Italy installed 409 MW of new PV in 2017
Last year’s figures, however, still do not include new capacity coming from the revamping and repowering business. For 2018, local renewable energy association, ANIE Rinnovabili expects growth to be stronger.
Ukraine added 211 MW of solar in 2017
The country’s cumulative installed solar power has reached 741 MW, while rooftop PV under net metering has topped 37 MW. Over 500 MW of new PV additions are expected in 2018.
Solar Frontier posts $73 million operating loss in 2017
Japanese thin film PV manufacturer, Solar Frontier has posted an operating loss of JPY 7.8 billion (US$73.2 million) for 2017, as it continues to rejig its business strategy and consolidate production in Japan.
US imports of Chinese solar climbed sharply in Q4
1,200%. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, that’s how high imports of Chinese modules rose in the fourth quarter last year, in a desperate attempt to stockpile sufficient numbers before tariffs choked off international supplies.
Germany starts first mixed wind-solar auction
Bids for solar PV ground-mounted projects and wind farms on land can be submitted to the Federal Network Agency by April 3. Overall, the German government will allocate around 200 MW of capacity in the tender.
Russian companies plan vertically-integrated monocrystalline module factory
The manufacturing facility is planned to be built in Russia’s Astrakhan region thanks to an investment of 1.5 billion RUB (around US$26.5 million).
Portuguese grid operator to invest €70 million to accommodate more solar
Overall, the grid improvement is expected to enable at least 800 MW of new solar PV plants to come online in the south of the country.
Enel switches on 103 MW solar plant in the Brazilian state of Bahia
The $110 million project is expected to generate 220 GWh per year.
Belgium plans big off-shore solar projects in the North Sea
A few days after the first grid-connected off-shore solar PV project was announced in the Netherlands, the Belgian government has unveiled plans to make the North Sea a solar energy hub.
The future looks bright for solar energy development in Mexico
Mexico is set to become the largest solar PV market in Latin America, with around 2 GW of installs expected annually. Political and regulatory uncertainty do not appear to be affecting investor interest, with more opportunities than challenges present. pv magazine attended GTM Research’s Solar Summit Mexico last week to report on the latest developments in the Mexican market.
