Markets

The residential and commercial segments keep driving solar demand in the country. Meanwhile, the government of Sicily has decided to suspend all new permits for big solar parks, in order to verify their potential negative impact on the island’s landscape.

The South Korean government has announced plans to formally launch a dispute settlement process with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over U.S. tariffs on PV cells, modules and washing machines.

A group of eight Republican senators has sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative and other federal agencies calling for utility-scale solar panels to be exempt from the Section 201 tariffs.

A recently published report on commodity markets published by the World Bank indicates that the recent decline in commodity prices for silver is likely to continue over the next 10-20 years. The looming trade dispute between the U.S. and China is impeding investor trust, as future outlook remains murky.

In the recent work group organized by the French government along with all stakeholders of France’s solar industry, delivering more volumes to the market was highlighted as a number one priority.

The 2018 Ecosummit Berlin, a EU cleantech startup platform, focussed on smart green energy and mobility. Of the 99 speakers, 69 were startups presenting innovative solutions to a changing energy economy, catering to the needs of end-customers, developers and utilities alike.

In the most bullish scenario provided in a report published by Turkey’s Shura Energy Transition Center, solar is predicted to reach 30 GW of installed capacity by the halfway point of the next decade. The report’s most conservative scenario envisages around 6 GW.

Solar was once again the source with the largest share in the latest round of the SDE+ program for large-scale renewable energy projects. Around 1.3 GW of pre-qualified solar projects, however, has been rejected. Among the selected projects is a 109 MW solar park planned for the province of Groningen.

According to figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), there are more than 10 million people working in the renewable energy industry. In 2017 alone, the sector added more than 500,000 jobs globally, up 5.3 % from 2016, with solar PV the biggest employer.

The Netherlands government intends to create two more ad hoc categories for solar projects not exceeding 1 MW, and to grant them a higher level of incentive compared to those of big solar parks. The change is due the success of larger projects in previous SDE+ rounds.