Canada’s Saskatchewan province to halt net metering for solar
Utility SaskPower is set to close the net metering open to systems up to 100 kW in size once a 16 MW cumulative generation capacity limit is reached in the province.
Germany lifts cap on solar FIT program with new Climate Change Act
While the solar industry will welcome the move, the feed-in tariff paid to small systems is still reducing thanks to the volume of new capacity installed every quarter. Announcing a wide-ranging policy package on Friday, Angela Merkel admitted Germany will miss the carbon emission target set for next year.
Live fast, die young: MIT study proposes use of 10-year panels
Research has found even short-lived, 10 to 15-year solar panels could provide enough return for bankable projects. The researchers believe panel costs, coupled with an industry mindset now fixed on the final solar energy price rather than costs per kilowatt installed, may open opportunities for PV products currently snubbed because of a short lifecycle.
Siemens and TIES to open battery research center in China
The facility is set to open this year and will offer battery suppliers digitalization research and manufacturing consulting. Smaller manufacturers will be able to use shared laboratories for research.
Tender for megawatt scale solar-plus-storage launched in Sri Lanka
A planned 10 MW solar project will be coupled with a storage system with a minimum capacity of 8 MWh. The facility will be near Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.
Mongolia tenders 10 MW solar plant
The project, planned for Khovd in the west of the country, is being developed with the support of the World Bank.
The weekend read: The specter of PV protectionism
Trade tariffs are spreading across the global PV industry. The United States has been especially active with its sandwich of old antidumping and countervailing duties coupled with new Section 201, 232 and 301 duties. Some of these are part of the Sino-U.S. trade dispute; others impact not only Chinese producers, but manufacturers around the world. So, what will be the impact of this new era of PV protectionism on the solar sector?
South Africa’s water-energy nexus leaves room for improvement
A team of researchers modeled the country’s energy future, finding that the drought plagued municipalities could benefit massively from large scale renewables deployment. The current reliance on coal-fired power stations causes immense water consumption, worsening the problem.
Google buys power from another 1.6 GW of renewables
The new deals worth $2 billion in new investments were made by the Internet giant in in the U.S., Chile and Europe.
Solar-plus-storage for social housing
U.K. nonprofit organization Together Housing is launching a solar-plus-storage demonstration project in a social housing complex. The $2.4 million pilot is designed to identify alternative commercial models for residential storage, following the abrupt reduction of feed-in tariff rates.
