US: Meaningful improvements in PV system pricing
GTM Researchs Andrew Krulewitz details the factors that contributed to price declines in each U.S. photovoltaic market segments in Q4 2012.
Industry shakeout filters out untested PV technologies
Only the lowest cost and most commercially viable PV technologies will end up surviving through the brutal PV shakeout phase of 2012, writes Finlay Colville, vice president of NPD Solarbuzz.
Battery market development will be guided by step-wise innovation
Pike Research’s Brittany E. Gibson is confident that emerging cleantech markets for batteries, especially for transportation and stationary applications, will be viable new markets in ten years.
US: Red tape holds back solar installer market
New data has revealed that solar installers in the U.S. are being slowed down by red tape, which is pushing up the installed price. The survey data was collected by solar financers Clean Power Finance, which gathered responses from installers across 12 states.
2012 utility-scale PV installations top 8.5 GW
According to the latest figures from Wiki-Solar, utility-scale photovoltaic installations have reached 8.5 GW this year, thus more than doubling the 2.3 GW recorded in 2011.
Community solar model rolled out in Australia
A second commercial scale community solar project has been launched in Australia. The 400 kW rooftop installation will be installed in Sydney and is being organized by Embark.
Spanish Senate raises energy tax
Along with all producers of electricity in Spain, owners of solar power plants will have to pay an energy tax of 7% on top of their feed-in tariffs. The Spanish industry expects an increase of bankruptcies on the back of the news.
Renewable energy investment to fall in 2012; emerging markets rule the roost
Indications are that renewable energy investments will fall in 2012 for the first time in 8 years. However, the news is not all bad, says Ernst & Young, with continuing capacity additions and “booming” emerging market activity. In particular, the South African and MENA regions are displaying strong growth.
UKs ROC changes to boost PV supplier revenues in Q1 2013
Photovoltaic module and balance of system component suppliers are expected to see increased revenues in Q1 2013, ahead of changes to the U.K.s renewable obligation certificate (ROC) scheme.
EU solar industry calls for action against retroactive subsidy changes
Over 70 solar companies and associations have written an open letter to European Energy Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, calling for action to be taken against those member states which introduce retroactive changes to renewable energy support schemes.
