Markets

Solar Promotion International’s first Chinese trade show got off to a slow start today in Beijing, China, with fewer than expected visitors and exhibitiors attending the event. It is clear that China’s photovoltaic industry is expanding agreeably, however.

In a report released yesterday at the UN climate negotiations in Durban, the Clean Energy Council of Australia has revealed that more than 500,000 homes in Australia feature photovoltaic systems.

PV Japan kicked off yesterday in Tokyo, Japan, under sunny skies portending a bright future for Japan’s photovoltaic, and BIPV market. However, it is clear that overcapacity, and declining prices and margins have impacted both exhibitor numbers, and company strategies.

While most recent news from Norwegian polysilicon and module producer REC, has involved it scaling back its higher-cost manufacturing operations, the company has signaled its intentions to move into the Japanese market.

Malaysia has launched its new feed-in tariff (FIT) system for renewable energy. On December 1, it began accepting applications for projects from 2012 to 2014 through an e-FIT online system. By December 2, 201 proposals for 143.78 megawatts (MW) worth of photovoltaic projects had been submitted.

The third quarter (Q3) of 2011 was not kind to the photovoltaic inverter market. According to new research, revenues fell by 20 percent year on year. Germany has been identified as the main culprit behind the declining figures. Short-term price stabilization and a growing market provide some relief, however.

Environmental NGO Friends of the Earth has announced today that the British High Court has agreed to hear the NGO’s application to challenge the government’s slashing of the photovoltaic feed-in tariff (FIT). The High Court has previously rejected the permission for a legal challenge, on November 25.

The University of the South Pacific has connected Fiji’s largest grid-connected photovoltaic system, to the island of Suva’s electricity grid on Saturday. The landmark installation is a part of a wider project by Fiji and the university to equip Pacific Islanders with the requisite skills to see the photovoltaic industry provide electricity to communities throughout the region.

PV Japan has opened today while a battle over the composition of the committee, which will determine the specifics of the renewable energy feed-in tariff (FIT), rages.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) voted unanimously (6-0) on Friday, December 2, to go forward with an investigation into whether “dumped and subsidized” imports from China have materially injured the U.S. domestic solar industry.