Markets

Figures from a SEIA/GTM Research study released last week have confirmed that the state of New Jersey has hit the 1 GW installed photovoltaic capacity milestone. The state added 415 MW of capacity in 2012, an increase of one-third on 2011, when 313 MW was installed.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd has appointed Weiping Zhou, former chairman of Guolian Futures Co., Ltd and finance department manager of government-owned investment company Wuxi Guolian Development (Group) Co., Ltd, executive director and company president.

Frost & Sullivan’s new report “Analysis of the European inverter market for renewable energy systems” states that the market will reach €5.24 billion in 2018. 2012 saw earnings of more than €3.58 billion. Emerging markets in Belgium, Slovakia, Greece, Czech Republic and Bulgaria are said to offer substantial opportunities.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd has today announced that a petition for insolvency and restructuring was filed against subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd on Monday, March 18. Wuxi Suntech has not objected to the filing.

This year’s PV Project Implementation Conference – China saw around 80 solar industry professionals gather to discuss large-scale opportunities in what is tipped to be the biggest PV market of 2013. In contrast to the government’s declared 10 GW targets, forecasts are that just 8 GW of new PV will be added in China this year. Meanwhile, rumor has it, the Golden Sun Program will soon be scrapped.

Talks between Germany’s Federal Environment Minister and state representatives ended inconclusively yesterday. As such, no agreement on the electricity price break is expected this week.

In a report released today, NPD Solarbuzz has predicted that photovoltaic demand from the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will total 1 GW in 2013. This represents a 625% increase on the 136 MW of demand in 2012.

Germany’s Federal Environment Minister is still advocating PV storage incentives from May onwards. However the funding issue remains unresolved. Peter Altmaier also mentioned at the Energy Storage conference in Düsseldorf that he expects more than 4 GW of PV development in Germany this year.

The impact of module prices are always discussed in connection with import tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic products. In the U.S. prices continue to fall, despite the tariffs imposed last year. However, the comparison is lopsided given the significantly higher price levels in the U.S. than in Germany.

According to the latest data from Wiki-Solar, U.S.-based thin film manufacturer, First Solar Inc. is the top photovoltaic project installer globally, having added 759 MW across 11 sites.