Solar PV manufacturers have been flooding into Malaysia, but its domestic solar deployment remains relatively modest. PV Tech caught up with Catherine Ridu, chief executive officer of the Malaysia Sustainable Development Authority (SEDA), to discuss the newly-launched net metering programme and what other policies could encourage solar deployment, as well as how to leverage the manufacturing boom for domestic solar gains.
Solar PV has a strong role to play in the Philippines where energy demand continues to grow and the power mix remains expensive. While significant utility-scale solar deployments peaked ahead of a deadline to qualify for the Feed-in-Tariff in March this year, a new subsidy quota is on the horizon. PV Tech caught up with Pete Maniego, senior policy adviser of the Institute for Climate & Sustainable Cities and of Counsel of Dime & Eviota Law, to gather his insights on solar subsidies and how PV can compete with fossil fuels in the Southeast Asian country.
Community solar is emerging as an auspicious new source of demand in the US, opening up access to solar among previously excluded groups. Ethical Electric, a Washington-based renewable energy company providing 100% clean electricity to retail customers, recently launched a community solar division under the new name of CleanChoice Energy to get on board with the disruption. Managing director Laura Pagliarulo and chief impact officer Richard Graves discussed with PV Tech the company’s plans, its recent SunShot Initiative award, and how community solar is set to become ‘retail 2.0’.
Omotayo Dairo, founder and chief executive of Nigeria-based wind and renewable energy firm Quintas Renewable Energy Solutions, discusses whether Nigeria's recent PPA signings will translate into realised projects.
High costs of capital and low tariffs are causing extremely tight margins for solar developers in India. PV Tech caught up with Gaetan Tiberghien, principal investment officer, South Asia for International Finance Corporation (IFC), to discuss financing in the region.
It’s the globe’s second largest continent, home to the some of the world’s fastest growing economies, and it has supplied precious resources to nations for hundreds of years - so why do today’s solar PV businesses find it so difficult to succeed in Africa? PV Tech spoke with Jon Sarpong, president of PV developer and consultancy Avior Global, about the challenges and opportunities for PV companies eyeing up the African market.
Indian solar PV manufacturing is beginning to make headway after a significant module capacity increase in the last year. PV Tech caught up with Ivan Saha, president and chief technical officer of India-based manufacturer Vikram Solar for an industry update.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Morgan Solar is one of the industry's last remaining concentrated PV firms. It recently appointed Celestica's Mike Andrade as its new CEO, who discussed with PV Tech the place for such technologies, that are traditionally more expensive and harder to scale than conventional PV.
SolarEdge's Lior Handelsman explains some of the thinking and development processes behind HD Wave, which the publicly-listed Israeli company believes represents a significant leap forward for inverter technology. The product was launched at the beginning of the year, when Handelsman said in another interview for PV Tech that inverters can now "evolve at the speed of electronics, not mechanics".
