SolarPower Europe summit opens, 6.7 GW installed in Europe in 2016
The European solar market decreased by 21% last year. This disappointing if not unexpected news opened SolarPower Europe’s annual summit in Brussels today. Grid integration of Europe’s solar capacity, EU market rules for protecting the ‘prosumer’ and reforms to the continent’s faltering Emissions Trading Scheme were major themes during the plenary session.
Hevel Solar energizes four PV plants totaling 35 MW in Russia
The Russian solar company has connected to the grid four large-scale PV plants in Russia. Its solar operational capacity in the country has now reached 75 MW.
Extension of EU duties on Chinese solar products is now official
On Friday, the EU published in its Official Journal the 18-month extension of antidumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese solar products, including notification of a partial interim review of the measures. The review could lead to the gradual reduction of duties and minimum import prices. The EU will also consider if the Minimum Price Undertaking agreement is still of relevance.
North American and European utilities invested around $297 million in distributed solar to date, GTM Research
Investments in distributed solar made by North American and European utilities have reached an aggregate value of $297 million to date. North American power providers seem to be more confident on distributed solar, but European companies are investing more heavily in all distributed energy segments.
SolarEdge to launch residential PV solution in Europe
Israeli headquartered power electronics specialist SolarEdge has announced that it is rolling out a complete solution for residential PV, consisting of inverter, storage and home automation system.
European Commission confirms 18-month extension of antidumping and anti-subsidy tariffs, with a staged phase-out
The European Union will see an extension to hotly contested duties on Chinese PV exporters by 18 months. A spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed the move with pv magazine today, adding that the duties will be phased out, in line with industry cost reductions.
ECJ Judgement: Antidumping and anti-subsidy measures against China are legal
The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxemburg this week confirmed the validity of the import duties, rejecting all complaints from 26 PV manufacturers. In the opinion of the judges the measures are necessary to compensate damage caused to the European solar industry by dumped imports from China.
AIB: Renewables continue to grow at a rapid pace across Europe
The demand for green electricity in Europe, documented with Guarantee of Origin (GOs) has grown by 5% in 2016, now reaching nearly 370 TWh. Solar and wind are stepping up to challenge large hydro.
European battery association calls for 2030 EU storage strategy
EUROBAT is urging the European Union to develop a unified strategy to promote and support the uptake of battery storage to facilitate the transition towards a decarbonized society in Europe.
Hevel Solar completing pre-commissioning of 160 MW heterojunction fab, achieves 21.75% cell efficiency
Russia’s Hevel Solar has achieved 21.75% cell efficiency after upgrading to heterojunction (HJT) technology. Hevel says that its fab will have a capacity of 160 MW when completed.
