“We helped large-scale solar be commercially viable,” says departing Australian Renewable Energy Agency boss
The booming large scale and rooftop PV market in 2018 is providing reasons to be optimistic about the future of solar under the Australian sun. Reflecting on his six-year tenure as CEO at ARENA ahead of his departure in August, Ivor Frischknecht points to the role the agency played in bringing down the costs of large scale solar as ARENA’s greatest achievement.
SMA launching new multi string battery inverter
SMA says its new product will offer digital services such as monitoring and automatic notifications to perform maintenance as well as offering an emergency supply system. According to analysts, the varied applications of new inverters signal an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Sonnen secures €60 million investment from Shell Ventures
Germany-based PV-storage provider sonnen has closed a new funding round from a group of investors led by Shell Ventures. Sonnen has already began to draw on the funds as it continues to expand market shares in the U.S. and in Australia. Shell Ventures is now a major sonnen investor and future cooperation agreement has been agreed to.
Are the big Chinese powerhouses coming to America?
In the face of actual and threatened tariffs in the US and India, the world’s biggest solar manufacturers may have to set up shop in the protectionist nations in question ahead of a predicted cooling in their home market.
Hurricane Maria moves Solartech Universal’s expansion to South Florida
Solartech Universal plans to expand its current 80 MW/year capacity by 180 MW/year. The company is seeking a facility in South Florida.
India may miss solar PV target, says CEO survey
The country will achieve solar PV capacity of 50 to 75 GW by 2022 – a little over 60% of the 100 GW target. Total rooftop capacity will be less than 10 GW.
PV inverter market becoming more diversified as price pressure intensifies – IHS Markit
PV inverter shipment volumes have gone up recently, but an increasingly competitive market has seen declining prices, forcing manufacturers to think out of the box to find new business applications for their products.
China’s GCL-Si mulls purchase of semiconductor manufacturer, may leave cell, module business
GCL System Integration Technology (GCL-Si) has revealed tentative plans to buy an unspecified state-linked semiconductor manufacturer, with Chinese media reports suggesting that the Shenzhen-listed PV module supplier may leave the solar cell and module business to exclusively focus on producing wafers for the semiconductor industry.
Panasonic to hire 80 workers at Tesla’s US gigafactory
The Tesla/Panasonic gigafactory is taking on more workers, as a sign of health. However many details remain unclear.
2018 Technology Highlights: Announcing the winners
After much lively debate, a jury of independent experts pv magazine has selected three top innovations for special recognition in the Technology Highlights feature.
