pandemic

The unfolding effects of the Covid-19 crisis, and fears of a possible second wave, have split analysts trying to guess how the unsubsidized renewables market will emerge as slumping demand continued to distort power markets. pv magazine rounds up the week’s coronavirus developments.

Solar project developers and other component importers are among those eligible to apply for low-interest loans for up to 10 years. The government had already offered a $200 million credit line last year.

The coronavirus epidemic continues to batter the global economy, including the solar industry, but falling demand during lockdowns has brought negative energy prices as well as helping drive record solar generation, amid less-polluted skies.

While the volume of combined imports and exports slumped from almost 2 GW in December to 1.49 GW in January and 1.36 GW in February, the price per kilowatt rose dramatically in the second month of the year.

Solar project owners responded to an appeal to donate a portion of their solar incentive payments to the public health authorities as another multinational body emphasized the importance of coronavirus fiscal stimulus packages having environmentally-friendly conditions attached.

The U.S. solar industry experienced a wave of job losses last month and the public health crisis has driven foreign exchange losses which will jeopardize projects Down Under, but it is Angela Merkel’s government which is attracting the ire of German PV installers.

“Unprecedented” appears to be a frequently used term to describe the Covid-19 crisis that the global economy, our societies and healthcare systems are now facing. And while outbreaks of severe and potentially life-threatening diseases have occurred at various stages in the modern age, our globally connected reality today means that the coronavirus could have impacts that are truly without precedent.

Industry body SolarPower Europe hosted a webinar to consider how the global public health crisis will affect solar. While workers and materials are still available, industry experts are concerned about the state of the financial sector. Banks could become more conservative and raise the cost of capital for renewables projects.

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.