[ April 2018 ]¡¡¡¡¡¡

¡ö JA Solar¡¯s solar module shipments reach record 7,143.1MW in 2017

(April 30, 2018/pv-tech.org)

¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member JA Solar has reported record module shipments in 2017, increasing over 55%, while revenue increased over 25%.

The SMSL reported total shipments 7.6GW, including 127.4 MW of modules to its downstream projects business. External shipments were 7.5GW, which represented an increase of 52.4% from 4.9GW in 2016. Module shipments were 7,143.1MW, up from 4,606MW, a 55% increase.

JA Solar¡¯s external product shipments (cells and modules) were led by China, accounting for 48.4% of total shipments in 2017, although down almost 5% from the previous year.

The APAC region accounted for 25.6% of total shipments in 2017, up from 21.6% in 2016.

Shipments to North America showed the biggest increase year-on-year, accounting for 14.9% of total shipments, up from 9.4% in 2016.

Financials

JA Solar reported net revenue in 2017 US$3.0 billion, an increase of 25.5% from US$2.4 billion in the previous year.

Total gross profit was US370.3 million), or 12.3% of net revenue, compared with US$352.5 million, or 14.6% of net revenue, in 2016.

Operating profit was US$110.0 million, compared to US$138.8 million in 2016.

Net income was $46.1 million, compared with $110.6 million in the previous year.

Baofang Jin, Chairman and CEO of JA Solar, commented, ¡°Overall 2017 results were largely in-line with our expectations. While net revenue grew 25% year-over-year, gross margin was negatively impacted by lower ASPs and rising material costs. Additionally, higher operating expenses led to a decline in operating profits and net income in 2017 when compared to 2016. Despite the negative impact of the Section 201 trade case, we continue to invest in R&D to develop high-performance products to strengthen our competitive position. We are confident that our technologies, high-reliability products and balanced global footprint will continue to position JA Solar for a solid future.¡±

¡ö Yingli Green forced into court arbitration over US$897.5 million polysilicon contract claim

(April 30, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Struggling major China-based PV manufacturer Yingli Green Energy is being forced into arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) by a major polysilicon producer over a long-term ¡®take or pay¡¯ supply contract with damages claimed to be US$897.5 million.

As PV Tech highlighted, Yingli Green recently reported a 2017 annual net loss of US$510 million and a cash position of only US$58.1 million. The company was forced to raise warnings over its ¡®going concern¡¯ position.

Like many PV manufacturers around 2007, shortages of polysilicon led to many locking-in fixed price long-term supply contracts that were based on ¡®take or pay¡¯ agreements.

By 2011, polysilicon supply had increased significantly and spot market prices has collapsed, leaving companies paying higher prices than the open market and taking the agreed polysilicon contracted quantities and selling the excess of the open market at or loss.

Some major cell producers such as Q Cells, Suntech and last year, SolarWorld, primarily went bankrupt over these ¡®take or pay¡¯ supply contracts.

Adding to the recent woes was the decision by China¡¯s Ministry of Industry (MOFCOM) to impose high import duties on overseas polysilicon producers, notably the US at the begining of 2014, as part of a solar trade war with the US.

Yingli Green had renegotiated multiple polysilicon supply contracts by 2013 but stopped purchasing polysilicon from one supplier in 2013 onwards, leading to that supplier seeking arbitration.

¡ö REC Group to install n-type mono solar cell line at Singapore production plant

(April 27, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Norway-Headquartered integrated PV module manufacturer REC Group is to install an N-type monocrystalline solar cell production line at its manufacturing facility in Singapore.

REC has over 1.4GW of dedicated P-type multicrystalline cell and module assembly capacity at its single manufacturing facility in Singapore, which has been dedicated to its PERC (Passivated, Emitter Rear Cell) and half-cut cell technology.

The installation of the high-efficiency N-type mono cell line was said to be part of an expanded module product portfolio in 2018 that will use its half-cut cell technology to provide step-function increase in module performance.

The company also reported that PV module shipments in 2017, topped 1,344MW, an increase of 6%, compared to the prior year.

REC also noted that fourth quarter module shipments hit a new quarterly record of 413MW.

Steve O¡¯Neil, CEO at REC Group said, ¡°The increase in shipments was driven by growth in all the regions we serve, and in many markets REC outperformed average market growth. We attribute this success to the quality of our products, technology leadership, and our balanced sales across regions and market segments, residential, utility and commercial & industrial.¡±

REC expects volume shipment growth of 7% - 9% in 2018.

¡ö Sunseap JV gets green light for 168MW solar project in Vietnam

(April 27, 2018/pv-tech.org)

A joint venture between Sunseap, InfraCo Asia and CMX Renewable Energy Canada has received the green light for a 168MW solar PV project in the Ninh Thuan province of Vietnam, which will be the largest in the country.

The US$150 million solar farm has received a Decision on Land Handover and an Investment Registration Certificate, which involved approval from the prime minister¡¯s office ¨C necessary for all projects above 50MW capacity.

The project is expected to break ground in mid-2018 before going into commercial operation by June 2019. Once completed, it will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of up to 200,000 households in Vietnam and create permanent jobs for over 200 workers.

The JV will be allowed to sell solar power generated by its solar farm to Vietnam¡¯s national grid at the mandated solar feed-in tariff of US$0.0935/kWh for the next 20 years provided they connect the project to the grid by June 2019.

Frank Phuan, co-founder and chief executive of Sunseap, said: ¡°This is the largest project to-date for Sunseap and we are honoured to be able to participate in the greening of Vietnam. There is so much potential to bring affordable and reliable clean energy to the country and we are excited to work with a government that is committed to sustainable development as the way forward.

¡°The Vietnam solar farm project is in line with our vision to conserve the environment, and at the same time contribute to communities across Asia. We hope that our project can serve as a catalyst to promote greater investments in renewables not just in Vietnam but also throughout the Indo-China region.¡±

Luu Xuan Vinh, chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People¡¯s Committee, said: ¡°The 168 MWp solar farm project invested by Sunseap CMX RE Solar Holdings Pte. Ltd. is one of the largest solar energy projects in Ninh Thuan Province. We are pleased to announce that the People¡¯s Committee of Ninh Thuan Province has issued the Investment Registration Certification and the Decision on Land Handover (Phase 1), handing over 130 hectares of land to the project developer. The remaining 56 hectares is expected to be handed over in May 2018.

¡°This project is an example of the collaboration between Vietnam and Singapore to attract investments in the renewable energy sector and demonstrates Vietnam government¡¯s support for Singapore businesses to invest in Vietnam and Ninh Thuan. We are confident that this project will act as a catalyst for more foreign investments into Vietnam and look forward especially to greater collaboration with Singapore enterprises.¡±

The Vietnamese government is aiming for 12GW of solar by 2030. Vietnam has also seen multiple large-scale project announcements of late.

