Finance

It was a series of firsts, including a strong full year and Megapack turning a profit, that factored into CEO Elon Musk explaining that he has “never been more optimistic or excited about the future of Tesla.” Austin, Texas, has been confirmed as the site of the next Gigafactory.

Plus, even stay-at-home orders and plunging commercial energy demand failed to take the sting out of Australia’s solar duck curve and China’s GCL System counts the first-half cost of the public health crisis.

Researchers in France have tried to predict the competitiveness of tandem PV modules against commercial crystalline products in 2030. Crystalline products will be 22-24% efficient in a decade, according to the researchers, possibly 25% if interdigitated back-contact heterojunction versions become mainstream. To compete, tandem devices will need to offer similar life spans and degradation rates, plus efficiencies of 30%.

Parliament has adopted Draft Law 3658 which can now be signed into law by the president. Payment reductions for solar have been further eased and curtailment will now be compensated but talk of extending the duration of the newly-reset FIT levels appears to have fallen by the wayside.

Ukrainian renewable energy lawyer Svitlana Teush takes a look at the law which will define the cuts to be applied in Ukraine after extensive negotiation between government and the clean energy industry.

The Brazilian government has u-turned over solar equipment import duty by introducing a measure to remove the 12% levy for 101 types of module plus some inverters and trackers. President Jair Bolsonaro had vetoed a similar proposal by the Senate and House of Representatives in November, stating it would be too costly.

The project, set to be commissioned this year, will sell power to an unspecified industrial client under a power purchase agreement.

State-owned power company China Three Gorges is reportedly ready to offer up to €600 million for 13 solar assets owned by X-Elio in Spain while Germany’s ib vogt is up for sale, according to Reuters.

The stunning findings of an investigation by the auditor into RMB1,022 million paid by Panda Green for the right to develop solar projects which never materialized included confirmation by the former chief finance officer documents were drawn up after the fact.

Scientists in the U.S. have estimated the expense of strengthening solar systems. The researchers stressed that the upfront investment needed to take 13 key measures may be outweighed by the benefits.