Installations

Evidence is mounting that Japan’s solar market is in the early stages of a boom. Reports of US$2 billion in investments in only months, a proposed zero-nuclear future energy plan, and analyst predictions of a shift towards commercial, industrial and utility scale PV are all pointing to a new era for photovoltaics in Japan.

A host of new photovoltaic technology advances and new products were unveiled during the Solar Power International show in Orlando this week, alongside concerned conversations about the U.S.-China trade case, and new partnerships companies are seeking in order to survive the crippling price pressure in the industry.

Without support, grid connected photovoltaics cannot grow profitably, states Navigant Research’s Paula Mints. Furthermore, while traditional energy sources are likely to continue to receive subsidies, it cannot be assumed photovoltaics will reach grid parity without them.

What has been described as Chile’s largest industrial photovoltaic plant – 1.4 MW – has been completed. There are plans to scale it up to 25 MW over the next few years.

Spain-based Isofotón has revealed further details about its new photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Napoleon, Ohio. The company has also told pv magazine at the Solar Power International that it intends to set up module manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia, Brazil and China.

Solar is going “through the roof” in the United States, according to a report released by the Washington, DC-based Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the San Francisco-based Vote Solar Initiative on September 12. In fact, the top 20 commercial solar users in America have installed more than 1.2 million photovoltaic panels, combined, covering more than 544 acres of rooftops.

The 10 top technologies industry analysts expect to be developed in Brazil’s photovoltaic sector over the next 15 years have been unveiled in a new study commissioned by the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI).

At the end of Q2 2012, China continued to dominate the worldwide renewable energy market, with Germany and the U.S. nose-to-nose in second place, and India and the U.K. just behind, according to Ernst & Young’s latest quarterly Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices (CAI) report. Activities centered strongly around the smart grid.

The U.S. solar sector has just finished its second-best quarter in history, having installed 742 MW of photovoltaic power – and its best quarter on record for utility deployments – according to a report released today by Boston-based GTM Research and the Washington, DC-based Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Photovoltaic installations were up 45% over Q1 2012, and up 116% over Q2 2011.

Following 2 years of almost no solar activity, predictions are that between 100 and 120 MW of photovoltaics will be installed in 2012 in the Czech Republic. Rooftop systems are said to be leading this growth.