[ August 2018 ]¡¡¡¡¡¡

¡ö LONGi sets new quarterly shipments, sales and R&D spending records

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

LONGi Green Energy Technology, the world¡¯s largest dedicated manufacturer of monocrystalline wafers and its subsidiary, LONGi Solar, a member of the ¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) has reported first half year results that included record quarterly shipments, operating income and R&D spending.

LONGi Group reported first half 2018 operating income of approximately RMB 10.02 billion (US$1.49 billion approx.), compared to US$995.2 million approx.), in the prior year period, an increase of 59.36%.

On a quarterly basis, LONGi reported second quarter operating income of US$956.1 million, compared to approximately US$569.1 million in second quarter of 2017, a 68% increase year-on-year.

Although the company mirrored many competitors in reporting relatively soft first quarter results, sue to seasonality in key markets, including China, LONGi¡¯s significant increase in shipments of mono wafers and mono PV modules were behind the operating income growth.

The company reported first half year 2018 mono c-Si wafer production of 1.544 billion pieces, with 758 million pieces old externally and 786 million pieces were used in-house, compared to the first half of 2017 when external sales volume was 449 million pieces, and in-house consumption was 419 million pieces

In the first half of 2018, PV module shipments reached 3,232MW, including sales of 2,637MW and 375MW of modules use for its downstream PV project business, which included a number of poverty alleviation projects in China.

However, the major change in module shipments came from international sales, which accounted for 687MW in the first half of 2018, 18 times higher than the prior year period.

Less spectacular than the operating income growth was the net profit in the first half of 2018, which reached RMB 1.307 billion (US$190.98 million approx.), a year-on-year increase of 5.73%. The company reported a gross profit margin of 22.62%. However, LONGi remains one of the most profitable PV manufacturers.

The squeeze on profit and margins were mainly attributable to average selling price (ASP) declines, initiated by trade tariffs and the late impact of the Chinese Governments ¡®531 New Deal¡¯.

PV Tech had previously reported that LONGi surpassed long-term R&D spending leaders First Solar and Sunpower for the first time in 2017, having allocated over US$175 million to a range of R&D activities at the ingot/wafer level through to cell and modules, which set a new R&D spending record.

In the first half of 2018, LONGi reported R&D spending in the reporting period to have reached approximately US$105 million, a year-on-year increase of 61.80% and accounting for 7.18% of operating income in the reporting period, a new industry record.

To put this in perspective, First Solar¡¯s 2017 annual R&D spending totalled US$88.6 million and Sunpower spent US$80.7 million.

¡ö India tries one-off smaller solar tender with low ceiling to shrink tariffs

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

India¡¯s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has written to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) directing it to hold a one-off smaller 1.2GW solar tender with a significantly lower ceiling tariff, with the hope of driving tariffs down further.

Dilip Nigam, the letter¡¯s author and coordinator of the Solar Mission and Solar Parks scheme, told PV Tech: ¡°We have a feeling that people are quoting more than what they should quote."

Firstly, MNRE wants SECI to move away from huge 2-3GW solar tenders and issue a smaller-sized 1.2GW tender immediately.

Nigam said: ¡°We believe that smaller bids will bring better tariffs. Bigger projects, for example?a 3,000MW project, people have a?lot of scope to quote high, but if there are smaller bids then there will be better competition.¡±

However, Vinay Rustagi, managing director of consultancy firm Bridge to India, told PV Tech: ¡°Even if someone is bidding 300, 500 or 600 [megawatts], there are very little economies of scale once you move beyond 100MW and if you look at the past few large tenders they have been closely fought between the same three to five developers so I don¡¯t expect that prices will come down because they have reduced the size from 2,000 odd downwards.¡±

The ceiling tariffs for the tender will also be just INR2.68/kWh (US$0.038) when a safeguard duty is paid, and INR2.50/kWh (US$0.035) without safeguard duty.

MNRE cited NTPC¡¯s recent?2GW auction?that discovered prices of INR2.59-2.60/kWh, when it set SECI¡¯s new tariff.

Nigam said that like NTPC¡¯s tender, the SECI tender will be Interstate Transmission Systems (ISTS)-connected and therefore, other than the size there will be few differences in the parameters.

