AECEA says China will add up to 31 GW of solar this year
The analyst expects the final figure for new PV generation capacity in 2019 to top out at 20-24 GW thanks to the delayed introduction of a new solar policy, land scarcity, financing problems and grid connection issues. There are clouds on the horizon too, with China set to remain wedded to coal for the foreseeable future.
Panda Green extends deadline for accepting debt restructuring proposal
The indebted developer has been forced to extend the period during which the holders of $350 million of senior notes can decide whether to delay settlement by two years.
India reportedly considering waiving carbon tax on coal
As Germany shuttered another of its nuclear power plants on New Year’s Day, the office of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was said to be considering a proposal which would make coal more competitive with renewables in one of the world’s worst polluting nations.
Solar-plus-storage will start to make big inroads in the year ahead
By this time next year we may be able to wave goodbye to that old chestnut about renewables endangering security of supply. Elsewhere, the price of lithium – and the products it goes into – could go either way after tanking this year.
Indian PV to take off after gloomy 2019
India’s annual solar installations are set to exceed 10 GW in 2020, following a year marked by political uncertainty, module price increases associated with safeguard duties, and a lower number of awarded tenders. The outlook for battery energy storage installations for solar projects is particularly bleak, however, as such combinations in India can cost three to five times more than standalone renewable projects.
U.S. research teams aim for long-duration storage at $0.05/kWh
To get long-duration storage costs down to $0.05/kWh, research teams funded by ARPA-E are pursuing breakthroughs in flow batteries, hydrogen storage and other technologies – even thermovoltaics.
Is China’s market heading toward a cliff edge?
Even when taken in the context of the growing pessimism that has gripped China’s PV industry regarding 2019 demand since the middle of the year, the latest figures from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) are astonishing. More optimistic forecasts from earlier in the year have been downwardly revised, with installations headed for a “cliff edge” decline that could see demand fall by as much as 50% year on year. So, what exactly has taken place?
Nigeria to install new PV mini-grids as domestic off-grid sector surges
Developer PowerGen has installed a new mini-grid in the country and plans to develop nine more projects with the support of the World Bank.
The year in solar, part III: Battery breakthroughs, inverter trouble, sustainable role models and new tech
Storage has long been expected to be the handmaiden of a renewable energy world and its long awaited advances started to finally emerge in the third quarter as researchers posited R&D achievements ranging from potentially potent tungsten disulfide nanotubes to the business case for 10-year solar panels.
Tesla secures $1.4 billion Shanghai factory loan, hits $420 share price
Tesla finishes 2019 on a high note amid a flurry of year-end EV funding, news and optimism on longer-range electrics.
