Markets

Most of this capacity is expected to come from large-scale solar projects, as distributed generation still suffers from the high subsidies granted to residential and commercial electricity customers.

After a strong finish to 2017, Germany’s equipment suppliers are looking at weaker demand in 2018, although the industry still expects sales growth of 9.2% this year, according to the latest Business Climate Survey published by the German Engineering Federation’s Photovoltaic Equipment Group.

Australia-based peer-to-peer (P2P) energy pioneer Power Ledger will partner with Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) to trial its blockchain-enabled platform. The limited trial will first involve only 10 homes in Osaka, however, Power Ledger says that Japan is an excellent fit for P2P energy trading.

According to the latest report published by the German Engineering Association (Verbandes Deutsches Maschinenbau Anlagen, or VDMA), solar equipment sales for German tool makers increased by 117% in Q4 2017, compared with the previous quarter.

Of the 9.65 GW of solar PV China installed in the first quarter of 2018, 7.68 GW comprised distributed generation (DG) systems, reports China’s National Energy Administration (NEA). Changes to the country’s PV policy have also been proposed.

The latest report by Mercom Capital finds VC investment in battery storage companies rising five-fold year-over-year to $299 million in 12 deals.

The Chinese authorities plan to use renewable energy technologies to provide all of the electricity that will be consumed in a new economic zone that is being developed near Beijing, according to local state media reports.

Shortly before the announcement of its acquisition by SunPower, SolarWorld’s former U.S. subsidiary commented on the request by its competitors to be exempt from the new U.S. solar PV import tariffs.

In a new report, the association states that urgent action is required for, among other issues, the improvement of solar generation forecasts, the exploitation of storage systems, and the reduction of minimum operation and start-up times for both existing and new thermal and hydro generators.

The alert came from the Dutch Social and Economic Council, which advised the government to invest in, among other things, training more workforce specializing in building and maintaining renewable energy power plants. On the other hand, is a fact that qualified installers are urgently needed to deploy the several GWs of of solar power allocated under the SDE+ incentive program.