Policy

The world’s second largest battery market is mulling strict regulation of what type of products can be sold within it. The bloc wants to tighten rules on using hazardous materials and would encourage circular economy approaches. The scope of the commission’s proposal would also affect the design of devices, with phones, laptops and other portable gadgets without removable batteries set to be prohibited.

Valoe completed the 15-month purchase process of a 60 MW cell production line from Solitek in the spring and installed interdigitated back-contact production equipment. It hopes to begin deliveries in the next quarter.

Hong Kong-listed solar company Irico New Energy is preparing to shunt its non solar glass business units into Chinese state-controlled parent Irico Group so it can treble its PV glass production capacity in 2024 with the help of a four-line, $108 million manufacturing facility.

Delay, and policymakers will see the carbon emission allowance which would enable us to stay well below 2C frittered away so quickly net zero would have to be reached in 2040, rather than ten years later, when the relevant technology costs will be cheaper.

Portugal now has more than 1.03 GW of operational PV capacity, making solar its third-biggest renewable energy source behind hydropower (7.1 GW) and wind power (5.4 GW). However, PV remains the resource with the greatest growth potential in the country.

Chinese state entities are now behind five phases of two separate sales deals which, if approved, will transfer more than 1.8 GW of solar generation capacity into public ownership.

The two PV companies have outlined how competitive value creation in Germany and Europe can succeed. This would also be important in order to preserve technologies and innovations in this country. Meyer Burger and SMA make four specific proposals in which they have an eye on both the generation of solar power and the manufacture of the photovoltaic products required for this.

The Australian Energy Market Commission has launched an independent review into the rules governing electricity meters, to determine what needs to be done to accelerate smart meter deployment.

The government has drafted an industrial policy to try and attract electric vehicle production lines, and even solar-powered car producers, to the country.

While Donald Trump grapples with the result of the election, Europe’s highest officials have moved on, and demonstrated new optimism for the four years ahead by setting a preliminary agenda for cooperation aimed at president-elect Joe Biden with key topics including work on renewables, battery storage and carbon pricing.