Sunseap International is a unit of Singapore-based clean energy provider Sunseap Group. CMX Renewable Energy Canada Inc. is a solar developer based in Canada. InfraCo Asia is an infrastructure development and investment company of the Private Infrastructure Development Group.

¡ö Meyer Burger to outsource ¡®SmartWire¡¯ connection equipment manufacturing to Mondragon Assembly

(April 27, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Leading PV manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger is to outsource the manufacturing of its ¡®SmartWire¡¯ connection equipment to PV module assembly and automation specialist, Mondragon Assembly.

Meyer Burger said that Mondragon would start production of its ¡®SWCT¡¯ equipment no later than by end of the fourth quarter 2018, which would coincide with production of the equipment stopping at its production site in Thun. The company would then continue to focus R&D and marketing activities of the SWCT technology.

Luis Mari Imaz, CEO of Mondragon Assembly commented, ¡°We strongly believe that our partnership with Meyer Burger will be of mutual benefit to both companies. We are excited about the working together with such a recognized solar technology leader.¡±

Daniel Lippuner, COO of Meyer Burger Technology Ltd, stated, ¡°Collaboration with Mondragon with their strong experience in contract manufacturing and automation ideally complements our in-depth PV module equipment expertise. By outsourcing the production of our SWCT equipment to Mondragon, we are able to benefit from their flexible, cost-competitive manufacturing structure. This will help us to expedite the industrialization of our innovative SmartWire Connection Technology.¡±

¡ö China calls on local authorities to nurture renewable energy projects

(April 27, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China¡¯s National Energy Administration (NEA) has called on local governments to ease burdens on the renewable energy sector with a range of measures including the ¡°strict implementation¡± of a guarantee for signing power purchase agreements (PPAs).

NEA¡¯s note, stressing the importance of following the 'Renewable Energy Law', accounted for wind, solar and biomass technologies. Among its orders to provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, it said: ¡°Power grid companies shall promptly accept the applications for [renewable energy] project integration and clearly define the time limit for the provision of grid-connected access plans.¡±

It alos stated: "The grid company shall sign a grid-connected agreement that complies with national regulations without discriminatory provisions."

China¡¯s solar and wind projects have faced heavy curtailments in recent years while its deployment continues to boom. To remedy this, NEA has also asked for renewables to be given priority access to the grid.

- NEA listed a number of orders to local governments, including:

- Reducing land costs and unreasonable charges

- Reducing corporate financing costs through green finance

- Preventing the correction of arbitrary charges and other acts that increase the burden on the company

- Strengthening policy implementation and supervision

- Reducing the logistics costs

- Regulating the technical standards and their applications

- Regulating various inspections and charges

China installed a total of 9.65GW of solar PV capacity in the first quarter of 2018, a 22% increase over the prior year period, according to NEA.

¡ö ABB installs solar-storage microgrid in Gujarat

(April 27, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Technology provider ABB has inaugurated a microgrid solution at its Vadodora manufacturing facility in Gujarat, India.

The microgrid is said to be the first of its kind to be installed at a manufacturing campus in India using both solar PV and battery energy storage. The technology combination will support the factory¡¯s productivity and enable green power supplies in the evening hours or during cloudy periods during the day.

The manufacturing hub is the company¡¯s largest facility in India, with over 3,000 employees, producing transformers, high voltage products, distribution relays, motors, generators and turbochargers for a variety of national projects and beyond.

ABB¡¯s Ability control and automation system, will serve the microgrid and ensure the optimal use of the renewable energy. A cloud-based remote service system will be deployed for the operations and maintenance of the microgrid.

¡°Reliable, resilient and cost-effective power supply through microgrids is key to achieve Make in India targets, speed up industrial development and realize the vision of 24x7 power for all,¡± said Sanjeev Sharma, managing director, ABB India. ¡°At a time when renewable energy, electric propulsion and digital technologies are disrupting the market, we are proud to partner our nation's Skill India program through ABB PowerTEC to train the workforce of the future.¡±

¡ö Singulus books over US$48 million in new CIGS thin-film production tool orders

(April 26, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Singulus Technologies has booked over €40 million (US$48.5 million) in new CIGS (Copper-Indium-Gallium-Diselenide) thin-film manufacturing equipment orders in 2018.

Dr.-Ing. Stefan Rinck, Chief Executive Officer said, ¡°Our company has received in the first months of 2018 already prepayment with a order volume over €40 million for CIGS production equipment. We are thus able to further expand our leading position for the delivery of production machines for CIGS solar modules. Our order backlog currently exceeds €130 million.¡±

Singulus noted that major customer China National Building Materials (CNBM) had signed a contract in late December, 2017 for the delivery of five ¡®CISARIS¡¯ selenization machines for its plant in Bengbu, Anhui province to expand capacity from 150MW to 300MW. CNBM has plans to expand production to 1,500MW in the future, according to the company.

Singulus also noted that in recent days it had signed an agreement as well as payment from a subsidiary of a large, stock-listed energy company that also manufacturers PV modules in China for its TENUIS II, CIGS & CdTe wet-chemical coating process tools, valued at €10 million (US$12.1 million).

According to PV Tech¡¯s recent analysis of capacity expansion announcements in 2017, a total of almost 4GW of new thin-film production plans were revealed, up from just over 1GW in 2016, which supported a revival in the fortunes of European thin-film manufacturing equipment suppliers such as Singulus, Manz and von Ardenne.

¡ö Yingli Green Energy posts net loss of US$510 million in 2017

(April 26, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Struggling major China-based PV manufacturer Yingli Green Energy has reported a 2017 annual loss of US$510 million and a cash position of only US$58.1 million as going concern issues return.

Yingli Green reported total revenue of US$ 1,285.5 million in 2017, compared to US$1,206.4 million in 2016 on the back of PV module shipments of 2,953MW, compared to 2,170.4MW in 2016.

Although PV module shipments in the fourth quarter of 2017 increased by 40% compared to the third quarter and total PV module shipments in 2017 increased by 36% compared to 2016, the company was impacted by a major decline in ASPs.

As a result, Yingli Green reported a gross margin of only 3.6% for 2017, compared to 13.8% in 2016. Gross profit was US$46.8 million, compared to a gross profit of US$165.9 million in 2016.

The company reported an operating loss of US$452.3 million in 2017, and a net loss of US$510 million, compared to an operating loss of US$251.1 million and a net loss of US$293.6 million in 2016.

The company highlighted again going concern issues and loan and supplier payment defaults in 2017 without any concrete plans to undergo a major restructuring of the company.

Yingli Green reported a net cash position of only US$58.1 million at the end of 2017, down from US$72.9 million at the end of 2016.

