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¡ö HT-SAAE in production with 21.2% mono-PERC cells and 300W modules

China-based high-efficiency monocrystalline module producer Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical Co (HT-SAAE) has launched several new products that include a 60-cell 300W module with a cell efficiency of 21.2% that is in production.

The ¡®HyperC¡¯ PV module series is a step-up from its ¡®HIGHWAY¡¯ monocrystalline modules that had came with a 280W performance, a 7% increase per square meter, and a claimed 4.7% reduction in BOS (Balance of Material) per Watt. The new module was said to have passed anti-ammonia gas test, anti-salt mist test, anti-dust and anti-PID tests.

HT-SAAE also said that the HyperC module featured 5 busbar cell technology and high specification encapsulation.

The company highlighted several new high-efficiency modules that are being showcased at PV Japan in Tokyo this week.

Specific to the Japanese market and small area roofs, HT-SAAE has also developed at 50-cell HyperC module to accommodate small-area residential rooftops and the maximization of rooftop space that still provides 250W individual module performance capability.

At PV Japan, HT-SAAE is also showcasing its ¡®Hyper Black¡¯ multicrystalline PV module series that are fabricated with diamond wire saws and a new generation of metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) texturing for PERC cell architecture. The result is cell efficiencies of 19.8% and the output power of 280W in a 60-cell format.

The company has also launched an upgraded version of the ¡®Milky Way¡¯ bifacial N-type PERT monocrystalline module that adopts a 5BB cell format, providing a 10W increase in power output compared with its first generation Milky Way modules with 4BB connect technology.

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ï India¡¯s Powergrid gets US$500 million ADB loan for Green Energy Corridor

State-owned transmission firm Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has entered a loan agreement of up to US$500 million with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) partly for one of its Green Energy Corridor projects, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange filing.

The interstate transmission scheme Part-D, an exercise in shifting excess energy from renewable energy resource-rich states towards major demand centres, will connect the state of Rajasthan with Haryana and Punjab.

The rest of the funds will go towards other transmission projects. These include the Raigarh-Pugalur 6GW HVDC system and the Pugalur-Trichur 2GW VSC based HVDC system at Chattisgarh in the East, and Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the far south.

Last November energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal announced that PGCIL was seeking a US$1 billion loan from ADB for transmission projects.

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö United PV selects EPC contractors for 50MW Panda PV project in northern China

Datong Panda PV, a subsidiary of United PV, has signed a deal with two EPC companies for the development of a 50MW solar project in Shanxi Province, China.

The EPC agreement with the two companies, Sichuan Zhonghaichuanglian Electricity Engineering and Shanxi Silu Electricity Engineering, is for roughly US$53.7 million.

As part of the agreement, both companies will help develop the 50MW project, which will be developed in the shape of a panda. In addition, a youth activity centre ¡ª dedicated to promote youth participation in renewable-energy ventures ¡ª will also be developed in Datong County.

According to a company statement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the 50MW PV installation is expected to be connected to the grid and completed on or before 30 June 2017.

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö SunPower begins construction on 56MW power plant in Oregon

SunPower announced Monday that construction has started on the 56MW Gala Solar Power Plant in Crook County, Oregon.

The installation, which is expected to be the state's largest operating solar power plant when it is completed by the end of 2017, is expected to generate around 300 jobs during peak construction.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown noted: ¡°I've often said that in Oregon, we don't believe economic development and environmental stewardship are mutually exclusive ideas. The approximately 300 jobs expected to be created by the Gala Solar Power Plant are proof we can grow our rural communities and support a vibrant and innovative renewable energy industry."

SunPower's third-generation SunPower Oasis platform for PV projects will be installed on the site to max out the site¡¯s long-term energy production.

Ty Daul, SunPower vice president, americas power plants, said: "While solar is cost-competitive today, SunPower is continuing to drive the cost of energy down through innovation and integrated complete solutions such as our Oasis platform. We're pleased to contribute to economic development in Oregon with the construction of this milestone project."

Ann Beier, assistant planning director of Crook County Community Development, added: "Solar power projects deliver a range of regional benefits, including job creation and affordable emission-free power. We are proud that, working in partnership with SunPower on the Gala Solar Power Plant, Crook County is helping lead the way in Oregon in supporting increased solar development."

SunPower noted that national construction firm Moss has been named as the general contractor for the project.

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Panasonic to supply PV panels, batteries for Toyota Prius

Toyota¡¯s new 2017 Prius plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) will feature Panasonic¡¯s newly designed 180 W solar panels.

¡°Electrical energy generated from solar cells can be applied to the charging of driving power sources,¡± Panasonic said in an emailed statement.

While the first generation of Prius PHV vehicles included solar an option, their use was limited to auxiliary charging of specific components, including 12-volt batteries.

However, Panasonic¡¯s panels for the 2017 Prius PHV can extend the distance that the vehicle can travel, while increasing fuel efficiency.

Panasonic¡¯s HIT solar modules ¡ª a variation on the panels the company supplies to Japan¡¯s residential rooftop solar market ¡ª feature a silicon substrate covered with an amorphous silicon film.

¡°When photovoltaic modules are mounted on a vehicle, output decreases as much or more than it does when they are mounted on residential roofs,¡± Panasonic said, claiming that its heterojunction solar cells minimize output declines because they are smaller than standard PV cells.

In the past, the output of automotive solar cells has generally maxed out at several tens of watts, the company said.

But it claims that the HIT modules for the Prius can generate sufficient power under high temperatures in a confined space.

¡°These features are optimal for automotive photovoltaic modules,¡± it said.

The laminated modules are also curved to match the body design of the vehicles.

¡°The gradual curve design is applied to the overall roof, creating a complex structure made of three-dimensional curves from the windshield and pillars to around the hood,¡± Panasonic said. ¡°The development of this technology enabled the practical use of automotive modules.¡±

The Osaka-based electronics group is also supplying its automotive prismatic lithium-ion batteries for the vehicle¡¯s drive batteries, as it has since 2012.

The 2017 Prius (PHV) is the first commercially available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar system to charge drive lithium-ion batteries.

Panasonic said that in the future, it aims to expand automotive applications for its HIT modules.

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ï SunPower, Dongfang to establish 5 GW P-Series cell, module factory

The U.S. solar maker and two Chinese companies are planning to build out the massive factory in eastern China, making good on the promise to transition to the lower-cost P-Series.

After years of losing money on high-efficiency solar, SunPower last week finalized an agreement that will allow it to build what may end up being the world¡¯s largest solar factory for its lower-cost P-Series modules in China.

At a ceremony on February 22, SunPower, industrial group Dongfang Electric and silicon giant Zhonghuan Semiconductor agreed to a joint venture to establish a factory with 21 production lines in an industrial district in Yixing City, in China¡¯s Jiangsu Province.

No date for completion of the factory was given in statements on the Dongfang Electric or Zhonghuan Semiconductor sites, however Dongfang did state that once the factory is completed, DEC Dongfang Huanchen will rank among the top 10 solar module suppliers in the world.

The production facility will be the expansion of an existing factory and will build on the existing relationship between the companies. Dongfang and Zhonghuan are SunPower suppliers.

The P-Series is a dramatic departure from SunPower¡¯s high-efficiency back-contact monocrystalline designs, and will feature overlapping half-cut multicrystalline PV cells. These will feature lower efficiencies of only 16-17.2%, but at a much lower cost than the company¡¯s E-Series and X-Series modules, and are designed for deployment in competitive power markets, including in the developing world.

The only hint SunPower gave of this joint venture in its recent quarterly earnings call was to suggest that the company ¡°plans on expanding our relationships in China to leverage low-cost China supply chain from our P-Series technology¡±. However, SunPower also forecast that it would reach over 400 MW of P-Series production by the end of 2017.

U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar products will mean that P-Series modules made by DEC Dongfang Huanchen will be at a relative disadvantage in the U.S. market. However, SunPower claims a pipeline of 850 MW of solar projects in Latin America, where such tariffs will not apply, and has also said that it plans to expand its activities in the Indian market.

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Australia: Solar and storage startups pitch to investors, in first Clean Energy Innovators Demo Day

Seven PV and battery storage companies have pitched to investors at the first Clean Energy Innovators Demo Day in Sydney. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) organized the event and can also finance investments in early-stage companies through its Innovation Fund.

Australian solar and storage innovation was on display in Sydney today, as early-stage, clean energy companies pitched to investors. The companies are seeking up to AU$88 million ($67.5 million) in investment. The Australian government¡¯s CEFC, which itself finances investment through a specially designed fund, said that it hopes to accelerate ¡°investment in cutting-edge clean energy¡± technologies.

¡°The response to the Innovators Demo Day has been overwhelmingly positive,¡± said Blair Pritchard, Investment Development Director at the CEFC. ¡°Not everyone who wanted to attend could be accommodated at this time. We¡¯re already looking to organize follow-up sessions.¡±

To date, the CEFC has invested AU$25 million ($19 million) into Australian cleantech innovative companies in its first year of operation. These investments include a AU$5 million ($3.8 million) investment in GreenSync, which is developing a decentralized energy exchange, as a part of the collaborative deX project.

Seven solar and storage companies, amongst a field of 10 shortlisted startups, presented their business models and technologies to the assembled investors in Sydney today. The various technology startups addressed a number of different cleantech market segments.

Utility scale PV

Concentrating PV developer RayGen presented its PV Ultra concept. RayGen seeks to deploy wireless solar collector tracking mirrors, themselves powered by a mini-module. These mirror arrays focus sunlight towards a centralized mast, onto which a 2 kW gallium arsenide module is mounted. RayGen calls its high-efficiency mini module the PV Ultra.

The company claims that its system requires 1/100th the PV material than a conventional PV array and that it covers half the ground area. It says that by virtue of this, the RayGen technology is less capital intensive to manufacture.

RayGen is based in Melbourne. It has already deployed two pilot systems, each with a capacity of 200 kW. The pilot plants are located in Newbridge, in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, and in the Hebei province in China.

Battery storage

Nano-Nouvelle is a developer of nanotechnology. The company is currently applying its Tin Nanode product as a tin-based anode for lithium ion batteries, in a move it claims will increase energy density, resulting in longer lasting batteries.

The technology company is based in Queensland and claims to have a ¡°strong patent portfolio¡± protecting its critical technology assets.

Redback Technologies takes its name from a deadly Australian spider. It is a power electronics startup, producing a 4.6 kW or 5 kW solar inverters, to which a battery enclosure, for an inverter-hybrid system, can be added. The battery enclosure is sized to incorporate four x 2.4 kWh lithium-ion batteries.

Redback offers all of its inverter products with the ¡°Ouija Board¡± software platform, which can allow for remote control and monitoring, and intelligent operation strategies, including peak time tariff support, and relay support for pool pumps and water heaters.

Providing a second life for e-mobility batteries in stationary applications is the goal of Melbourne¡¯s Relectrify. The company believes that its battery control technology can optimize the performance of individual battery cells within a battery pack, allowing them to be repurposed affordably, and resulting increased capacity and cycle life.

Relectrify reports that it is currently developing battery systems to address various market segments. It is currently in pre-production. The startup is also partnering with some battery providers, providing it proprietary control solution to maximize performance.

Residential

Melbourne¡¯s Matter Technology is hoping to provide a platform on which landlords can provide solar electricity to their tenants, at rates below those of traditional retailers.

Matter Technology claims its Digital Solar platform can allow landlords to earn up to five times the cost of installation while saving tenants 20% off standard retail energy prices. It says that it can address the 2.4 million rented household market in Australia,

The Digital Solar platform monitors rooftop PV production and electricity consumption within the home while generating retail bills for tenants.

Innovative energy retailer Mojo Energy is hoping to take on traditional electricity retailers. Mojo replaces standard electrical meters with smart meters and claims to be able to give householders access to the wholesale electricity market.

Mojo provides a mobile platform on which householders can monitor their electricity usage. It offers three energy plans, called EnergyPass, which it claims can offer prices below standard retail rates.

Mojo says it encourages homeowners to go solar, committing to ensuring that homes with PV have the same access to low rates as non-solar customers.

Sydney¡¯s Solar Analytics provides monitoring systems to help homeowners with solar to optimize their PV asset. The company¡¯s Smart Monitor is integrated between the inverter and home¡¯s meter board and provides information as to the performance of the PV system.

Solar Analytics claims that many Australian homes are equipped with poorly performing PV systems, either as a result of inadequate or faulty installation or sub-standard components. The claim is in keeping with some reports from market participants in Australia, as there were numerous solar booms in the country¡¯s residential sector, driven by expiring state-based feed-in tariff regimes. These booms often saw a rush of installations and shortages in certain components.

The Solar Analytics system also allows households to monitor their electricity demand, to optimize the self-consumption of electricity produced on their rooftop.

The CEFC¡¯s Pritchard said that there is considerable investor interest in early-stage cleantech companies in Australia at present.

¡°Investors are keen to get into this emerging sector and want to learn more about the clean energy space,¡± Pritchard said. ¡°Many are deeply concerned about recent trends in the environment and feel they have a mission to help find and implement solutions.¡±

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö ArcelorMittal eyes 600 MW Indian solar farm approval

The Luxembourg-based steel and mining multinational looks to turn to solar power after securing permission to develop acquired in the state of Karnataka.

ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based giant of the mining and steel industry, is poised to take a giant stride into the solar power market with the proposed construction of a 600 MW PV plant in India¡¯s Karnataka.

Having received land possession certificates for 2,659 acres of private land in the Indian state between December 2011 and December 2012 ¨C originally for the development of a 750 MW steel plant ¨C the firm has financially assessed the viability of such a project and concluded that solar would be a better bet.

According to a filing released by ArcelorMittal, the firm has submitted a proposal to the Karnataka government seeking permission to instead build a solar plant some 600 MW in size on the land it has acquired. Although the original certificates were for a steel plant, the company is confident that its new request will be granted, given Karnataka¡¯s ¨C and, more widely, India¡¯s ¨C current zeal for solar power.

The excess capacity of steel globally has forced ArcelorMittal¡¯s hand, rendering the planned six million ton plant all-but redundant. The company expects no such problem with solar, however.

¡°In view of excess capacity of steel worldwide and uncertainty in iron ore availability locally, the company is exploring the possibility of a solar farm for generating solar energy,¡± read the statement. ¡°In this regard, the company has sought the state government¡¯s permission to set up a solar farm of up to 600 MW. The state government is considering a proposal and the company is hopeful of receiving a favourable response to the proposal.¡±

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö AIB: Renewables continue to grow at a rapid pace across Europe

The demand for green electricity in Europe, documented with Guarantee of Origin (GOs) has grown by 5% in 2016, now reaching nearly 370 TWh. Solar and wind are stepping up to challenge large hydro.

Europe¡¯s demand for renewable electricity continues to grow in 2016. Based on statistics from the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) from 2011 to 2016 the market experienced an annual growth (CAGR) of 12,5%. Last year the demand rose by 5% compared to 2015, now reaching nearly 370 TWh.

¡°Behind this growth are thousands of businesses and millions of households in numerous European countries purchasing renewable electricity documented with Guarantees of Origin¡± said Tom Lindberg, Managing Director at ECOHZ. ¡°Much of the demand is driven by an increased sense of urgency among leading international businesses in contributing to combating climate change ¨C by switching from fossil fuel power to clean, renewable energy.¡±

In the context of leading companies across various industries defined a clear sustainability agenda to ensure their future competitiveness. In the last two years several initiatives with similar goals have arisen inter alia RE100 which has now 87 corporate members that have all pledged to consume 100% renewable energy in the next years.

According to the Managing Director from ECOHZ, Hydropower remains the dominant source of electricity, with an approximate 75% market share. However this growth has slowed while the supply of solar and wind power documented with EECS GO, grew by 300% and 50% respectively, now providing nearly 70 TWh.

Recent statistics from AIB show that Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands remain as the largest markets for renewable purchases in Europe. While Europe¡¯s biggest market, Germany, has halted its rapid growth, the Dutch market continues to grow at a faster pace than the rest, almost reaching 50 TWh in 2016.

According to Lindberg, Spain has shown an impressive speed after a slow start, now issuing nearly 50 TWh in 2016. The markets France and Italy continue their sturdy growth, thus underlining their increasing in significance.

The UK is now the only large renewable producer that not actively participates in the European markets. However, thanks to policy frameworks that allow imports of certain European EECS GO for domestic use, the British market shows too an overall demand growth in 2016, as the Managing Director from ECOHZ said.

Beside the UK, there are more European markets with national systems that do not participate in the Pan-European market place but unlikely have yet to adopt the EECS standard. According to AIB these markets total more than 200 TWh of purchased renewable power. If this is included the actual market volume renewable almost compromises 600TWh in 2016. This represents 50% of all renewable power production in Europe.

The AIB statistics only include Guarantees of Origin based on the EECS standard, that are tradable across national borders, among countries which have joined AIB, and that are connected to AIB¡¯s electronic GO hub.

By Carl Johannes Muth

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Canada: Soventix to develop up to 140 MW across six sites

German-based project developer Soventix is set to develop up to 140 MW of PV in Alberta, Canada. The company is currently planning six projects with capacities ranging from 15 ¨C 45 MW near the cities of Calgary and Edmonton.

The province of Alberta, in Canada¡¯s west, is emerging as be fertile territory for solar developers. The home of the country¡¯s polluting oil sands industry, the province is switching to renewables under the provincial government¡¯s new clean energy targets.

Alberta¡¯s first government to be led by the New Democratic Party (NDP) has set a renewable target of 30% to be achieved by 2030. As a part of this process it is rolling out a competitive procurement process known as the Renewable Electricity Program (REP).

The first round will see 400 MW of large scale renewables added to Alberta¡¯s grids.

Soventix is looking to transfer its experience in developing projects in Ontario to Alberta and says that has been expanding its operations in the province. Soventix says that it has been screening potential sites.

By the time the REP was announced, in November 2016, Soventix reports that it had secured land at the six sites in preparation for the REP bidding process.

¡°We are excited about the projects we are developing in Alberta and look forward to bringing these projects into operation under Alberta¡¯s new initiative to incentivize the procurement of new renewable energy generation¡±, says Michael Kendon, Managing Director, Soventix Canada, in a statement.

In 2016, Soventix delivered 11 projects under Ontario¡¯s feed-in tariff program, in partnership with SolarShare, a renewables co-operative investment fund.

In December, developer EDF EN Canada received approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission to build a 77.5 MW plant in Alberta ¨C which would be the province¡¯s first utility scale solar array.

The Albertan government is also looking to procure 50% of its electricity needs from solar.

