EPIA supports free trade for solar products

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has expressed its support for a quick conclusion to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on liberalising trade in environmental goods and services.



According to the association, this agreement, when successfully reached, could have a strong impact on the European and global solar development. The association, in fact, claims that this agreement may lead not only to a significant reduction for duties on solar products, but that it could also enable a further solar module price reduction, increasing the demand and thus stimulating business opportunities for solar companies all over the value chain and all over the globe.



Furthermore, EPIA said that this agreement could represent the final solution after the end to the price undertaking in Europe.

Japanese utility Kyushu halts grid access for new renewable energy plants

Japanese utility company Kyushu Electric Power Co., which provides power to the Island of Kyushu, southern Japan, announced that it will suspend grid access for new renewable energy installations. According to Bloomberg, which cites a company’s press release, the grid access will be suspended until Kyushu Electric will have assessed how much more renewable capacity is able to handle. The company stressed that this decision will not affect existing projects.



In August 2013, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). reported that Power grids in southern Japan were close to capacity for solar and wind power projects due to the rapid expansion of renewable energy. At the time, Kyushu Electric and the utility Chugoku Electric Power Co. each had less than 1 GW of available grid capacity for solar or wind power projects after deducting existing and approved capacity. Other regions of Japan have been struggling with grid congestion for some time now due to an explosion in PV development caused by the launch of Japan’s generous FIT program in July 2012. Hokkaido Electric Power Co. (HEPCO), the sole utility on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, has been investigating ways to fix grid congestion on the island because it now has more proposed PV capacity than its grid can handle.



In June 2013, Bloomberg reported that developers had already proposed 1,568 MW of PV projects over 2 MW in size for Hokkaido. In an effort to avoid potential congestion of the grid, however, HEPCO said it would allow just 400 MW of solar power projects on the island. HEPCO had since announced a 60 MWh energy storage project to help stabilize the grid. A 20 MWh energy storage project has also been announced for the Tohoku Region, located on Honshu, Japan’s largest island.

HelioSage sells 40 MW PV project to Duke Energy

US renewable energy project developer HelioSage Energy has agreed to sell a 40 MW PV project under development in Elm City, North Carolina to Duke Energy, the largest power utility in the US.

The Elm City Solar Facility is currently being developed by HelioSage in partnership with US thin-film module manufacturer First Solar Inc. The PV plant will rely on approximately 500,000 modules provided by First Solar and, when commissioned, will be owned and operated by Duke Energy. HelioSage did not say when the project is expected to be completed, nor did it reveal the project’s required investment. In mid-September, Duke Energy announced it would invest a further $500 million in solar power projects in North Carolina.

The company will invest an undisclosed portion of the total sum to acquire and construct three PV plants with a combined capacity of 128 MW. The projects are located in the counties of in Bladen, Duplin and Wilson. Duke Energy also revealed that it has signed PPAs for five new PV projects totaling 150 MW that are being developed in the state. The $500 million investment will cover all eight projects.

India aims to raise PV manufacturing capacity despite idled factories

Indian state-owned electricity generation company NTPC Ltd. has issued an invitation for Expressions of Interest (EoI) for the construction of new crystalline silicon wafer, cell and solar module manufacturing facilities in India. The new facilities would have to provide the PV components for the so-called Ultra Mega Solar Power parks that India’s central government is currently planning in several states.

Interested companies with be able to set up the new factory by themselves or in joint venture with local players, NTPC said. Bids must be submitted by Oct. 28, 2014. In late August, India’s Minister of Power and Energy Piyush Goyal urged Indian solar manufacturers to restart idle production capacity and has reiterated his commitment to supporting the further development of the domestic PV industry. In a meeting with the solar sector held last week, Goyal said that adequate market conditions would be created to enable domestic cell and module producers not only to restart idle capacity but also to increase overall capacity.

The government believes that under the new market conditions, Indian solar manufacturers will be able to become exporters of PV products. Two weeks ago, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) published a draft scheme for the development giant solar projects dubbed Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects« across India. The proposed scheme is one of several recent initiatives aimed at providing impetus to the country’s solar program, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), which has had a few setbacks over the last few years. Through the scheme, MNRE envisions the setting up of 25 solar power plants between 500 and 1,000 MW in size. These projects would be developed over the next 5 years and would have a joint installed generation capacity of approximately 20 GW.

Toshiba eyes India's solar power corridor along border with Pakistan

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corp., a subsidiary of Japanese engineering and electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp., is seeking to win contracts to build PV plants in the solar power corridor planned by India’s government along the border with Pakistan. According to Bloomberg, Toshiba Lighting and Toshiba’s Indian units GreenStar Research and Development India Pvt. were already shortlisted in a border-lighting project.

In late August, Indian Prime Ministry Narenda Modi, a staunch supporter of solar energy, proposed the development of large-scale PV power plants on defense land along India’s borders. The 1 GW of grid-connected power plants would reportedly supply electricity mainly to the armed forces at a fixed price of 5.5 INR (9¢) per kWh under 25-year PPAs. The Indian armed forces are the largest consumers of diesel in India, and India is reportedly looking to deregulate diesel prices in the current financial year.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has prepared a draft proposal based on the prime minister’s suggestion. Under the proposal, solar project developers would bid for the projects through a competitve bidding process and would be required to use locally produced PV equipment. The proposal is currently undergoing interministerial consultations.

