Japanese government must be more unified in pursuit of PV goals — report
The Japanese government is steadily working toward the release of the country’s fifth strategic energy plan, but it needs to work with the private sector more effectively to promote the deployment of solar over the coming decades, according to a new report.
The weekend read: Signs of life
European markets: Growth in solar installations returned to European shores in 2017, with some of the usual suspects posting big numbers, and several new players awakening to the possibilities of PV. Here, pv magazine provides an overview of the latest movements on the continent.
US could slap additional 25% tariffs on Chinese cells, modules
The new round of IT-related tariffs could make it more expensive for any manufacturers planning to import cells from China for module production in the United States.
Russia’s RE auction concludes with surprisingly low bids
Hevel Solar and Fortum won the 148.5 MW worth of solar PV projects awarded in the auction. The Finnish utility, however, proposed a project CAPEX, which was almost half that of the Russian company’s.
2018 global PV market to see negative growth following China backtrack
Global solar PV demand this year will be less than in 2017, on the back of China’s latest policy decision, says TrendForce. Overall, it sees new installs dropping 40% in China to 31.6 GW. The protectionist measures taken by the U.S. will also be weakened by the resulting falling module prices.
The EU agrees on 32% renewable target by 2030 after all-night negotiations
The EU Commission, Council and Parliament have been in trialogue negotiations to broker a deal on the revised Renewable Energy Directive (REDII), the first version of which was adopted in 2009. By 3:30am this morning, a deal was finally brokered and legislative processes for official adoption are now just a formality
Scatec to build two solar plants under FIT in Ukraine
Two PV plants totaling 83 MW will be constructed by the Norwegian developer in the Cherkassy region.
Chinese government stands firm in face of PV industry lobbying
Representations by big beasts of global PV win only a partial concession from the authorities in Beijing, with officials agreeing to honor FIT payments for any ground mount projects connected during the next three weeks.
SolarPower Europe revises down global outlook for 2018… but only a bit
Despite recent developments in China, the European solar association believes global newly installed PV capacity this year will reach 102 GW, only 5 GW lower than its previous guidance.
France’s 50 MW tender for self-consumption ends up with only 2 MW of power assigned
The failure of the tender depended on a series of factors, the most important of which was the clarification of policy around fiscal exemptions for solar self-consumption in the case of third-party investment.
