A new organisation aimed at representing the entire PV manufacturing value chain in Europe, from materials and module manufacturers to equipment providers and institutions, is being planned for launch in 2019.
With Europe to end the Minimum Import Prices (MIPs) on Chinese imports of solar cells and modules today, following a European Commission announcement late last week, PV Tech gathered initial responses from the industry.
The European Union has officially elected not to extend anti-dumping duties against panels imported from China, with the minimum import price now ceasing to exist from midnight Monday 3 September 2018.
The majority of member states have reportedly stuck to their original position in March 2017 calling for the trade measures to run out as soon as possible.
A total of 17 European associations have called on policymakers to reintroduce the debate around priority dispatch and balancing responsibility for small-scale renewable installations, while ten energy intensive heavyweights want a framework on C&I self-consumption of renewables.
Nanoelectronics R&D organisation imec has been appointed as the lead to a three-year €5 million EU funded R&D program on perovskite solar cells that brings together a number of European research and commercial partners.
According to European trade association SolarPower Europe, preliminary global solar installations reached 98.9GW in 2017, a 29.3% increase over the previous year and another new record.
The European Union will provide €578 million to build a major power link running through the Bay of Biscay to export Spain’s excess renewable energy to France, in a move that has been welcomed by France, Spain and Portugal.