There were no financial analyst on Yingli Green's latest earnings call covering fourth quarter and full year results.

¡ö China¡¯s PV installations 22% higher in first quarter 2018

(April 24, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China installed a total of 9.65GW of solar PV capacity in the first quarter of 2018, a 22% increase over the prior year period, according to China¡¯s National Energy Administration (NEA).

The official breakdown of installations included 7.68GW of distributed solar capacity, which increased by 217%, compared to the prior year period.
In contrast, utility-scale installed capacity declined 64% to only 1.95GW in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the prior year period.

Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co, (AECEA), which issued a statement on the NEA released figures at a NEA press conference on April 24, had previously forecasted around 7.5GW of installations in China in the first quarter of 2018.

AECEA also noted that further improvements had been made on grid curtailment issues, notably in the autonomous region of Xinjiang and province of Gansu, where the curtailment levels had been above 20% throughout 2017.

The decline in utility-scale installations had already worked through to some of the publically listed companies, heavily dependent on the utility-scale sector, such as ¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member, GCL System Integrated, which had warned of losses for the first quarter of 2018, due to a decrease in the demand.

In contrast major PV Inverter manufacturer Sungrow Power Supply had announced that it expected its first quarter 2018 financial results to include a net profit increase of between 50 to 70%, compared to the prior year period. This is due to its broad product portfolio that covers utility-scale and DG market.

AECEA said that despite the increase in Q1 2018 installations it still expects full-year total installations in China to reach in the range of 40GW to 45GW, down from NEA figures of 53.5GW in 2017.

¡ö IBC Solar commissions 27MW solar plant in India¡¯s Odisha

(April 24, 2018/pv-tech.org)

German solar and storage firm IBC Solar has commissioned a 27MW PV project in the Indian state of Odisha.

The plant near Kesinga in the District of Kalahandi was part of a 270MW PV tender floated by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in Odisha in August 2016.

Non-recourse project financing was concluded with L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited in March 2017. Following the securement of land in August 2017, the local electric power transformation substation had to be upgraded and a transmission line for roughly 8 kilometres was built. Construction of the solar plant started in November 2017.

"With this project, we have consolidated a strong know-how in project development, land securitization and grid connection in Odisha, a state with a high potential for solar PV build-up," said Jos¨¦ Mar¨ªa Llopis, CEO of IBC SOLAR Energy.

As of Autumn 2017, Odisha had just 90MW of installed PV capacity.

¡ö TNB signs 30MW solar PPA with Majulia and Greencells

(April 24, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Malaysian utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) has signed a 21-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Halpro Engineering for a 30MW(AC) solar project in Pahang, Malaysia.

Halpro is a special purpose company comprising of local firm Majulia and German firm Greencells, who were successful bidders in Malaysia¡¯s Large-Scale Solar (LSS) tender.

Halpro Engineering will design, construct, own, operate and maintain the solar PV project located in Mukim Bebar, Daerah Pekan.

The PPA has an expected commercial operation date of 30 December 2019.

TNB has signed multiple solar PPAs of late, the latest of which were signed at the end of March.

¡ö Hoppecke providing energy storage to Sunseap solar-diesel hybrid system in Singapore

(April 20, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Singapore-based clean energy provider Sunseap Group has contracted German energy storage firm Hoppecke Asia Pacific to bring storage to Sunseap¡¯s hybrid off-grid solar system at Tanglin Academy, the largest tennis academy in Singapore.

In 2016, Sunseap donated a 15kW solar system to the academy as part of its corporate social responsibility programme. Hoppecke¡¯s 17kWh advanced sealed lead acid battery will help Tanglin Academy further reduce its carbon footprint. Solar energy produced during the day can be stored and discharged on cloudy days or in the evenings to illuminate the Academy¡¯s tennis courts.

The collaboration will serve as a testbed for Sunseap to launch hybrid off-grid energy solutions on a commercial scale in the future.

The partnership will not only help Tanglin Academy utilise more clean energy but also reduce its reliance on its diesel generator, which is currently used to supplement the solar energy generated from the solar panels on its premises.

Sherman Chong, director of Hoppecke, said: ¡°The hybrid energy system by Sunseap is an innovative solution that makes use of solar energy efficiently, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Our Hoppecke solar power battery range is an ideal complement to this system, and offers outstanding stability and long life span, even when the battery is partially charged.¡±

Shawn Tan, senior manager of special projects at Sunseap Group, said: ¡°Sunseap is pleased to collaborate with Hoppecke and Tanglin Academy to showcase our new energy storage and solar-diesel hybrid energy solution. We have been exploring ways to help clients save more money and reduce their carbon footprint, and we are very excited that we have implemented this solution.¡±

Sunseap also works with enterprise development agency, Enterprise Singapore (previously IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore), to build its product development capabilities in micro grids and on test bedding projects.

Geoffrey Yeo, director, Urban Solutions of Enterprise Singapore, said: ¡°We are pleased to see this partnership between Sunseap, a homegrown SME, and Hoppecke, a multinational company, create an innovative and more efficient solar-and-diesel hybrid energy solution. This solution will enable Sunseap to meet the growing energy demand from off-grid users across regional markets. We wish to encourage more of such collaborative projects between SMEs and technology providers, which will help catalyse knowledge transfer, capability upgrading and product development.¡±

Sunseap and info-communications and mobile network company StarHub recently partnered to offer customers in the region of Jurong, Singapore, the chance to purchase solar power without having to install their own systems.

¡ö Indian ministry ticks off agencies for not bidding out rooftop solar

(April 20, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India¡¯s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has reminded implementing agencies of rooftop solar projects under the capital subsidy scheme that they must go through a transparent bidding process to discover tariffs or the project will no longer be eligible for subsidies.

The subsidy scheme relates to rooftop PV across the residential, social and institutional sectors, but MNRE has learned that some implementing agencies, such as distribution companies (Discoms), municipal corporations and SNAs, have gone against guidelines and issued work orders based on the benchmark prices without going through a bidding process.

The MNRE stated: ¡°It is once again re-iterated that implementing agencies must adhere to [¡­] guidelines and selection of bidders and discovery of project cost for rooftop solar under Ministry¡¯s scheme must be through a transparent competitive bidding process. Any violation of these guidelines shall make the project ineligible for availing CFA [Central Financial Assistance] from MNRE. Further, any advance amount released for in such cases, shall have to be refunded back to the Ministry along with interest accrued thereon.¡±

In a separate issue, MNRE has announced that it will soon release a new benchmark cost for off-grid solar PV systems and rooftop systems for the year 2018/19.

India has installed more than 2GW of rooftop solar to date.

¡ö Lightsource BP and Everstone launch green fund platform for India

(April 19, 2018/pv-tech.org)

UK-based renewable energy company Lightsource BP and Indian private equity firm Everstone Group have formed a fund management platform aimed at investing in green infrastructure in India, with the launch fund targeting ¡ê500 million (US$710 million).

