Open letter: German government must protect its solar industry
In an open letter, more than 30 German PV companies and research institutes demand an industrial strategy to retain a domestic solar industry. According to the signatories, that means increased co-operation with France and the consideration of sustainability criteria for PV tenders
Around 250 signatories call for an end to EU anti-dumping measures
In a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, more than 250 organizations and companies from EU member states have called for the termination of trade restrictions applied to Chinese PV manufacturers. The current anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs – and minimum import prices for Chinese crystalline modules and cells – are due to run until 3 September
France sees first-quarter PV additions almost treble
New grid-connected PV systems from January to March totaled 246 MW, to take the nation’s cumulative capacity to 8.3 GW
Turkey’s rooftop PV seeks a market
The most subscribed event at the recent International Energy and Environment Conference (ICCI), held in Turkey, concerned the host nation’s rooftop PV market – and certain common themes emerged from sessions held on the topic
Serbia to switch from FIT to feed-in premiums and auctions
With its feed-in tariff program set to expire at the end of the year, Serbia will be looking to introduce new mechanisms to support renewables in the form of feed-in premiums and auctions. The country’s PV uptake is still in its nascent stage however, with abundant regulatory obstacles still in place
ADB finances its first utility-scale PV plant in $160 million deal
Asia’s largest IPP receives funds to develop renewable energy assets in line with Indonesia’s plans to increase renewable generation to 23% by 2025. The ADB’s support for PV at this scale is novel and could help overcome financing gaps that have hindered PV development in emerging nations
Tongwei, Longi sign 55,000 MT polysilicon supply agreement
China’s Tongwei and Longi Green Energy Technology have announced a new polysilicon supply deal under which Tongwei will sell 55,000 metric tons of polysilicon to Longi through the end of 2020
Solar quadruples in big US capacity auction as electricity price soars
Unit cost of power is set to almost double for around a fifth of the US population in three years’ time as abandonment of all-of-the-above Obama strategy sees fewer generators participate in PJM capacity auction
PV leading the charge to low-emission future says IEA
With 34 of the 38 key technologies needed to hit the Paris Agreement’s best-case scenario falling short, PV and electric vehicles are keeping hopes alive
“We helped large-scale solar be commercially viable,” says departing Australian Renewable Energy Agency boss
The booming large scale and rooftop PV market in 2018 is providing reasons to be optimistic about the future of solar under the Australian sun. Reflecting on his six-year tenure as CEO at ARENA ahead of his departure in August, Ivor Frischknecht points to the role the agency played in bringing down the costs of large scale solar as ARENA’s greatest achievement.
