Markets & Finance

Chinese manufacturer Suntech has confirmed that a proposed new manufacturing facility in South Africa remains on hold until details of the fourth round of the country’s national renewable energy programme are finalised.

In 2015, PV demand in China could top 18GW, according to an updated forecast from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

Australia’s anti-dumping commission is nearing its decision on whether or not to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panels.

Major tier-one PV module manufacturer Yingli Green Energy reported relatively flat shipments and revenue for 2014 on losses of US$209.5 million.

California has become the first state to generate more than 5% of its annual utility-scale electricity from solar, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Electric Power Monthly.

Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada is working together with PNC Equipment Finance, a division of the PNC Bank Canada Branch, in order to provide a new financing platform for PV plants as small as 500kW in Ontario, Canada.

Laser equipment specialist LPKF reported strong sales to the solar industry in 2014, despite limited capital spending in the sector.

Primrose Solar and EDF Energy have entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for their solar farms, which total 104MWp of capacity.

Market research firm IHS expects continued adoption of single-axis PV module trackers for large-scale ground mounted PV power plants globally, while it expects the systems to become the preferred technology in North America through the next five years.

The cost of solar in Japan declined as much as 15% in one year, but a lack of clear policy direction from the government has left a number of businesses with a “pessimistic” outlook of the industry’s future, according to a survey by the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF).