Finance

Unimpressed by last year’s China policy-related shenanigans, the inverter maker continued to grow at a rapid pace as it acquired storage, uninterruptable power supply (UPS) and e-mobility related businesses. Its full-year results place SolarEdge in a good position going into a more promising year, with solar installations expected to hit double-digit growth figures in many markets and reach 120 GW globally.

As national elections approach, prime minister Narendra Modi has signed off a huge check to finance national programs to subsidize household and community PV and to drive solar pump deployment in the nation’s fields.

Projects not encompassed by the new, central-subsidy-free, ‘grid-parity’ regime will be eligible to bid for a government subsidy. But, at a reported $446 million, the pot is not very big.

The €125 million solar park is under construction near Seville. The project was selected in an auction held by the Spanish government in July 2017.

As national utility Eskom faces a financial and operational crisis, rumors are spreading that the government may ask independent power producers to renegotiate the tariffs of PPAs awarded in the first two rounds of its renewable energy program. South African solar association SAPVIA has already given short shrift to the idea.

With the transition to an auction procurement mechanism under way, Japan is this year set to expand the range of projects subject to the tender system from 2 MW-plus to 500 kW and above. With certain FIT cuts for projects with more than 2 MW capacity set to take effect in the second half of the year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has now proposed reducing tariffs for 10-500 kW commercial PV systems.

Last year’s trend continued in the first 2019 round of PV tenders. The average final price was €0.0480/kWh. Almost all the selected projects will be on arable land in disadvantaged areas of Bavaria.

The Energy Storage Europe conference is nearing and pv magazine is featuring the top ten developments in the field as our Energy Storage Highlights, selected by an independent jury of experts. We continue our ranking with a renewed approach to a storage technology which appeared in the 1970s.

Some 377 households and a retirement home are participating in a pilot project. In the first two weeks of this month, solar power generators sold 82% of their electricity within the neighborhood. The goal of the one-year test run is to develop a viable concept for the local marketing of solar power.

The indebted Chinese developer has put back plans to set a date for its huge shares issue scheme by three weeks. The company needs to raise HK$1 billion that is due for repayment by May but needs stock holders to agree to significantly dilute their stakes.