Policy

Circular Energy Storage, a London-based research and consulting group, reports a strong business case for reconstituted electric vehicle batteries for energy storage applications. As the EV and static storage system markets grow rapidly, synergies could be a useful tool for continued cost optimization.

Shanghai Electric’s move to take over GCL-Poly’s Jiangsu Zhongneng has fallen through because conditions are not ‘mature enough’. The development, announced this afternoon to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, will be closely watched by the global solar industry.

The solar plant was commissioned last week in Ourique, southern Portugal. The project was developed by UK-based renewable energy company Welink and Chinese engineering services provider China Triumph International Engineering (CTIEC).

The company has experienced continued growth and after the acquisition of a UPS supplier – as well the potential for Chinese power electronics manufacturers to suffer under proposed new inverter tariffs – SolarEdge feels confident of continued growth.

In the first big auction, a day after the imposition of a 25% safeguard duty on solar imports, the winning tariff of Rs 2.79 (US$0.041) at the 200 MW Odisha auction took the industry by surprise.

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked trade officials to consider increasing import duties from 10% to 25% on a list of products from China, including inverters, AC modules and non-lithium batteries.

Greenpeace India, Germi, and the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program have released a report stating that the Indian government’s latest ambitions to deploy solar water pumps could meet the country’s solar PV target of 100 GW, if done comprehensively. So far the plan goes as far as 28 GW, and still needs legislative approval.

The International Energy Agency’s latest study of global energy investment paints another rosy picture for solar – even as the authors warn of missed sustainable growth targets – but the report covers last year, and notes China’s policy about-turn could blow a cold wind through PV.

According to the latest statistics from the Clean Energy Council (CEC), there are 42 wind and solar projects totaling 6239 MW worth close to $10 billion currently in construction or due to start soon across Australia. The unprecedented large-scale renewables activity is, however, surrounded by growing uncertainty over future policy and regulatory change.

Wildlife vandalism is the least of the worries afflicting PV system owners in India, according to a report which exposes cost-cutting in installation, non-existent warranties, serious safety concerns and improbable performance figures.