Markets

Bangladesh is seeking to overhaul its net-metering policy to encourage rooftop PV deployment by allowing 100% power injection and expanding eligibility to all grid-connected users, including those with single-phase and prepaid meters.

In a major policy shift toward electricity market liberalization, China has introduced contract-for-difference (CfD) auctions for renewable plants and removed the energy storage mandate, which has driven up to 75% of national demand to date. S&P Global expects the move to reverberate through the global battery storage supply chain, further driving down prices already at historic lows.

Australia’s rooftop solar uptake continued to surge in 2024, with a new report revealing more than 300,000 PV systems with a combined capacity of almost 3 GW were installed on the roofs of homes and businesses across the nation in 2024.

Aiko Solar has won a 1 GW back-contact (BC) module bid in China Datang Group’s 22.5 GW tender, while CNNC Photovoltaic announced a 19.7% efficiency rating for a perovskite module and plans to launch a perovskite production line later this year.

Pairing solar plants with battery energy storage systems (BESS) will be the main strategic focus for the country’s upcoming renewable energy auction. Each project must have a minimum storage duration of four hours to ensure sufficient grid support and energy reliability.

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting says average electricity prices fell across Europe last week, but France, Germany and Italy all broke their records for solar production on a single day in March.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Miriam Rodríguez, President of Spain’s Electra Energy S. Coop. She says one of the most striking inequalities she encountered throughout her career was the difference in salaries between men and women in similar roles, the gender pay gap. “At one point, I discovered that a male colleague at my same business level was earning a higher salary. Fortunately, he realized the unfairness, and the salaries were adjusted,” she states.

The West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance (WAA) is looking for experts in the region to support its work in its 17 member countries. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2025.

The Brazilian subsidiary of the Belgian company reports that the board of directors deliberated and approved the “discontinuation of the photovoltaic product line,” a decision prompted by Chinese competition. It launched its last module on the market in September 2024.

Norway’s Scatec Asa has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Egypt Aluminium for a 1.1 GW solar plant with 100 MW/200 MWh of battery energy storage. The agreement has been billed as Egypt’s first utility-scale PPA with an industrial offtaker.