Policy

The proposed safeguard tariffs on imports from China and Malaysia are expected to generate a number of painful short-term impacts. Overall they are not expected to change much in the market, however, says TrendForce. What will have a bigger effect is the EU’s final MIP decision, due in September.

The two-year period of the recommended safeguard duty is very short, discouraging any investment in setting up new solar manufacturing capacity, say analysts and companies pv magazine spoke to. At the same time, for solar project developers, the duty will impact tariffs to the tune of 12-15%, posing an immediate threat to viability of projects under execution, they add.

Following a strong year for clean energy spending, 2017 saw a 7% decline in renewable power investment – to around $298 billion – while the share of fossil fuels in energy supply funding rose for the first time since 2014, according to the International Energy Agency in a report published today.

Labour politician Sadiq Khan has expanded his Solar Together group-buying scheme for rooftop installations in London after more than 1,000 households and small businesses signed up to discounts on residential systems under the initial phase.

High-ranking officials from China and the EU have signed a joint statement to foster technological and political co-operation in clean energy. The regions will also develop emissions trading systems further, with officials seeing such schemes as a policy tool to foster innovation for a low-carbon economy.

Phased import tariff would fall to 20% 12 months after introduction and 15% for final six months of a proposed two-year period. Industry watchers say the cost of Indian solar energy could rise by up to 30%.

With all the uproar in China about the impact of the May 31“2018 Solar PV Power Generation Notice” issued by China’s National Development and Reform Commission, National Energy Administration, and Ministry of Finance, one could think that China’s government has lost faith in solar PV’s potential to contribute to the country’s historic shift from coal-fired power to clean renewable energy sources. But nothing could be further from the truth.

The state’s environmental department has participated in a study which calls for the state to increase installed solar 36-fold, to reach 10% of all generation by 2030.

The project connects four to six households, and lets dwellers pre-purchase daily access to electricity using a mobile app. A successful trial phase has just been finished and the executing association, Nanoé Développement has set new goals to reach in the near future.

GTM Research says the 10% tariffs that the Trump Administration is calling for are “significant”, and some companies and sectors will be affected more than others.