Australia: record 1.07 GW small-scale solar installed in 2017
It’s official: 2017 was a record year for rooftop PV in Australia. The Clean Energy Regulator announced today that over 1070 MW of small-scale solar was installed by Australian homeowners and businesses in 2017 – representing 41% growth over 2016.
Berkeley Lab scientists confirm century-old theory of high performance batteries
Researchers in the U.S. have confirmed the existence of a novel state of the element manganese, first proposed in a journal dating from 1928, which could allow for the development of low-cost, high performance batteries for grid level and other energy storage applications.
Recent trade conflicts to reduce India’s total solar installed capacity to 6 GW in 2018
According to Bridge to India’s ‘India Solar Compass’ report, new capacity additions in 2017 totaled 9,255 MW, up 94% on 2016. However, Q4 2017 was slow in terms of project commissioning with just 1,503 MW of utility-scale projects commissioned. Moreover, execution costs have increased by around 18% in just six months.
1366 abandons plans for US factory
The innovative wafer maker will be building its first commercial-scale factory overseas.
US energy storage begins to take off
Despite a lackluster Q4, GTM Research predicts that the U.S. energy storage market is going to boom in 2018, driven by both policy support and falling prices.
France: Engie, Suez plan 1 GW of solar at waste recycling, treatment facilities
The French energy giant and the water and waste management solutions provider will initially focus on a 12 MW solar PV project at a storage facility in eastern France.
2017 Polish residential PV grew by 81.3 MW
The residential segment saw an increase of 26% in new installations last year, with net metering continuing to drive the market.
Financing closes for Mozambique’s first large-scale PV project
Scatec Solar, alongside Norfund Investments and Electricidade de Mozambique have closed financing and begun construction on the first utility-scale solar plant in Mozambique, a 40 MW project to be located close to the city of Mocuba.
SolarWorld Americas gets $5 million loan from creditors
Creditors will allow SolarWorld Americas to borrow more than US$5 million. This should bring operations up to full capacity in the coming months.
Vietnam files complaint with WTO over US solar tariffs
The Vietnamese authorities have submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to request formal consultations with Washington over its recently announced 30% tariff on crystalline silicon PV imports.