The 50:50 JV named ¡®EverSource Capital¡¯ will manage an initial fund named the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), which has the backing of the India and UK governments, who will become joint anchor investors. India¡¯s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and the UK government have already invested ¡ê120 million each in the GCEF.

The GCEF aims to raise funds from international institutional investors to invest in renewable energy, clean transportation, water and waste management, and other emerging technologies in India.

The JV, EverSource Capital, will manage the fund, targeting contracted power, distribution infrastructure and energy services in India and it may raise further funds in the future. It will provide these funds with financial and strategic resources ¡°aiming to create successful green energy businesses in partnership with local management teams¡±, said a joint company release.

The Fund aims to sponsor entrepreneurs with the financial and other resources they need to create successful green energy businesses. The target investment size for GGEF will be equity cheques of approximately US$10¨C250 million for each individual investment, said the company website.

Nick Boyle, group CEO, Lightsource BP, said: ¡°India is one of the fastest and most dynamic markets for clean energy in the world. We know the market well through our renewable projects and we¡¯re delighted to be teaming up with Everstone Group which complements our skill-set in the country.¡±

Sameer Sain, co-founder and CEO, Everstone Group, said: ¡°By using a pooled investment vehicle and a Public plus Private Partnership approach global investors will get the opportunity to be part of this exceptional investment platform. Everstone and Lightsource BP via their joint venture EverSource Capital are proud to have been selected as the investment manager for this fund, and will also be making a significant investment along with the UK government and NIIF.¡±

Lightsource BP has over US$3 billion of capital invested across around 2GW of solar projects globally. In late 2017, BP acquired a 43% equity share in Lightsource and the company was rebranded as Lightsource BP.

Everstone Group has been active across India and Southeast Asia.

¡ö SECI increases Uttar Pradesh floating solar tender to 150MW

(April 18, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has increased the capacity available in its tender for grid-connected floating solar at Rihand Dam in Uttar Pradesh from 100MW to 150MW.

The original 100MW tender saw a delay in the uploading of the RfS documents, but SECI has now come out with the higher capacity.

The 3x50MW floating solar projects will come up at the dam, which is also known as Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar Reservoir, in Sonbhadra District.

SECI has previously consulted on 10GW of floating PV across India.

PV Tech has also published a detailed anlysis of Adtech's 500kW floating PV system in Kerala, a proof-of-concept system that has paved the way for more such projects across India.

¡ö Univergy to develop 44.4MW solar project in Vietnam

(April 18, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Univergy International has started a joint venture with Japanese company Europe Clean Energies Japan and the Vietnamese Thanh Nien Media Corporation, to develop a 44.4MW solar PV project in Dak Nong, Cu Jut district, Vietnam.

The ¡®Truc Son¡¯project, to be spread across 51 hectares, was awarded to Univergy by the Popular Committee of the highland province of Dak Nong. It will require investment of US$48.4 million.

Operations are expected to start from June next year providing electricity to Dak Nong and the surrounding localities. The local Popular Committee will offer the project a tax preference and had urged the competent agencies and the Cu Jut district to support the investors in the implementation of the project.

Ignacio Blanco, executive president of Univergy International, said: "Vietnam is one of the economies experiencing one of the fastest growths in the world, with annual growth rates of energy consumption between 8 and 10% mainly by industry, which is the country's largest consumer.¡±

Despite major concerns about its PPA model, Vietnam¡¯s utility-scale solar industry has seen a boom of project announcements in recent months.

India-based EPC firm Sterling and Wilson recently said plans to build 300MW of solar PV plants in Vietnam by mid-2019, having just laucnhed an energy storage and hybrid division. Thai power firm Gulf Energy Development also plans to build a 48MW solar project in Vietnam in partnership with conglomerate Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group).

¡ö Azure Power commissions 40MW solar project in Uttar Pradesh

(April 17, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India-based renewable energy developer Azure Power has commissioned a 40MW solar PV project in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The plant is spread across an area of approximately 91 hectares and was built under the government¡¯s National Solar Mission Phase II Batch III Tranche III, having been awarded in an auction by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Azure Power will supply power to SECI for the next 25 years at a levelized tariff of INR4.92/kWh (~US$7.7 cents), which is inclusive of Viability Gap Funding (VGF).

Inderpreet Wadhwa, founder, chairman and chief executive, Azure Power said: ¡°With the commissioning of this plant, we have once again demonstrated our strong project development, engineering, and execution capabilities. We are delighted to make a contribution towards the realization of our Hon¡¯ble Prime Minister¡¯s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation. Our sincere gratitude to SECI and the state of Uttar Pradesh for all the cooperation and support extended.¡±

¡ö Downing delivers 20MW of open access solar in South India

(April 17, 2018/pv-tech.org)

UK investor Downing, working with its investment partner Armstrong Energy Global, has developed and constructed 20MW of ¡®open access¡¯ solar projects in the South Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The two completed projects required a combined total of ¡ê13.5 million funding support from the Downing Indian Solar EIS, which is backed by UK retail investors, and other Downing-managed funds. Commercial and industrial customers will buy the power generated from the farms via ¡®open access¡¯ power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Downing Indian Solar EIS and Downing-managed Venture Capital Trusts provided ¡ê7.2 million of funding to the SPV, SF Renewables, to support the construction of the 11.2MW Kambadur solar farm in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Downing Indian Solar EIS, Downing Estate Planning Service and Downing-managed VCTs also invested ¡ê6.25 million in the SPV, Rockhopper Renewables, for the construction of the 8.4MW Jogipet solar farm in Telangana, northwest of Hyderabad.

Downing and Armstrong have procured Indian EPCs to build the plants and Armstrong is now operating these plants on behalf of Downing.

Downing-managed funds are also currently supporting another 22MW of PV projects in Maharashtra.

Jonathan Selwyn, chairman, Downing Indian Solar EIS, said: ¡°The Indian solar market is growing rapidly and naturally holds huge potential for investors due to the tropical climate in areas such as the south. However, as a relatively new market, it is not without its challenges. It is therefore a testament to the Downing and Armstrong teams that these challenges have been successfully overcome, that the projects have been commissioned on time and are already generating significant amounts of power.

¡°Downing Indian Solar EIS is also supporting the construction of a further two projects in the country which will be commissioned in early summer. We will assess further investment opportunities in due course.¡±

German solar and storage firm IBC Solar recently completed a 3MW 'open access' solar project for a tea producer in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

¡ö Sterling and Wilson launches hybrid and energy storage division

(April 16, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India-based EPC firm Sterling and Wilson has forayed into hybrid power plants and energy storage solutions and is already in advanced discussions for its first such projects in Africa and Europe.

