Markets

Technical bids were presented for more than 15 times the capacity of electricity and clean energy certificates in the solicitation. The price ceiling has been set at US$70. The first auction will be resolved on March 31 and the second auction will be convened during the second quarter of this year.

India’s solar sector is set to deliver a jobs boom if the country pursues its goal of 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) performed the analysis behind the jobs prediction, noting that both high and low-skilled jobs will be required in the country’s downstream solar sector.

The European Commission has imposed import tariffs on Chinese producers which sell below minimum import prices and export via Malaysia and Taiwan. Five Malaysian and 21 Taiwanese producers have been expressly exempted from the duties.

The French Development Agency has awarded US$65.5 million in credit for the first 50 MW phase of the project in Bolivia’s Oruro Department.

With net metering caps also being hit in utility service areas across the state, the mid-sized to large-scale solar sector is in serious trouble.

Troubled German solar and optical disk production equipment supplier Singulus has issued an outlook for 2016, in which it forecasts “slightly negative” earnings in 2016 and return to profit in 2017. Solar sales are forecast to account for more than 70% of revenues in 2016.

The global investment firm renames Gestamp Solar as X-Elio and pledges to steer half a billion dollars into the acquired company to aid expansion efforts across various solar markets.

Senegal become second African country to join the International Finance Corporation’s Scaling Solar program; 200 MW of PV capacity additions scheduled over the next few years.

Collaboration marks greater effort of solar industry to work with grids on gaining greater understanding and control of solar’s intermittency; partnership can digitalize electricity supply, SMA says.

With installation of mounting structures by STI Norland, construction of the 247 MW-DC El Romero PV plant has advanced. In the middle of next year this is expected to become the largest solar project in Latin America.