¡°The Canadian market has potential and the necessary foundations for appropriate participation in growth have been laid,¡± said Soventix Managing Director Claas Fierlings. ¡°We are planning to expand our activities to enable our investors to participate in the attractive prospects of the Canadian solar market.¡±

£¨Feb 28,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ï Canadian province issues 40MW renewable energy tender

The Canadian province of New Brunswick has issued a request for expressions of interest in a new 40MW tender of renewable energy, according to utility NB Power.

Technologies eligible for the tender include solar, wind, hydro and biomass ¨C as long as projects do not exceed 20MW and 20-year contracts. Multiple projects totalling up to 40MW owned by two or more local entities also qualify if they are located on the same site. The generation will be added to the transmission system at 69kV or above.

Community entities including municipalities, universities, non-profit organisations, associations and co-operatives are eligible to apply. These groups have been asked to submit plans to NB Power under the Community Renewable Energy ¨C Local Entities Opportunity, which is the second phase of the government¡¯s Locally-Owned Renewable Energy Small-Scale (LORESS) Programme. A similar request for expressions of interest was released in January 2016.

"These small-scale renewable projects will allow for these organizations to develop, implement and manage their own energy projects in their communities while helping NB Power meet its energy demand," said Ga?tan Thomas, CEO and president of NB Power. "This collaboration is an important one as we all have a role to play in the future of our energy market."

This new small-scale tender will help the province achieve its clean energy standard of 40% by 2020. So far, it has amassed 294MW of installed renewable generation capacity, accounting for 31% of the generation mix, mainly coming from hydro dams.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Duke Energy commissions its first Indiana PV plant

Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered Duke Energy has officially switched on its first Indiana PV offering.

The 17MW plant is located at the Naval Support Activity Crane, around 40 miles south of Bloomington.

When operating at full capacity, the plant can provide electricity for more than 2,700 homes throughout its 69-county service territory.

¡°This is a landmark development in renewable energy for our company and our customers,¡± said Melody Birmingham-Byrd, state president, Duke Energy Indiana, in a statement. ¡°It demonstrates our continuing commitment to include renewable energy, such as solar, wind and hydro, in our diversified portfolio of generation sources.¡±

The plant is part of the Navy¡¯s goal to procure 1GW of renewable energy by the end of 2015.

Duke Energy regulatory hearing

In other news, the solar developer will attend a hearing on 31 May with North Carolina regulators, concerning claims brought by fellow developer O2 EMC that Duke Energy is violating state and federal law by indefinitely delaying to connect three of their PV projects to the grid.

The complaints were first filed in October last year.

¡°Duke has been a great partner for many years, but in recent months there have been unilateral announcements and actions taken by Duke that have slowed or completely stopped the processing of interconnection requests,¡± Joel Olsen, CEO of O2 EMC said in November.

Duke retorted at the time that its reasons for the delay concerned maintaining the reliability and integrity of the grid.

North Carolina regulators have instructed O2 EMC to file its complaint by 26 April, with Duke Energy having until 10 May to respond.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Kentucky anti-net metering bill would ¡®kill¡¯ residential solar

A new bill introduced at the Kentucky General Assembly would ¡°kill¡± residential solar and leave PV customers in neighbouring municipalities with differing rates, says local solar installer Solar Energy Solutions.

SB 214 was introduced last week and would allow every individual utility to submit their own rate case to the Public Service Commission (PSC), resulting in differing rates for solar users that could mean rates on par or even sub wholesale levels.

¡°This applies to all state-wide utilities, and we have 23 of those to deal with in this one state,¡± Steve Ricketts, general manager and owner of Solar Energy Solutions told PV Tech.

¡°The bill basically says all 23 utilities can decide and apply for their own rates. We don¡¯t know what rates they are going to ask for; they could end up with entirely different rates. It¡¯s going to be a very complex situation.¡±

Under the bill, there is a grandfathering clause that would allow existing net metering users to be kept under current rates for 25 years. However, anyone who wishes to invest in solar after 15 July 2017 would be under new rates that will most likely offer a much slighter financial incentive.

The bill is similar to one that recently surfaced in Indiana, and therefore is not a novel approach. However, what makes this situation worse is the potential for solar users in neighbouring municipalities to end up with drastically different compensation rates ¨C and be disadvantaged purely because of where they may happen to reside geographically.

¡°It's a real patchwork quilt of rates. For a business it will be an unbearable process to deal with 23 public utilities, another 12 or 15 municipals¡­there's nearly 40 different utilities when you count it up in this one state.¡±

Under the bill, solar access in Kentucky will be predetermined based on location and particular utility. ¡°We've seen it in other states but there seems to be more central agreement and stewardship. It is the worse though in terms of breaking it down to individual utilities, I think that's where the threat lies; making it very complex for anyone in the solar industry to do business, because we'd have to represent our consumers in many individual rate cases,¡± explained Ricketts.

¡®It would kill¡¯ residential solar

The fact that the playing field would no longer be level amongst solar users in the state is the least of the problems this bill would create.

Giving utilities free reign to decide their own rates could potentially reduce incentives from around US$8-10 cents/kWh to around US$3.5 cents/kWh if it equates to the wholesale rate or levelised cost of solar energy.

¡°It would kill residential solar, it really would,¡± said Ricketts, adding that the end result would likely be utilities buying electricity from rooftop solar systems at a reduced rate, then selling the electricity back to those customers at the retail rate.

The uncertainty regarding the rate design in a given municipality could mean that homeowners are unable to predict the value of their investment, which could result in a halting of residential solar.

Solar being subsidised

Bill sponsor Jared Carpenter argues that the utilities are within their right to offer a lower incentive to solar users, as the current retail rate purportedly means that they are being subsidised by non-solar users for their use of the grid.

¡°I don't think we entirely disagree,¡± admits Ricketts, ¡°but what we do disagree with is that the rate is not as low as the levelised cost of energy. There are many studies that have been done on the value of solar, and the independent ones have been coming out at sort of 6,7,8 cents/kWh and I¡¯m guessing what will be on offer will be below those rates. We are asking for the bill to be amended where the PSC actually plays a role in arbitrating after appropriate studies what that rate will be, so it is not just left up to the utility to decide.¡±

For now, SB 214 awaits approval by the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy before it can progress any further.

The good news
In good news, Carpenter said he is meeting with utilities and solar advocates to create a compromise on the bill, which could return to the committee for consideration as early as 1 March.

Carpenter said he aims to expand the availability and the usage for solar whilst fairly compensating utilities for their costs in facilitating solar development.

Importantly, Kentucky limits the amount of power a utility can buy from a customer to 30 kilowatts per month, which is relatively small compared to a number of other states, even of similar market size. Whilst the bill would raise this limit to 1,000 kilowatts on a single meter, which would open up the solar arena to many more businesses in the commercial sector, it would simultaneously cause a blow to the residential sector by eliminating net metering.

Carpenter has however asked for the input of local solar businesses, such as Solar Energy solutions, to attempt to reach some adjustment of language or compromise on the wording of the bill.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ï JinkoSolar guides astonishing 9GW of module shipments for 2017

Leading ¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member JinkoSolar has guided 2017 PV module shipments to be in the range of 8.5GW and 9.0GW, a potentially astonishing sequential growth rate after reporting 6.65GW of module shipments in 2016, an increase of 47.5% from 4.5GW in 2015.

JinkoSolar reported total revenues for 2016 of RMB21.40 billion (US$3.08 billion), an increase of 38.5% from RMB15.45 billion for the full year 2015. Total revenues including electricity revenue from discontinued operations were RMB22.35 billion (US$3.22 billion), an increase of 39.0% from RMB16.08 billion for the full year 2015.

Kangping Chen, JinkoSolar's Chief Executive Officer commented, "I am pleased to announce a strong quarter to finish out the year with module shipments hitting 1,733 MW and 6,656 MW in the fourth quarter and full year 2016, respectively. I am proud to say that this puts us firmly in the position as the largest module supplier globally. Total revenues during the quarter hit US$737.6 million and US$3.08 billion for the whole year. While market sentiment is gloomy overall, we remain optimistic about the global demand in 2017."

"We successfully complete the spin-off process of Jinko Power's project business which generated US$145.2 million in investment gain for JinkoSolar and strengthened our balance sheet by cutting debt to US$892 million from US$2.1 billion. In January 2017, we further cut our debt by repurchasing almost all of our convertible notes due in 2019 at holders' put option. These initiatives have increased our corporate flexibility and reinforced our financial position which will allow us to take advantage of more opportunities in 2017."

China demand remains strong

Chen noted in an earnings call to discuss fourth quarter and full-year results that the company expected end market demand in China to remain a 30GW plus market and demand after FiT reductions mid-year would not result in a demand collapse, due to demand generated by programs such as the ¡®Top Runner¡¯ scheme. Second-half year demand in China is expected to be around 8GW.

Management also noted that the Top Runner program could be responsible for 5GW to 6GW in 2017.

Manufacturing expansion update

With continued strong growth momentum expected in 2017, JinkoSolar said that it would be expanding in-house ingot/wafer, solar cell and module assembly capacity this year.

"We remain focused on high-efficiency technologies and stringent quality controls. Demand for our PERC products continues to be strong and as a result, we have been adjusting our production capacity to accommodate this market trend since the first half of 2016," added Chen.

Management noted in the earnings call that it expected to expand in-house ingot/wafer production from 5GW at the end of 2016 to 7GW by the end of 2017. The 2GW wafer expansion would be dedicated to monocrystalline, providing 3GW of monocrystalline capacity.

The company is still limiting in-house solar cell capacity expansions, adding only 500MW in 2017 to take nameplate capacity from 4GW at the end of 2016 to 4.5GW by the end of 2017.

However, the company noted that it was further migrating cell capacity to PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) technology, having reached 1.4GW of in-house PERC capacity in 2016. The company plans to have reached 2GW of PERC capacity by the end of 2017. JinkoSolar was also migrating to 'black silicon' wafer texturing to boost conversion efficiencies in 2017.

Management noted that it expected capital expenditures for 2017 to be in the range of US$400 million to US$500 million, focused on the mono wafer and PERC capacity expansions and upgrades.

Financial results

JinkoSolar reported fourth quarter total solar module shipments were 1,733MW, an increase of 7.9% from 1,606MW in the third quarter of 2016.

Total revenues were RMB5.12 billion (US$737.6 million), a decrease of 3.9% from the third quarter of 2016.

Total revenues including electricity revenue from discontinued operations were RMB5.23 billion (US$753.0 million), a decrease of 8.3% from the third quarter of 2016.

JinkoSolar reported fourth quarter gross margin of 14.3%, compared with 19.2% in the third quarter of 2016. Income from operations was RMB77.9 million (US$11.2 million), compared with RMB433.3 million in the third quarter of 2016.

Gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2016 was RMB730.0 million (US$105.1 million), compared with RMB1,026.1 million in the third quarter of 2016.

Guidance

JinkoSolar said it expected total solar module shipments to be in the range of 1.9GW to 2.0GW in the first quarter of 2017, up from 1.6GW in the first quarter of 2016. As already highlighted, JinkoSolar estimates total solar module shipments in 2017 are expected to be in the range of 8.5GW and 9.0GW.

Management noted in the earnings call that it expected overall strong demand to continue in 2017, citing China, US and India as key markets. With strong demand, JinkoSolar expected relatively stable module ASP¡¯s in the first quarter of 2017 with price levels seen in the fourth quarter of 2016.

However, management did not expect a repeat in a 25% plummet in ASP¡¯s as seen in the second half of 2016. The company said that strong demand was more balanced and that an ASP decline of 10% to 15% was the most expected in the second half of 2017.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö The Global Energy Storage Opportunity - free report available now

From PV-Tech¡¯s publisher comes The Global Energy Storage Opportunity, a special online-only supplement magazine that looks at some of the exciting recent developments in all segments from microgrids and residential to grid-scale and commercial.

Free to download, The Global Energy Storage Opportunity comes from the Solar Media editorial team and a stellar range of guest contributors, including Fraunhofer ISE, Navigant Research and S&C Electric.

It looks at 15 different products from big names like sonnen, Samsung SDI, Mercedez-Benz Energy and of course the ubiquitous Tesla, taken from the news pages of Energy-Storage.News, technologies including vehicle-to-grid, energy storage software and bromine flow batteries.

For the financially-minded, there¡¯s a feature on why some big solar investors are so far holding back from plunging into energy storage, despite an obvious desire to do so and a fascinating in-depth Q&A with Nancy Pfund of DBL Partners, who probably isn¡¯t yet tired of being described as one of Tesla¡¯s earliest backers - and SolarCity too. Speaking of Tesla (again), there¡¯s also a look at how the first Powerpack project in Europe was financed and developed.

In all, there¡¯s a wealth of material on offer and in addition to informing we hope it will also serve to whet the appetite of those of you who will be joining us at the Energy Storage Summit, in London on 28 February and 1 March.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ï ArcelorMittal seeks approval for 600MW Karnataka solar plant instead of steel mill

India steel giant ArcelorMittal has sought the Karnataka state government¡¯s permission to build a 600MW solar plant on a site that was meant for a six million tonnes per annum steel mill, according to its latest annual report.

PV Tech reported 12 months ago that the firm was considering this option, given market conditions in the global steel industry at the time and uncertainty in raw material availability. A year later, the firm has once again cited steel overcapacity worldwide and uncertainty in iron ore availability locally.

The report said: ¡°The state government is considering ArcelorMittal¡¯s proposal and the company is hopeful of receiving a favourable response to the proposal.¡±

Many of India's industrial giants, including its biggest state-run oil companies, have started moving towards solar in the last year.

Karnataka has increased its 2022 solar target from 2GW to 6GW, to bring its goals in line with those of the central government.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö HECO files for 7% rate increase to ¡®help renewables integration¡¯

Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) plans for a 6.9% rate hike partly to raise funds for helping renewables integration, according to a new filing submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

The utility that covers Hawaii Island, Oahu, Maui and Kauai implemented its last rate hike in 2011. After mulling an increase in electricity bills in December last year, an official rate increase has been filed in order to cover rising costs, which have gone up since the last filing, according to HECO.

"We're looking for about over US$100 million in additional revenues per year," said HECO president and CEO Alan Oshima. "That would equate to between US$8 and US$9 per month, if fully approved, in an average residential customer bill."

After missing its three-year rate hike in 2014 due to the failed NextEra merger, HECO seeks to absorb the additional costs that those years since the last hike have incurred. The rate increase would help improve customer service, pay for operating costs and grid upgrades to allow for more renewable integration, the utility said.

For now, it is open to the PUC to approve, reject or modify HECO¡¯s rate increase.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Misstatements by bill author influence vote to end Indiana net metering

The author of SB 309 ¨C a bill that would effectively end retail net metering in Indiana ¨C may have wrongly influenced other lawmakers to vote for the bill under false information.

Senator Brandt Hershman erroneously said that a financial incentive for installing solar PV systems would disappear unless the Senate committee voted for the bill, which includes grandfathering.

The bill would significantly reduce the incentive available to invest in solar, but at the same time would grandfather existing solar users who had installed panels up until the end of June for the next 30 years, and allow those who installed panels after June but before 2022 to be eligible for the retail rate until 2032.

On the other hand, without the bill, once a cap is met, utilities would still have to offer net metering to existing users, although new applicants could be turned away.

This was not the information Hershman conveyed when urging lawmakers to vote for the bill last week; inaccurately stating that without changes included in his measure, consumers who currently benefit from net metering would be without any incentive once a cap was met.

¡°Gone. No grandfathering. No guarantee. Nothing,¡± he said during a hearing on 16 February. ¡°People ask for a reason for the bill ¨C this is part of it.¡±

Hershman¡¯s wrongful portrayal of the consequences for residential solar if his bill was not passed ultimately resulted in approval by the committee of an 8-2 vote.

Opponents of the bill argue that misstatements made by Hershman were intended to garner support for the bill, which reduces the financial incentive available through net metering as many utilities state that the retail rate of compensation allows solar users to be subsidised for their use of the grid by non-solar users.

According to reports, senator Lonnie Randolph said he ended up voting for the bill after being persuaded during the hearing, despite plans to initially vote against it.

"Knowing what I know now, I would not vote for the bill," said Randolph.

For his part, Hershman insisted that his speech during the hearing was both ¡°accurate¡± and the alleged misstatements are ¡°a non-issue¡±, whilst clarifying that the bill did indeed include a grandfathering provision.

The bill has since received widespread backlash from clean energy supporters ¨C who have spoken out against the detrimental effect SB 309 would have on Indiana¡¯s emerging solar market, as well as Hershman¡¯s false assertions on the bill.

Before the bill is passed under law it still awaits approval from the Statehouse.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Turkey adds 571 MW of solar PV in 2016

Turkey has installed 571 MW of new solar PV capacity in 2016, making it the best year for the country¡¯s solar sector. 2017 is expected to be equally good, while a few worrying signs are on the horizon from 2018 onwards.

According to data published by Turkey¡¯s ministry of energy and natural resources, the country added 571 MW of new solar PV systems in 2016, up from a cumulative 248.8 MW of solar PV capacity in the end of 2015. This is a 230% year-on-year growth.

Most of Turkey¡¯s PV installations come through the so-called ¡®unlicensed¡¯ fragment of the market, concerning projects up to 1 MW each. The only exception is two projects installed last year in Eastern Turkey: a 8 MW solar farm in Elazig owned by local firm Akfen Renewable Energy and a 5.3 MW farm in Erzurum owned by Turkey¡¯s Halk Enerji. The two projects belong to a separate category of 600 MW of large-scale PV been tendered in various phases in the past years.

Based on the same set of data, Turkey added a total 5.9 GW of new power capacity last year. Of this, fossil fuel power plants (3.531 GW) comprised the larger portion. Solar PV and wind systems added 1.246 GW, hydro systems added 789 MW, while geothermal, biomass and waste power plants installed 320 MW.

Overall, Turkey¡¯s installed electricity capacity has now reached 78.49 GW and the national target for solar PV technology is 5 GW of installations by 2023.

2017 will also be strong

Ates Ugurel, founder, Turkish Solar Energy Society Solarbaba, told pv magazine that 2017 will be also a good year for Turkey¡¯s solar PV because unlicensed projects need to be connected to the grid within two years of being approved.

Ugurel expects the cumulative capacity of approved non-licenced projects to be something between 1.5 GW to 2.5 GW at most.

Uncertainties in 2018 onwards

However, growth in 2018 onwards might be at risk due to recent changes in the fee all unlicensed projects pay to the power distribution companies for transporting the generated solar power.