Meanwhile, Rustagi said: ¡°In the past, some developers have always had a preference for NTPC but that discount that NTPC has enjoyed has diminished over time. So SECI tariffs may be only very marginally higher than NTPC tenders.¡±

Rustagi noted that the new low ceiling tariff could be a challenge for developers, but as it is only for this one tender at present, then the government will at least?have an opportunity to revise it if the results are not in line with expectations.

Nigam could not say if MNRE intended for future tenders to have similar tariff ceilings ¨C noting that ¡°all depends upon the market conditions¡±.

Minimum project size in the SECI tender will be 50MW, with no upper cap.

¡ö Malaysia requests consultations with India over solar safeguard duty - WTO

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

Malaysia has requested consultations with India over its 25% safeguard duty on imports of solar cells and modules from developed countries, China and Malaysia, in a World Trade Organisation (WTO) filing dated 30 August.

In the filing, Malaysia said it seeks to hold consultations as soon as possible with the participation of representatives from India¡¯s investigating authorities.

India¡¯s Ministry of Finance imposed its safeguard measures starting on 31 July, but has since temporarily deferred the duty due to a stay from the High Court of Odisha.

Malaysia is the first country to have taken up India at the WTO over its solar safeguard measures this year.

The news comes amid other global PV trade disputes. The US has agreed to hold consultations with China after the Asian giant filed a complaint about Donald Trump¡¯s solar tariffs stemming from the Section 201 saga.

Since then, both Thailand and the European Union have asked to join the consultations between the US and China.

¡ö Majority of UK solar installers facing hardship if export tariff is culled, survey finds

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

A majority of UK solar installers said they would face hardship if the government presses ahead with plans to close the export tariff, a survey from PV Tech's sister publication Solar Power Portal (SPP) has found.

And of those surveyed, more than half said the decision would result in them having to either downsize or close their business altogether.

The survey findings are being published ahead of forthcoming deadlines for responses to government documents. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy¡¯s call for evidence on a future regulatory framework for small-scale renewables closes today, while a consultation on the closure of both the feed-in and export tariffs closes in a fortnight.

In early August, Solar Power Portal launched a survey of its readership, requesting views on the potential impacts of the government¡¯s decision on their respective businesses.

And the findings are conclusive. Installers are expecting a considerable slump in deployment should the government curtail the export tariff with no replacement framework in place after 1 April 2019, with such a downturn resulting in business closures and redundancies.

Of those surveyed, an overwhelming 88% said they disagreed with the government¡¯s proposals.

A significant majority meanwhile (73%) said the closure of the export tariff with no replacement framework ¨C which by BEIS¡¯ own impact assessment would reduce returns to around 1-2% - would have a negative impact on their day-to-day business activities.

As a result, more than half (57%) of respondents said they would be forced into either downsizing their business or closing it altogether, as a result of rooftop solar PV being rendered uneconomical by the decision.

The release of the survey findings comes amidst significant lobbying efforts from the industry. This morning the Solar Trade Association published an open letter addressed to energy and clean growth minister Claire Perry, co-signed by more than 200 stakeholders, urging BEIS to re-think its position on the export tariff.

¡°It is vital for government to ensure households and small businesses are taken on a clear & secure journey in the emerging smart energy system. It is not too late for some really positive policies given the potential of smart homes and businesses to save the system and our economy billions of pounds compared to business as usual. Removing illogical barriers to the 830,000 solar homes in the UK to installing battery storage and smart meters is also an easy win.

¡°Let¡¯s be clear; we are not asking for subsidy. We are asking for fair treatment for the everyday people and businesses who want to invest in clean power to do something really meaningful to help tackle climate change. Government must support their efforts,¡± Chris Hewett, chief executive at the STA, said.

¡ö BayWa r.e opens renewable energy control centre to support Asia Pacific

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

30 August: Clean energy developer BayWa r.e. has opened a new central control room in Bangkok to cater for a significant increase in wind and solar energy projects that the firm is now managing within the Asia Pacific region, while offering a round-the-clock service.

BayWa r.e. is currently overseeing 5,190MW of renewable power, which is set to rise by a further 220MW as more projects come online in Asia and Australia at the end of the year.

