Japan's PV industry is changing fast. The feed-in tariff has brought about over 30GW of installed capacity, with large-scale solar outnumbering residential by about 10 to one. Ahead of this week's PV Expo in Tokyo, Andy Colthorpe takes a look at some of the issues expected to dominate.
A levy, or cess, on coal and other fossil fuels in India will be doubled from INR200 (US$2.93) per tonne to INR400 per tonne, under the latest Budget announced today by minister of finance Arun Jaitley.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled against India's local content rules for solar equipment in its dispute with the US. Jasmeet Khurana, associate director, consulting, Bridge to India explains why the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) has always been unsustainable and what other policies should be considered to keep Indian solar manufacturers afloat.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in favour of the US on its complaint against India’s localisation rules for solar equipment, does “not affect the future course of action” that India is considering, Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has told PV Tech.
After Japan’s solar market got off to a flying start, a combination of policy headwinds and grid constraints has made the going much tougher. But with new market segments opening up and an electricity market reform process about to get underway the prospects for the world’s second largest PV market of 2015 still look strong.
Japan’s solar FiT for the next financial year could be set at ¥24 (US$0.21) per kWh, while controversial curtailment rules to restrict output from PV plants have been applied on the southern island of Kyushu.
The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is to hold an auction for solar energy in August this year requiring a total investment of more than BRL1 billion (US$253 million), according to the state's government.
