The US renewables industry must double down on efforts to overcome energy storage financing issues so the technology can help supplement the country’s PV ramp up, it was suggested at a Solar & Storage Finance USA event.
The importance of the extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), the removal of import tariffs and increased federal procurement were front and centre in the Solar Energies Industries Association’s (SEIA) wish list for the incoming Biden-Harris administration.
The exemption for bifacial solar panels from Section 201 tariffs in the US has finally been repealed, meaning bifacial panels imported into the US are now subject to tariffs of 20%.
US policymakers should explore the possibility of scrapping the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar PV and instead offer fiscal support for battery storage systems, an energy finance executive has said.
Quotes for PV glass have soared this month, reaching a price of RMB43/㎡ according to prices compiled by PV InfoLink, with some small-scale suppliers even quoted prices of RMB50/㎡.
The UK government has published a ten-point plan for how it intends to accelerate a green industrial revolution in the country, but has omitted solar PV entirely.
French solar developers, financiers and utilities have said government plans to cut subsidies for PV project owners would lead to an “economic catastrophe” that could threaten the country’s energy transition.
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have initiated something of a freeze on new solar financing deals in the US, significant interest in M&A remains and the incoming Biden administration could ease the logjam.
There may not be a ‘Green Deal’ planned in China but plans are in the making for a resurgence in solar installations as part of the forthcoming 14th Five-Year-Plan (2020-2025).