Intregration of renewables remains challenging, ENTSO-E

To integrate 45% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 will remain problematic, if markets and consumers will not be able to maximize the benefits of renewables in a competitive and integrated internal electricity market.

These are the conclusions of two papers released by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), an association of European electric transmission system operators (TSOs). In the two policy papers on Market Design and Demand Side Response, ENTSO-E, which represents 41 grid operators in 34 European countries, stressed that the European electricity market is currently valuing capacity and flexibility only indirectly, lacking of the necessary mechanisms for the integration of large amounts of renewable energy electricity.

According to the reports, Demande Side Response (DSR), the actions taken by consumers to change the amount of electricity they take off the grid at particular times in response to a signal, will be a decisive factor to address all the critical issues related to the integration of renewables. »Implementing DSR – ENTSO-E stressed - will require a concerted effort to develop and deploy sound data management and DSR-friendly market products, planning and operational standards.

Philippines' approved PV project pipeline tops 1.35 GW, installed capacity stands at 22 MW

As of Aug. 31, 2014, the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) had awarded 89 service contracts for PV projects totaling 1,355.6 MW. Of this capacity, 1,354.1 MW is represented by 84 grid-connected PV projects.

The remaining 1.57 MW is for off-grid projects. On top of these projects, the DOE is currently examining another 7 PV project proposals totaling 56.5 MW. The DOE had only awarded 38 service contracts for PV projects totaling 1,013.8 MW as of the end of December 2013 and 1,287.2 MW as of Jul. 31, 2014.

Meanwhile, the country’s grid-connected installed PV capacity has reached 22 MW. In August, the newly installed PV capacity was of 9 MW. The Philippines currently grants a FIT of 9.68 PHP (23¢) per kWh for all solar installations regardless of the system’s size or technology.

Malaysia to reduce FIT for PV projects to be completed in 2015

Malaysia’s Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) has proposed to reduce the FITs for PV installations that will be connected to the grid in 2015.

According to the proposal, which is currently being discussed by all interested parties, the FIT for PV installations of up to 24 Kw will be reduced by 10%, while that for PV installations with a power over 24 kW and up to 1 MW will be reduced by 15%. The FIT for PV plants with a power between 1 MW and 30 MW will be reduced by 20%.

Furthermore, SEDA is proposing to reduce the rates for bonus criteria for simplified and integrated BIPV by 20% and 80%, respectively. SEDA said that the FIT reduction is a necessary step in order to »ensure financial efficiency in managing the Renewable Energy (RE) Fund.

Japan to add 8 GW of PV capacity in 2014, Globaldata

Japan will add 8 GW of new PV systems this year, according to a new report from UK-based market research company Globaldata. Of this new capacity, 5.1 GW will be installed in the second half of 2014, thanks to the recent introduction of new measures implemented by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The METI, in fact, has cancelled approvals for a total of 647 previously approved PV projects in early September. These projects, whose approvals were cancelled after the project owners failed to begin construction on the PV plants, have a combined capacity of 1,820 MW and represent 7% of the large-scale PV capacity approved by METI since 2012.

At the same time, the METI introduced a new measure that will force developers that were been granted approval for their projects in 2014 to have a finalized site and equipment contract within 180 days. »These steps – Globaldate notes - have created an immediate opportunity for module suppliers, although the installed cost of PV systems in Japan is generally higher than in other matured markets. From 1 April 2014, sales tax rose by 3%, making the total tax levy on solar PV systems around 8%.

Brazil's PV capacity increased by 2 MW in the past month

Brazil had a cumulative installed PV capacity of 18.38 MW as of Sept. 20, 2014, according to the latest statistics from the country’s energy regulator Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL). Of the 180 PV systems installed in Brazil, however, only 14.38 MW is currently online, while the remaining 4.0 MW is awaiting regulatory authorization to operate.

Brazil's PV capacity online as of Aug. 20, 2014, was of 12.28 MW. This means that, in the past 1-month period, 2 MW of PV systems were connected to the grid. At the end of 2013, Brazil had a cumulative PV capacity of around 6 MW.

Furthermore, ANEEL’s statistics reveal that, despite the high number of large-scale PV projects announced in Brazil over the past 2 years, no PV project is currently under construction and that only one 30 MW solar project is officially under development, despite its construction has still to be started. PV power currently accounts for just 0.01% of Brazil’s total generation capacity, which currently stands at 139.4 GW.

Energy Storage System--US adds 68 MW of large-scale solar capacity in August

Twelve solar power plants with a combined capacity of 68 MW were connected to the grid in the US in August 2014, up from 21 MW in July and down considerably from 578 MW in August 2013.

According to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) August Energy Infrastructure Update, the US added 1,510 MW of new large-scale solar capacity in the first 8 months of this year, almost the same amount the country installed in the same period of 2013, when 1,511 MW were connected to the grid. The US had 9.55 GW of installed utility-scale solar generating capacity as of the end of August. This amounted to 0.82% of total installed US operating generating capacity, up from 0.75% at the end of the previous month.