This fee was 0.76 kurus per distribution unit in 2016 and increased to 2.56 kurus per unit in 2017 and 10.25 kurus per unit in 2018 (1 Turkish lira is 100 kurus and 1 USD is 3.75 Turkish liras). This was an indirect way to reduce the feed-in tariff (FIT) for the unlicensed projects from 0.130 USD per kWh in 2016 to 0.126 USD per kWh in 2017 and down to 0.103 USD per kWh in 2018. ¡°That means almost the end of the non-licenced market as we know it,¡± commented Ugurel.

Apart from the unlicensed projects, the sector is eagerly waiting to see when and whether the tendered 600 MW of large-scale PV projects will materialise. Tendered projects must be connected to the grid by the end of 2019.

Similarly, the PV sector is curious about the progress of the tender for a mega 1 GW PV plant in Konya, central Turkey. The tender date is postponed to 20 March 2017 but few market stakeholders expect it to actually happen before summer. Whether the project ever materialises is also a valid question.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ï United PV chooses EPC firms for 50 MW ¡®panda¡¯ project

Datong Panda PV, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of United Photovoltaics, has selected two EPC providers to work on a panda-shaped PV array in northern China¡¯s Shanxi province.

The deal with Sichuan Zhonghaichuanglian Electricity Engineering and Shanxi Silu Electricity Engineering is valued at 369 million yuan ($53.7 million), according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The company will gradually pay Sichuan Zhonghaichuanglian and Shanxi Silu in small tranches as the project is completed, in order to ensure quality.

As part of the agreement, the two EPC contractors will also help to build a sustainability-themed activity centre for young people in Datong county, Shanxi.

Datong Panda PV ¡ª an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of United Photovoltaics ¡ª expects to complete the 100.4-hectare solar project by the end of June.

The United PV group indirectly holds an equity interest of about 12.4% in Shanxi Silu.

In September, China Merchants New Energy Group (CMNE) ¡ª United PV¡¯s largest shareholder ¡ª signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to build panda-shaped solar projects, in line with the UNDP¡¯s efforts to raise awareness of sustainable development among young people.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö 200 MW Garland plant tracks the sun with Array Technologies

Signal Energy¡¯s latest California generating facility stands up to desert¡¯s brutal conditions with robust tracking system.

Signal Energy announced its 200 MW Garland Solar Facility is now producing energy, in part because of the robust system that allows it to track the sun across the sky.

Located on 2,000 acres of desert in Kern County, California, the Garland Solar Facility will generate sRECs that will be sold sold under two long-term power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison (SCE).

The project is comprised of 723,000 Canadian Solar high performance CS6X-P photovoltaic (PV) solar modules mounted on single-axis tracking tables manufactured by Array Technologies (ATI).

Construction on the project began in 2015 and created 572 peak construction jobs, with 51 percent of employees from communities located within 50 miles of the project. In addition to the temporary employment boost, the project will generate approximately $25.7M in tax revenue for Kern County and $16.9M in tax revenue for the state of California.

Operating conditions in the desert require equipment that can accommodate wide temperature swings and blowing sand, which made ATI¡¯s DuraTrack HZ v3 single-axis trackers the perfect system to hold the project. After all, the trackers¡¯ gear boxes are fully lubricated and sealed-for-life. The company also says the trackers require no maintenance over its expected 30-year lifespan.

The trackers are also engineered to withstand temperatures that range from -30¡ãF to 140¡ãF (-34¡ãC to 60¡ãC).

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Oregon¡¯s largest solar project begins construction

The Gala project in Crook County will utilize SunPower E-Series PV modules and its Oasis power plant solution including tracking technology.

While SunPower continues to bleed red ink, the company is also breaking new ground for high-efficiency solar, in some cases literally. Today SunPower announced that construction firm Moss has begun work on a 56 MW solar PV project in the Eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon, using its E-Series PV modules and its modular Oasis platform for utility-scale projects.

The Gala Solar plant will be larger than any currently operating in Oregon, which a year ago set a mandate to get 50% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2040. And while many associate Oregon with the nine months of rain that is the norm in the western part of the state, east of the Cascade Mountains the state has a dry climate and good solar resource. This includes the pine hills, ranches and scrubland of Crook County, east of Bend, where Gala is being built¡­

For the rest of this article please see the pv magazine USA website.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö JinkoSolar shipments grow in Q4 2016, revenues, margins fall

Leading Chinese PV manufacturer JinkoSolar has continued to grow shipments in Q4 2016, with full-year (FY) module sales increasing close to 50% YoY. Downward price pressure continues to bite, with revenues falling 8.3% compared to Q3, and almost 14% year-on-year.

2016 saw JinkoSolar emerge as the world¡¯s biggest PV module producer, shipping some 6.65 GW of solar modules. The spin-off of its project development business, JinkoSolar Power Engineering Group, brought in RMB1.01 billion ($145.2 million), helping the company to register a net income for the quarter of close to RMB1 billion ($144 million).

Jinko¡¯s FY revenues came it at RMB21.4 billion ($3.08 billion), up 38.5% YoY. Including the sale of its downstream activities, Jinko¡¯s revenues topped RMB22.35 billion ($3.22 billion), up almost 40% YoY.

While this paints a rosy picture for the Chinese solar giant, Q4 2016 saw falling revenues and margins despite increasing shipments. Jinko shipped 1.733 GW of modules in Q3, up 7.9% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 1.3% YoY.

On this result, Jinko registered revenues of RMB5.12 billion ($737.6 million), a fall of 3.9% QoQ and 13.7% YoY. Its electricity generation revenues brought in $15.4 million in Q3, cash-flow that will not be recognized by JinkoSolar in 2017, on the back of spinning off its project business.

Jinko¡¯s gross margins for Q4 also fell, down 4.9% QoQ and 4.7% YoY, to 14.3%. Over FY 2016, Jinko registered a gross margin of 18.1%.

¡°While market sentiment is gloomy overall, we remain optimistic about the global demand in 2017,¡± said JinkoSolar CEO Kangping Chen, in a statement. ¡°I am pleased to announce a strong quarter to finish out the year with module shipments hitting 1,733 MW and 6,656 MW in the fourth quarter and full year 2016, respectively. I am proud to say that this puts us firmly in the position as the largest module supplier globally.¡±

The spin-off of its project business allowed Jinko to pay down debts, from $2.1 billion to $899 million.

¡°In January 2017, we further cut our debt by repurchasing almost all of our convertible notes due in 2019 at holders¡¯ put option,¡± said Kangping Chen. ¡°These initiatives have increased our corporate flexibility and reinforced our financial position which will allow us to take advantage of more opportunities in 2017.¡±

Jinko reports that it has received ¡°rush orders¡± from Chinese developers towards the end of 2016, a trend it expects to continue in the first six months of 2017. This installation and demand peak is attributable to the scheduled China feed-in tariff reduction to take place in June 2017. After the cut, Jinko expects that demand ¡°may soften¡± but that this will be tempered by Top Runner projects.

The Jinko CEO says that U.S. average selling prices (ASPs) have ¡°begun to stabilize,¡± on the back of big falls during Q4 and that it expects U.S. demand to remain robust in 2017.

Regarding technology, Jinko looks likely to increase its PERC manufacturing capacity, as demand for high-efficiency products ¡°continues to be strong.¡±

Jinko has forecast sales of a whopping 8.5 ¨C 9 GW in module shipments for 2017.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Lerri Solar re-branded Longi, unveiled at PV Expo, Tokyo

Monocrystalline giant, the Longi Group, will now use the brand for its cell and module business, formerly Lerri Solar. The unified brand will be showcased at the PV Expo in Tokyo, which kicks off on Wednesday.

China¡¯s Longi Group will now bring its cell and module operation under its brand. The move reflects that Longi now supplies the entire monocrystalline production chain, from mono ingots right through to cells and modules. The move comes as a major push towards monocrystalline products continues to take a hold in the crystalline silicon PV sector.

¡°As the world¡¯s largest monocrystalline wafer manufacturer, Longi Group has established a leading market position and high level of brand recognition in the global monocrystalline wafer markets,¡± said Longi Group President Li Zhenguo. ¡°The renaming of the Lerri Solar brand consisting of our solar cell and module businesses as Longi Solar highlights Longi Group¡¯s determination and confidence in expanding its solar cell and module businesses in overseas markets.¡±

Last week Longi-Lerri solar achieved tier-one status, as characterized by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The move reflects Longi¡¯s successful expansion into module production and that its products are now seen as bankable by a range of players in the finance and project development sector.

Alongside the re-badging of its cell and module business, Longi will also display its 305W, 60-cell PERC module at PV Expo. 300W modules are currently a premium product, achieving strong market demand and high prices on the market.

Monocrystalline wafers are well suited to PERC applications, requiring fewer process upgrades than multicrystalline PERC. Mono PERC also does not exhibit the light (and temperature) induced degradation (LID), that has plagued some multi PERC producers.

Analysts tip mono to increase its market share over multi to between 35 ¨C 37% in 2017, up around three percentage points year-on-year.

£¨Feb 27,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö SunPower enters major China manufacturing JV for P-Series solar modules

US-headquartered high-efficiency PV module producer SunPower has officially signed a new joint venture partnership in China to produce both solar cells and modules for its P-Series technology.

The JV was signed February 22, 2017 between its existing China-based supply chain partners Dongfang Electric Company (DEC) and Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor (TZS) that includes a manufacturing capacity expansion from 1.1GW to 5GW.

PV Tech was told that Dongfang Huansheng Photovoltaic Company (DZS) the solar PV manufacturing subsidiary of DEC currently manufactures high efficiency monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) solar cells in a 1.1GW facility in Yixing, China, according to confirmation from SunPower.

DZS is one of four strategic joint ventures that SunPower and TZS were said by SunPower to have been developed in China since December 2012, which spans component manufacturing of SunPower¡¯s low-concentrated C7 technology for PV power plants that were designed for high irradiance regions of China.

SunPower told PV Tech that it in partnership with TZS it had teamed with DEC to form the DZS joint venture cell and module manufacturing operations in early 2016.

SunPower¡¯s P-Series cell and modules are based on patented technology it acquired with the acquisition of solar start-up Cogenra in 2015. SunPower announced later in 2015 that it had developed the P-Series module from Cogenra¡¯s IP and would ramp production using third-party solar cells to 2GW by 2020. The assembly of the cells would be conducted at SunPower¡¯s module assembly plant in Mexicali, Mexico.

SunPower management had noted in its most recent earnings call that it planned to expand its supply chain partnerships specifically in China as it undertakes a major manufacturing restructuring of the company but were not specific in their comments regarding a complete manufacturing partnership.

¡°We will continue to focus on panel and BOS (Balance of System) cost reduction programs,¡± noted Thomas Werner, CEO of SunPower Corp in the earnings call. ¡°Our transition to our industry leading X-Series technology is continuing and we expect at least 350 megawatts of capacity by the end of 2017. We also plan on expanding our relationships in China to leverage low-cost China supply chain from our P-Series technology.

The expanded partnership via DZS and monocrystalline ingot/wafer producer TZS enables SunPower to address downstream PV power plant opportunities outside the US at a level far bigger than the initial 2GW capacity plan originally outlined in late 2015.

Due to US and EU anti-dumping duties on Chinese made solar cells and modules the new JV capacity would only be required for expansion in Mexico, Latin America, MENA, Asia including China and Australia.

Currently, SunPower has installed P-Series assembly equipment with a nameplate capacity of 200MW at its Mexicali facility and a further 200MW is expected to be installed by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

SunPower also confirmed to PV Tech that the new manufacturing JV for the P-Series modules would start ramping production in 2018.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö AES and AIMco to acquire sPower for US$1.58 billion

Major global power firm AES Corporation and Canada-based investment manager Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) have agreed to acquire utility-scale solar developer sPower from Fir Tree Partners and its minority owners.

sPower, headquartered in Salt Lake City, develops and owns utility-scale solar projects across the US, with a portfolio of 1,274MW of solar and wind projects in operation or under construction. The company's utility-scale projects are mostly based in California and North Carolina, while its distributed generation assets are mostly clustered in the North East states or California. The firm also has a US development pipeline of more than 10GW.

The transaction includes US$853 million in cash and the assumption of US$724 million in non-recourse debt. AES and AIMCo will each independently own just under 50% equity in sPower.

The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2017. Once complete AES¡¯ portfolio of renewable energy projects in operation and under construction will increase from 8,278MW to 9,552MW, including hydro, wind, solar and energy storage capacities. Notably, AES subsidiary AES Energy Storage last year agreed to install the largest battery-based energy storage project in the US for utility San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E).

Andr¨¦s Gluski, AES president and chief executive, said: ¡°We are very pleased to acquire sPower, the largest independent solar developer in the United States. sPower not only brings 1.3GW of installed capacity with an average remaining contract life of more than 20 years, but a first class management and development team with a pipeline of more than 10GW of projects.¡±

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Wattkraft signs new 500MW PV inverter distribution agreement with Huawei

Huawei Technologies has renewed its PV inverter distributor deal within European markets with Wattkraft, which is expected to lead to the supply of around 500MW through 2017.

PV components distributor Wattkraft expects to provide around 300MW of Huawei¡¯s ¡®FusionSolar¡¯ Smart PV string inverters to the German market in 2017 and the remaining 200MW to other European countries this year, which is expected to be double the shipments achieved in the distribution agreement from 2016.

Giovanni Migliore, CEO of WattKraft, said ¡°It is exciting to see how together we have developed a successful growth strategy within a global solar market that requires a high degree of flexibility and competitiveness. Through partnership, Wattkraft can generate new added value services and delivery quality on the distribution side, and Huawei can deliver products and innovation, with the strong brand presence and determination of a true leader.¡±

Wattkraft noted that it typically retains around 20MW of Huawei inverters in stock at anytime.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö ROUND UP: New Soltage Massachusetts project, GE solar-wind hybrid project, 500MW Zambia auctions

Zambia plans 500MW of renewable energy auctions

21 February: The Government of Zambia is planning to procure another 500MW of renewable energy via its second mandate under the World Bank Group¡¯s Scaling Solar programme.

The Scaling Solar mandate will be led by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in close coordination with the Ministry of Energy. It is expected to include the tendering of up to four solar power projects of 50MW to 100MW each.

The programme will start with a 200MW procurement round, with further rounds to achieve a long-term aim of 500MW. The Request for Qualifications for the second round are expected to be released at the end of this month.

Zambia¡¯s first mandate under Scaling Solar led to auctions for two solar PV plants of up to 50MW each in May 2016. Agreements for these projects are expected to finalise in May this year.

NTPC installs robotic dry cleaning system for Dadri solar plant

24 February: India¡¯s largest utility NTPC has installed robotic dry cleaning systems at its solar PV plant at Dadri.

NTPC claims this is the first system of its kind in India, including robotic operation with seasonal tilt, remote monitoring and management and a self-cleaning mechanism, The aim is to conserve water while reducing generation losses through soiling.

DC Solar Integrators complete New Jersey project with aleo modules

23 February: New Jersey-based solar firm DC Solar Integrators has completed a 330kW commercial rooftop project in New Jersey with HE Tec 300W modules from Germany-based manufacturer aleo solar.

DC Solar installed 1,110 modules on the building¡¯s rooftop of Blanc Display Group, whose headquarters are located in Dover.

aleo solar started commercial shipment of its HE Tec PERC modules to the US market less than six months ago.

Giovanni Buogo, head of international sales at aleo solar, said: ¡°Residential and commercial rooftops are the natural fit for our technology. We launched our products on the US market with a very clear value proposition. We offer serenity and performance to PV power plant owners, thanks to best-in class German quality and unrivalled technology, with our 60 cells-300W+ range that comes with up to 25-years product guarantee.¡±

Soltage brings 3.7MW solar project online in Massachusetts

Jersey City, New Jersey-headquartered developer Soltage has completed and a 3.68MW ground-mount solar project in Billerica, Massachusetts.

The project was developed together with IPP Tenaska, and is located on a 223 hectare brownfield site. It will generate 4,44MWh of clean energy annually for four schools and one local government through virtual net metering.

The project will cut costs by supplying an average 20% of the offtakers¡¯ electricity needs at costs lower than utility rates.

Tenaska is the primary investor in the solar facility with Soltage acting as the power plant co-owner and operator, selling the electricity through 20-year net metering credit agreements.

GE Renewable Energy to equip first commercial US solar-wind hybrid project

GE Renewable Energy will supply equipment for the first commercial integrated solar-wind hybrid power generation project in the industry. The project is expected to reach commercial operation in August 2017.

The 4.6MW community-based project in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota was developed by Juhl Energy. It will consist of two wind turbines from GE Renewable Energy¡¯s Onshore Wind business supported by 1MW of solar power conversion equipment from GE also. It will also use GE¡¯s Wind Integrated Solar Energy (WiSE) technology platform to integrate the solar panels through the wind turbine¡¯s converter so that both technologies share all the same balance of plant.

Simply, the solar provides summer peak energy with the wind providing winter peak energy.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Xcel Energy switches on 32MW of community solar in Minnesota

Xcel Energy has commissioned seven new community solar gardens, totalling 32MW in Minnesota.

The projects were developed under the utility¡¯s Solar Rewards Community programme that aims to spur community solar among residential subscribers and local businesses. Xcel Energy currently has 57MW of community solar gardens online at 17 project sites as part of its programme, which was launched in 2014.

The projects are also part of a larger 96MW of community solar to be developed by BHE Renewables and Geronimo Energy that will provide clean energy throughout the Twin Cities metro area and greater Minnesota.

¡°We¡¯re proud to work with dedicated partners as we bring more solar energy options to our customers,¡± said Christopher Clark, president of Xcel Energy, Minnesota. ¡°Xcel Energy is on a path to deliver a third of our energy from renewables by 2030, and solar plays a role in achieving this ambitious goal.¡±

¡°The solar garden sites are moving forward because of the many people and organizations that have strongly supported them,¡± said Richard Weech, senior vice president and chief financial officer, BHE Renewables. ¡°We believe subscriber-based programs will be an important component of the clean energy future for Minnesota and will have a positive impact on the state¡¯s economy and environmental footprint.¡±

"Geronimo Energy is proud to be investing in our home state through Xcel Energy's Minnesota Solar*Rewards Community program," said Blake Nixon, president, Geronimo Energy. "With over one million solar panels in operation or currently being installed in Minnesota, we are pleased that our projects have created new jobs and positive local economic impacts, such as landowner payments and increased tax revenue."

The newly-commissioned 32MW will be spread across seven 3-5MW solar gardens, providing electricity for all Xcel Energy customers.

