Asia

The Conergy brand has changed hands again with the Australian infrastructure giant acquiring the company’s Asia-focused business from its previous US-based fund management owners. Macquarie may be positioning itself to take advantage of a flood of cheap Chinese-made panels.

The Japanese PV industry should respond to the government’s recent decision to leave its 2030 energy mix targets unchanged by pushing for a higher share of solar in the next version of the country’s strategic energy plan, according to a new report.

The Chinese manufacturer has seen its revenue decline significantly in the second quarter of this year, despite quarterly shipments dropping just 3.1%. This performance, which confirms a trend that was already clear in fiscal year 2017, was mainly due to lower solar module ASPs. Quarterly net profit, however, has more than doubled. Despite recent developments in the Chinese PV market, the company maintains its shipment outlook for full fiscal year 2018, in which it hopes to ship between 11.5 GW and 12 GW.

As per the court order, Shapoorji Pallonji can retrieve its solar PV panel consignment at Chennai port, which has been cleared by customs, provided it pays the safeguard duty in case the related notification is upheld.

Although the Chinese government has recently scaled back solar energy development, it has created a new, large, alliance to reach more foreign markets. In addition to focusing on the shipment of PV modules, it will also address financing, EPC and O&M services.

In a tender for 50 MW of solar, local PV module manufacturer and project developer, Solar Philippines submitted a bid of P2.34 (US$0.044) per kWh.

As U.S. President Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran, many solar companies – predominantly from Europe – were in the process of developing massive project pipelines in the country. These are now in jeopardy, even with blocking statute imposed by the EU. Those seeking to pursue plans demand safe financial channels from the EU in order to continue developing PV projects, and to signal a clear commitment to the Iran Nuclear Deal.

The Government of India will also consider changes to the 25% safeguard duty imposed on solar cell imports from China and Malaysia only after the next hearing in the Odisha High Court, which stayed the levy.

As of July, Acme Solar had about 2.8 GW solar projects at different stages of development across India. Recently, it won another 600 MW of SECI’s 3 GW interstate transmission system (ISTS) tender, at a tariff of INR 2.44/unit (USD 0.036/unit).

China’s autonomous province, Hong Kong has officially opened up its feed-in tariff (FIT) policy scheme for solar PV systems.