Central & East Asia

Japan is thought to have installed over 8GW of new photovoltaic (PV) generation capacity during 2014, according to analysis and research firm RTS PV.

Chinese tier one PV module manufacturer Trina Solar has claimed a new world record for power output from its Honey Plus high efficiency multi-crystalline silicon module of 324.5Wp.

The US commerce department’s decision to slap hefty tariffs on Chinese and Taiwanese solar imports is “already hurting” US-based manufacturers, the body opposed to punitive trade policies has claimed.

Leading Chinese polysilicon and wafer manufacturer GCL-Poly is to abandon plans for the US$1.3 billion sale of its wafer business.

The Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF) has criticised a freshly issued set of rules in Japan that will allow utility companies to limit renewable energy output and lower feed-in tariff (FiT) payments in some cases.

Almost 100MW worth of plans to install new PV generation capacity have been unveiled this week, with two new projects totalling 80MW added to the large-scale project on a former golf course which was reported yesterday by PV Tech.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has announced the lifting of a controversial import tax on solar equipment.

Trina Solar, newly crowned as 2014’s top module manufacturer, is buying a minority stake in Shuntai Leasing in a move aimed at underpinning its downstream and manufacturing growth plans.

Chinese module manufacturer Suntech is targeting an increase in its market share for PV modules in the Benelux countries from 3% to 13% by 2015.

India has scrapped excise duty for off-grid rooftop solar systems.