Marc Niem, MD of BayWa r.e. Operation Services GmbH, said: ¡°Our new operations centre will provide the very best monitoring, security and management services for our customers located in the Asia Pacific region. We will be closer to the operators, service technicians, grid operators and their third parties, enabling us to provide better maintenance, shorten our reaction time and improve analysis to achieve the very best performance for our customers¡¯ solar and wind plants.

¡°Ultimately, it will ensure that every renewable energy project is achieving optimum efficiency wherever it is in the world.¡±

Located in the Indochina time zone, the new control room will be better suited to its customers throughout the Asia Pacific region. The new centre will work side by side with BayWa r.e.¡¯s main control centre in Munich, Germany.

Last month, BayWa r.e announced it has teamed up with asset intelligence company PowerHub, to digitalize its operation and bring greater transparency and standardisation to its clients across the globe.

¡ö Madhya Pradesh draws record low India rooftop solar bids

(August 29, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited¡¯s (MPUVNL) 35MW rooftop solar auction has drawn bids as low as INR1.58/kWh (US$0.022), however the tariffs include an escalator and are heavily subsidised.

The rooftop solar comes under India¡¯s RESCO model, where the developer leases out the PV system to the rooftop owner.

The 1.58 rupee tariff for solar on the buildings of Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is the lowest ever tariff for both rooftop and utility-scale solar in India to date.

Vinay Rustagi, managing director at consultancy firm Bridge to India, said: ¡°On the face of it these tariffs, of course, look very low but there is actually 45% subsidy being offered under this tender by state as well as central government. Secondly, the tariff has a 25-year escalation clause so the tariff actually goes up every year by 2.5% so considering these things, the tariff actually starts making much more sense.¡±

Although the projects are yet to be allocated, the tariffs so far and the organisations whose premises will have solar installed were as follows:

- Organisation | Tariff (INR/kWh)
- PGCIL | 1.58
- Institutions of Central Govt./National Importance | 1.67
- Municipal Corporations/Nagar Palika Parisad in MP | 1.69
- Govt. Medical Colleges under Dept. of Medical Education | 1.74
- Govt. Universities in MP | 1.91
- Colleges under department of Higher Educations in MP | 2.21
- Private entities | 2.28
- MP Police Establishments | 2.33
- Govt. Engineering/Poly-Technic/ITI Colleges in MP | 2.35

Before the auction, the tender drew bids from 31 companies.

The 750MW Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh, which drew what were at one time the lowest ever solar tariffs in India, started supplying power to the grid in July.

¡ö Indian ministry recognises pass-through ¡®urgency¡¯ in letter to regulator

(August 29, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India¡¯s Ministry of Power (MoP) has sent a letter to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) asking it to accelerate the pass-through option in the case of any ¡®change in law¡¯ that affects power project costs, including the safeguard duty on solar imports.

The pass-through must be approved by the appropriate commission, but MOP stated that generating companies are facing difficulties in getting the pass-through because of considerably time-consuming approval processes that are resulting in severe cash flow problems for the power producers. This has also resulted in stress in the power sector, said MNRE.

This is pertinent given India¡¯s recent imposition of a 25% safeguard duty on solar imports, which has subsequently been deferred until further notice, but which still threatens to raise costs for developers unless a pass-through on the duty is delivered. The pass-through option for a ¡®Change in law¡¯ is applicable between the time the bids for PV project capacity are submitted and the date of the invoice for the solar modules procured.

MoP has now directed CERC to issue a pass-through for any change in domestic duties, levies, cess and taxes that change costs, unless the PPA states otherwise. CERC must determine the per unit impact of the relevant change in law and issue the order for a pass-through within 30 days of the petition filing, speeding up the overall process.

Vinay Rustagi, managing director of consultancy firm Bridge to India, told PV Tech: ¡°It is symbolic as the pass-through will be provided only where allowed specifically in the PPA. Also, CERC will have a role only in limited pan-India (ISTS) tenders. The important role is to be played by state regulators (SERCs), who often take a somewhat independent approach.

¡°But it is still a positive sign that the government recognises the urgency of the situation and is trying to expedite resolution.¡±

While multi-gigawatts of pan-India Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar tenders have been issued in recent months, there are still specific state tenders and some solar parks tenders being carried out.

