0.0527/kWh.
