The Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF) has voiced concerns that a tender process for PV expected to be introduced next year could cap deployment at just 2GW to 3GW a year in what is currently still the world’s second biggest market for annual installations.
Indian conglomerate RattanIndia Power plans to use a 324 hectare site in Punjab, which was originally pegged for a thermal power plant, to build a 200MW solar PV project.
The second-largest Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) member, Canadian Solar has secured US$70 million in loans and equity investment from the International Finance Corporation to support its previously announced plans to establish a 300MW module assembly plant in Vietnam and production plants elsewhere, such as Brazil.
Leading PV inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology has guided 2016 revenue to be flat with the prior year as key global markets continue to be price sensitive, driven by utility-scale PV market sectors.
In addition to launching a residential energy management and PV self-consumption package for the home compatible with Tesla’s Powerwall, power optimiser specialist SolarEdge launched a lightweight inverter late last year utilising the Israel-headquartered firm’s new HD Wave technology.
China-based PV energy provider (PVEP) United Photovoltaics Group has transferred its deal with Hareon Solar to build 930MW of PV power plants to third parties in exchange for recouping its initial deposit and interest and expenses, while dropping its case in an arbitration court.
Spain’s Court of Arbitration has ruled against two companies who filed a lawsuit against the Kingdom of Spain over reforms to the PV sector made in 2010, according to a statement from the Spanish Ministry of Industry.
The need for solar to find new ways of staying competitive in the US is increasing as a the pace of hardware cost reductions slows. Ben Willis looks at efforts going on to tackle some of the persistently high soft costs involved in US solar development
