Major PV inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology has secured supply deals for more than 20 different utility-scale PV projects in Australia in 2017, totalling around 1.2GW and included for several large-scale PV projects funded by the Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPA) driven by solar are set to take a significant chunk of the market in Southeast Asia over the next few years, according to panellists at the Solar and Off-Grid Renewables Southeast Asia (SORSEA) conference in Bangkok.
South Korean capital Seoul plans to invest US$1.55 billion in a solar plan which aims to install 1GW of PV generation capacity by 2022, according to local sources.
GCL New Energy Holdings (GNE), the downstream independent PV power producer arm of leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, has secured a HK$8,000 million (US$1.02 billion) in new finance.
Market research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance has followed the lead set by China trade bodies and significantly raised its solar installation forecast for China in 2017.
For the most part, it will take some years for solar-plus-storage in the ASEAN region to become economically viable on a large scale, but panellists at the opening day of Solar and Off-Grid Renewables Southeast Asia event in Bangkok, have warned that investors who come on board quickest are going to gain a huge advantage.
Sweden-based PV manufacturer Midsummer has developed a flexible CIGS thin film solar cell process that provides a complete solution for BIPV/BAPV metal roof systems together with the Swedish Metal roofing company Clix Steel Profile AB that is certified for slopes as low as 5°.
PV Tech caught up with Thomas Chrometzka, energy programme director for GIZ Thailand, to discuss the country's rooftop PV situation, with the Solar and Off-Grid Renewables Southeast Asia conference kicking off today in Bangkok.