¡ö US agrees to consultations with China over renewables subsidies and duties

(August 29, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The US has accepted China¡¯s requests for consultations on its 30% import tariffs on solar cells and modules as well as its renewable energy subsidies.

China made the request on 14 August, while filing a complaint at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the two US renewable energy policies, claiming that they distort the global PV market ¨C a move which came as part of a wider trade battle between the two global powers.

China¡¯s Ministry of Commerce said these US policies ¡°have seriously damaged China's trade interests".

A communication from the delegation of the US, posted on 28 August, stated: ¡°We stand ready to confer with officials from your mission on a mutually convenient date for these consultations.¡±

¡ö GCL-SI increases international sales to 45.80% in 1H 2018 on return to profitability

(August 28, 2018/pv-tech.org)

¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) reported a significant shift of its sales to outside China in the first half of 2018, accounting for 45.80% of total sales in the reporting period that also helped return the company to profitability.

GCL-SI reported first half 2018 operating income of approximately RMB 6.08 billion (US$893.8 million approx.), compared to around RMB 6.38 billion in the prior year period, a decline of 4.71%.

The net profit was RMB 2,558.10 million (US$3.79 million approx.), an increase of 6.53% from the prior year period.

In the first half of 2018, the company's overseas market order book was said to have been full, achieving 1.02GW of overseas market shipments and an operating income of over RMB 2.786 billion (US$409.4 million), a year-on-year increase of 201.88%.

Overseas PV module shipment operating income had been 14% of total income in the first half of 2017.

On a quarterly basis, GCL-SI reported a second quarter 2018 operating income of approximately RMB 4.06 billion (US$596.92 approx.), compared to US$297.09 million in the first quarter of 2018.

Operating income in the second quarter of 2018 was the second highest quarterly record.

The company also benefited from the rush to complete PV Power plants in China before the end of June tariff deadlines but the company noted that the Chinese Governments 5/31 New Deal had reduced domestic demand for PV products, notably in the utility-scale market.

The company noted that utility-scale market in China reached 12.06GW in the first half of 2018, a year-on-year decrease of 30%, while distributed photovoltaic power generation reached 12.24GW, an increase of nearly 72% year-on-year, according to data from China¡¯s National Energy Administration.

GCL-SI said that during the reporting period PV module and component shipments reached 2.34GW, including around a half accounted for by new PV modules such as MBB, bifacial, PERC and other glass-glass products.

¡ö JinkoSolar signs 240MW PV module supply deal for project in Vietnam

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

JinkoSolar has signed off on a 240MW solar module supply agreement with POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering for the second phase of the 420MW Dau Tieng solar plant in Vietnam.

Once completed, the installation will be the largest PV project completed in Southeast Asia.

The Dau Tieng project is being developed by Vietnam's Xuan Cau and Thailand's B.Grimm Power Public, while POWERCHINA will handle EPC duties.

Gener Miao, Vice President of global sales and marketing of JinkoSolar, said: "We stood out from our competition during the selection process by POWERCHINA HUADONG as a result of our excellent products, high-quality services and strong brand recognition. With the reduction of solar costs, the competitiveness of solar energy is increasing, we look forward to working closely again with POWERCHINA to participate in more outstanding solar energy projects globally."

Leiming Shi, vice president of POWERCHINA HUADONG, added: "A number of projects developed by POWERCHINA HUADONG are located in countries that often experience power shortages along the 'Belt and Road' route. These projects have strengthened the partnerships between each country and have helped Chinese companies to go global, allowing them to gain valuable experience in the planning, design, construction and operation of solar plants. Developing a partnership with a global leader like JinkoSolar to push this project forward allows us to use their high quality modules and leverage their mature global sales network. We look forward to deepening our relationship by working on more international power projects in the future and jointly expanding the influence of Chinese companies in the international clean energy market."

Beijing-based PowerChina International Group was awarded the contract to develop the 420MW project. It will cost around US$420 million to construct.

¡ö EU expected to scrap trade measures on Chinese solar imports in September - Report

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

The European Union will reportedly scrap its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on solar cells and module imports from China on 3 September.

