Markets

A new report published by business consultants Frost & Sullivan expects around 90 GW of new solar installations by the end of 2018, in line with the predictions of other leading analysts. It further notes that PV remains the world leader in renewable energy capacity, and that markets are moving away from feed-in tariffs to make increasing use of auction models and private PPAs.

India’s Prime Minister kick started the first Assembly of the ISA, the second IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting, and the 2nd Global RE-Invest yesterday in Greater Noida. The agenda of the day? Universal access to solar energy at affordable rates; securing 40% of India’s electricity generation from non-fossil fuels by 2030, and allocating up to US$80 billion to boost domestic PV manufacturing.

The realization of Egypt’s 1.8 GW Benban solar complex has posed a long series of challenges to its numerous developers. The creation of the Benban Solar Developers Association (BSDA) has helped move the project forward amid initial grid constraints and several logistical issues, among others. Although only one of the 33 projects has now reached completion, all are set to be grid-connected by June 2019 – the final deadline set by the Egyptian government, according to Assem Korayem, a member of the BSDA and the operating general manager at Access-Power Egypt. In a conversation with pv magazine, he provides an extensive update on the current status of the huge PV complex.

The global top three companies have not changed compared to the 2017 ranking. Still in the U.S., SMA has lost its pole position to Solaredge. Ingeteam, meanwhile, is capitalizing massively on stable growth in the utility-scale market, and jumps from rank 18 to fourth.

Overall, the United Kingdom reached a cumulative installed PV power capacity of 12.93 GW as of the end of August. Around 45% of this is represented by solar parks exceeding 5 MW in size, while another 20% come from residential installations up to 4 kW. Newly installed PV capacity for the first eight months of this year was just 155 MW.

From January to September 2018, solar PV systems generated 36.8 TWh in Germany, which is 13% more than they did in the first nine months of the previous year.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development of the Sub-Saharan country is currently seeking advice for its Decentralized Renewables Development Program, which includes an off-grid master plan for the electrification of islands on Lake Victoria and the creation of a pilot program for solar net metering.

A new report on the financing mechanisms in the European Union (EU) and the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions offers lessons that link financing to electricity market design. The report also acknowledges the increasing presence of PV manufacturers in the LAC region.

Two major policy decisions in the United States have caused a temporary tax and stagnation in the residential solar industry, finds EnergySage’s Solar Marketplace Intel Report.

In the latest news emerging from the struggling world of Taiwanese solar cell makers, Motech has announced more layoffs, and a NT$4.8 billion loan; GET has let 203 employees go; and shares of the new UREC merger are said to be down. India’s safeguard tariffs are also hitting the country’s manufacturers hard.