The US solar sector is set to post record deployment figures this year, but ongoing supply chain constraints, logistical challenges and price increases are expected to dent additions in 2022, a new report has said.
Global renewables industries are expectant as COP26 looms, however supply chain volatility has continued to dent deployment prospects going into a crucial decade. We discuss this and much more in this month's Solar Media Podcast.
Despite delays and supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19, global solar PV employment increased by 6% last year to reach nearly 4 million, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Recent solar wafer and cell price increases from both LONGi Solar and Tongwei, which have seen prices rise by between 5.6 – 7.7%, have underscored heightened volatility in the solar supply chain.
While the supply chain has recoiled from surging materials prices, component shortages and unprecedented volatility in shipping and freight costs, national policies and regulations have also emerged as a sizeable hurdle to frictionless solar trade. Here PV Tech Power recaps the policies to watch in the coming months.
PV Tech speaks to JA Solar’s Henning Schulze about the module manufacturer’s European strategy, how vertical integration is helping it mitigate supply chain volatility and why lessons from the stock market can help guide solar module purchasing.
In the wake of the US Withhold and Release Order and other sanctions targeting alleged forced labour in solar supply chains, Graham Vinter, Ursula Owczarkowski and Sarah Bishop of law firm Covington & Burling LLP explore the legal status quo and the options at hand for solar companies to mitigate contractual risk.
The PV industry “must remain vigilant” across its supply chain in meeting global human rights standards, trade association SolarPower Europe has said in a new sustainability report.
Polysilicon producer REC Silicon has surprisingly terminated it supply chain partnership with US PV manufacturing start-up Violet Power, claiming it would best serve its shareholders by focusing on doing business with “established, proven, active and relevant solar supply chain partners”.