Minnesota, Marlyand and Massachusetts are among states that are really embracing community solar as a promising new source of demand in the country, opening up access to solar among previously excluded groups.

Maryland recently announced almost 200MW of community solar to come online in the next three years. GTM Research forecast community solar to double this year, surpassing 400MW.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Vasari Energy targets 500MW of solar in Texas as large-scale solar expected to double

California-based PV energy provider Vasari Energy is jumping on the new US solar hotspot Texas with plans to develop 500MW of solar by the end of the year.

To kick-off these designs, Vasari has signed contracts and letters of intent to develop a target of 235MW of utility-scale PV in Texas.

"We expect to reach our 500MW development target in Texas before the end of 2017," confirmed Sam Lipman, CEO of Vasari Energy.

"This project will allow Vasari Energy to get closer to its objective of 700MW of solar projects under development in 2017," Lipman added.

Vasari¡¯s pipeline of utility-scale solar projects has surpassed 600MW to date, via markets including Arizona and Georgia, and now Texas.

"Our team is experienced in optimizing solar projects from inception and managing the project through all phases of development, including environmental, transmission, and sale of power to utilities and corporate customers. We believe this approach will resonate in Texas, where utilities and corporations are looking for pure-play solar partners that can aggressively compete with alternative forms of energy,¡± said Lipman.

Texas utility-scale solar expected to double

Now is as good a time as ever to target solar in Texas, with the number of large-scale solar plants in the state projected to nearly double over the next four years.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has forecast 20 new utility-scale solar projects to come online by the end of 2020. That would bring the total to 41 solar plants in the Lone Star State, which could produce enough electricity annually to power all of Dallas County.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Fujitsu to take distributed solar from ACC in China

Major IT services provider Nanjing Fujitsu Computer Electronic Information has joined a growing list of major retail companies partnering with rooftop solar specialist Asia Clean Capital (ACC) to receive clean energy from solar systems.

Fujitsu¡¯s production base located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, will receive power from distributed rooftop solar, with ACC investing in the entire system costs and taking responsibility for design, construction, and O&M.

Electricity will be supplied at cheaper rates than the grid in order to generate cost savings for Fujitsu over the course of the systems lifetime. After this initial project Fujitsu may well cooperate with ACC to install solar at its other facilities.

ACC recently signed a power purchase agreement with the largest food and beverage producer in China, the Wahaha Group, for 3.5MW of solar energy. ACC has laos partnered iron company Wisco and SUMEC New Energy & Development.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Athos Solar installs two utility-scale PV plants in Iran

Germany-based firm Athos Solar has installed two utility-scale solar PV plants near Iran¡¯s capital Tehran.

The projects have a combined capacity of 14MW and are located over 10 hectares each in the province of Hamedan. They include 40,000 modules from China-based manufacturer Canadian Solar.

The venture required investment of nearly €20 million (US$21 million), with 100% equity coming from Athos Solar.

Christian Linder, CEO of Athos Solar, said this is the only way that projects can be financed in Iran at present, while claiming that financing via banks is not yet possible.

Linder added: ¡°These are the first large-scale solar systems to be built in Iran after the sanctions were lifted in spring 2016. The joint project initiated two business partners from Iran and England, who also developed the project rights and sold them to the newly-founded joint holding company.

¡°We have implemented the project together with our established partners from Germany, and have commissioned Iranian companies both for preparatory land works and for electrical works. Renewable energy will also play an increasingly important role in Iran.¡±

The plants were completed within nine months of first contact with the Iranian developer and Athos Solar now plans further projects in Iran and the Middle East.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Movers & Shakers: #CleanEnergyJobs, SEIA, NRG, KACO and ABB

Clean energy now employs over 3 million Americans

The booming clean energy industry has now provided jobs for more than 3 million Americans, according to the latest 2016 figures from the Department of Energy (DOE).

The DOE report entitled US Energy and Employment said the 3 million jobs included nearly 2.2 million workers constructing buildings, appliances and other energy efficiency equipment. It also included 100,000 workers in advanced grid technologies including energy storage, and 200,000 in advanced transportation. It also included more than 600,000 workers in clean power generation such as solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, biogas and natural gas. Solar specifically recently celebrated 51,000 jobs in 2016 alone, representing 1 in 50 every new US job.

The news has been celebrated by national business groups and trade associations who made the announcement on the same day they organized a national social media campaign, encouraging companies and workers to share their employment stories.

The SEIA said the purpose of the social media event was to draw attention to the rapidly growing clean energy industries, which offer good-paying jobs ranging from equipment installation and maintenance to sales and information technology ¡ª many of them jobs that cannot be automated or moved abroad.

Organisers of the #CleanEnergyJobs campaign include Advanced Energy Economy, American Council on Renewable Energy, AJW, Alliance to Save Energy, the American Wind Energy Association, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, the Energy Storage Association, and the SEIA.

¡°Today, our organisations, member companies, and their workers are celebrating all the people who make up the clean energy industries and the positive impact that we have on the US economy,¡± said Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy. ¡°We are excited to bring visibility to our share of the more than 3 million people that work today in advanced energy across our nation.¡±

¡°People often don¡¯t realise that energy efficiency is such a huge jobs creator,¡± said Alliance to Save Energy president Kateri Callahan. ¡°It supports about three times as many jobs as the mining industry and unlike that sector it is growing and creating good-paying jobs like weatherizing homes and manufacturing high-efficiency appliances or building materials. And the best news is there¡¯s just enormous opportunity to expand this work and create more jobs with smart efficiency policies and incentives.¡±

¡°In setting a record for new electric generating capacity, the solar energy industry added one in every 50 new jobs in the economy last year and now employs 260,000 people in America,¡± said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the SEIA. ¡°These jobs pay well, they support local economies and they fuel American innovation.¡±

NRG executive board shakeup as chairman resigns

Last week we reported how Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG Energy had announced its exit of the residential solar business.

The internal company reorganisation continues with NRG making significant changes to its board of directors as a result of new agreements with Elliot Associates and Bluescape Energy Partners ¨C two investment firms owning a combined 9.4% of NRG.

Under the agreement, existing board members Howard Cosgrove and Edward Muller are retiring from the board of directors. Lawrence Coben, a director of the company, will succeed Cosgrove as new chairman of the board.

John Wilder, Bluescape Energy Partners¡¯ executive chairman and Barry Smitherman, former head of the Texas Public Utilities Commission, have been appointed to the board as new members.

Elliot and Bluescape said toward the end of January that NRG's stock was deeply undervalued, and that they saw opportunities to increase shareholder value. Those opportunities included "operational and financial improvements as well as strategic initiatives,¡± according to an SEC filing at the time.

Further board changes include the creation of a new five-person ad hoc committee known as the Business Review Committee to review NRG¡¯s capital structure and strategic initiatives amidst ongoing changes to the business model of the company.

¡°Over the past year, NRG has made strides in streamlining our business, reducing costs, strengthening our balance sheet, selling non-core assets and exiting unprofitable business lines. We remain committed to building on that progress and I look forward to the contributions of our new directors and the new committee as we take further steps to improve performance and build shareholder value,¡± said NRG CEO Mauricio Gutierrez. ¡°I personally want to express my deep appreciation to Howard and Ed for their dedicated service to the Company and its stakeholders.¡±

KACO appoints territory manager for South Asian solar markets

German inverter manufacturer KACO New Energy is expanding its presence in the Asian markets with a new territory manager, Andrew Walsh.

This appointment comes as KACO predicts great potential for large PV systems and storage solutions in these markets; specifically Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Walsh is currently the head of the UK branch of KACO and has been selected to spearhead company efforts to help these markets make the transition to solar power.

¡°Developing these new markets for KACO new energy and building the brand is an exciting task,¡± said Walsh. ¡°Our products are ideally suited to the special requirements and environmental conditions in these countries. These countries can benefit significantly from the sun by using state-of-the-art solar technology to reduce their dependence on imported fossil fuels and become less reliant on them. This will not only prevent the negative effects on the environment; economically, it is also more lucrative, since it minimises the financial burden incurred for the procurement of such fuels.¡±

Under Walsh¡¯s leadership, KACO will have an experienced inverter specialist in the region. He has experience in executive positions in the PV industry since the early 1990s and was the former general manager of rooftop and solar car parks at BELECTRIC UK. In addition to his new role, he will remain responsible for supporting KACO¡¯s key account clients in the UK and Ireland.

ABB nominates new board member

Industrial technology firm ABB has nominated Lars F?rberg, managing partner at Cevian Capital, as a new board member for election in the wake of re-election period.

At the next company annual general meeting on 13 April 2017, all ABB board members will stand for re-election to the board, with the exemption of Robyn Denhold and Michel de Rosen who have decided not to sand for re-election. Company shareholders will vote on each person for re-election then.

¡°We are pleased to nominate Lars to the Board of Directors of ABB,¡±said Peter Voser, chairman of ABB¡¯s Board of directors. ¡°He brings relevant long-term experience as board member of industrial companies complementing the ambitions of our Next Level strategy.

At the same time I would like to thank Robyn for her valuable contribution over the past year and wish her well for her new executive position in Australia. We are grateful to Michel for his service and commitment to the board for more than a decade and his tremendous contribution in transforming ABB¡¯s compensation system as the chairman of the compensation committee in the past three years.¡±

F?rberg co-founded Cevian Capital in 2002 and the company is now ABB¡¯s second largest owner.

¡°I look forward to working with management and the colleagues of the board to enhance ABB¡¯s long-term competitiveness and value, including through the successful implementation of ABB¡¯s Next Level strategy¡± said Lars F?rberg.

Dana Sleeper Joins SEIA as director of External Affairs

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has hired Dana Sleeper as head of its new external affairs operation. She will begin her new role on 6 March 2017.

Sleeper has been the executive director of the Maryland, DC and Virginia chapter of the SEIA for nearly four years. In her new role, she will enhance the association¡¯s coordination amongst key stakeholders, with a specific goal of seeing solar expanding its role in America¡¯s economic growth.

¡°Dana¡¯s communications skills and partnership development experience will make a significant contribution to the growth of solar in communities across the country,¡± said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA president and CEO. ¡°She is a well-respected industry leader and with this new role, we¡¯re looking forward to building coalitions that will fuel the continued growth of solar energy.¡±

¡°I can¡¯t wait to get started building relationships with a wide range of groups across the political and ideological spectrum,¡± Sleeper said. ¡°By energizing groups that see the benefits of solar in the form of jobs in their communities, or because of the massive public support that solar enjoys, we can build a strong future for this growing, affordable, American source of energy.¡±

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Tata Power Renewable Energy completes 15MW solar installation

India¡¯s largest renewables company Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) has installed a 15MW solar plant in the state of Telangana, while its parent company Tata Power has crossed 10.5GW of installed power capacity.

TPREL, a subsidiary of Tata Power, has now started commercial operations of the plant at Belampally, which it won through competitive bidding in Phase I of Telangana¡¯s auction process.

It was built over 32 hectares and involves an 18km transmission line. The plant will sell power under a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Northern Power Distribution Company of Telangana at a tariff of INR 5.72/kWh (US$0.086).

TPREL chief executive Rahul Shah said: ¡°The synchronisation of the 15MW solar plant at Belampally in Telangana marks a significant milestone in our drive to grow our portfolio of clean and renewable energy generation. We are delighted to have a plant in Telangana, which recently topped the rankings amongst the states for ease of doing business.¡±

Having acquired Welspun Renewable Energy last year, TPREL is in the process of implementing 400MW of renewables, with 932MW of solar and 847MW of wind already in operation as well as 120MW of waste heat recovery capacity. However, unconfirmed local reports this week suggested that Tata is looking to raise funds, possibly through the sale of a stake in its renewables arm.

This article has been revised to say that Tata Power has installed 10.5GW of total power capacity not just solar.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Tokyo Gas, Shizen Energy launch solar development venture

The liquefied natural gas distributor and its partner plan to start jointly developing an initial 60 MW of capacity ¡°as soon as possible,¡± according to an online statement.

They did not reveal the financial terms of the capital and business alliance.

Shizen Energy was operating 152 MW of solar capacity throughout the Japanese archipelago by the end of January.

It is now developing about 600 MW of PV capacity in the country, in addition to 60 MW of wind projects.

By the end of December, the group¡¯s O&M unit was also servicing about 137 MW of solar capacity.

The Fukuoka-based renewables developer is best known for its solar EPC venture with Germany¡¯s juwi, which completed work on a 20 MW array in December in Fukuyama, Kagoshima prefecture.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö The pv magazine weekly news digest

The Toyota Prius gets rooftop solar, Fraunhofer and Hevel push multicrystalline and HJT efficiencies, Saudi Arabia begins 300 MW tender process and Tesla publishes its Q4 2016 financials ¨C welcome to the week that was.

Rooftop solar arrays are a common site across many advanced solar markets. In some parts of Australia ¨C namely Queensland and South Australia ¨C 30% of homes have solar panels on their rooftops. In the U.K., around 900,000 homes are rooftop solar-powered, while in the U.S., Germany and Italy they are a common sight.

But solar panels on cars? These have to date generally been the preserve of eccentric eco-warriors or innovative university students competing in some worthy around-the-world cause. Mass market production of solar-powered vehicles has been slow to leave the pits, save for a drip-drip of concept cars spinning turning slowly on platforms at motor shows the world over.

Now, solar-powered cars are no longer refined to the prototype, and this week perhaps the biggest name in hybrid vehicles ¨C Toyota ¨C unveiled its first solar-powered Prius. The rooftop solar panels recharge the 3.7-volt (24Ah) lithium-ion auxiliary battery while driving to raise hybrid fuel efficiency, but cannot charge the battery to full capacity.

The PV panels also supply power to the traction battery while the vehicle is parked, providing enough of a charge to drive up to a maximum of 6.1 kilometres per day, or an average of 2.9 kilometres, Toyota said in an online statement.

In addition, the solar panels provide electricity for the vehicle¡¯s lights, power windows and air conditioning systems.

The PV-charging option has been in development since 2009, when Toyota enlisted Kyocera to provide 56W modules for its prototypes.

Toyota first announced plans last summer to offer the vehicles in the Japanese and European markets.

The Japanese automaker launched sales throughout Japan last week, with a monthly sales target of 2,500 vehicles Prices range from £¤3.3 million ($29,000) to £¤4.2 million.

How high can you go?

A couple of noteworthy cell efficiency records were achieved this week. Germany¡¯s Fraunhofer ISE has reclaimed the hotly contested multicrystalline PV efficiency record, recording a performance of 21.9%, while over in Russia Hevel Solar hit 21.75% cell efficiency with heterojunction (HJT) technology.

Fraunhofer ISE claims that the result demonstrates how improvements in the multicrystalline material can deliver a boost in energy yield, resulting in the 21.9% multi cell efficiency record.

Fraunhofer ISE researchers have pointed to the Institute¡¯s ability to control the crystalline silicon PV production process, from crystalline material ¨C presumably ingot and wafer ¨C through to cell, as enabling the efficiency record. The crystallization process was optimized alongside the cell design, resulting in the 21.9% multicrystalline cell.

¡°Our goal is to develop an advanced cell technology for the n-type multicrystalline wafer that really demonstrates its full potential,¡± said Fraunhofer ISE¡¯s Jan Benick, in a statement. ¡°The question is, how far can we get to closing the efficiency gap to monocrystalline material.¡±

The record-setting cell deploys Fraunhofer¡¯s TOPCon cell technology. It deploys passivated backside contacts, which are applied to the rear surface of the cell without patterning. The researchers claim that this allows for a simplified manufacturing process alongside higher energy yield.

For Hevel, the ¡°main part¡± of the output from the HJT line will be installed at its own projects. It claims to be developing a pipeline of some 500 MW. pv magazine understands that it is targeting installations totaling 70 MW in 2017. ¡°The new [HJT] module is the result of our own R&D program that started about a year ago,¡± Hevel¡¯s CEO Igor Shakhray told pv magazine.

Well oil be damned

Oil-wealthy Kingdom Saudi Arabia has been making all the right noises about embracing renewable energies for years, but has consistently failed to deliver anything approaching a tangible and concerted effort to promote solar power, despite its vast levels of irradiation. That is, until now.

The newly created Renewable Energy Project Development Office of Saudi Arabia has launched a tender for the development of 300 MW of solar and 400 MW of wind.

¡°This marks the starting point of a long and sustained program of renewable energy deployment in Saudi Arabia, that will not only diversify our power mix but also catalyze economic development and support long term prosperity,¡± stated Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih. ¡°It is our goal to make the National Renewable Energy Program among the most attractive and well executed Government renewable energy investment programs in the world.¡±

A site has already been chosen for the 300 MW solar park: Sakaka, in the northern Al Jouf Province of the Kingdom. According to the Ministry of Energy, the site has already undergone pre-development work and the project will be backed by a 25-year PPA.

Tesla feels weight of SolarCity

Tesla¡¯s quarterly results show more of the roller coaster that has been Tesla Motors, as it builds the world¡¯s largest battery factory, re-invents solar and spearheads the mass-market adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

But despite record EV sales, the acquisition of a financially troubled SolarCity appears to have left a mark on Tesla¡¯s Q4 results. While revenues in the company¡¯s Energy Generation and Storage division rose four-fold to $131 million, margins are much lower than at Tesla¡¯s automotive business, with a 2.7% gross margin ensuring an operating loss for the division.

And while it is hard to tease out from the limited financial figures provided exactly how much of the company¡¯s overall $121 million net loss during the quarter is related to SolarCity, Tesla did note $85 million in solar-related operating expenses.

These are measly figures versus the company¡¯s $2.28 billion in quarterly revenues, Tesla appears to be working to make SolarCity profitable in the short run regardless. During the quarter Tesla/SolarCity more than doubled its portion of leases to 28%, and Tesla also noted in its Q4 shareholder letter that during the transition period of the acquisition, it will ¡°prioritize cash preservation over growth of MW deployed¡±.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö AES dives deeper into clean energy with SPower acquisition

The Fortune 200 power company has partnered with a Canadian investment firm to acquire the U.S. utility-scale developer and IPP.

As solar gets to be less of a experimental entrant and more of a mainstream power source, successful solar companies are increasingly being swallowed up by established energy companies.

This occurred again today. This morning AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), a global energy company with $14 billion in annual revenues, announced a deal to acquire emergent U.S. utility-scale solar project developer and independent power producer (IPP) sPower from Fir Tree Partners and minority owners.