To date, the company, which is targeting 1GWh of global hybrid deployment, has worked on EPC for a cumulative portfolio of 8GW of capacity encompassing co-generation CHP and gas-based power, solar and diesel-powered generators.

Sterling and Wilson has appointed Deepak Thakur as CEO of its Hybrid & Energy Storage Business. The company has also appointed Vishwanathan Iyer to lead the global business development, marketing and strategic activities for the new unit, having previously spearheaded S&W¡¯s Solar Business Development unit in India.

Thakur said: ¡°The global hybrid and energy storage market is estimated to be around US$40 billion by 2025. As one of the leading turnkey solution providers in the world, with project management, engineering and delivery expertise of over 8GW of diversified energy offerings across geographies, we are confident of providing our customers value for money through customised hybrid power plants and energy storage facilities."

Vish Iyer added: ¡°Sterling and Wilson is making a timely foray into this space, riding on the 'energy storage' wave, which appears to be the future. Every major grid with large amounts of renewable energy penetration across the globe is talking about the need for energy storage. This is happening in developed economies first because they have sophisticated grid and power tariff management systems, which allow them to make the best use of storage as a dispatch asset, while some emerging economies are warming up quickly to the concept as well."

The firm will offer the application of energy storage across centralized fossil and renewable energy plants, data centres, C&I segments and remote locations, offering project development, EPC and O&M services.

From being a predominantly India focused company in 2010, Sterling and Wilson now operates across the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Europe. In the current year, the company is expanding to the USA and South America.

The firm recently said it plans to build 300MW of solar PV plants in Vietnam by mid-2019 and 500MW of solar projects in Australia over the coming three years.

¡ö Malakoff bags first renewables O&M contract for Malaysian solar plant

(April 16, 2018/pv-tech.org)

A consortium comprising Zelleco Engineering and Teknik Janakuasa (TJSB), a subsidiary of Malaysian power firm Malakoff, has secured a 21-year O&M contract with ZEC Solar for a 29MW(AC) solar PV project in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia.

The project was bagged in the first round of the Large Scale Solar (LSS) competitive tender issued by the Energy Commission (EC),

The TJSB-Zelleco Consortium will incorporate a special purpose O&M company to carry out its services and obligations under the agreement.

Malakoff chief executive YBhg Dato¡¯ Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said: ¡°Clearly, TJSB has been chosen due to its vast experience in operating and maintaining power generation facilities locally and abroad. TJSB currently operates & maintains six power plants in Malaysia and three overseas.¡±

¡°This agreement marks Malakoff¡¯s first foray into the O&M of renewable energy assets and also means that our O&M business has now expanded to include both thermal, or conventional, and renewable energy power generation.¡±

Earlier this year, Malakoff signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Touch Meccanica Sdn Bhd to collaborate in the development of several renewable energy projects, particularly in large-scale solar PV and small hydro power plants in Pahang Darul Makmur.

Last December, the EC released the list of winning developers in its second LSS tender round, offering roughly 563MW(AC) of capacity.

¡ö Inverter shipments hint at big 2018 for European solar

(April 13, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Inverter shipments in Europe suggest the continent is braced for another strong period of growth in 2018.

GTM Research¡¯s global inverter report highlighted shipment growth of 34% in 2017 outstripping growth in European PV deployment of 8%.

A spokesperson for Germany-based inverter manufacturer SMA said the GTM figures were in line with what it was experiencing.

¡°SMA experienced a positive development in the European business in 2017. Sales in the European, Middle East and African (EMEA) region increased by 40% compared to 2016,¡± a company spokesperson said. ¡°We agree as our outlook for the European and Asian solar markets is positive. In those regions we see a nice development for utility projects as well as a strong demand for our commercial and residential solutions. Key European markets for SMA were Germany, Italy, Benelux, France and Turkey.

¡°PV electricity has become one of the most cost-efficient energy sources in Europe. In addition, affordable storage technology is a catalyst for demand in Europe as with that more and more private households and commercial enterprises will be able to save substantially on their electricity bills by efficiently using their self-produced solar energy,¡± they added.

GTM senior analyst Scott Moskowitz explained that while there was some nuance to the relationship between inverter shipments and fluctuating PV deployment, the signal was much clearer during periods of sustained growth.

¡°With Europe it¡¯s so obvious, shipments are exceeding installations by so much, and they did so the prior year as well, that it is obvious that it implies near term growth,¡± he told PV Tech.

Installations in 2017 jumped 28% over the previous year to 8.61GW, according to the trade body SolarPower Europe.

The SolarPower Europe view:

"A new growth cycle for solar in Europe has started in 2017. After a several-year market contraction, with a little growth in 2015 and then bottoming in 2016, we expect strong demand and double-digit growth for the next three years. In the EU, this is primarily driven by the upcoming deadline for the 2020 national binding renewable energy targets. With solar being the lowest-cost renewable power solution in many applications and in many European countries, several EU member states governments are now choosing this affordable solar to meet their targets. In many European countries outside the EU, governments are taking advantage of low-cost solar and supporting the technology¡¯s growth with attractive incentive programmes.

"How steep the growth curve will actually be over the next three years will depend on several factors - regulatory environments in European countries and whether the EU removes the solar module import duties. According to a recent European Commission DG Justice and Consumers study, removing the trade measures will drive an increase in the uptake of rooftop solar in most EU countries by some 20-30%. Beyond 2020, the key for a strong and sustainable European solar market will be a ¡®Clean Energy For All Europeans¡¯ legislation offering an ambitious renewables target of at least 35% by 2030 in the EU, as well as policy frameworks that enable and encourage European citizens and corporates to invest in the most flexible clean power generation source."

-James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe

¡ö ACC to build solar rooftop and carport for Nivea in Shanghai

(April 12, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Asia Clean Capital (ACC) has signed a distributed power supply agreement with leading skin care company Nivea (Shanghai) to build a rooftop solar system and solar carport at Nivea's factory in Qingpu, Shanghai.

Under the terms of the Agreement, ACC will invest 100% of the system cost and undertake the design, construction, and long-term system maintenance.

Nivea aims to reduce its consumption of water, energy and scarce raw materials in production and sales and will benefit from self-consumption of the solar projects¡¯ generation.

Electricity from the solar system will be provided to Nivea Shanghai at competitve rates to ensure operational savings throughout the lifetime of the system.

Tang Hao, senior vice president of ACC, said: "We are delighted to cooperate with Nivea to develop this solar system. We look forward to continuing cooperation together to boost the skin care industry's sustainable development."

EDF Energies Nouvelles and ACC recently announced a joint venture to build and operate a pipeline of distributed rooftop solar projects in China.