Reuters reported EU sources saying that the majority of EU member countries had backed the European Commission¡¯s proposal to drop a request from manufacturer¡¯s association EU Prosun for an expiry review.

Correspondence from an industry source seen by PV Tech also stated that the majority of member states had stuck to their original position in March 2017 calling for the trade measures to run out as soon as possible (an 18-month extension followed). As a result, the Commission is likely to maintain its position not to open a review and the Minimum Import Prices (MIPs) would be terminated in early September this year.

Under the MIP, Chinese manufacturers have been able to sell solar product into Europe above a certain price, but they face duties when selling below that price.

Neither EU Prosun, nor SolarPower Europe, the association that opposes the duties, were available for comment.

However, Reuters reported EU ProSun president Milan Nitzschke as saying that the EU was "irresponsibly dropping all measures and inviting Chinese producers to eliminate European and third-country competition in the EU market".

China's policy upheaval in May has further driven down Chinese prices and left it with multi-gigawatts of overcapacity, with one overcapacity forecast as high as 34GW from US-based investment firm Roth Capital.

Nitzschke also noted that some companies were considering taking legal action at the European Court of Justice.

¡ö Trina Solar building 29MW PV power plant in Miyagi, Japan

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

¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member Trina Solar has started construction of a 29MW PV power plant in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, in collaboration with Thailand¡¯s Banpu Power Public Company.

Trina Solar Japan Energy Co, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trina Solar, is leading the development, engineering, procurement and management of the project, which is in Kurokawa District of northeastern Japan¡¯s Miyagi Prefecture.

The project is expected to be operational and grid connected in the summer of 2019, with electricity sold to regional utility Tohoku Electric Power Co.

Banpu Power was said to have started increasing its renewable power capacity as part of a strategic new business plan.

Trina Solar recently said that it had sold around 900MW of PV power plant projects in the first half of 2018.

¡ö REC Group secures 45MW of module orders for Indian rooftop solar projects

(August 23, 2018/pv-tech.org)

REC Group has secured orders for 45MW of solar modules to be installed at rooftop PV projects under the RESCO rooftop model in India, where the developer leases the rooftop system to the rooftop owner.

The orders from Indian companies Cleanmax Solar (16MW rooftop), Fourth Partner Energy (22MW open access) and SunSource (7MW rooftop) all came in June and July.

Nearly 40MW of the modules supplied will be REC¡¯s TwinPeak 2S 72 Series, which include half-cut PERC cells and a twin-panel design that the company claims performs better under shaded conditions.

Rohit Kumar, head of India Subcontinent for REC, told PV Tech that out of 145MW supplied to India last year by REC Group, 60MW was in the rooftop space and 85MW in ground-mount. This year the company will have supplied 100MW by the end of the September out of which 70MW will be for rooftop projects.

Kumar added: "This year the sales are shifting towards rooftop so far, but all it takes is one utility to shift the balance and that changes quarter to quarter."

Nonetheless he noted that the RESCO model is coming more into consideration in India, with the larger players signing more PPAs.

"The Indian market today is highly fragmented," he added. "There's hundreds of players but consolidation is primarily happening at the RESCO level with Fourth Partner, CleanMax and another couple of companies leading the way."

REC Group has headquarters in Norway and operational headquarters in Singapore.

¡ö Rays Power to open solar retail stores in India

(August 23, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Indian solar developer and EPC firm Rays Power Infra has entered the retail solar segment focusing on PV for homeowners and small-scale commercial establishments, through its group company Rays Future Energy.

The company plans to launch around 10 operational stores in the first year of its operations, and expand to over 70 stores by 2020 covering major cities in India. The solar development firm will commence its first outlet in Gurgaon by the end of November 2018. It will sell various solar-powered products to customers including solar modules, inverters, solar street and garden lights, solar lanterns and bags among others.

RAYS Solar Experience Centers will also be set up to provide plug-n-play solar power packs (2kW to 20kW) for residential rooftops.

The firm, which is based out of Gurgaon and has offices in Hyderabad and Jaipur, expects to start offering batteries and other energy storage solutions in the future, as well as to work with medium-sized companies.

The firm said it planned on taking advantage of government subsidies for rooftop solar, however, latest figures from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) show grid-connected rooftop solar uptake is continuing at a disappointing rate with just 1,223MW installed by 31 July this year.

