Policy

According to China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), solar PV installations reached 52.83GW in 2017, up from 34.54GW in 2016, and accounting for around 50% of expected global solar demand last year.

Having successfully launched a working group on onshore wind, the French government plans to create a similar group covering solar.

The US’ two leading states in solar and energy storage, New York and California, have taken steps towards valuing the locational and time-of-use value of distributed energy resources and other states should follow, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has said.

Saudi Arabia plans to tender seven solar projects with a combined capacity of 3.3GW during 2018, according to a statement from Turki Al Shehri, head of the country's Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO), confirming news from Bloomberg earlier this week.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has sent a plea to president Trump asking him to preserve tens of thousands of US solar jobs by not imposing high tariffs on imported solar panels, while Trump himself has indicated that he will make a decision on the Section 201 Case soon.

Yes Bank, India’s fifth largest private sector bank, has said it will mobilise US$1 billion of financing for solar projects in India up to 2023 and US$5 billion up to 2030, while at the International Solar Alliance (ISA) conference organised at World Future Energy Summit 2018 in Abu Dhabi.

The government of India is also setting up a US$350 million solar development fund to finance projects.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) is forecasting global PV demand in 2018 to be at 107GW, up from its estimate of 98GW in 2017. However, BNEF has given the largest single market China a wide installation range after its massive underestimation last year.

The new chairman of the Global Solar Council (GSC), Gongshan Zhu the founder, chairman and largest shareholder in the largest group of affiliated companies in the solar industry, GCL Group wants its members to raise between US$3 billion and US$5 billion for a new foundation to fund PV power plant projects as part of China’s ‘One Road and Belt’ business initiative.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has reported that Global solar investments topped US$160.8 billion in 2017, an 18% increase over the previous year and importantly, despite capital costs declining around 25%.