Markets

The South African solar market registered 509 MW of new PV installations in 2016. The country’s cumulative PV capacity reached 1.47 GW as of the end of December. Meanwhile, the price of solar power has dropped significantly over the past five years.

Jetion Solar, Hareon Solar and GCL Technology requested to withdraw from the minimum price agreement in October. The three companies, as well as Talesun Solar, are now excluded by Brussels from the undertaking.

Two different reports highlight how PV demand is currently improving silver’s industrial offtake. The Silver Institute says that prices have increased 9% since the beginning of this year, while ETF Securities says that mining capital expenditure and investments are declining, and that this could further weigh on silver supply.

Projects selected in an upcoming auction will have access to a financing scheme of the Climate Fund (Fundo Clima) managed by BNDES

Interview: SolarPower Europe has appointed Wacker Chemie’s Christian Westermeier as new president. pv magazine spoke with the outgoing president Oliver Schäfer about the reasons behind his unexpected resignation and the future of PV and the energy market in Europe.

The Armenian government introduced a special tariff for PV projects up to 1 MW in late 2016. Construction on the country’s third 1 MW solar project under this regime has now begun. Furthermore, the Ministry of Energy has announced plans for Armenia’s first module factory.

IHS Markit’s latest assessment of U.S. solar contractors finds that Blattner outpaced First Solar to take the top spot in 2016.

According to estimates from national association Swissolar, about 250 MW of new PV installations were connected to Switzerland’s grid last year.

Solar industry commentary is echoing state data, which shows that the implementation of net metering 2.0 and time-of-use rates is having a significant negative effect on California’s distributed solar market.

The German energy company said its new strategy is fully reflected in its balance sheet. This was accompanied by the largest loss ever registered by the group. Eon is now planning workforce reductions, as well as further measures to reduce its net liabilities to €20 billion in the mid-term.