Rahul Mishra, CEO, Rays Future Energy, said: ¡°The distributed (rooftop) solar business in India is yet to witness the growth it has promised. The sector needs organized private participation from large players to provide quality energy solutions for the residential segment to unlock the large potential that Indian markets offer. We have decided to step into the B2C retail segment and offer simplified energy solutions for retail consumers at their doorstep through our energy experience centers.¡±

Back in March, Indian PV module manufacturer Waaree Energies launched its own do-it-yourself rooftop solar kit, aiming to reduce the time and manpower needed for standard installations.

¡ö Gujarat Discom consults on 1GW solar park

(August 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Distribution company Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) has invited expressions of interest (EoI) for development of 1GW of PV capacity in a solar park at Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), Gujarat.

GUVNL plans to purchase all the power from the solar park and EoIs are to be submitted by 15 October this year.

Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) will be the Nodal Agency for development of the park.

Back in April, plans for a 5GW solar park in the DSIR, that could be the largest in the world, were approved by the Gujarat state government.

An area for a 33kV/220 kV Substation has been earmarked. Capacities from the solar park will be awarded via competitive bidding.

Assessments forecast that the current land area chosen for the solar capacity, which is near the sea shore, is likely to be flooded during the three months of the monsoon, which GUVNL said would add further challenges to operating and maintaining the solar park during that period.

Also back in April, GUNVL cancelled its 500MW solar auction after discovering far higher prices than it had hoped for ¨C even though they hovered around the once reputable 3 rupee per unit mark (US$0.046).

¡ö Pacifico Energy starts building 184MW of solar projects in Japan

(August 22, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Tokyo-based developer Pacifico Energy has started construction on two Japanese solar projects, with one (112MW) located in Wake-gun, Okayama Prefecture and the other (72MW) in Himeji-city, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

The 112MW Bizen plant will be constructed on the site of a golf course in Wake-gun. Operations are expected to start in Spring of 2020. Once commissioned, the plant will generate approximately 132 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Chugoku Electric Power Co will purchase all electricity generated by the plant.

The 72MW Yumesaki plant will also be constructed on the site of a golf course in Himeji. Operations are expected to start in the autumn of 2020. Once commissioned, the plant will generate approximately 84 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Kansai Electric Power Co will purchase all electricity generated by the plant.

Pacifico Energy has already completed construction of two solar power plants in Okayama (in Kumenan and Mimasaka), one solar power plant in Osaki, Miyagi, and one solar power plant in Miyazaki totaling 227.4MW, which are all now in commercial operation.

The firm is currently constructing several other solar power plants, including a 257MW project in Okayama, a 42MW project in Fukushima, a 62MW project in Aichi, and a 55MW project in Gifu.

¡ö Manz gets further €67 million for major CIGS turnkey thin-film order

(August 21, 2018/pv-tech.org)

PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has secured another advanced payment for CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, DiSelenide) thin-film manufacturing equipment, which is part of a major production order with Chinese partners, the Shanghai Electric Group and the Shenhua Group.

Manz said that the payment meant it had received almost €197 million (US$227.76 million) from the order worth around €263 million when it won the order at the beginning of 2017.

Eckhard Horner-Marass, CEO of Manz AG said, "We are very optimistic that we will be able to continue moving forward on this challenging major order with determination and complete it successfully as planned. Our whole team is working ambitiously to complete the next upcoming milestones ¨C if the project continues successfully, we expect follow-up orders from the first half of 2019 onwards."

The orders include a 44MW CIGS research line (CIGSlab) as well as a 306 MW CIGS turnkey system (CIGSfab) for series production of CIGS thin-film solar modules. The CIGSfab was already launched with the groundbreaking in early 2018 in China.

The company noted that completion and acceptance of the CIGSlab and CIGSfab are scheduled for the middle of 2019.

¡ö GA Power to build 58MW of ground-mount solar projects in Vietnam

(August 21, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Singapore-based and German-owned developer German ASEAN Power (GA Power) plans to build two solar projects in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, totalling up to 58MW.