AES has partnered with Alberta Investment Management (AIMCo) for the $1.58 billion deal. After paying out an estimated $853 million in cash and assuming $724 million in non-recourse debt, AES and AIM will each own slightly less than 50% equity interests in sPower, including its 1.18 GW of wind and solar assets. The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2017, subject to standard regulatory reviews and closing conditions.

With the acquisition, AES and AIMCo will get a developer and IPP which has grown with the fast-moving utility-scale solar market in the United States. In January sPower announced that it had put online over 1 GW of solar projects, only 34 months after being capitalized by Fir Tree Partners.

As of today¡¯s announcement sPower has 1.8 GW of operational wind and solar assets, the vast majority of which is utility-scale solar in California and North Carolina. The company has another 91 MW of utility-scale solar under construction in California, and all of these assets hold with long-term power purchase agreements with an average remaining life of 21 years. The company also claims a pipeline of more than 10 GW of projects.

While owning and operating a range of assets and businesses, AES is no stranger to clean energy. The acquisition of sPower will bring AES to over 9.5 GW of combined hydro, wind, solar and energy storage projects, among the 36 GW of generation that the company owns and operates.

Among its clean energy holdings AES has been particularly invested in energy storage. AES¡¯ Energy Storage subsidiary produces the Advancion energy storage solution, and in January installed and commissioned the largest battery storage project in the world for San Diego Gas & Electric Company. AES Energy Storage claims 432 MW of energy storage either in operation, construction or late-stage development in seven nations.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö JRE breaks ground on 22.3 MW near Tokyo

Japan Renewable Energy (JRE) started building the project this week on a 25.3-hectare plot of land in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki prefecture.

It expects the array to provide enough electricity for 7,000 homes.

It did not disclose additional details about the project .

The Tokyo-based developer ¡ª which was set up by Goldman Sachs in five years ago to invest roughly £¤300 billion ($2.8 billion) in renewables through 2017 ¡ª currently operates 123.5 MW of solar capacity at 22 locations in Japan.

Its bigger PV projects include a 16.8 MW installation in Wakayama prefecture and a 39.2 MW array in Mito, Ibaraki prefecture.

In 2013, JRE became one of the first developers in Japan to secure non-recourse project financing for a solar project, with a £¤10 billion loan from Shinsei Bank to back the development of the Mito installation.

Last September, it revealed plans to invest in 100 MW of solar capacity in Fukushima prefecture.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö NASA images show stunning progress of China¡¯s vast 850 MW Longyangxia Solar Park

Landsat 8 satellite images taken in January capture the four million solar panels installed at the site in Qinghai province, covering an area almost the size of Macau.

U.S. space agency NASA has published two satellite images of the world¡¯s largest solar park in China¡¯s Qinghai province that reveal the startling scale of the 850 MW plant.

Contrasted to an earlier image taken in April 2013 when the plant was just beginning to take place, this latest image reveals a vast landscape transformed by more than four million solar panels.

The site now covers an area almost equivalent in size to Macau, a 30 square kilometer autonomous region of China, and dominates a plateau of sparsely populated land close to the edges of the Gobi Desert.

This month, the solar park officially became the largest in the world, surpassing the 648 MW Kamuthi Solar Power Project in Tamil Nadu, India. China is also currently constructing an even larger installation in the Ningxia region, which is set to be 2 GW once completed.

China¡¯s rapid embrace of solar energy has quickly propelled the nation to first place globally in terms of cumulative capacity installed, ending 2016 with more than 77 GW of solar, according to official figures from the National Energy Administration (NEA).

Solar currently meets just 1% of China¡¯s energy demand, but the government is aiming to draw 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2030.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Huawei European distributor books 500 MW of inverters

German engineering and systems integrator Wattkraft agrees framework agreement with the Chinese inverter specialists for the supply of 500 MW of inverters to be shipped within Germany and beyond.

Wattkraft, a Germany-headquartered PV distributor and systems integrator, has today signed a framework agreement for the supply of 500 MW of inverters from Huawei.

The deal builds upon an existing relationship between the two firms, and will see some 300 MW of Huawei inverters connected or distributed across Germany this year. The remaining 200 MW capacity will be installed at various project sites globally, including in India, Brazil and the U.S.

Wattkraft exclusively handles Huawei FusionSolar string inverters, and has acted as the Chinese firm¡¯s principal distributor in Europe for the past two years, handling 95 MW and 250 MW in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

This year¡¯s figure is the largest yet in terms of volume, and Wattkraft will work closely with Huawei to bring the inverters to new global markets.

¡°It is exciting to see how together we have developed a successful growth strategy within a global solar market that requires a high degree of flexibility and competitiveness,¡± said Wattkraft CEO Giovanni Migliore. ¡°Through partnership, Wattkraft can generate new added value services and delivery quality on the distribution side, and Huawei can deliver products and innovation, with strong brand presence.¡±

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö India: solar park target should not be limited to 40 GW if demand is there, says Mercom

The recently doubled capacity for solar parks in India from 20 GW to 40 GW has been welcomed by Mercom Capital Group, which says that government should not be too rigid with individual targets if there is demand for more.

The Indian National Solar Mission¡¯s (NSM) 2022 target of 100 GW of installed solar capacity has often been regarded overly ambitious by those operating within the Indian solar market.

But the current demand for solar power nationwide is slowly eroding scepticism, and the recent doubling of India¡¯s solar park capacity target for 2020 from 20 GW to 40 GW is expected to make it easier for developers to not only identify suitable sites but also to build and connect solar farms at speed, and with quality.

Having doubled its installed solar capacity in 2016, India is on course to add a further 9 GW of capacity this year as it seeks to accelerate towards its 2022 goal. But to reach that target, believes Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu, the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) must be willing to adapt to market demands and alter policies that are either under- or overperforming.

¡°Though not perfect, solar parks have reduced some of the problems faced by large-scale developers, such as land acquisition and transmission infrastructure,¡± Prabhu told pv magazine. ¡°Project costs have come down due to solar parks, in some instances. The government sees solar parks as a success, and has doubled the target capacity to 40 GW from 20 GW. Of the various solar targets, this is one of the more achievable ones because it gives developers of large-scale projects some certainty and visibility to plan future development.¡±

However, 40 GW of solar park capacity is still less than half of the stated 100 GW goal. The NSM currently divides its goal between large-scale and rooftop, with the latter sector still expected to bring 40 GW to the table between now and 2022. Current rooftop capacity in India stood at just 600 MW at the end of December 2016, Prabhu said, and reduced subsidies and incentives in the sector make it even less likely that this target will be reached.

¡°The rooftop target is unrealistic,¡± he warned. ¡°This is another reason why increasing the solar park target was a good idea as we do not expect India to meet its rooftop target.

¡°In our opinion, the MNRE should not be too rigid with individual targets, and large-scale development [under which solar parks sit] should not be restricted to 60 GW if there is demand.¡±

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö European battery association calls for 2030 EU storage strategy

EUROBAT is urging the European Union to develop a unified strategy to promote and support the uptake of battery storage to facilitate the transition towards a decarbonized society in Europe.

EUROBAT, the Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufacturers, has today issued a call to the European Union (EU) for the development of a 2030 Battery Strategy for Europe that it believes will help usher in a decarbonized future for the continent.

By placing battery storage systems at the heart of Europe¡¯s energy network, the EU can more quickly, efficiently and affordable bring about its targeted shift towards a society no longer reliant on fossil fuels for energy, heating or transport, EUROBAT says, with storage acting as an enabler for more renewable energy, better energy efficiency and the hybridization and electrification of vehicles.

Another benefit of such a strategy, EUROBAT believes, would be greater coherence between several EU energy policies, lending a common goal to what is often a disparate patchwork of approach among member states.

The introduction of EU-wide support for storage would also serve as a boost for manufacturing, offering confidence to battery developers operating in Europe and boosting the job market of this high-tech industry. Currently, more than 30,000 people in the EU work in the sector.

¡°EUROBAT asks European policy makers to cooperate with all stakeholders, including manufacturers, suppliers, value chain partners, users and civil society to develop the ¡®2030 Battery Strategy for Europe¡¯¡±, the call reads. ¡°Such overall strategic EU policy framework would provide business certainty for European battery manufacturers ¡­ and deliver growth and new opportunities for innovation in Europe.¡±

Currently, each EU Member State adopts its own approach to storage. In the U.K., the government is expected to roll-out a storage-specific policy in the Spring that observers believe could liberalize and boost the market, whereas in Germany a subsidy scheme extended last year offers a rebate for customers that install a solar+storage system.

Innovations driving storage uptake in Europe include aggregation, whereby multiple storage customers are connected via the cloud, supplying and drawing stored energy as and when it is required. Companies such as Moixa and sonnen have developed community platforms offering such a service, and a recent report by DNV GL found that this ¡®multi-stakeholder¡¯ approach could prove pivotal in enabling more of Europe¡¯s population to reap the benefits of stored electricity.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Foresight Solar Fund acquires 49.6 MW UK PV plant

Second large-scale solar investment in 2017 sees the London-headquartered investment firm snap up the Sandridge solar farm in Wiltshire, southern England.

London-headquartered renewable investment firm Foresight Solar Fund now boasts a portfolio of installed solar PV assets of 470 MW following the acquisition this week of the 49.6 MW Sandridge solar farm in Wiltshire, southern England.

In what is the firm¡¯s second such acquisition in February 2017 ¨C having last week finalized the purchase of the 25 MW Barcaldine solar project in Australia ¨C Foresight Solar Fund now owns 18 individual solar assets, most in the U.K. and boasting an average capacity of 26 MW.

The Sandridge solar farm was built by German EPC Goldbeck Solar and connected to the U.K. national grid in March last year. Hence, it is eligible for Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) of 1.3 ROC/MWh. Foresight Solar Fund is in receipt of all economic benefits from the plant¡¯s cash flow since January 1, 2017.

Foresight Solar Fund¡¯s steady and sustained interest in solar park acquisition is a product of its cautious growth strategy, the company chairman Alex Ohlsson said.

This latest acquisition was arranged via a ¡ê55 million ($69 million) revolving credit facility with Santander Global Corporate Banking. Additional portions of the credit facility will be invested in future growth opportunities, Foresight Solar Fund said, having already identified an additional 100 MW of potential solar assets.

Repayment of this loan will come via equity issuance this year.

¡°The purchase of Sandridge is in line with the Company¡¯s cautious growth strategy, minizing the impact of cash drag for investors,¡± said Ohlsson. ¡°The new credit facility was secured at attractive terms and will allow the Company to remain competitive when targeting pipeline opportunities during the course of 2017.¡±

Foresight Solar Fund¡¯s 2016 financial results, published last week, revealed a healthy balance sheet that has generated attractive dividends to its shareholders. Its strategy of snapping up British solar farms developed under lucrative subsidy schemes has born fruit for the firm, driving revenues to $42.7 million last year.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Apple installs 17 MW rooftop solar array on Jobs¡¯ dream campus

To celebrate what would have been founder Steve Jobs¡¯ 62 birthday today, the consumer-electronics giant announced its new headquarters, Apple Park, will be ready to accept employees starting in April. Employees will be able to bask in the electricity produced by one of the largest on-site solar arrays in the world.

If Steve Jobs were still alive, he would have turned 62 today. In honor of his memory, Apple announced its new headquarters would open in April, powered entirely by one of the largest on-site rooftop installations in the world.

At the center of the 175-acre campus, named Apple Park, is a ring-shaped, 2.8 million-square-foot main building that is home to a 17 MW rooftop solar array that will power 75% of the building during peak daytime hours, with the remaining 25% coming from other renewable-energy sources.

¡°Steve¡¯s vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us,¡± said Tim Cook, Apple¡¯s CEO. ¡°He intended Apple Park to be the home of innovation for generations to come. We¡¯ve achieved one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the campus will run entirely on renewable energy.¡±

Eventually, 12,000 Apple employees will move into the facility, starting in April. The company said it expected the move to take around six months to complete.

Prior to the Apple Park installation, Apple ranked No. 4 on the Solar Energy Industries Association¡¯s Solar Means Business list of corporations using the most solar energy. By the time of the 2016 report, Apple had installed 93.9 MW of solar over four installations. According the the report, Apple produced enough electricity at the time to charge 39 million iPhones fully each day for a year.

Last month, Apple signed a deal with NV Energy in Nevada to purchase 200 MW of solar-produced electricity for its Reno data center. The company is also a federally approved independent power producer, with a 50 MW solar farm in Arizona in operation and selling power to Arizona utility cooperative Salt River Power.

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Athos completes two large-scale PV plants in Iran

The German company has installed and commissioned two PV power plants in Iran, totaling 14 MW. Project costs of US $21m were all equity financed by Athos.

With the help of German based project developer Athos Solar, Iran has taken an important step towards generating more of its energy from solar power. At the beginning of February, two PV plants with a total output of 14 megawatts were commissioned in the presence of German ambassador Michael Klor-Berchthold and Iranian energy minister Hamid Chitchian.

According to Athos, it took just nine months from first contact with the Iranian developer to complete the two green field plants, both 100 hectares, in the province Hamadan near Teheran. Thereby the majority of all needed components, including 40,000 PV modules from Canadian solar, had to be imported into Iran. Christian Lindner, CEO of Athos Solar said: The collaboration with the Iranian authorities, who were extremely cooperative, worked out smoothly. You can sense a great openness and interest in this kind of energy generation.¡±

The costs of the project, almost US$21m, were financed entirely by equity from Athos as an investor. According to Christian Linder, this is currently the only way to realize projects in Iran. ¡°Bank financing is simply not possible; even conducting a usual transaction is a daily challenge.

As the project developer reported, the construction of the two PV plants, which were initiated by business partners from Iran and the U.K, represent Athos¡ä first project in the Middle East. Given the positive experience, more projects are planned but a matter of the political situation in the region.

Author: Carl Johannes Muth

£¨Feb 24,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö JA Solar increases shipments guidance for 2016 on rebound in Q4 demand

¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member JA Solar has revised upwards key shipment figures for the full-year 2016 but revenue is expected to be hit by a significant decline in module ASP¡¯s.

JA Solar said that full-year net revenue was expected to be in the range of around US$2.18 billion to US$2.32 billion (RMB 15 to 16 billion), which indicates fourth quarter 2016 revenue of between US$400 million to US$540 million. JA Solar had reported fourth quarter 2015 revenue of US$709 million.

Total module and cell shipments, including shipments to its own downstream PV projects for the full-year were said to be estimated in the range of 5.1GW to 5.2 GW, compared to downward revised shipment figures of 4.9GW to 5.0 GW.

Based on the full-year shipment guidance, JA Solar is estimated to have had total cell and module shipments in the fourth quarter of 1.35GW to 1.45GW. JA Solar had shipped a record (at the time) 1.36GW in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The company had previously lowered full-year guidance due to a relatively weak third quarter and expectations that the fourth quarter would also be weaker than anticipated.

With fourth quarter shipment figures inline with the prior year quarter, revenue levels are expected to be significantly lower, due primarily to around a 35% industry-wide module ASP decline in 2016, with a 25% decline seen in the second half of the year.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö LONGi changes name

Leading integrated monocrystalline PV manufacturer Xi'an LONGi Silicon Materials has officially changed its name in China.

The new full company name is LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., dropping the traditional location name where the company is headquartered as well as the familiar ¡®Silicon Materials¡¯ aspect, which the company was well known for.

Having in recent years acquired solar cell and module manufacturer, LERRi Solar and expanded downstream to build PV power plants, LONGi¡¯s original focus on monocrystalline ingot/wafer production remains an important business unit but does not reflect its more fully-integrated business model that includes both upstream and downstream operations.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Australian trial for solar and storage consumers to profit from grid services

Australian tech company GreenSync is to trial a software-based marketplace where solar rooftop and energy storage consumers can trade their services with the local network operators to earn extra money.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing AU$450,000 funding for GreenSync to test its decentralised energy exchange (deX) project, in what it touts as a world-first for helping homes and businesses to optimise the value they get out of their PV and battery systems. Total project costs will be AU$930,200.

Phil Blythe, founder and CEO of GreenSync, said: ¡°Homes and businesses will be able to monetise their solar and storage assets by essentially renting them to the grid when they¡¯re most needed. deX will revolutionise peak electricity management and drive more effective investment in energy infrastructure,¡±

Australia already has a world-leading rooftop solar market, with high penetration amongst its population, but until now it has had no access to such a marketplace for consumers to trade their systems' services.

Through the potential benefits of the deX model, ARENA hopes to attract more investment in solar and storage, while also making grid services trading the norm for utility operators.

GreenSync is using open-source software and collaborating with other technology businesses and start-ups to develop the deX marketplace. Partners include Reposit Power, Mojo Power, United Energy, ActewAGL, Australian National University, and the ACT and Victorian Governments.

deX was formed through ARENA¡¯s ¡®A-Lab¡¯ initiative in April 2016.

Two Trials

Utility ActewAGL will trial deX with batteries deployed in the ACT Government¡¯s Next Generation Energy Storage Program. It will test how market-integrated batteries can alleviate grid constraints where the network is handling high levels of solar PV.

Another utility, United Energy, will be piloting deX in the lower Mornington Peninsula, where peak summer demand is expected to cause network constraints.

Opposition commits to 50% renewables

In more Australia news, opposition leader Bill Shorten has locked in federal Labor¡¯s commitment to 50% renewable energy by 2030 at an event in Sydney.

However he cited continued policy uncertainty hampering renewables development in the country and confirmed that the Labor part would opt for an Emissions Intensity Scheme (EIS), as its mode of bringing in clean energy to gradually replace coal-fired power.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Facebook selects Affordable Solar to power New Mexico data centre

Facebook has chosen New Mexico-based renewable energy firm Affordable Solar to build 30MW of solar PV for its ¡®Facebook Data Center¡¯ in Los Lunas.

Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), which has already invested nearly US$270 million in solar farms across the state, awarded the US$37 million EPC contract to Affordable Solar. Construction on the first of three 10MW sites will start in mid-2017.

The projects will use ground-mount, single-axis trackers from Array Technologies, a tracker specialist, which is also based in New Mexico. They will contain 115,000 solar panels and create 40 permanent jobs and 120 construction jobs.

Kevin Bassalleck, president of Affordable Solar, said: "It's a continuation of the working relationship we've established with PNM over many years, and we're grateful to have been provided this new opportunity as they deploy more utility-scale solar.¡±

In a similar move last Month, another tech giant Apple partnered Nevada utility NV Energy with plans to use solar to power its Reno data cente. Microsoft has also committed to running its data centres on 50% clean energy sources by 2018.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Catalyst Energy aims to complete 100MW Pakistan solar project this year

Lahore-based firm Catalyst Energy has applied for a generation licence relating to a 100MW solar plant in Pakistan.

