Policy

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has asked Congress to take a machete to the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) renewable energy and energy efficiency programs to even lower levels than he proposed last year – cuts likely avoided because of Congressional incompetence.

Fossil fuel sources received the most back-up generation power capacity, according to the provisional results of the latest Capacity Market Auction, released today by the U.K.’s National Grid. The country’s Renewable Energy Agency (REA) has criticized the results, stating the government is blocking new renewable energy projects.

2018 is going to be a pivotal year for Greece’s energy sector, including in renewables. An auction for new solar PV plants is expected to attract global attention; however other changes currently underway are also expected to be effective for the long term development of the Greek PV industry.

Taiwan has filed a complaint with the WTO over the U.S.’s decision to impose safeguard tariffs of up to 30% on crystalline silicon solar cell and module imports.

Two weeks ago, the 8th World Future Energy Summit opened its doors in Abu Dhabi. The conference and trade show comprised six co-located events across the cleantech spectrum, and attracted over 33,000 visitors across four days. The rapid increase in the scale of activity within the solar sector in the region was on display throughout the show. Here are three key takeaways from WFES 2018.

In what is the largest ever energy grant to be issued by the EU, France and Spain’s interconnection capabilities are to be boosted to 5 GW once an undersea cable across the Bay of Biscay is finalized.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) today announced a 9.09% increase to FIT rates originally proposed in September for rooftop solar installations up 20 kW, in a bid to encourage further public participation in its Green Energy Roofs project.

The U.S. President’s proclamation provides a path for specific products to apply for exemption from tariffs, which had been sought by both SunPower and the government of South Korea. Additionally, imports from a number of developing nations are exempt as long as import levels remain small.

As anticipated, the fallout from U.S. President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs of up to 30% on solar imports has been big. The latest reactions include the Korean Government’s announcement that it will file a petition with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Mexico’s promise of legal action. BNEF, meanwhile, expects module costs to increase by US$0.10/W.

As reported by Reuters, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology voiced concerns that frequent trade disputes may hurt China’s overseas expansion and would increase costs throughout the global solar market.