¡ö Hanwha Q CELLS shuts wafering operations

(April 11, 2018/pv-tech.org)

¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS said it had discontinued its ingot and wafer manufacturing operations in the fourth quarter of 2017, due to the wafer operations being unprofitable.

The SMSL reported a fourth quarter loss of US$50.5 million, primarily attributed to the asset write down of the wafering operations, which were based at dedicated facilities in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China. Hanwha Q CELLS had multicrystalline ingot nameplate capacity of 1,550MW and 950MW of multicrystalline wafer capacity.

Jay Seo, CFO of Hanwha Q CELLS noted that the Company¡¯s bottom line had been negatively affected by the recognition of a one-time loss associated with the discontinuation of its wafer manufacturing operations and bad debt expenses, without which it would have seen an improvement in its profitability due to elimination of losses resulting from unprofitable operations as well as a downward trend in wafer prices.

The company reported a net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of US$9.2 million in 2017, while gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2017 was 8.5%, compared with 11.6% in the third quarter of 2017, primarily due to the write-off of wafer production assets.

However, the SMSL said that its gross margin would have been 14.8%, up 3.2% points quarter-on-quarter and up 7.8% points compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, when excluding the asset write-off.

¡ö Cambodian C&I solar opportunities still strong despite low voltage ban

(April 11, 2018/pv-tech.org)

At the end of 2017, the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) asked the industry to give feedback on a draft regulation for solar, a sector that until then had been completely unregulated. There were fears that certain rooftop PV segments could be made illegal, but the draft did not mention low voltage (LV) users, leaving some level of industry optimism.

Subsequently, the official solar regulation published in February this year allowed only for medium voltage (MV) and high voltage (HV) solar customers to connect to the grid, and only under certain conditions. Meanwhile, grid-connected LV customers were not allowed.

When it comes to off-grid situations, solar is still allowed under the regulations.

Jeroen Verschelling, chairman and co-founder of Cambodia-based solar firm Kamworks, which has been active in the country since 2006, told PV Tech that it is the C&I sector that has been most affected by the ban since residential solar has yet to proliferate in the country.

However, Verschelling also noted there is still uncertainty around a new solar tariff. State-run utility Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) is looking for a higher tariff to make up for any revenue lost to solar generation replacing its own power offering. The industry is still waiting be notified how high that tariff will be set.

Nodira Amd, programs director at Nexus, a Southeast Asia-based finance and network organization, also said it was not clear if the regulation on LV systems was retrospective, so one cannot be sure what will happen to the already installed LV systems. She added that the government is now working on the electricity tariff scheme and capacity charge for MV and HV consumers with or wishing to install solar, but with no particular timeline.

Nexus for Development works with many SMEs, particularly small home-owned businesses wishing to install solar, and Amd said that many of these customers are now on hold due to the ruling against LV grid connections.

On the other hand, Amd noted that Nexus sees strong demand for its financial product in off-grid areas. Even though Cambodia is aggressively expanding its grid to rural villages, targeting 100% electrification of villages by 2020, and 70% of households by 2030, there are still plenty of off-grid areas with solar opportunities in the Southeast Asian country. Amd said Nexus will target such customers for now, while it waits for the government¡¯s next action on small-scale systems.

The industry will be hoping for a relaxation of the regulation on LV systems, but this will require an ongoing conversation with the authorities over the coming year.

Anxious EDC

Perhaps the most obvious reason for EAC making its ruling against LV systems is that the utility EDC is nervous about new forms of generation coming online.

When the regulation was still in the draft stages, Pradeep Tharakan, senior energy specialist, Asian Development Bank (ADB), said that EAC had been worried about the proliferation of rooftop without adequate controls, grid codes and installation standards. It was also concerned about the effect of solar on EDC¡¯s business.

Tharakan suggested that there is a need for new business models for rooftop solar that give some benefit or incentive to utilities so that they feel less under threat.

Shawn Er, partner at International law firm, Watson Farley & Williams, noted three major concerns for developers of rooftop solar:

They must ensure they have the necessary building/zoning permits to install the PV equipment to the rooftop and to ensure that ¨C upon installation ¨C they do not inadvertently and unintentionally create proprietary rights to the equipment in favour of the building owner
The developers have sufficiently adequate rights to use the relevant rooftop duration of the PPA (or the lease term ¨C if the solar solution is structured by way of a leasing model)
Their personnel must have timely access to the relevant rooftop for installation, ongoing maintenance and decommissioning
Watson Farley & Williams, in a recent industry note, said that Cambodia has superb solar irradiation levels and high existing electricity tariffs ranging between US$0.14-0.19/kWh in Phnom Penh and up to US$0.25kWh in more rural areas, which should help drive solar. The law firm also said that Cambodia has several minigrids as well as mini-utilities that operate under a franchise system with EDC and that the operators of these mini-utilities could also represent strong opportunities for solar development.

Looking at the utility-scale market, the law firm said that developers will need to navigate several land rights-related issues. For example, ownership of land by foreign investors in Cambodia is generally limited to 49%, meaning that foreign developers need to obtain local partners if their intention is to own rather than lease the solar project site.

Overall, there has been some progress in PV. For example, Kamworks and others have already built many hundreds of solar rooftop installations and Singapore-based clean energy firm Sunseap achieved financial close on its large-scale 10MW project at Bavet City in May last year, with support from ADB. Part of the capacity from a 100MW solar park is also due to be tendered this year, again with ADB support.

Extra comment from Shawn Er added.

¡ö India¡¯s Gujarat approves 5GW solar park

(April 11, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The Indian state of Gujarat has approved what could be the world¡¯s largest solar park once completed, standing at 5GW capacity, according to chief minister Vijay Rupani.

Rupani took to Twitter to announce the project:

The Govt Of Gujarat is happy to approve the establishment of India¡¯s largest Solar Park in Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR).The 5000MW Solar Park would be a giant leap towards fulfilling the ambitious goal of PM Sh @narendramodi to create 175GW of Renewable Energy by 2022

¡ª Vijay Rupani (@vijayrupanibjp) April 10, 2018
Rupani also noted that the project would be spread across 11,000 hectares of land along the Gulf of Khambhat in DSIR, and would attract investment of INR250 billion (US$3.84 billlion) while generating employment for more than 20,000 people, he claimed. The DSIR aims to be a global manufacturing and trading hub.

Gujarat has been one of the pioneering states for large-scale solar since the days of India's current prime minister, Narendra Modi, holding office as chief minister of the state.

The state recently held a 500MW solar auction, with winning prices between INR2.98-3.06/kWh. The state coud also be a target for bidders in the forthcoming 7GW of interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected projects out for tender at present, where developers will have to find their own land and transmission infrastructure, unlike the solar park model.

The Indian state of Karnataka recently inauagurated the first 600MW phase of a 2GW solar park at Pavagada, which is expected to be completed this year.