The firm had planned to commission the US$156 million project, located at Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park (QASP) at Christian, Punjab, by October this year.

The Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA) confirmed in its latest report that a total of 300MW is already under construction at the QASP.

Catalyst's project will be financed on a non-recourse project finance basis under a 75:25 debt to equity ratio. Out of the budget, a total of US$140 million is expected to go towards EPC costs.

Pakistan¡¯s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) received the latest application from Muhammed Sohail Khan, CEO of Catalyst Energy, which included a development timeline:

. Feasibility study approved - July 2015
. Generation licence resubmission - November 2016
. Upfront tariff approval resubmission - November 2016
. Signing of EPA/IA - December 2016
. Financial Close - December 2016
. Project commissioning date - October 2017

The project has a land allocation of 202 hectares. An interconnection study has been submitted, with expectations for the project to be connected at a voltage of 132kV to the existing network of the power purchaser.

On year one the plant will supply 153GWh to the grid. Taking degradation into account, it will also supply more than 3,500GWh over its 25-year lifetime.

Projects of up to 100MW capacity in Pakistan are eligible for a Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) subsidy, the rates of which were revised last year.

This week a Canadian government entity, the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Pakistani province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to cooperate on up to 1GW of solar energy projects in the region.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö India¡¯s NTPC has commissioned 115MW of Bhadla project so far

India¡¯s largest utility NTPC has completed 115MW out of 260MW of its Bhadla solar plant in the Indian state of Rajasthan, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing.

With this, the installed capacity of NTPC¡¯s solar power projects has hit 475MW. The total installed power capacity of NTPC on standalone basis has become nearly 41.2GW.

This year NTPC is to delve out multiple solar tenders in line with Indian central government policy to push solar over the last two years. As well being the most bankable off-taker for renewable energy projects in India, the firm has also taken on its own PV projects, as is the case at Bhadla.

NTPC, responsible for driving much of the PV allocation in the National Solar Mission (NSM) so far, is expected to tender a total of 5GW over the next three years.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Vivint Solar officially reaches 100,000 serviced customers

Residential solar provider Vivint Solar announced Wednesday that it has surpassed more than 100,000 PV energy systems installed for residential solar customers.

David Bywater, CEO of Vivint Solar, noted: "To reach this landmark achievement in less than six years is a testament to the outstanding work of our entire team. We are proud to offer Americans the potential to save money on their electricity bills and power their homes with clean, renewable energy, and we look forward to bringing these benefits to more customers throughout the country."

Vivint Solar currently serves customers in 15 states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. It also has a presence in Washington D.C.

The company has now installed over 634MW of residential solar energy systems ¡ª the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions reductions from more than 3 million passenger vehicles driven for one year.

Whether it be through power purchase agreements (PPAs), lease, cash purchase options or loans, Vivint offers a number of options for homeowners looking to join a growing residential-solar community.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö JinkoSolar to provide 29.6MW in PV panels for world¡¯s largest solar canopy

PV company JinkoSolar announced Wednesday that it has provided 29.64MW of its high-efficiency solar panels to power the world¡¯s largest solar canopy.

The solar project is being developed at the Donfeng Nissan facility in Guangzhou, China.

The canopy covers an area of 360,000 square metres ¡ª equivalent to the size of 27 football fields. It will shelter over 10,000 finished car products at Dongfeng Nissan, as well as the cars of the facility¡¯s employees.

The installation will produce 28.65 million kWh of electricity per year ¡ª enough to offset the majority of the plant¡¯s annual electricity consumption. As a result, the facility will save an average of US$334,000 annually and cut carbon emissions by 26,425 tonnes.

Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar, said: "Initiatives like this landmark solar canopy at Dongfeng Nissan facility is setting a good example for car makers to harness clean, renewable solar power to operate their facilities in a significantly more energy-efficient and cost-effective way. This decentralized solar project will generate both economic as well as environmental benefits.¡±

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö SunLink to provide ground-mounted racking for 165MW solar portfolio in Florida

SunLink Corporation announced Wednesday that it has been selected by Swinerton Renewable Energy (SRE) to provide its GeoPro fixed tilt solution for a 165MW portfolio of three ground-mounted solar projects in Florida.

Coronal Energy is developing the three projects, which are located on land owned by the US Department of Defense. The three sites stand as part of the Gulf Coast Solar Center Portfolio ¡ª created in cooperation with the US Air Force, US Navy and Gulf Power.

Work on the three sites in Valparaiso, Navarre and Pensacola is already underway ¡ª with construction expected to be completed in the summer of 2017.

SunLink VP Jonathan Eastwood said: ¡°It takes proven, sophisticated engineering excellence and product solutions to support the largest solar projects in the world. Our partners turn to us because we deliver on both counts, and they attest that we shine when it comes to utility-scale solar system optimization and customer service.

¡°Swinerton selected SunLink based on our demonstrated ability to accommodate the many demands associated with complex projects, coupled with our ability to help our partners overcome obstacles and deliver a superior customer experience. Our companies share a commitment to delivering successful, enduring solar projects, and together we¡¯re able to operate more competitively in the market.¡±

George Hershman, senior VP and general manager of Swinerton Renewable Energy, added: ¡°SunLink has been a valuable partner in developing a solution to fit the specific requirements of the Eglin, Saufley and Holley solar projects. We look forward to continued collaboration in the coming months as we work to bring affordable clean energy to Northwest Florida.¡±

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

The Tier 1 solar company ups its projected module and cell shipments projection above guidance figures to 5.1 GW to 5.2 GW, with revenue for the year expected to be around $2.2 billion.

Vertically integrated Chinese solar manufacturer JA Solar has published a pithy preliminary 2016 financial report that suggests raised shipments and strong revenue for the year.

The company expects to have shipped between 5.1 GW to 5.2 GW of solar modules and cells ¨C including those installed in JA Solar¡¯s own downstream projects ¨C in 2016, which is above previous shipments guidance of 4.9 GW to 5 GW announced in Q3, and marks a return to early-year confidence when the firm expected shipments to reach at least 5.2 GW.

Revenue for the year is estimated to be in the range of RMB 15 to 16 billion ($2.2 billion). In the third quarter of 2016, JA Solar¡¯s revenue rose sequentially by 1.2% to reach $624.3 million ¨C a figure that was also 9% up year-over-year.

JA Solar will announce full 2016 financial results on March 16.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Renova surges on Tokyo trading debut

Shares of the Japanese renewables developer ¡ª which has a solar portfolio of 270 MW ¡ª jumped £¤675 ($5.98) to an opening-day closing price of £¤1,425 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange¡¯s (TSE) Mothers board.

In its initial public offering (IPO), Renova offered 1,210,000 common shares at £¤750 per share, with 650,000 of them newly issued.

The company raised £¤907.5 million in its IPO. Daiwa Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities and Mizuho Securities underwrote the offering on the TSE¡¯s secondary market.

Tokyo-based Renova¡¯s operational PV portfolio will rise to 270.1 MW upon completion of a 70 MW project in Karumai, Iwate prefecture, in December 2019.

The company runs a 20.5 MW biomass plant in Akita prefecture and is considering the geothermal market. It is currently developing 110 MW of onshore wind capacity in Japan.

Last May, Renova announced plans to expand its PV portfolio to more than 300 MW, shortly after it was targeted for a £¤1 billion investment by Sumitomo Forestry, which is now its second-biggest shareholder.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

The Chinese inverter manufacturer ships CP2000 Station-S compact central inverters to three 5 MW sub-plants of a 20 MW solar farm in Thailand. Fourth sub-plant completed with Growatt¡¯s string inverter.

China¡¯s Growatt has supplied a range of central and string inverter solutions to a 20 MW solar PV project in Thailand that has been developed by Jetion Solar.

Divided into four sub-plants of 5 MW each, the 20 MW solar farm is three-quarters controlled by Growatt¡¯s CP2000 Station-S compact central inverters, which are 2 MW each in capacity and have been designed to operate to optimal efficiency in hot and humid conditions, such as those found in Thailand.

The fourth and final quarter of the project was completed using a series of Growatt¡¯s 20000TL3-HE string inverters ,which have a fanless design and boast efficiencies of up to 99%. Growatt had previously demonstrated its string inverters¡¯ efficacy at scale last year, when they were installed at a 90 MW solar farm in Phitsanulok, Thailand.

The Thai solar market is proving a happy hunting ground for the Chinese firm. Since entering in 2013, Growatt now has a cumulative capacity of more than 300 MW of inverters installed, the company said. Worldwide, that figure has now surpassed 5 GW.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö ARENA backs deX project to deliver open-source digital marketplace coupling distributed solar-plus-storage and grid services

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $450,000 (US$346,000) towards the Decentralized Energy Exchange (deX) project, which aims to produce an open-source software platform on which grid services can be provided and monetized by distributed battery storage. A combination of Australian utilities, research bodies, and startups are collaborating on the $930,200 ($715,000) deX project.

Australia¡¯s fast-growing distributed battery storage and mature rooftop PV markets could soon get an ARENA-funded boost. The provision of ancillary grid services, such as peak demand reduction and frequency regulation, could be facilitated by an open-source software solution currently being developed under the deX project.

ARENA has tipped funding into deX, which seeks to develop the software required to enable a digital marketplace for grid services, provided by rooftop solar and battery storage arrays on and in Australian homes and businesses.

Melbourne-based energy tech startup GreenSync is leading deX. GreenSync is teaming with Canberra startup Reposit Power, network operators United Energy and ActewAGL, and electricity retailer Mojo Power, to develop the software solution and couple it with distributed battery trials currently underway in Canberra and on Melbourne¡¯s Mornington Peninsula. deX will be deployed at the two pilot projects in June.

¡°We are on the cusp of a profound shift in the electricity market and a turning point in Australia¡¯s energy future,¡± said Phil Blythe, GreenSync founder and CEO. ¡°Imagine a single marketplace where consumers can connect and configure their energy resources, and all of the upstream value generated by these assets are automatically paid into a bank account or digital wallet.¡±

GreenSync and ARENA have not announced whether Blockchain technology will be deployed on deX, although it is being deployed on some similar trials in Australia and elsewhere.

A reference group will be attached to the deX project, to investigate how public policy can enable the rollout of the distributed energy and grid services platform. The group will be formed by representatives from the Australian Capital Territory, and Victorian governments, researchers from the Australian National University, and the Australia¡¯s Energy Market Operator (AEMO), and Energy Consumers Australia.

By taking a collaborative and open-source approach, the deX project could potentially result in an open-source digital trading platform that can be rolled out in various markets free of charge.

¡°Reliability of the energy system and delivering new value streams to consumers are key priorities driving deX,¡± said GreenSync¡¯s Blythe. ¡°Homes and businesses will be able to monetize their solar and storage assets by essentially renting them to the grid when they¡¯re most needed. deX will revolutionize peak electricity management and drive more effective investment in energy infrastructure.¡±

United Energy operates the grid on the Mornington Penninsula, on Melbourne¡¯s southern outskirts. The region is forecast to experience electricity network constraints as the population grows. United Energy will investigate the efficacy of deploying distributed solar and storage, coupled with the deX platform, instead of carrying out grid infrastructure upgrades.

¡°The deX exchange is a step toward localized or ¡°mini-markets¡± on the grid that will optimize value for all parties,¡± said United Energy¡¯s Greg Hannan. ¡°This is key to creating value for energy customers in the grid of the future.¡±

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht explained that deX will open up new revenue streams for homes and businesses with rooftop PV and storage.

¡°Australia has world-leading levels of rooftop solar, however, there¡¯s currently no marketplace for consumers to access the full value of these systems,¡± said Frischknecht. ¡°This could encourage more investment in solar and batteries, supporting the grid, reducing the need for infrastructure investment and ultimately reducing the cost of renewables in Australia.¡±

deX was formed at ARENA¡¯s accelerator A-Lab, which opened April 2016.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Lightsource acquires 469 solar installations in the UK

The British solar developer has purchased 1.32 MW of residential solar PV installations from Ecos Solar Nine as it continues its pivot towards O&M and PV monitoring in the U.K.

Lightsource Renewable Energy, a British solar energy company, has added 1.32 MWp of residential U.K. solar PV capacity to its portfolio following the purchase of 469 installations from Ecos Solar Nine.

In a deal valued at ¡ê2.3 million ($2.87 million), Lightsource has taken the first step towards building a large residential rooftop solar portfolio over the next five years. The firm, which is Europe¡¯s largest solar company in terms of solar capacity deployed, will receive the FIT payments due on each of the rooftop installations, while managing their operations and maintenance (O&M) for the duration of each FIT term.

Lightsource currently has an O&M fleet of around 2 GW in Europe, and is seeking opportunities to add further domestic and commercial rooftop systems to its portfolio this year. Homeowners and businesses in the U.K. that already have a solar system installed can realize a cash lump sum from their existing installations by selling the rights to the FIT to Lightsource.

However, this latest acquisition is a bulk-buy of existing systems, averaging 2.8 kWp per rooftop. Real estate firm Strutt & Parker acted as facilitator in the deal.

¡°This latest portfolio acquisition marks an important step into our continued growth in 2017,¡± said Kareen Boutonnat, Lightsource COO. ¡°We believe that decentralized energy is the future and offers consumers new levels of control, security of supply and value for money.¡±

Boutonnat added that Lightsource has a pipeline of projects lined up for the coming year.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

Key findings of report point to ¡°huge¡± year for large-scale solar in Australia in 2017, with 20 such plants to come online over the next 12 months. Globally, costs have dropped 58% in five years, with the world now sitting on 300 GW of installed PV capacity.

A new report by Australia¡¯s Climate Council talks of a ¡°huge¡± year ahead for the country¡¯s large-scale solar sector, with more than 20 utility-scale solar plants totalling more than 1 GW set to come online in 2017, with a further 3.7 GW of new capacity in the pipeline.

The report, titled State of Solar 2016: Globally and in Australia, was a little conservative in its global cost projections, citing an average solar park price of $110/MWh and price falls of 40-70% by 2040, but generally painted a positive PV picture that tallied with many other leading reports issued in the past six months.

From an Australian perspective, beyond that 3.7 GW pipeline figure another noteworthy number was 20 GW: this is the amount of solar capacity the Climate Council believes will be added in Australia over the next 20 years.

Solar power is now cheaper than retail power prices found in all of Australia¡¯s capital cities, aside from the Australian Capital Territory. Currently, solar in Australia supports 8,000 jobs, with the potential to create 20,000 more by 2030, the report added, and the country now has the equivalent of more than one solar panel per person installed.

Combined, Australia boasts 5.44 GW of installed PV capacity across 1.58 million installations ¨C a figure shaped by rooftop PV penetration that reaches as high as 30% in the states of South Australia and Queensland. For Western Australia, that figure is 24%, with New South Wales and Victoria each at around 15%. On average, the typical Australian solar home has a 5.34 kW system installed.

At utility scale the wheels are beginning to turn. In 2016 the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced AUS$1 billion in funding for 482 MW of PV projects, and a number of multi-megawatt solar farms are due to boost the sector by at least 1 GW this year.

In terms of storage, the Climate Council finds that 6,500 households currently have some sort of distributed storage system installed ¨C a figure that they expect will be tripled in 2017. Looking farther ahead, a combination of falling battery costs, high power prices and changing retail tariffs will be the catalyst for rapid uptake of home battery systems, with the report suggesting that 1.1 million Australian households could have a solar+storage system connected by 2035.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

Target expanded to 50 solar parks, up from previous number of 34. Solar Energy Corporation of India will execute the projects in collaboration with state governments across the country.

The makeup of India¡¯s 100 GW solar goal by 2022 has shifted shape this week following the confirmation by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) that the target for solar park capacity has doubled from 20 GW to 40 GW.

This target capacity increase was first outlined in the new budget at the turn of the year, but the confirmation from government also included further details of how the target is to be reached.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will oversee the development of this goal, working closely with respective state governments to see through project development of ultra-mega solar power plants across the country.

A total of 50 solar parks will now be built between 2019-2020, backed by central government financing of $1.2 billion. Park developers will receive a grant of up to INR 2.5 million (around $37,000) to draw up draft project reports prior to each park¡¯s construction, after which the government will release Central Financial Assistance of up to INR 2 million ($29,800), or 30% of the project and grid connection costs (whichever is lowest), to each developer.

Prior to the CCEA confirmation, India had begun planning or building 34 solar parks across 21 states as it inched slowly towards that earlier 20 GW target. Raj Prabhu, Mercom Capital Group CEO, has previously warned of the difficulties some developers face in bringing their plans to fruition, with many running into difficulties concerning poor and lacking infrastructure in or near identified development sites.

¡°The issues around solar parks are typical to the Indian solar sector,¡± Prabhu said. ¡°Most policies are well-intentioned with top-down goal setting, but the problem usually is on the execution side.¡±

The hope this time is that central government financing will be available a good time in advance, enabling developers and state governments to properly clear any hurdles that may hamper construction plans.

Speaking at a media briefing with the CCEA yesterday, Indian minister for power, coal, mines and new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal said that the decision to double the nation¡¯s solar park capacity will ¡°contribute to long-term energy security of the country¡±.

Pressed on whether foreign manufacturers would be permitted to supply these solar parks, Goyal responded: ¡°I am in continuous dialogue with the manufacturers of solar equipment in India and [¡­] there is now quite a significant interest to set up solar manufacturing in India,¡± Mint reported. ¡°We will shortly bring out a new policy to promote manufacturing of entire solar power generation equipment in India,¡± Goyal added.

Analysis by Mercom Capital Group has found that India currently has 5.2 GW of operational module manufacturing capacity, of which only around 3 GW is ¡°working¡± capacity. The recent budget failed to address local manufacturers¡¯ concerns regarding a lack of subsidy or incentive to develop fabs, and unclear support at state level.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

The EV, battery and now solar company fell into the red in Q4 concurrent with the acquisition of SolarCity, as it begins making batteries at its Gigafactory and prepares for Model 3 roll-out.

Tesla¡¯s quarterly results show more of the roller coaster that has been Tesla Motors, as it builds the world¡¯s largest battery factory, re-invents solar and spearheads the mass-market adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

But despite record EV sales, the acquisition of a financially troubled SolarCity appears to have left a mark on Tesla¡¯s Q4 results. While revenues in the company¡¯s Energy Generation and Storage division rose four-fold to $131 million, margins are much lower than at Tesla¡¯s automotive business, with a 2.7% gross margin ensuring an operating loss for the division.

