Markets

Greece ran two separate tenders for PV on December 10. However, the Greek energy regulator has decided not to award the winners of the tender for large-scale farms, due to lack of adequate competition. The tender for the large projects will be repeated next year.

The government has finally announced the results of its consultation on ending FIT export payments. With the vast majority of respondents against the proposal… it has responded by going ahead anyway.

If the German polysilicon manufacturer is the ‘Supplier A’ referred to in the Chinese panel maker’s annual report, Wacker has negotiated a near $33 million settlement from arbitration. As part of the settlement, Wacker will continue to supply its counterpart with poly up to 2028.

As expected, Germany’s second chamber of parliament has passed a new package of laws. They will enter into force on January 1, 2019. Among the the changes are the extraordinary FIT cuts for rooftop systems between 40 and 750 kW in size for February, March and April, and new tenders for wind and solar totaling 4 GW.

The Saudi developer is reportedly suffering fines of $700/MW/day for late delivery of a project at the Benban solar complex in Egypt as 180 MW of plants near completion.

Con Edison states that it has become the number two solar power generator in North America with the finalization of its Sempra purchase which included 980 MWac of operating solar.

All round, it has been an interesting week for the U.K. to say the least, and the energy sector was no exception. In addition to the country’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Renewable and Sustainable Energy (PRASEG) organizing a debate on the Capacity Market; a forum in London discussed grid operator’s flexibility; and a new report was released claiming a hard Brexit would add millions to consumer electricity bills.

It was EPIA when he joined, and the European and global solar industry was a very different place. Outgoing CEO of what is now SolarPower Europe, James Watson has presided over a transformative period at the organisation, and departs to head up Eurogas right at the point the region’s solar sector is set for revival. Advancing a power-to-gas agenda, Watson says, will be a big part of his new challenge.

Six lawsuits have been filed against Sunowe employees accused of evading €20 million of European anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs. The case, now dubbed the “Solar module Cartel”, also involved the deputy district administrator of Erlangen-Höchstadt.

A new era in the Chinese energy transition is on the menu and renewables are the order of the day, according to the latest China Renewable Energy Outlook (CREO). China will not require a gas bridge between coal and renewables, it finds, adding that renewables will become the core of the nation’s energy system by 2050, with annual PV installs of between 80-160 GW possible. Not only that, but electricity supply could be cheaper in this future than it is today.