¡ö India relieves most solar modules from customs duty

(April 10, 2018/pv-tech.org)

One of the major causes of uncertainty for India¡¯s solar sector has been put to rest after the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBITC) clarified that most PV modules will not be subject to customs duty.

Along with the goods and service tax (GST) and the threat of anti-dumping and Safeguard duties, the customs duty has been one of the key pillars of uncertainty for the Indian market, particularly as Indian developers import an overwhelming majority of their modules.

Solar modules had enjoyed free imports while classified as ¡®diodes, transistors and similar semiconductor devices, photosensitive semiconductor devices', under the code CTH 8541. However, a new classification as ¡®electrical motors and generators¡¯ under CTH 8501, which included a 7.5% customs duty, started to be implemented gradually last year.

The issue was followed by a long standoff between developers, the Ministry of finance and customs authorities, and with vast quantities of modules held up at ports, as first reported at the time by Indian news outlet Economic Times. However, CBITC has finally come out with the following clarification:

Modules equipped with bypass diodes will be classified as CTH 8541
Modules equipped with blocking diodes will be classified as CTH 8501
Modules equipped with bypass diodes and blocking diodes will be classified as CTH 8501
Vinay Rustagi, managing director at consultancy Bridge to India, told PV Tech that most modules used by the Indian industry would not attract any duty as per this new clarification.

After a string of bad news, Rustagi said this was very welcome, particularly alongside the recent notice clarifying the ¡®Change in Law¡¯ provision for solar procurement.

He added that there had been increasing signs that the Ministry of Finance was going to take a rigid stance so that customs duty would apply on modules, so developers should be very happy with the final outcome.

¡ö Sterling and Wilson plans to build 300MW of solar projects in Vietnam

(April 10, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India-based EPC firm Sterling and Wilson plans to build 300MW of solar PV plants in Vietnam by mid-2019.

The company said it was in advanced discussions with leading developers in the country for projects requiring investment of US$250 million.

Sterling and Wilson plans to hire local workers to construct and maintain the solar projects and aims to generate employment for nearly 600-700 people during construction and 50 people during the maintenance phase over 20 years.

The firm has already commissioned a 50MW project in the Philippines and is close to commissioning a 60MW project in Bangladesh. Its global portfolio stands at close to 5GW.

Bikesh Ogra, CEO, renewable energy and energy storage, Sterling and Wilson, said: ¡°Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with nearly 8-10% annual increase in power consumption by industries who are the largest consumers of electricity in the country. We are closely working with leading developers to join the larger aim of bringing affordable and clean energy to Vietnamese.¡±

Last week, Thai power firm Gulf Energy Development said it planned to build a 48MW solar project in Vietnam in partnership with conglomerate Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group).

¡ö Manz highlights some severe fire damage at equipment facility in Taiwan

(April 06, 2018/pv-tech.org)

PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has said that a fire at its equipment manufacturing facility in Taiwan had caused some severe damage to parts of the building.

Manz noted that the fire was deemed to have started from electrical cabling on Monday and was brought under control and extinguished quickly by the local fire department.

However, an area allocated to equipment for wet chemical production processes and for the semiconductor industry had suffered severe fire damage in parts, which would impact some customer¡¯s orders.

¡ö Thailand¡¯s Gulf Energy plans 48MW Vietnam solar project with TTC

(April 06, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Thai power firm Gulf Energy Development plans to build a 48MW solar project in Vietnam in partnership with conglomerate Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group), according to a filing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The US$66 million solar farm in Trang Bang district, Tay Ninh province, will be 51% owned by TTC and 49% owned by Gulf.

The Project has been approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam to sell electricity to the utility EVN under a 20-year contract. Project construction will commence in June 2018 and commercial operation is scheduled for June 2019.

The plans comes as part on MoU singed by Gulf and TTC to form a partnership to jointly study, develop and invest in energy projects in Vietnam including solar, wind, natural gas, coal, waste, hydropower and thermal energy as well as natural gas import and terminal projects.

Vietnam's alrge-scale PV industry is proliferating. Sunseap and InfraCo Asia recently announced that they are partnering on a 168MW solar project in Vietnam. Meanwhile, TTC also recently contracted JGC Corporation to build a 49MW project in Gia Lai Province.

According to reports from Oliver Massmann of Duane Morris, Mien Trung Energy JSC plans to invest more VND1.3 trillion (US$57.2 million) in a 50MW solar power plant on 60 hectares around Dau Tieng Lake in Tan Chau district. Furthermore, Bien Hoa-Thanh Long One-Member plans to build a 30MW solar power plant, worth VND736 billion (US$32.38 million) on 37 hectares of land in Thanh Long commune, Chau Thanh district.

¡ö Meeco to build 7MW open access PV project in India

(April 06, 2018/pv-tech.org)

4 April: meeco will construct and operate a 7MW ground-mounted open access solar power plant in the Solapur district of Maharashtra, India.

Power will be sold via a PPA to commercial clients.

¡°Open Access within the Indian state Maharashtra ensures to generate energy at a different site than it will actually be consumed,¡± said Tarun Munjal, director of meeco India. ¡°This also includes the benefit to be more flexible. We can perfectly utilise available free spaces to install clean energy solutions. For a fee to the grid operator the generated energy can be fed into the grid and can be consumed at another place, where the final PPA client operates. Long term PPAs in combination with Open Access enables private Maharashtrian enterprises to profit from a flexible, eco-friendly, reliable and cost-efficient energy supply. We expect to conclude sufficient PPAs with industrial energy clients within the next 9-12 months to utilise the entire power output of the 7MWp sun2fix facility.¡±

¡ö Shunfeng boosts revenue on solar module shipments increasing 72% in 2017

(April 05, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Diversified renewable energy firm Shunfeng International Clean Energy (SFCE) reported a 21% increase in revenue for 2017, driven by a 72.7% increase in PV module sales, while losses for the year were significantly reduced.

SFCE reported revenue of RMB 10,017.4 million (US$1.6 billion) in 2017, up 21% year-on-year. The primary reason for the increase was an increase in total solar product sales, which increased 30.6% to 3,859.2MW, up from 2,954.6MW in 2016.

However, the increase in revenue was partially offset by PV module ASP declines of 17.2%.

PV module sales topped RMB 1,785.3 million (US$283 million), a 43.2% increase over the prior year. PV module sales were 2,475MW, compared to 1,433.2MW in 2016.

With end-market demand in China topping 53GW in 2017, China accounted for 74.9% of sales, compared to 67.8% in 2017.

External wafer sales volume declined in 2017 to 37.6MW, down 32.6% from the prior year, while solar cell sales volume fell 8.1% to 1,346.6MW.