And while it is hard to tease out from the limited financial figures provided exactly how much of the company¡¯s overall $121 million net loss during the quarter is related to SolarCity, Tesla did note $85 million in solar-related operating expenses.

These are measly figures versus the company¡¯s $2.28 billion in quarterly revenues, Tesla appears to be working to make SolarCity profitable in the short run regardless. During the quarter Tesla/SolarCity more than doubled its portion of leases to 28%, and Tesla also noted in its Q4 shareholder letter that during the transition period of the acquisition, it will ¡°prioritize cash preservation over growth of MW deployed¡±.

However, Tesla/SolarCity still managed to deploy 201 MW of solar during the quarter, an increase over Q3. Tesla¡¯s combined solar and storage division also claims the deployment of 98 megawatt-hours of residential and grid-scale battery storage during the quarter, with the company¡¯s Gigafactory 1 in Reno, Nevada beginning to produce batteries for its PowerPack and PowerWall products.

And while SolarCity may have brought a quarterly loss to Tesla, it also brought $214 million in cash, which helped Tesla increase its cash reserves to $3.39 billion.

Tesla may need a fair amount of that cash. During the quarter the company invested $522 million in manufacturing capacity for its Model 3, its battery Gigafactory and ¡°expanded customer support infrastructure¡±. Before the roll-out of its Model 3, Tesla expects another $2-2.5 billion in capital expenditures.

Model 3 is not the only product Tesla is preparing to roll out, and the company says that its Solar Roof is ¡°on track¡± for H2 2017 deployment.

And as time moves on and SolarCity is integrated into Tesla, the company says that it plans to change tack on its solar strategy. ¡°As this transition progresses, we see a return to growth of MW deployed later this year to help us generate cash and realize cost synergies projected prior to acquisition,¡± noted the shareholder letter.

£¨Feb 23,2017 / pv-magazine.com£©

¡ö Tesla reports major miss on solar installations in Q4 2016

Tesla, Inc reported significantly lower than guided solar installations for the fourth quarter of 2016, after the first quarter of integration of acquired SolarCity.

Tesla reported only 201MW of solar installations in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to previously guided SolarCity expectations of installations reaching 298MW, down from second quarter guidance of between 315MW and 415MW.

Previous full-year guided installations from SolarCity had been in the range of 900MW to 1,000MW. Actual 2016 installations failed to meet the lower revised figure set in the third quarter of 900MW. Instead, total 2016 solar installs were around 803MW.

Tesla noted in its financial release that it planned ¡®to prioritize cash preservation over growth of MW deployed,¡¯ a clear indication of the cash burn impact on the company from the SolarCity acquisition.

The company said that it was in a transition mode for the solar segment of the business, named ¡®Advanced Sustainable Energy.¡¯ The plan includes the reduction in customer acquisition costs by cutting advertising spending, selling solar products in Tesla stores, and shifting from leasing to selling solar energy systems, according to Tesla, echoing the claimed cost synergies touted prior to the SolarCity acquisition.

Tesla also noted that despite the significant curtailment in solar installations instigated in the fourth quarter, its solar operations added US$77 million of cash during the six weeks following the close of the acquisition, due to 28% of solar capacity deployed during the fourth quarter sold rather than leased. This was up from only 13% in the previous quarter, under SolarCity.

References to MW of solar energy generation deployed and the mix of solar systems that were sold or leased include the full fourth quarter figures, while revenue was only recognised from the close of the acquisition on November 21 to December 31, 2016, according to Tesla.

Tesla reported ¡®energy generation and storage revenue¡¯ in the fourth quarter of 2016 of US$131.3 million, up from US$23.3 million in the third quarter.

The company also renamed the former SolarCity PV manufacturing plant in Buffalo, New York State as Gigafactory 2. Gigafactory 1, based in Nevada is home to its JV battery plant with Panasonic.

Gigafactory 2 is also the soon to be home of production of solar cells and PV modules produced by Panasonic for Tesla, notably its new roof tile system. Tesla said that the solar roof launch would happen in the second half of 2017. The company had previously noted that Panasonic planned to be operating at the production plant in the summer of 2017.

Despite the forced curtailment of solar installations in the fourth quarter, Tesla retained its position as the largest US residential and commercial solar installer in 2016.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö AUO installs largest rooftop solar project in Tainan, Taiwan

Vertically-integrated solar PV manufacturer Au Optronics (AUO) has completed a 3.87MW rooftop solar plant in Taiwan, the largest on a high-tech fab in the southwest city of Tainan.

The project uses a special mounting rack and is designed to withstand strong winds and avoid water leaks from the rooftop, which is critical given the island¡¯s susceptibility to heavy typhoons.

The project at Tainan Technology Industrial Park includes 14,880 modules with a working area of 3.5 hectares, although the actual system covers a much smaller area. Daily generation will be 14GWh, enough for 1,410 households.

Over the past few years, AUO has accelerated the deployment of its solar project business. The company not only built solar power plants on the rooftops of its own fabs, but also assisted its group companies and customers in developing green energy. It has worked on Taiwan¡¯s government owned buildings, communities and factories. As of now, there are a total of 179 projects completed in Taiwan, with a total capacity of 66MW.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Indiana solar advocates bash anti-net metering bill

Indiana is in the midst of passing SB 309 ¨C a bill that would significantly reduce state solar incentives and create an exclusive rate class for solar users. It cleared the Senate Committee last week and now the state¡¯s solar supporters are voicing their disdain.

The bill was amended after its initial requirement stipulated solar consumers would sell all energy produced to the state utility at the wholesale rate and then purchase it back at the higher retail rate. The new bill reads that anyone who installed a PV system after June but before 2022 would still be eligible for retail net metering until 2032 but anyone after the 2022 cut-off point would only receive a lower rate of compensation for their power.

Critics have expressed fears that the bill would put a premature end to Indiana¡¯s emerging solar market, which installed 174MW as of 2015 according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Backlash

The Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance penned an open letter to senator Jim Merrit, chair of the Senate Utilities Committee which passed the bill last week, arguing that the bill is causing ¡°serious misrepresentations of Indiana¡¯s current net metering rule¡±.

The Alliance also asserted that the arguments of senator Brandt Herschman - the representative who proposed the bill - were erroneous and wrongly influenced committee voting:

Laura Ann Arnold, president of the Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance

¡°Some of [Herschman¡¯s] misstatements are so egregious we think they may have unfairly influenced Thursday¡¯s committee vote. For this reason, we strongly urge the committee not to move forward on its report on SB 309 until these errors can be rectified. We also believe committee members should have a chance to change their vote after they receive the correct information.

¡°We know your committee members want to be as well informed as possible as they work to sort through SB 309, and that they also value their credibility with the public. In that spirit, we implore you to reconvene the committee so this critical misinformation can be brought to light.¡±
Sanya Carley and David Konisky, professors of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University

¡°The proposed modifications to the state¡¯s net energy metering program are based on a lack of evidence and faulty logic, and would severely undermine the future of solar power in the state. Indiana legislators should oppose this bill.

Senate Bill 309 proposes drastic changes. This bill would change the rate of reimbursement for solar generation from a retail rate to a wholesale rate. The difference between the two is, depending on location and other factors, roughly a multiple of two to three.

This change would reduce people¡¯s economic incentives to install solar. The bill also proposes to cap the net metering program to 1 percent of an electricity supplier¡¯s most recent summer peak load, and eliminate net metering altogether in 2027. Collectively, these changes would unnecessarily stunt the development of this clean energy source.¡±
Don Brown, CEO of LifeOmic and Founder of Interactive Intelligence

¡°I¡¯m sitting here shaking my head after reading about Republican Brandt Hershman¡¯s proposal to phase out net metering for solar power.

Our state should be taking steps to encourage the adoption of solar power, not seeking to give control to large utilities. Use of solar power by individuals and businesses not only helps the environment, it makes us more resilient to natural disasters and cyber attacks.

Giving control to large utilities is against the interest of consumers and sends yet another message that Indiana is a technology backwater. It makes it harder for people like me to build businesses and attract talent here. Senate Bill 309 takes us in exactly the wrong direction.¡±
William R. Arthur, West Lafayette-based consumer

¡°[SB 309] is highly unfavourable to the homeowner, basically eliminating most of the solar incentive, and, thus, is a severe blow to the solar industry. It also limits the power of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which is in one sense a public watchdog, relative to the locally monopolistic utility.

As consumers, we should urge our lawmakers to consider these points and come up with a better solution than SB 309."

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö SolarCity expands into Northern Virginia

Leading residential installer SolarCity is extending its solar services and 10-year loan programme into Northern Virginia.

Virginia might be a surprising choice for SolarCity as the cost of electricity is on average low compared to other states, as well as the absence of any incentives for solar. As a residential installer who charges fees for the electricity generated by a PV system, Virginia might be thought to offer a smaller profit margin than states with higher retail electricity rates such as California, New York and Hawaii etc.

But with SolarCity now active in Virginia there is scope for the state¡¯s residential segment to gain momentum and for solar advocates to have access to a strong local ally.

Tesla, which acquired SolarCity in November, is also active in Virginia with two retail stores in the state.

¡°SolarCity entering the Virginia market is good news for everyone interested in expanding clean energy choices for Virginians,¡± Dana Sleeper, executive director of the regional trade association told Southeast Energy News.

This latest expansion means SolarCity is now active in 22 states, following recent moves into South Carolina and Florida.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Construction starts on Phase-I of Australia¡¯s largest PV project

Construction has started on the first phase of what will be Australia¡¯s largest solar plant, just off the back of reaching financial closure.

Genex¡¯s 50MW Kidston solar farm in Queensland is one of 12 new solar farms to be built through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency¡¯s (ARENA) large-scale solar round.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknech said: ¡°Almost all of Australia¡¯s current large-scale capacity has been built with ARENA support ¨C 211MW of a total 241MW.

¡°Our competitive large-scale solar round has further accelerated the commercialisation of the sector ¨C our AU$92 million (US$7o.6 million) support has unlocked a billion (AU$) dollars of renewable energy investment and is helping to drive down costs even more.¡±

Genex executive director Simon Kidston said the location of the project would add stability to the local network in Northern Queensland ¨C adding: ¡°It will reduce the necessity for importing electricity from neighbouring areas, providing a benefit to the entire network.¡±

There are plans for a 270MW second phase of the project.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö California city mandates solar or mitigation fee for all new-builds

Lancaster, a charter city in northern Los Angeles, has passed an ordinance that requires new-build homes to hit net energy standards by having rooftop arrays or paying a mitigation fee.

Lancaster initially began requiring solar panels on the roofs of new houses in 2014, with San Francisco following suit last year. This new Zero Net Energy (ZNE) ordinance that was passed last week mandates any rooftop array on new-builds to contain 2 watts per square foot of the property, beginning this year.

¡°The City of Lancaster has always prided itself on being a City of firsts ¨C we continue to do so as we pave the way in the sustainable energy sphere,¡± said mayor Rex Parris. ¡°The Zero Net Energy Home Ordinance expands upon Lancaster¡¯s residential solar ordinance so that new homes built in Lancaster now will not only be environmentally friendly, but have a zero net impact on our environment, while reducing energy costs for the homeowners. This is a great stride in Lancaster¡¯s journey to become a Zero Net City.¡±

Builders will have three options available to comply with the city¡¯s Zero Net Energy requirement: a solar component, mitigation fees in lieu of a solar component, or a combination of both:

1.Installing a solar component: with this option, the size of the system is based on the size of each home constructed; creating a zero-balance energy bill for the homeowner

2.Pay a ZNE mitigation/in lieu fee: this fee is equal to US$1.40 per square foot of property of a new-build. With this option the homeowner receives credits for the new ZNE home rate, providing them with a 50% discount on the energy generation portion of their bill for 20 years

3.The third choice is a combination of the two options above; instead of the size of the solar installation being determined by the square footage of the home, builders can install a 2kW solar system on each new home of 1,000 square feet or less. For larger homes, the builder then pays a ZNE mitigation/in lieu fee of US$1.40 for the remaining square footage of the home. As with option two, the homeowner will receive the LCE ZNE Home Rate ¨C a 50% discount on their generation rate for the next 20 years.

Lancaster must complete a feasibly study and obtain final approval from the California Energy Commission (CEC) before the ordinance can take effect. The feasibility study is currently underway is expected to be completed by April 2017 after which it will be reviewed by the CEC ¨C which is typically a 3-6 month process.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö New York sees 800% surge in solar

New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that state-supported solar power has increased nearly 800% over the last five years.

From December 2011 to December 2016, New York solar has leveraged nearly US$1.5 billion in private investment, and has been a key driver of the state¡¯s 50% by 2030 renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS).

¡°New York is a national leader in clean energy, and the tremendous growth of the solar industry across this state demonstrates this renewable technology¡¯s increased accessibility and affordability for residents and businesses," Cuomo said. "Our investments in this clean energy resource create jobs, reduce carbon emissions, support economic growth, and help build a cleaner, greener New York for all."

According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), state solar grew 795% over the last five years; installing 64,936 projects representing 744MW at the end of 2016, compared with 9,079 through the end of 2011. These projects collectively produced enough clean energy to power more than 121,000 homes.

Drivers

NYSERDA attributes this significant growth to a combination of factors, including the NY-Sun Megawatt Block Incentive programme that established incentives based on a MW block structure. This allocates MW targets to specific regions of the state and breaks those MW targets into blocks to which incentives are assigned awards.

Furthermore, Cuomo made a US$1 billion investment commitment to NY-Sun in 2014 with the aim to add more than 3GW of installed solar across New York by 2023. This programme also spurred solar growth in the state by stimulating the marketplace and increasing the number of solar systems in state.

Also to thank are the worldwide decline in solar equipment costs and the growth in the number of installer businesses marketing solar directly to consumers. Governor Cuomo¡¯s ¡®Reforming the Energy Vision¡¯ (REV) strategy also propelled solar growth in New York; by actively spurring clean energy innovation and bringing new investment into the state.

¡°Under Governor Cuomo¡¯s nation-leading Reforming the Energy Vision strategy, solar power is integral to driving the State¡¯s clean energy economy while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions,¡± said Richard Kauffman, chairman of Energy and Finance for New York. ¡°Clean, renewable energy will help the State meet its aggressive energy goals, make electricity more affordable for New Yorkers and bring about a more resilient and versatile energy system.¡±

Breakdown

The largest percentage increase in solar power was located in the Mohawk Valley, followed by the Finger Lakes Region, Central New York and Southern Tier. Long Island was home to more solar installations than anywhere else in the state with a total of 38,000 projects ¨C 28,000 of which were installed over the last five years. It was also the first region to meet the state¡¯s megawatt block target for the residential market. The Mid-Hudson Valley and Capital Region followed Long Island for installation figures.

In addition to the new solar installations over the last five years, more than 886MW of additional solar power was under development in the State as of the end of last year, enough to power more than 150,000 homes.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö India finally approves second 20GW solar parks plan

India¡¯s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given the go ahead for the second phase of India¡¯s mega-scale solar park plans to bring the total to 40GW up from 20GW.

The enhanced capacity was first touted back in June last year and was expected to take just two months for final approval, but it faced certain delays. However, finance minister Arun Jaitley did notify that the expansion would be approved in the latest India budget earlier this month.

The new 20GW will include a total of 50 solar parks each of 500MW capacity or more, which would actually suggest rather more than 20GW overall. However, smaller parks in the Himalayan and other hilly States, where land acquisition could be troublesome, will also be considered under the scheme.

The CCEA approval came following demand from various states to expand the popular solar park scheme. Foreign developers have shown particular interest in the tenders for solar within parks because all transmission and land acquisition challenges are handled by the central government, which will also be investing INR81 billion (US$1.2 billion) in this second phase.

The Indian government has cited the high potential for employment under the scheme in both solar and adjacent industries such as glass, metals and heavy industrial equipment. It also said the scheme makes use of uncultivable land.

Solar Energy Corporation India (SECI) will manage the scheme under the direction of the Ministry of New and renewable Energy (MNRE).

To date, 34 solar parks of aggregate capacity 20GW have been approved. They have been largely responsbile for consistently driving tariffs down across India although natural conditions and tender parameters do differ between the states.

A plan for 'Solar Zones' was also sanctioned last July, but this has yet to see any real movement.

VGF minimum changes
In other news, MNRE has also reduced the minimum project size eligible for viability gap funding (VGF) in special category states and union territories from 10MW to 5MW. The VGF is used in solar tenders run by SECI.

In New Delhi, PV Tech interviewed Ashish Khanna, executive director and CEO, Tata Power Solar, for a discussion on solar parks, which will be published in the coming days.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö ROUND UP: Phoenix Solar installs PV array atop IKEA store, 2MW PV project inaugurated in Taipei

Phoenix Solar to develop 1MW rooftop system on IKEA in Singapore

Singapore¡¯s Phoenix Solar has received a contract from IKEA Southeast Asia to design and develop a 1MW solar system on the roof of IKEA Tampines.

The project is expected to produce 1.3 million kWh annually ¨C enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 283 four-room HDB flats. IKEA expects to cut down on an estimated US$2.4 million from the store¡¯s electrical bills over the next ten years.

Installation of the solar panels begins at IKEA Tampines in March, with the project expected to be completed in July 2017.

Christian Rojkjaer, managing director of IKEA Southeast Asia, said: "This project supports a core sustainability goal for our company: to generate and consume renewable energy. When we can reduce climate impact while saving long-term operational costs, it¡¯s an easy business decision. At the same time, we contribute in a meaningful way to the development of renewable energy in Southeast Asia.¡±

SunPower to develop community-solar portfolio in California

SunPower Corp. and the Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD) announced Tuesday that they will begin construction on SunPower Helix solar systems at 24 school sites in the El Cajon region of San Diego County.

The solar installations, which will have a total generation capacity of 4.6 megawatts, will primarily include carports, as well as a few rooftop systems, and will be operational by the end of 2017.

Scott Buxbaum, CVUSD assistant superintendent of business services, said: "With CVUSD's solar investment, we continue to enrich both our schools and our communities by generating clean, renewable energy which will help save on electricity costs and improve our local environment. After reviewing qualifications and proposals from six firms, we are very pleased to have selected SunPower's proposal as the best value to the District. Their team has been great to work with."

In order to finance a large portion of the project, the District netted US Department of Treasury clean renewable energy bonds (CREBs).

Nam Nguyen, SunPower senior vice president, acknowledged: "We're pleased to welcome CVUSD to a growing number of school districts across the country that are seeing the economic and environmental value that reliable solar energy solutions from SunPower can generate. Innovative financing options like CREBs and local bonds can accelerate the return on a solar project, making it easy for schools to reinvest savings into their classrooms."

