South Korea

Price deflation and technological innovation are helping solar transform the global electricity sector. A new report by IEEFA highlights the latest solar milestones around the world and charts important trends including the rise of floating solar and the corporate PPAs helping the tech giants ‘green’ their energy-hungry data centres.

The South Korean government has announced plans to formally launch a dispute settlement process with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over U.S. tariffs on PV cells, modules and washing machines.

The solar module manufacturer reports that Europe will likely replace the United States as its number one market, due to the recent introduction of the duties introduced by the Trump administration. Although quarterly revenue grew by around 2.5% year-on year, and net profit almost doubled from $17.6 million to $31 million, the outlook for 2018 shipments has been lowered by 400 MW to 5.6 GW to 5.8 GW.

Korean module manufacturing giant, Hanwha Q Cells reported a net loss of US$9.2 million for the full year 2017, falling from a net income of $127.5 million in the previous year. The company cited a one-time loss associated with the discontinuation of wafer manufacturing as the main reason for the decline.

Korea is making good on an earlier promise, and now Japan has joined in. Both nations demand that the Trump Administration reverse the tariffs, or suffer an equivalent volume of retaliatory tariffs.

A team led by Chonnam National University in South Korea has developed a new perovskite solar cell composition, which it says could lead the way to the production of “highly efficient and air stable perovskite solar cells”.

The monocrystalline cells from the Korean manufacturer will be shipped to the French subsidiary of Chinese solar company, Upsolar.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power signs memorandum of understanding with solar developer, Hwaseong Solar Energy to construct what would be nation’s largest floating solar farm on western coast.

As anticipated, the fallout from U.S. President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs of up to 30% on solar imports has been big. The latest reactions include the Korean Government’s announcement that it will file a petition with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Mexico’s promise of legal action. BNEF, meanwhile, expects module costs to increase by US$0.10/W.

The high-efficiency PV maker plans to expand its annual production capacity to 300 MW by the end of 2018, with expansions in both the United States and South Korea.