South African renewables jobs should be in coal regions
A study into the potential pitfalls of the shift to clean power in the nation’s coal-dependent energy mix, pointed out almost all of South Africa’s solar farms are far to the south and west of the coal regions likely to bear the brunt of job losses in a country which already has 29% unemployment.
Chinese PV industry headed toward grid parity
Project delays and price changes due to fluctuating demand are disrupting the Chinese solar market. Researchers who have analyzed the situation claim that the nation’s PV industry will be back on track toward grid parity by the end of the year.
Jinko posts $47m, second-quarter profit
The Chinese solar manufacturer shipped 4.46 GW of modules for turnover of $1.2 billion from April to June and expects to move 20 GW of panels this year.
Auctions show Indian renewables still primed for growth
A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says there is plenty of investment capital available for Indian renewables, despite pandemic disruption.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: 1 GW of distributed solar came online in August
More than 1 GW of subsidized small solar arrays were installed in China last month alone and manufacturer Suntech has announced the start of operations at its 500 MW Indonesian cell and module fab.
Hitachi halts 5.8 GW of UK nuclear plans
With the Japanese conglomerate this week walking away from two new nuclear plants in the United Kingdom, project developer Horizon Nuclear Power has confirmed all activities at both sites will cease. The facilities had struggled to secure funding despite offers from government. Horizon said it will ‘keep lines of communication open’ regarding the future of the sites.
Indian solar leaders call for overhaul to navigate Covid-19
Indian PV manufacturers have highlighted the need to find alternative supply chains and to push automation and Internet of Things applications on the factory floor, in order to keep production running amid raw material and labor shortages.
Xinte Energy warns of possible polysilicon and inverter glut
The poly manufacturer discussed the impact of Covid-19 on its solar and wind project development business and fleshed out details of global polysilicon oversupply during a pandemic-hit first half of the year.
Bangladesh set to embrace gas, rather than renewables
A national energy strategy which prioritizes coal is being ripped up just two years after its introduction, thanks to Covid-related slumps in demand, but legislators appear likely to look to gas, rather than solar and wind power as an alternative, due to land issues and energy storage costs.
Leclanché restructure delayed
Eneris Group has suspended its financial commitments for the time being and Leclanche shareholder Fefam has provided a bridge loan of CHF34 million to give the historic company more time to set up a joint venture for large scale battery cell production in Europe.