2MW PV project completed in Taipei

Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je was on hand last Friday, February 17, for the inauguration of the 2MW Taipei Energy Hill project.

Ko noted that the installation used to be on a landfill site stretching for three hectares. The project, which is comprised of 8,000 solar panels, began construction in September 2016. The site was completed and began producing power on January 10. As of Feb. 17, the facility has generated 153,000 kWh of solar power.

Ko added that the city of Taipei and Tatung Corporation invested in the installation, while energy produced at the site will be sold to Taipower.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Thai Solar Energy to develop 154.9MW PV project in Miyagi prefecture, Japan

In a letter to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Thai Solar Energy announced that it has acquired the rights to construct and own a 154.9MW solar project in Onikobe, Miyagi prefecture, Japan.

As part of the deal, Thai Solar will hold a 60% stake in the new project, while Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction will hold on to the remaining portion of the project.

The installation, which will be developed over 332.8 hectares of land, will require an investment of US$539 million on the part of Thai Solar Energy.

The 154MW project will require an investment of US$539 from Thai Solar Energy. Image: Portland General Electric / Flickr

In addition to the current acquisition, both Thai Solar and Sino-Thai will acquire the companies of PurpleSol and SolarOne in order to complete the project.

PurpleSol has obtained certification for power distribution, as granted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ¡ª along with other required and necessary licenses including a deal regarding grid connection with electricity utility providers.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Yingli to provide over 50MW of PV panels for solar projects in Japan

Solar panel manufacturer Yingli Green Energy announced Tuesday that it has signed off on a 50.6MW solar panel supply agreement with Spanish PV developer X-ELIO.

As part of the deal, Yingli will provide solar panels for two Japanese PV projects. The first project, Hayato, will feature 52,650 YL320P-35b multi-crystalline solar panels and will have a capacity of 16.9MW. The second plant, S-13, will be comprised of over 127,000 YL265P-29b multi-crystalline solar panels and will have a capacity of 33.7MW.

The Hayato project is expected to produce 19,700 MWh of clean electricity annually, with grid interconnection expected in December 2017. The S-13 project is expected to generate 39,400 MWh of electricity per year and will be connected to the grid in October 2017.

Fernando Calisalvo, managing director of Yingli Spain, said: "This agreement is a solid provement of our strong partnership, in the long term with the key developers and operators, who rely on the quality and comprehensive service provided by Yingli. We aim to keep improving and enhance even further our collaboration with X-ELIO.¡±

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-tech.org£©

¡ö Dai-Ichi Life, Japan Post Insurance start jointly financing PV

The two insurance firms have already provided £¤10 billion ($88.4 million) in project financing for an undisclosed solar project near Tokyo and another in the Tohoku region, on the northern end of the island of Honshu.

¡°The combined amount invested by Japan Post Insurance and Dai-ichi Life accounted for over half of the overall funds procured for each project, making them principal investors in those projects,¡± Dai-Ichi Life said in an online statement.

It said it expects ¡°steady cash flow¡± from the projects over the next 20 years.

The Tokyo-based insurer has invested in several Japanese solar projects over the years. In August 2014, it lent £¤1 billion to back the completion of a 10 MW array north of Tokyo in Izumizaki, Fukushima prefecture.

In 2015, Dai-Ichi Life and its partners also jointly invested an undisclosed sum in an 8.6 MW solar project in the abandoned town of Odaka, just inside Japan¡¯s nuclear exclusion zone in Fukushima prefecture.

And in early January of this year, the Dai-ichi Life Holdings group jumped into offshore wind finance by backing a $31 million investment in an undisclosed wind farm in Germany.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö First Solar secures financing for 59.5 MW in Japan

Mizuho Bank arranged the £¤27 billion ($240 million) syndicated loan for the array in Ishikawa prefecture.

Upon completion in late 2018, the Ishikawa Sogo project is expected to meet the annual electricity needs of roughly 17,500 homes.

¡°The availability of project debt financing will further bolster utility-scale solar development to meet the unique energy needs in Japan,¡± said Arizona-based First Solar.

First Solar claims the non-recourse project debt financing arrangement underscores its expertise with the development, operation and maintenance of utility-scale PV plants in the country.

In late 2015, the the thin-film manufacturer ¡ª which reported disappointing revenue of $480 million in the fourth quarter ¡ª secured a a low interest, £¤4 billion construction loan facility from Mizuho.

The Japanese financial group has played a key role in financing projects in Japan over the years, most notably with Kyocera¡¯s 70 MW Nanatsujima plant in Kagoshima prefecture, which went online in late 2013.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö New York solar grows 795% in five years

The Empire State¡¯s solar industry has attracted nearly $1.5 billion in private investment, putting its goal of producing 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 in reach.

It¡¯s been said that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. If that¡¯s true, then solar has made it, with a flare typically seen only in the bright lights of Broadway.

After letting its neighbor New Jersey steal the solar spotlight from it for years, New York is now back in the game in a significant way, growing 795% in the past five years, according to figures released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo¡¯s office.

But that¡¯s not all: The growth of the solar industry has also attracted nearly $1.5 billion in private investment, spurring growth in seven regions of the state of more than 1,000%.

Cuomo has repeated made it clear that growing the state¡¯s solar industry is vital to reaching his Clean-Energy-Standard goal of supplying 50% of the state¡¯s electricity from renewables by 2030.

¡°The tremendous growth of the solar industry across this state demonstrate its increased accessibility and affordability for residents and businesses,¡± Cuomo said. ¡°Our investments in this clean energy resource create jobs, reduce carbon emissions, support economic growth, and help build a cleaner, greener New York for all.¡±

Support from various groups spurred the remarkable growth. Cuomo singled out the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York Power Authority, the Long Island Power Authority and other private and public sector actors as the most important contributors to the growth.

There were 64,926 projects were installed through the end of 2016, compared with 8,989 through the end of 2011. State-supported projects total accounted for 744 MW of the increase, which would power more than 121,000 average homes.

The largest percentage increase in solar power was in the Mohawk Valley, followed by the Finger Lakes Region, Central New York and the Southern Tier. Long Island has more installations than any other region of the state, followed by the Mid-Hudson Valley and Capital Region.

In 2014, Governor Cuomo committed early $1 billion to NY-Sun to build the state¡¯s solar market over 10 years.

Frank Andorka has been writing professionally for nearly 29 years and spent nearly 20 years in trade publications. He was the founding editor of Solar Power World and has covered all aspects of the solar industry from policy to panels and everything in between.
(More articles from Frank Andorka frank.andorka@pv-magazine.com)

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö Kong Sun forecasts 2016 net profit

The solar investment group will likely swing back to the black from a net loss of roughly 98.9 million yuan ($14.4 million) in the 12 months to December 31, 2015.

The outlook is based on a preliminary review of unaudited management accounts for the 2016 calendar year, Kong Sung Holdings said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Sales of electricity generated by its PV assets likely hit 561 million yuan in 2016, from 118 million yuan a year earlier.

Kong Sun ¡ª which had roughly 1.15 GW of cumulative installed solar capacity in China by the end of December ¡ª also benefited from the disposal of affiliated companies, for a total 109 million yuan one-off gain.

However, the group expects a 67.3% year-on-year decline in its overall turnover for the twelve months to the end of December, underscoring its shifting focus from sales of solar products to investment in higher-margin electricity sales.

It has yet to finalize its annual results for 2016.

Kong Sun jumped from property investment to PV in 2014, after raising roughly HK$2.3bn ($296.4 million) in a share placement.

The group, which primarily uses financial leasing to raise money for projects, finalized a 5 billion yuan financing deal in November with China Kangfu International Leasing.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ï Leclanch¨¦ storage pipeline grows to 450 MWh as 2016 revenue rises 56%

The Swiss vertically integrated storage solutions company reports 2016 annual revenues of $27.6 million and 2017 order backlog of 85 MWh of new utility-scale storage projects.

Leclanch¨¦, the Swiss energy storage specialist, has posted solid 2016 financial results that reveal a healthy order backlog and revenue increase of 56% year-on-year.

Revenues of CHF 28 million ($27.6 million) for last year were in line with previous guidance issued, and mark the second consecutive year of above-market growth for the company, which specializes in developing lithium-based storage solutions.

Leclanch¨¦ ended 2016 with 50 MW/22 MWh of storage projects under construction, and will bring an expected 85 MWh of projects online this year. The company has also struck a deal with a European utility to build a 33 MWh storage project in Germany.

Collected together, Leclanch¨¦¡¯s current pipeline of awarded and expected projects has grown to 450 MWh, and guidance shows that the firm expects a breakeven EBITDA profitability and more than 100 MWh of storage production in 2018.

¡°This second consecutive year of above-market growth has been possible through successful ramping up of our execution capability,¡± said Leclanch¨¦ S CEO Anil Srivastava. ¡°We have a solid base for delivering yet another year of growth in 2017. We are now focused on project financing and securing new projects for 2018 and beyond.¡±

The CEO added that the firm¡¯s core fundamentals this year will be improving traction and conversion across its pipeline. A funding plan is already in place that will debt-finance future projects ¨C including a 12 MWh IESO storage project in Toronto, Canada, and the 10 MWh Marengo project in the Chicago area of the U.S.

The firm is also making strides in China, where it is in ¡°advanced discussions¡± with several parties with a view to developing strategic partnerships that will open up the country¡¯s estimated $100 billion e-transport market. A reported partnership with Narada Power, however, remains on hold due to changing local conditions in China, the firm said.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö World Bank mandates 500 MW of new solar capacity for Zambia

Zambian government signs agreement for the second tranche of the World Bank¡¯s Scaling Solar program, which will support the construction of up to four solar PV plants in the country.

Southern African nation Zambia has this week received the greenlight from the World Bank to receive funding and support for the development of 500 MW of new solar PV capacity.

Having last year partnered with the World Bank¡¯s Scaling Solar program for the development of 50 MW of solar, this second mandate is set to accelerate the country¡¯s renewable energy aims. Last year¡¯s tender attracted a tariff of $0.0602/kWh, which is a non-indexed tariff equivalent over the contract life to a price as low as $0.047/kWh. The new mandate will begin with an initial procurement round of 200 MW, and in March the Request for Qualifications for round two will be released.

Zambia¡¯s government and winning developers are currently finalizing their agreements, and further details of where and when the solar projects will be built is expected in May. The first winning bidder was approved by the World Bank on Monday, and will receive a financial package and further guarantees via the Scaling Solar program. The second winner is to be reviewed in the coming weeks.

Leading the mandate is the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Zambia, which is to work closely with the World Bank and the Ministry of Energy to oversee the projects, which are likely to take the form of up to four individual large-scale solar parks ranging from 50 MW to 100 MW in size.

For Zambia, the opportunity to develop renewable energy capacity is being grasped with gusto. The landlocked nation regularly suffers from power outages that can last for up to ten hours a day, and one in five people living in the country currently has no access to electricity.

¡°The partnership between Scaling Solar and IDC Zambia is successfully delivering the affordable renewable energy needed to ease the country¡¯s ongoing energy crisis,¡± said IFC Director of Eastern and Southern Africa, Oumar Seydi. ¡°Access to electricity is vital for achieving development goals. In Zambia, Scaling Solar has helped create a market that will make it easier for the public and private sectors to work together to meet the country¡¯s energy needs and expand opportunities for families and businesses.¡±

Scaling Solar projects are currently active in four countries ¨C Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia and Madagascar ¨C with more than 1.2 GW of solar capacity being tendered. The World Bank has confirmed that it will roll-out the scheme to other regions, namely the Middle East and Asia, in the coming months.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö pv magazine & partners join forces with Hannover Messe

Along with initiative partners Huawei, sonnen, Suntech, S.A.G, innogy and First Solar, pv magazine will be exhibiting as part of the Integrated Energy Plaza at the 2017 Hannover Messe. The Solar Premium exhibition space will herald solar PV¡¯s arrival as a major energy player at the iconic industrial trade show.

Hannover Messe is the largest industry trade fair in the world. Since its beginning in 1947, the exhibition has enjoyed a close relationship with the energy industry, growing in recent years into the world¡¯s leading trade fair for integrated energy systems.

As a result of rapidly increasing interest in solar PV in recent years, the exhibition was looking for opportunities to highlight solar alongside other energy technologies, and pv magazine was there to help: ¡°We were pleased to hear that the interest in solar and renewables has grown so much over the past few years,¡± says CSO Andrea Jeremias. ¡°Highly motivated to foster this trend, we developed the idea of a joint booth called Solar Premium.¡±

¡°Over the past three years more than 50% of the people who took part in our questionnaires were attending Hannover Messe because of renewable energy technology,¡± Hannover Messe¡¯s Global Director Benjamin Low told pv magazine. ¡°Things like electric mobility, smart grids and energy services have increased in terms of what people are looking for. To give an idea of the scope, last year we had 96,000 visitors to Hannover Messe energy.¡±

The uptick in interest for renewables, and Hannover Messe¡¯s desire to showcase the solar industry at its 2017 event, demonstrates that solar is a serious player in the global energy industry.

Working with Hannover Messe, pv magazine has developed the the Solar Premium Booth, which will consist of a joint exhibition presence with our partners, and a series of networking events. The booth will showcase these major players in the solar industry and allow them to present their concepts for the future of energy to the largest industry trade show of its kind.

The Solar Premium Booth will be a fixture at the Integrated Energy Plaza for the duration of Hannover Messe 2017, which runs from April 24-28.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö JinkoSolar supplies 30 MW to Dongfeng Nissan in China

The Chinese PV giant claims the project will be ¡°the world¡¯s largest solar canopy.¡±

The 29.64 MW array will cover a 360,000-sqm facility owned by Dongfeng Nissan in Guangzhou.

The canopy will provide shelter for 10,000 finished car parts, as well as staff vehicles.

¡°This decentralized solar project will generate both economic as well as environmental benefits,¡± Kangping Chen, chief executive of JinkoSolar, said in an online statement.

The array is expected to generate 28.65 million kWh of electricity per year, which will be enough to cover most of the facility¡¯s usage.

JinkoSolar estimates that the project will contribute to annual electricity cost savings of roughly 2.3 million yuan ($334,350).

The Tier-1 panel supplier posted revenue of $855 million in the third quarter, as it topped the global PV industry with 1.6 GW of module shipments.

The vertically integrated group has secured a number of major deals in the US market in recent months, including a 140 MW order for a project near Minneapolis and a 560 MW master module supply agreement with Consolidated Edison Development.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©

¡ö First Solar goes all in on Series 6

The company took a significant hit in its Q4 results due to restructuring and impairments, as it shuts down lines and orders tools for the transition to its Series 6 modules.

First Solar is one of the oldest and largest PV makers in the industry, and is currently beginning what what may be the most significant transition in its history: the switch to its large-format Series 6 modules.

This was the over-riding theme in the company¡¯s Q4 results, which show steady technology progress but difficult financials. First Solar¡¯s revenues fell in half year-over-year to only $480 million, the lowest level in years.

More significantly, the company reported a whopping $729 million in restructuring and asset impairments, which gave it a net loss of $765 million. It is unclear exactly what the breakdown of these impairments are, however during the quarter First Solar shut down four lines at its Ohio factory in preparation for the switch to Series 6, and additionally wrote down its Barilla Project in Texas.

Barilla had been selling power on a merchant basis in the ERCOT market, as the only project known to pv magazine staff to sell power without a contract outside of Latin America. However, this business model gamble does not appear to have been successful, and First Solar blamed falling power prices for a lack of profitability of Barilla.

First Solar had a number of other difficulties during the quarter, including abandoning its Tribal Solar project in California, citing difficulties with the Native American tribe that initially approved the project on its land and then withdrew under new leadership, leading to the scrapping of the PPA. Finally due to timing of project sales First Solar was not able to recognize revenue on a number of U.S. projects which it completed during the quarter.

First Solar cites the timing of project completion as the primary culprit behind its failure to hit its 2016 financial goals, as the company¡¯s sales of $3 billion came in well below its target of $3.9 to $4.1 billion. And while the full year margin of -17% and net loss of $358 million are likewise unfortunate, the company still closed with roughly $2 billion in cash.

On the operating side, things look quite strong. First Solar finished Q4 with a fleet average module efficiency of 16.6%, a 50 basis point improvement over a year prior, with its best line finishing the year at 16.9%. The company notes that this provides a strong basis for its Series 6, which is based on the same technology as its current Series 4.

¡°We are not reinventing the core technology behind series 6, but increasing the form factor,¡± noted CEO Mark Widmar on the call. For Series 6 the company is targeting 18% efficiency, based on more available area with its form factor, changes to the electrical design of the module, and improvements through the use of tools.

This change is already underway. During Q4 First Solar shut down its first lines at its factory in the U.S. state of Ohio, and began major tool orders for Series 6 after the beginning of 2017. The company intends to being installing these tools during the third quarter, and plans to begin producing modules in the second quarter of 2018.

The timeline for First Solar¡¯s Malaysia factory represents a slight staggering from Ohio. First Solar expects to stop production at 8 lines in Malaysia during Q2 2017, and begin ordering tools during the same quarter, for a production start during Q3-Q4 of 2018. Between these two factories, this should result in over 2 GW of annualized Series 6 production at both factories by the end of 2018.

Along with this shift to larger-format modules, First Solar is scaling back its development and construction activities to focus on manufacturing. In the future the company expects to build only 1 GW of PV plants annually through its systems business, and dedicate another 2.5 GW of production to module-only sales.

Q4 may have provided the beginning of what that will look like. Systems revenue fell to less than half of First Solar¡¯s earnings during the quarter, down from around 3/4 over the full year 2015. The company appears bullish about its position to move into 2017 and its Series 6 venture, with Chief Financial Officer Alexander Bradley stating that the company is exiting the year ¡°with as strong a balance sheet and cash position as we¡¯ve ever had¡±.

First Solar¡¯s 2017 guidance is a mixed bag. The company has upped its revenue forecast to $2.8-2.9 billion, perhaps reflecting revenue recognition on projects pushed back, but expects to just about break even with -$40 to $25 million in operating income, and decreased its operating cash flow to $250-350 million.

The biggest bet is on how the transition to Series 6 will proceed. First Solar CEO Widmar appears confident, noting that the company will rely on the experience of its tool suppliers. ¡°In some cases we have been working with these companies for nearly a decade,¡± notes Widmar. And while he acknowledges that manufacturing risk, including throughput and yield, could affect the Series 6 launch, ¡°The risk of the core technology is low.

£¨Feb 22,2017 / pv-magazine.com.org£©