During the month of August, OCI Solar completed the 42 MW OCI Alamo 4 Solar project in Kinney County, Texas, while Strata Solar connected 23.4 MW of PV projects in North Carolina. Among the other projects energized in August were two SunEdison projects in California totaling 3.4 MW and a 1.8 MW solar facility in Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Tunisia issues renewable energy law to encourage public-private partnerships

Tunisia’s Parliament has approved a new renewable energy law that allows private investors to install renewable energy power plants in the country, according to local news portal Directinfo. Under the new law, the local energy ministry will be responsible for issuing project authorizations.

To date, only the country’s state-owned utility Société tunisienne de l'électricité et du gaz (STEG) has been allowed to install renewable energy systems. The government stressed that the new law will not lead to the privatization of the country’s electric system and that its aim is to encourage private-public partnerships.

According to the article, developers will be allowed to install renewable energy systems for self-consumption, for local consumption or for export. The article does not disclose if renewable energy projects will be supported through a special tariff or any other incentive scheme. Tunisia has had limited success with solar development to date. The government's solar strategy, Plan Solaire Tunisien, targets 1 GW of installed wind and solar capacity by 2016 and 4.7 GW by 2030.

Africa and Middle East solar project pipeline reaches 12 GW, NPD Solarbuzz

The PV market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is set for strong growth, with many multi-megawatt ground mount projects in the planning or pre-planning phases, according to the NPD Solarbuzz Middle East and Africa Deal Tracker - Solar Project Database. The database, which covers completed and in-progress solar projects in 29 African countries and seven Middle Eastern countries, reveals that PV projects in Africa have a total potential capacity of more than 11 GW, while projects in the Middle East have a total potential capacity of at least 1.3 GW.


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Until now, PV market growth in the MEA region has been mainly driven by a small number of economically prosperous countries, in particular South Africa and Israel, said Susanne von Aichberger, analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. »These two countries, and Saudi Arabia, are expected to offer stable demand levels within the MEA region over the next few years. The capacity share of the remaining MEA region is projected to increase; however, the increase depends on relatively few, but very large, projects. More than 99% of the potential PV capacity listed in the MEA Deal Tracker is from ground-mounted projects, and average sizes of these projects in Africa tend to be larger than in most established PV markets.

According to von Aichberger, the large size of these projects tends to raise their attractiveness due to economies of scale, but this also increases risk. While the pipeline is extensive, and spread all over the continent, most of Africa’s existing PV capacity is located in South Africa. Completed South African projects comprise nearly 700 MW in the Deal Tracker, while identified installations in the rest of Africa amount to one tenth of this capacity. Just 7% of identified African project capacity has been completed, according to the report.

EU PVSEC: the PV industry puts solar crisis behind

PV has been in a crisis for three years now, cycles in semiconductor business are much shorter. I have good hopes for the years to come.« With this words, the president of US-based automation system provider Amtech Systems Inc. Fokko Pentinga invited the participants at the opening day of the European PV conference and fair EU PVSEC, which began yesterday in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to look with optimism at the industry’s future. Also Teun Bokhover, the president of the Dutch renewable energy association and the conference moderator, said that the glass is now »half full, while previously it was always half empty. 

The president of the renewable energy division of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Paolo Frankl identified China and surprisingly Europe as the two most important solar markets in the future, followed by the US and Japan, although the latter was pointed out as a non sustainable market. The new president of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) James Watson, however, said that these forecasts contrast with the current lack of political conditions for the further development of renewable energies in Europe. At the same time, Frankl and Watson agreed on the fact the PV has no more cost issues. 

What is hurting in Europe now is overcapacity of power plants, said Frankl. Wiro Zijlmans, the president of Ducth production equipment manufactuere Smit Ovens, confirmed that the challenge is now represented by the fact that »a lot of capacity has be closed. Stefan Rinck, the president of German equipment manufacturer Singulus Technologies and president of the research committee of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), showed the big opportunities that PV has as a substitute for other sources in heat generation and mobility. The accompanying fair, however, is not reflecting this spirit of optimism. With only 132 exhibitors, the fair is now becoming irrelevant.

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Egypt issues special tariffs for PV installations

Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has issued new special tariffs for PV installations, according to local news portal Daily News Egypt. The ministry has set four different tariffs, which depend on the size of the PV project: 0.84 EGP ($0.117) per kWh for smaller residential PV systems; 0.911 EGP ($0.127) per kWh for PV projects up to 200 kW; 0.973 EGP ($0.136) per kWh for PV projects between 200 and 20 MW; and 1.02 EGP ($0.142) per kW for PV projects over 20 MW.

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PV projects over 50 MW will be supported by another unspecified mechamism, according to the article. Egypt is looking to solar energy to bridge the country’s energy gap over the next 3 to 5 years. Egypt has suffered from chronic energy shortages for the last 3 years due to declining natural gas and oil production and a lack of new development.

Egypt currently has about 30 GW of installed power generation capacity, however, only between 22 and 23 GW of this is operational because of a lack of fuel.

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