Finance

The German poly manufacturer expects to increase sales in the current financial year, however EBITDA is expected to be down as much as 20% as average prices for polysilicon will continue to decline.

The U.S. manufacturer has rolled out its new A-Series modules as the first product using its NGT solar cells, based on larger wafers and a streamlined manufacturing process. But will it be enough to get SunPower back in black?

Record-setting Acme Solar has secured a third of the latest procurement exercise in the state with a lowest bid of INR2.48/kWh. The tender was oversubscribed by more than 100% as offers came in for 1,620 MW of capacity.

As RP Global starts work on 11 solar hybrid mini-grids on Lake Victoria that will supply electricity to 160,000 people, analyst Wood Mackenzie has released a report stating how increased capital flows in the sector may still fall short of securing universal electricity access by 2030. Nonetheless, off-grid solar is the cheapest and most viable solution for remote areas and attracts investment from fossil fuel majors and venture capital funds.

According to solar body the PPLSA, around 300 PV system owners have already gone off-grid as the tariff granted for surplus power under net metering was not attractive enough. Several barriers are preventing net metering taking hold, including an obligation to either use locally made equipment or pay more to re-certify imported modules and inverters.

Having launched a residential storage system, the German giant announced plans last week to acquire inverter maker Kaco and start a new smart infrastructure business from April 1. In light of those moves, pv magazine spoke to IHS Markit’s Cormac Gilligan about the new kid, albeit huge, on the block.

The capacity comes from two solar parks and five wind power plants awarded firm energy obligations for 2022-2023. The Reliability Charge auctions were created by the Colombian government to ensure power supply during water shortages.

Two sites with capacities of 34.7 MW and 25.7 MW will supply unsubsidized power to Warrington Borough Council. The smaller project will provide the local authority’s energy needs and reduce its electricity bill while the larger one will sell renewable energy on the open market, further bolstering council income.

The plant is being built by Spanish developer Solarpack in the Atacama desert. The project was selected in an energy auction held by the Chilean government in 2016. At the time, Solarpack’s bid of $29.1/MWh was a record low for solar.

With Europe set to return to solar power levels last seen during the PV boom seven years ago, a wave of mergers and acquisitions is taking place as the oil and gas majors splash the cash to buy the expertise needed to participate in PV’s new dawn.