Markets & Policy

Residential solar installation price declines have accelerated over the past year in the U.S. solar market. However, energy storage pricing has gone up, with Enphase taking an increasingly larger share of the market.

The switch from fossil fuels and nuclear will bring a jobs dividend thanks to the greater labor-intensity of renewables plants, according to a paper published by Finland’s LUT. However, the jobs dividend is unlikely to be evenly spread around the world, with Europe set to be a big winner.

The new provisions were published in the country’s official journal on Friday and are now in force. Large scale PV plants of up to 100 MW may be built without requesting a license, through a simplified procedure with the national regulator.

According to a new report from Brazilian consultancy Greener, the Latin American country installed 1,450 MW of distributed generation PV systems and just 63 MW of large-scale PV plants in the first half of 2021. Despite the disappointing large-scale performance, the strength of the distributed segment should ensure another record year for the Brazilian solar sector.

The outlook for U.S. residential solar remains strong, according to Jesse Pichel of ROTH Capital Partners. The large-scale segment, however, is hampered by rising costs and the likelihood of sanctions on Xinjiang-made materials.

Canadian Solar also reports solid Q2 results, with PV shipments reaching 3.7 GW and revenue totaling US$1.43 billion.

Solar’s share in the installed 100 GW renewable energy capacity stands at around 44%, and wind at 40% as per the data available from India’s Central Electricity Authority.

A new study from Stanford University and Cornell University shows that blue hydrogen can produce more greenhouse emissions than heat produced by coal and gas. The modeling classifies blue hydrogen emissions as carbon dioxide and unburned fugitive methane, as well as lifecycle emissions linked to the mining, transport, storage, and use of methane.

In the first half of the year, the German PV inverter maker recorded high demand for its inverters and storage solutions from the residential solar segment. The effects of the corona pandemic, however, have had an impact on the commercial segment and, although a recovery in demand is expected in the second half of the year, SMA said it is currently dealing with delivery issues.

The solar PV module manufacturer reported strong growth for its energy storage business and an overall 105% year-on-year turnover growth. Its total module production capacity reached 19.7 GW at the end of June.