The increase in revenue was also supported by its PV power plant operations. SFCE reported revenue increased by 18.4% from 1,291,875MWh in 2016 to 1,529,406MWh in 2017. This was due to new project completions and grid connections.

SFCE¡¯s PV power plant O&M subsidiary meteocontrol also increased revenue by 15.9% to RMB127.5 million in 2017.

SFCE had previously announced that it would continue to report a net loss for 2017, due to product ASP declines and PV power plant grid curtailments in China. However, the lack of impairment charges supported a major reduction to the losses, which were RMB 67.2 million (US$10.65 million) in 2017, down from RMB 1,717.6 million in 2016.

¡ö Hyundai group awards itself 65MW / 130MWh South Korea solar-plus-storage contracts

(April 05, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Various companies in the Hyundai engineering and industrial construction group will work together on a 65MW solar PV plant with 130MWh of co-located battery energy storage in Seosan, South Korea.

Earlier this week Korean news outlets including the Yonhap News Agency and Joongang Daily reported that Hyundai Engineering and Construction (Hyundai E&C), part of the group that is perhaps best known outside Korean for its cars, had awarded a 100 billion Won (US$94 million) to two of its affiliates, Hyundai Heavy Industries Green Energy and Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems, both part of Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The projects are in South Chungcheong in the north-west of South Korea and follow on the heels of reports late last year that Hyundai is also planning a 150MWh battery storage plant in Ulsan, on the country¡¯s east coast for Korea Zinc.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Green Energy will supply solar equipment including PV modules and inverters, while Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems will provide the battery energy storage system. No details were provided on the application of storage, although Joongang Daily reported that the facility will ¡°save energy for later use¡±.

Renewable energy activities only accounted for some 1.7% of Hyundai's overall revenues in last year's reported consolidated earnings, but Joongang Daily said the group is ¡°banking on¡± renewables as a promising area for the business.

Unlike other regional markets where tenders and national policy have driven forward the large-scale energy storage industry, South Korea's private businesses and national grid and utility operators have been contracting large-scale storage projects directly from the likes of domestic makers Doosan-which built a sizeable C&I solar-plus-storage system at its own head offices in Changwon-and Kokam-while two of the world¡¯s biggest lithium battery and storage industry companies, Samsung SDI and LG Chem, are South Korea-headquartered. In 2016, the government revealed a plan to incentivise the installation of energy storage at solar PV generation facilities.

¡ö LONGi taps Daqo for major ultra-high-quality polysilicon supply

(April 03, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Leading fully-integrated high-efficiency monocrystalline module manufacturer and ¡®Silicon Module Super League'(SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology has secured an ultra-high-quality polysilicon supply agreement with China-based polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy Corp.

Daqo said that the polysilicon supply agreement with LONGi amounted to 39,600MT over a 32-month period. Financial details were not disclosed.

Baoshen Zhong, Chairman of LONGi, commented, "Daqo New Energy¡¯s polysilicon meets the stringent purity requirements we have for the production of high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar products. This supply agreement with Daqo New Energy will allow us to expand production capacity of our high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar products to meet the growing demand from our downstream customers. Daqo New Energy's ultra-high-quality polysilicon and reliability make them the ideal strategic supplier, and we look forward building a deeper partnership with them.¡±

LONGi had recently secured a three year deal to purchase polysilicon from Korean-headquartered polysilicon producer OCI Co worth around US$1.02 billion and amounted to 64,638MT being purchased for its subsidiaries that produce monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers locate in Yinchuan, Baoshan, Lijang and Ningxia, China.

LONGi had reached a nameplate ingot/wafer capacity of 15GW at the end of 2017, up 2GW from previous plans as the company accelerated production ramps to meet demand. However, the company is planning to expand wafer capacity to 28GW by the end of 2018 and 36GW by the end of 2019. LONGi also said that the plan was to achieve 45GW by the end of 2020.

Daqo has also recently announced plans for expanding production by at least 12,000MT in less than 18-months that will be dedicated to supplying high-efficiency monocrystalline wafers producers, due to continued strong demand.

Daqo had said that the Phase 3B expansion at its Xinjiang, China facility was expected to start pilot production in the first half of 2019. The expansion would lead to a total annual nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MT by the end of the second quarter of 2019.

¡ö Filipino energy giant AboitizPower enters rooftop solar space

(April 03, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Major Filipino power firm AboitizPower is to enter the rooftop solar space via a new business unit.

The new company, called Aboitiz Power Distributed Energy, Inc. (APX), is already looking at completing several key projects in Luzon and Visayas this year.

The firm first entered the solar power market in 2016 with its large-scale 59MW San Carlos Sun (Sacasun) project in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental. To date, AboitizPower has clean energy capacity of 1,272MW spread across solar, geothermal, run-of-river hydro, and large hydropower facilities.

¡°We have been in the power industry for more than 80 years. This gives us a wealth of knowledge and technical capability that we can share to our customers who want to go into solar,¡± said AboitizPower president Antonio Moraza.

AboitizPower is also one of the largest power producers in the Philippines with a portfolio of assets located across the country including fossil fuel-based power plants using coal and oil. The company also owns distribution utilities that operate in high-growth areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including the second and third largest private utilities in the country.

While the Philippines utility-scale solar space is still largely held up by regulatory issues, its commercial and industrial rooftop space is said to be thriving.

¡ö ReNew Power acquires Ostro Energy in major Indian clean energy deal

(April 03, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Indian clean energy developer ReNew Power has acquired Ostro Energy Private Ltd for an undisclosed sum in what is one of India¡¯s largest ever renewable energy deals.

Renew Power is backed by Goldman Sachs and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), while Ostro is backed by London-based Actis LLP.

ReNew Power currently has clean energy assets of more than 4.5GW, which include a commissioned capacity of approximately 2.8GW. Ostro Energy has a total capacity of more than 1.1GW - dominated by wind energy - out of which nearly 850MW has been commissioned. Ostro Energy¡¯s assets are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It is building 110MW of solar PV.

With the acquisition of these assets, ReNew Power¡¯s clean energy capacity will now exceed 5.6GW, of which more than 65% is operational.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is investing an additional US$247 million to support ReNew Power¡¯s financing for this acquisition. As a result, the CPPIB¡¯s combined investment in ReNew Power now stands at US$391 million, following an earlier investment of US$ 144 million in January 2018.

Reuters has reported two sources claiming that the acquisition was valued at around INR100 billion (US$1.54 billion) including equity of INR40 billion, partly funded by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which is investing an additional US$247 million. CPPIB made an earlier investment in ReNew of US$144 million in January 2018. The Ostro acquisition also involved debt of INR60 billion.

Other major Indian renewable energy deals include Greenko acquiring SunEdison¡¯s 587MW of solar and wind assets in India, and Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) acquiring Welspun Renewables Energy (WREPL) for US$1.4 billion.