United States informs WTO of trade petition investigation (ITC notification embedded)
The U.S. International Trade Commission has informed the WTO that it is moving forward with its investigation into whether Suniva and SolarWorld deserve “global safeguard” protection from their competitors.
Solar, wind meet more than 10% of U.S. electric demand in March
This is the first time that U.S. wind and solar have met more than 10% of demand in a single month; however individual states led by California and Iowa have reached much higher penetrations.
Russia launches 1.9 GW auction for solar, wind and hydropower
Monday was the first day of applications submission. Projects selected in the tender must be commissioned between 2018 and 2022.
Chile to contract 2 GWh of power in upcoming electricity auction
In a meeting held in Berlin the head of Chile’s National Commission for Energy (CNE) presented the upcoming technology neutral power auction, which will be held in December. Solar is expected to have a significant share thanks to very favorable conditions.
Argentina plans 1 GW solar + storage project
Following on the progress of 300 MW of solar projects in Cauchari, the province of Jujuy has announced another gigawatt of solar PV to be installed in the northern region.
U.K. solar shatters generation record on year’s hottest day
With the temperature reaching 29.5 degrees Celsius, solar panel installations across the U.K. generated a record amount of electricity on Friday, overtaking nuclear for the first time ever.
Italy: study predicts deployment of additional 2.3 GW of PV capacity by 2020
A report published by the Energy and Strategy Group at the Polytechnic University of Milan forecasts that a further 4.4 GW of renewable energy generation capacity could be installed in Italy in the period 2017-2020. Solar and wind are expected to have the largest share.
Portugal: renewable energy sector wants first auction for large-scale solar and wind
Portugal’s renewable energy association Apren said that Spain has paved the way for further development of renewables on the Iberian Peninsula with its recent 3 GW auction, and that a similar tender is needed to revive the country’s solar and wind power sector.
Algeria launches solar energy cluster, names new energy minister
The new solar energy cluster will host small and medium-sized solar enterprises, as well as research institutes and local mining companies. Meanwhile, the Algerian government has named the former CEO of state-owned utility Sonelgaz as energy minister.
APVIA sees steady Q1 growth in Asian PV
The expansion of the Asian solar market in the first quarter of 2017 was broadly similar to the growth seen in the first quarter of last year, although most countries in the region have yet to reveal official installation statistics for the January-March period, the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) said in a new report.
