Global PV markets

2011 was a year of extremes for the solar industry: record installations; a dramatic fall in module prices; and a plethora of companies closing their doors. Going forward, indications are that 2012 will remain extremely challenging, with the industry having been firmly caught in the crosshairs of Europe’s economic crisis. Continued oversupply and less installed capacity are to be expected.

The first day has drawn to a close at Solarpraxis’ Energy Storage conference in Germany’s Düsseldorf. Following calls from Germany’s Environment Minister to rapidly develop storage technology in the country, there is a belief that Germany is well-positioned to become an energy storage technology hotspot.

In its efforts to make a quick course correction, the German ship of state may inadvertently be navigating into turbulent straits that could capsize its own solar industry. At particular threat are the module manufacturers. The residential market segment is also expected to contract significantly

The U.S. state of California is well on the way to overachieving its 2020 aim to generate 33 percent of its electricity from renewables, in fact by almost double. Of this, photovoltaics accounts for nearly half. There are issues, however, such as interconnection and grid infrastructure, which still need to be ironed out.

According to a new study, many photovoltaic systems bigger than 10 kilowatts (kW) achieved grid parity with commercial retail electricity prices in 2011. This has resulted in a spike in projects and, thus, jobs. Both declining costs and the state’s favorable policies are said to be driving growth.

Germany’s parliament today held the first round of meetings aimed at amending the photovoltaic incentives under the country’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG). As expected, the opposition rejected the new proposals. The CDU and FDP also agreed to rethink fast tracking tariff cuts.

In an interview, Seethapathy Chander, from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) talks to pv magazine about the photovoltaic investment situation in Asia, falling project costs and emerging markets. Overall, he believes costs will, on average, sink to just US$0.09 per kilowatt hour (/kWh) across Asia, and that Uzbekistan will become a major market.

The Sharp Corporation, in partnership with the Indonesia Government, will develop 100 megawatts (MW) worth of photovoltaic projects in Indonesia. It will also work on a 2.4 MW solar system in Japan.

Three solar companies have been declared to be leading the pack in terms of the environment, their communities and their employees. The B Lab, a nonprofit organization that assesses companies’ impact environmentally and socially, highlighted three solar installers yesterday as leaders across three areas of assessment.

A new program, called Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN), has been introduced in the city of Palo Alto, California, the U.S. Under it, locally-produced solar energy will receive a fixed rate of remuneration.