Middle East

There was plenty of innovation on display at this year’s SNEC, which closed yesterday afternoon at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. The three-day exhibition ran from Tuesday to Thursday, was well attended and still ranks as the world’s largest solar energy trade show.

The Jordanian PV module manufacturer plans to add two new production lines at its factory in Amman over the next 12 weeks. The new lines will add half-cell and bifacial mono PERC modules to the company’s product range.

Among 45 critical energy technologies and sectors assessed in a tracking report by the International Energy Agency, only seven are keeping hopes alive that climate, energy access and air pollution goals can be met.

With clean energy being generated at lower and lower prices around the world, solar power is playing a leading role in bringing the curtain down on coal, and will help the decarbonization of transport and space heating too.

At the Smarter E Europe trade show in Munich, pv magazine caught up with Lior Handelsman, VP for marketing and product strategy and founder of Solaredge. The Israeli company made headlines as it went on an acquisition spree in the last year to leverage its position in the storage and EV charging business.

While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.

The site is the first step in a planned 200 MW portfolio. Along with a few ground mount installations, the Palestinian authorities set out to achieve substantial parts of the portfolio by tapping public rooftops. The authorities have already secured rooftop spaces at 500 schools for the installation of 35 MW of capacity.

U.S. President Donald Trump has removed Turkey from the list of developing nations that are exempted from Section 201 tariffs on PV cells and modules.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is seeking consultants for a feasibility study for the project. The plant would be constructed on land owned by the Banque du Liban.

The chairman of GCL System says Beijing’s pan Asian-African-European infrastructure initiative is helping the company reduce its dependence on its domestic market.