Coronavirus

pv magazine has spoken to Germany’s largest solar project developers about how construction has ground to a halt on many PV projects in Europe since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Politicians need to extend implementation deadlines for PV projects that are being built under tender schemes, but deadlines are not the only challenge that companies currently face.

Netherlands trade body Holland Solar has asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy for an extension of grid-connection deadlines for solar projects being built under the SDE+ incentive program for large scale renewables. The association also urged Dutch municipalities to keep processing permits.

Byron Bay-based solar retailer Smart Energy says it is seeing an unprecedented surge in sales and enquiries for solar and home energy storage as consumers look to shore themselves up in uncertain times.

The meeting planned yesterday to open the final bids by consortia vying to develop the 1.5 GW Al-Dhafra solar field in Abu Dhabi was reportedly postponed because coronavirus-related restrictions on public gatherings in the emirate. The chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy told pv magazine this year the project would bring a new low price for solar power.

U.S.-owned analyst Wood Mackenzie expects solar demand to decline but predicts the market will recover, with the prospects for the energy transition remaining intact.

Large solar parks awarded contracts under Germany’s tender scheme could lose funding if not brought online on time. The nation’s solar trade body believes the government should quadruple its annual PV deployment target despite an anticipated coronavirus-related hiatus in roll-out.

Supply-chain constraints related to China’s coronavirus outbreak could weigh on the performance of the U.S. solar market in 2020, writes SPV Market Research’s Paula Mints.

Valoe Corporation has extended its €3.5m convertible bonds issuance but with investors fleeing to safe havens and Lithuania yesterday announcing COVID-19 quarantine measures, hopes of getting cell manufacturing off the ground in Vilnius this month appear unrealistic.

A viral outbreak in the city of Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, has become a nationwide health crisis with global implications. And with PV manufacturing concentrated in China, there are serious implications for all corners of the solar world, reports Vincent Shaw in Shanghai.

The Covid-19 outbreak has disrupted the global PV supply chain. China, the largest manufacturing hub for solar products, has postponed factory openings in many regions, as it has been hit by logistical hiccups, staff shortages, and delivery delays. Manufacturers in some Chinese provinces are running under capacity, while those overseas are facing the same situation.