The solar industry gets to grips with the bewildering array of new module technologies at the second edition of the PV ModuleTech event in Penang, Malaysia. The conference raised a huge number of questions such as how to evaluate bifacial technology and whether it might rise faster than predicted, how long p-type multicrystalline has left in the running and the perennial issue of quality, to name a few.
Trade delegations from India and Taiwan have failed to reach an agreement in a dispute regarding India’s safeguard duty on solar cell and module imports from developed countries as well as China and Malaysia, according to a World Trade Organisation (WTO) filing dated 2 November.
Indian solar developer Azure Power has had a hugely successful period of raising financing, but consultancy firm Bridge to India has said that the overall domestic PV sector is facing hard times in raising debt finance.
The majority of Indian solar is installed in water-stressed areas and the cost of water has doubled in many areas in three years, according to a new report from consultancy firm Bridge to India.
Despite consistent year-on-year growth in India’s solar and wind sectors, the year 2018/19 will see a substantial slowdown of -49% compared to the previous year, according to consultancy firm Bridge to India’s report ‘India RE Map-2018’.
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has written to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) directing it to hold a one-off smaller 1.2GW solar tender with a significantly lower ceiling tariff, with the hope of driving tariffs down further.
India’s Ministry of Power (MOP) has sent a letter to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) asking it to accelerate the pass-through option in the case of any ‘change in law’ that affects power project costs, including the safeguard duty on solar imports.
Smaller companies are finding it increasingly difficult to enter the Indian large-scale solar market and partake in the multi-gigawatts of competitive auctions for PV capacity.
The Indian Finance Ministry’s order imposing a safeguard duty for two years on solar imports from developed countries as well as China and Malaysia has brought long-awaited clarity to both manufacturers and developers, but both segments of the industry have a number of fears.
Chemicals firm Wacker Chemie has painted a rosier picture of polysilicon supply and demand in 2018 than most when reporting a small second quarter decline in polysilicon revenue.
Tariffs in a 1GW solar auction in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have hit INR3.48-3.55/kWh (US$0.051-0.052), which is significantly higher than bids in other recent Indian auctions for a range of reasons, including a history of PPA renegotiations.
India installed more than 10GW of solar during the financial year 2017/18 for the first time ever, according to the latest Solar Map from consultancy firm Bridge to India.
India has given the option to solar power procurers to extend the timelines for land acquisition, financial close and PV project commissioning, which should help developers working on interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected plants.
The sanctioning of a tendering scheme for 2.5GW of hybrid wind and solar capacity in India, to be allocated through a transparent bidding process, has been branded as “the right step”, by consultancy firm Bridge to India.
