SPONSORED: Falling system prices have been a key driver of PV's recent growth and competitiveness, but upfront costs are only one part of the equation for long-term profitability within the solar power industry. Maximising any given system’s cumulative power output over its lifetime is critical to lowering the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) and maximising investment returns.

Things can change very quickly in the solar industry, and no more so than when new trade-related cases are introduced or existing ones are amended in scope. Often companies – and in particular module suppliers relying on export revenues – suddenly find themselves with a golden opportunity that was previously not in their strategies, or have barriers unlocked that remove competitors based in other countries.

Taiwan-based PV developer and EPC firm New Green Power (NGP) is to build a 14MW floating solar project in northern Taiwan, according to company director Kai Tan.

A 650MW auction scheme for renewable energy projects will also start in a few weeks.

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has installed more than half of the 2.5 million solar panels that will comprise an eight-project, 596MW PV pipeline that will power Florida customers by early 2018.

With one month to go before the Solar and Off-Grid Renewables Southeast Asia conference in Bangkok, PV Tech caught up with Franck Constant, president of renewables and storage investment platform Constant Energy, to discuss the current state of solar in the largest Southeast Asian markets.

Austrian Solar has carried out its ground-breaking ceremony for the Huatacondo PV plant in the commune of Pozo Almonte, Chile.

ENGIE and Fenix have announced a transaction in which Engie will acquire 100% of Fenix International, an energy generation company offering Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Africa.

Alliant Energy Iowa announced that it has put Iowa’s largest PV installation into service — with the record-breaking project one of two new solar energy sites from Alliant Energy.

Heraeus Photovoltaics has introduced a new paste specifically designed for Diamond-Wire-Cut (DWC) multicrystalline solar cells at the PV Taiwan International Photovoltaic Exhibition.

China-based polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy is to increase its capacity at its Xinjiang plant by 7,000MT, which is intended to serve the high-purity needs of monocrystalline solar wafers and the expanding semiconductor sector.

SPONSORED: LONGi looks at recent assessments of the potential for its P-type mono PERC cells and discusses its bifacial PERC cell (Hi-MO2) technology.

AEP Ohio, part of major US utility American Electric Power, has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for 400MW of solar capacity in Ohio.

Fiji has become the first emerging market to issue a green bond, according to the World Bank.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) have both financed the Kennedy hybrid solar, wind and storage project in north Queensland, which is being developed Windlab and Eurus Energy.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has permitted 90 small-scale solar projects under the second stage of the Suryabala Sangramaya Programme.

SunPower announced that it will supply 291MW of its solar panels to projects awarded under the second round of France’s CRE tender process.

Uganda-based off-grid and home PV firm SolarNow has received a US$6 million syndicated off-grid solar financing facility.

Electricity and heat generator and retailer Vattenfall is developing a third party model for energy storage deployment, which will see the Swedish firm deploy batteries alongside UK solar farms.

Canadian Solar has partnered with Israeli insurance and finance group Menora Mivachim in an effort to raise US$60 million to finance solar projects in Israel.

DK Electronic Materials Inc. (DKEM) has launched a new generation of front-side metallization paste. ‘DK92’ series front-side metallization pastes have been developed to be compatible with different passivation technologies and processes for PERC solar cells, including ALD (spatial ALD, and time-based dual-side passivated ALD), PECVD (remote plasma and direct plasma) as well as other non-AlOx passivation solutions to boost the diversified PERC technologies and to further lower the LCOE.

US trade association groups, the Energy Storage Association and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), have called on their respective industries to assist hurricane relief efforts in the US and its territories.

London-based off-grid solar firm BBOXX is investing US$200,000 in EcoEnergy, a solar energy provider focused on rural Pakistan.

Norwegian firm Saga Energy has signed a preliminary agreement with Iranian state-run firm Amin Energy Developers to build solar plants requiring investment of €2.5 billion investment (US$2.9 billion) in Iran, according to a Reuters report.

Acciona Energía and Saudi Arabian firm Swicorp are to build and own three solar PV plants with a combined capacity of 186MW in the Benban solar complex in Aswan, Egypt.

Georgia Power announced that it has installed over 4,000 PV panels at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the new arena for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

Pacifico Energy has started construction on a 62MW PV project in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. The installation will be developed on mountain land, with operations slated to start in December 2019.

PV cell and module manufacturer TSEC Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Pingtung County to aid the development of up to 1GW of solar PV capacity in southern Taiwan.

Senegal’s Electricity Regulatory Commission (CRSE) has issued Request for Proposals (RFPs) for 100MW of solar projects to be built in three regions.

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) has secured its first order in Australia for its recently launched ‘Super 2.5 MW Solar Block’ modular plant system from Australian-based power station developer APSU Power.