Both projects, whcih are 100% owned by GA Power, will be of 29MW capacity, with one in Cam Hung commune and another in Son Quang commune, having received approval from the Vietnamese Ministry for Industry and Trade (MOIT).

The project sites were chosen based on their proximity to grid-connection points, power evacuation capacity as well as the local and regional long-term power demand situation.

GA Power, which has in-house project development, EPC and O&M services, is now in the process of evaluating project partners and suppliers for the financial and technical implementation of the projects by June 2019.

¡ö Tata Power installs 6MW rooftop solar project at Indian oil refinery

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

Tata Power has built a 6MW rooftop solar project across 34 rooftops of an oil refinery site of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, which is based in the south Indian state of Karnataka.

Tata Power chose 95 string inverters for the project from PV inverter manufacturer Goodwe, which has an Indian office in Mumbai. The GoodWe MT Series inverters (50-70kW), which are aimed at the C&I solar market, have 30% DC input oversizing and a continuous maximum AC output power overload of 15% for use on large-scale commercial rooftops and ground-mount solar PV plants.

¡°These solar plants generate more than 24,000 units per day amounting to more than 8.8 million units per annum,¡± according to the refinery site owner.

"We are delighted to be awarded with a number of megawatt solar rooftops in India," said Goodwe CEO Huang Min. "We will continue to focus on increasing our presence in terms of development and construction activities in India with excellent quality and service.¡±

Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India have previously announced in 2016 that they planned to set up a 1GW solar energy plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh in order to power their oil refineries.

¡ö B.Grimm approves 70MW of rooftop projects

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

10 August: The Board of directors of Thai power firm B.Grimm Power has approved plans for 70MW of rooftop solar projects via its subsidiary B.Grimm Solar Power Rooftop Company Limited.

These projects will be developed in partnership with S.Napa (Thailand).

EPC services will be carried out by Energy China (Thailand).

¡ö SECI tenders 250MW of solar in Maharashtra

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

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for 250MW of solar capacity at the Dondaicha Solar Park (Phase-1) in Dhule, Maharashtra.

The capacity will be split into five projects of 50MW each, with projects set up on a Build Own Operate (BOO) basis.

Power procured by SECI from the project will be sold to the State Discom Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Limited (MSEDCL).

Power purchase agreements (PPAs) will be signed for a period of 25 years at a maximum tariff of INR2.93/kWh. Bidders must only bid for a single tariff across all the projects they bid for.

SECI has recently been concentrating on tenders for interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected projects outside solar parks, but the government's solar park programme is still ongoing with a target of 40GW by 2021-22.

SECI also recently issued a tender for the development of 750MW of grid-connected solar projects in Rajasthan.

¡ö B.Grimm buys 80% stake in 257MW solar project in Vietnam

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

Thai firm B.Grimm Power Plc, through subsidiary B.Grimm Renewable Power 2 Limited, has purchased an 80% stake in a 257MW solar project in Vietnam from Truong Thanh Viet Nam Group (TTVN).

This involved an investment of US$35.2 million in shares of Phu Yen TTP Joint Stock Company, a project company developing the solar plant in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam.

The project has a 20-year PPA for 214.16MW with the national utility EVN. It is expected to be commercially operational by 30 June 2019.

B.Grimm Power has also recently signed a cooperation agreement with Vietnam¡¯s Xuan Cau to develop the largest solar PV project in Southeast Asia, standing at 420MW capacity in Tay Ninh, southwest Vietnam.

¡ö India ROUND-UP: Solar irrigation potential, 5GW manufacturing extension, Assam thermal rooftop PV

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

- Vast potential in India for solar-powered irrigation - IEEFA

17 August: A switch from conventional irrigation-pump systems to solar-powered ones in India would save enormous sums of money and generate income for farmers nationwide, according to a research brief published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

The brief, ¡°India: Vast Potential in Solar-Powered Irrigation¡±, notes that while the idea of replacing some 30 million grid-attached or diesel pumps with solar pumps is gaining traction, the pace of deployment has been slow.

However, it adds that recent solar-irrigation initiatives by way of the central government¡¯s Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme, which supports solar in agriculture, and the Gujarat state government¡¯s Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) scheme are steps in the right direction.

