Southeast Asia & Oceania

The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is forecast to grow to 13.5GW in 2013, representing a 50% year-on-year growth rate, according to the latest NPD Solarbuzz Q1’13 Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly report.

Investment director Edward Douglas from Singapore-based Armstrong Asset Management is the latest leading solar energy expert to confirm he will be speaking at the inaugural Solar Business Expo Southeast Asia in Thailand this March.

Japanese engineering company Chiyoda Corporation has announced the construction of a 1.8MW plant in the city of Hokuto in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.

The boards of Taiwan-based PV manufacturers Neo Solar Power (NSP) and DelSolar have approved the second stage of the planned merger of the two companies.

Japan’s renewable energy capacity has reached a total of 1.443GW, according to figures released by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

German PV project developer Conergy is set to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia after it secured an EPC contract for two PV plants in Thailand from Thai Solar Energy Company Limited (TSE), a local investor. The plants will be located in Suphanburi Province and Kanchanaburi Province and have a combined capacity of 21MW.

PV installations in Southeast Asia are expected to grow at 50% annually over the next five years, bringing cumulative installations close to 5GW by 2016, according to the latest report from market researcher IHS.

PV modules and wafers manufacturer ReneSola has announced the establishment of its Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regional sales headquarters in Singapore.

US solar giant First Solar and Indonesia’s PT. Pembangkitan Jawa Bali Services (PJB Services) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of 100MW utility-scale PV projects in Indonesia in order to meet the country’s growing energy demand.

On September 4, Thai oil company Bangchak Public Petroleum Co. (BPP) connected its 44MW PV plant in Thailand — the largest silicon PV power plant in South East Asia, it claims. It is located in Bang Pa-In, Ayutthaya, which is around 40km from the country’s capital Bangkok.