Japan’s electric utility companies that had stopped considering applications for utility-scale solar look set to resume doing so, although projects will be subjected to stricter new rules.
Japan will produce definitive targets for renewable energy this year, according to a government official. The country’s government has taken criticism from pro-renewable energy groups for not doing so previously.
Project developer Welspun Renewables has confirmed it will build a 100.1MW solar farm in Andhra Pradesh (AP) during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
One international developer of utility-scale PV projects says that proposed changes to Japan’s feed-in tariff (FiT) will not adversely affect business over the next two years, but certain aspects of those changes will be “challenging” to cope with.
China looks on course to have missed its 2014 target for distributed solar but could end up close to the year’s overall 13GW goal through an expanded share of utility-scale projects, according to an expert on the country’s renewables industry.
The Japanese subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate, Hanwha Group, has completed a 24MW PV power plant in Kitsuki, Oita prefecture, in the south-west of the country.
Chinese government initiatives for distributed generation will have “a far greater impact on installations in China this year", according to the chairman and chief executive officer of Hanwha SolarOne.
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.
