Europe

First-quarter figures from German engineering association the VDMA showed that, while orders picked up after a slow end to last year, almost all PV production equipment produced in the country is shipped abroad, with China the leading destination.

This Swiss giant is following a trend as large multinational high-tech companies see their role as redesigning infrastructure rather than supplying inverters at ever lower margins. Schneider Electric has pulled out of large scale solar, Siemens’ Kaco acquisition and Junelight launch show increasing interest in the C&I and residential markets, and GE is likely to divest its power conversion business due to low profit margins in that sector.

China’s slowdown in installations last year was more than made up for by expansion elsewhere, according to IHS Markit. The news comes amid increasing market fragmentation – with the biggest engineering, procurement and construction business boasting less than 3% market share – and internationalization, with almost half of the top 15 companies operating across more than one region.

Talk of ‘grid-parity’ and ‘subsidy-free’ solar has had industry figures cherishing the ideal of a sector that can operate free of the caprices of government but a peer behind the latest global PV funding figures demonstrates just how dependent on policy the solar industry remains.

Two of the nation’s largest commercial fleet operators have pledged to go all-electric by 2030, beating the government’s ambition by a decade, and carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has made a big electrification announcement – but insisted the politicians need to show similar bold ambition.

The Kazakh solar market is steadily growing amid investment from regional development banks and independent power producers. Total Eren said the 128 MW of generation capacity is just the first of its projects in central Asia.

The nation elected a new government yesterday, awarding a clear majority to the pro-EU New Democracy party. What could that mean for Greece’s solar sector?

The solar tracker supplier is benefiting from a steadily growing PV market and has inked a deal with ABN AMRO Energy Transition Funds for new capital to expand its operations.

U.K. Power Networks has tendered 18.2 MW of flexible power capacity to six companies across eight regions. With regular feed-in returns hanging in the wind in the U.K., flexibility and peak time management payments could be an alternative source of income for the solar industry.

Greece’s fourth tender exercise for renewables this year took place on Monday and allocated solar and wind power projects in separate sections of the procurement round.