¡°The government, to its credit, is encouraging farmers to install stand-alone, solar-powered, off-grid pumps to not only meet their irrigation needs but also to provide an extra income source from selling surplus power to distribution companies (Discoms),¡± wrote Vibhuti Garg, an IEEFA energy economist and author of the brief. ¡°Considering the declining trend in prices of solar modules combined with economies of scale, IEEFA sees the all-in cost of solar-powered irrigation as a strong argument for reducing reliance on the current expensive government-subsidized model. The strategy also stands to give a strong push to the government¡¯s ¡®Make in India¡¯ program by stimulating domestic solar-pump manufacturing.¡±

- SECI extends deadline for 5GW manufacturing tender

16 August: Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has once again extended the deadline for bid submissions for its 5GW manufacturing tender linked with 10GW of solar deployment to 17 September.

Recent media reports revealed that the government had considered reducing the manufacturing component to 3GW, but today¡¯s extension shows no such intent.

- NTPC tenders for 900kW rooftop solar project at Assam thermal plant

17 August: Indian state-run utility NTPC has issued a tender for a 900kW grid-connected rooftop solar PV project at the 750MW Bongaigaon Thermal Power Project in the Kokrajhar district of Assam.

The contract will be for design, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of the project with O&M services

The deadline for bid submissions is 15 September 2018.

¡ö BIM Group, AC Energy to expand 30MW Vietnam solar plant to 280MW

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

Vietnamese firm BIM Group and AC Energy, part of Filipino conglomerate Ayala Group, have signed EPC and financing documents under which a 30MW solar farm in Ninh Thuan province, Vietnam, will be expanded to 280MW in capacity.

The BIM Solar Power Plant is expected to commence operation in June 2019.

Early this year, the first BIM Energy project broke ground with a total land area of more than 35 hectares. The joint venture plans to further expand the capacity to well over 300MW at a later date.

Bouygues Energies & Services and juwi will be the EPC contractors for the projects.

BIM Group is the majority shareholder with controlling interest, having secured a US$200 million loan from an international bank.

¡ö India ROUND-UP: Sungrow Kolkata office, Open Access nears 2.9GW, KfW €200m loan

(August 14, 2018/pv-tech.org)

- Sungrow opens Kolkata office

14 August: Chinese PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow has opened a new office in Kolkata, India.

The company said the decision to expand its presence in Kolkata was a logical step in its business growth strategy.

Sungrow recently opened a new 3GW plant in Bengaluru that will produce both central and string inverters for customers in India and beyond. India is already a strong market for the company, which claims to have had 2GW of its inverters installed in the last two years.

- Indian Open Access solar market nears 2.9GW

14 August: The total open access solar capacity in India is currently at around 2,894MW, accounting for 12% of overall solar capacity in the country, according to a new report by consultancy firm Bridge to India.

The open access opportunity is highly attractive for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in India, who tend to pay high electricity prices from the grid and who account for 51% of total power consumed in the country.

Bridge to India stated in summary of its ¡®India Solar Open Access Market 2018¡¯ report that "several leading players have entered the market in anticipation of high growth, but the market also faces difficult policy environment and resistance from power utilities¡±.

- KfW offers €200 million financing for Indian renewables

13 August: German development bank KfW is to provide a €200 million loan to Indian entity Rural Electrification Corporate Limited (REC) to help it provide low-interest loans for 200MW of solar and wind energy production.

These loans will be supplemented by counterpart contributions of up to 30% from the borrowers as well as contributions from other banks under syndicate financing packages.

The overall investment is expected to eventually amount to some €285 million. A complementary measure will also see REC receiving a financial grant of €1 million for implementing an environmental and social management solution, which will significantly improve standards in the Indian energy sector.

KfW has previously provided a €200 million loan to India¡¯s Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) to increase energy efficiency in households, industry and agriculture.

¡ö Conergy acquired by Green Investment Group

(August 14, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Developer and EPC firm Conergy has been acquired by the Green Investment Group (GIG).

Conergy Asia & Middle East will become part of GIG, the Macquarie-owned investor previously the UK government¡¯s Green Investment Bank.

The acquisition includes the firm¡¯s development portfolio, asset management platform and a total of 88 Conergy staff covering the gamut of commercial and technical roles for both solar and energy storage.

¡°We are pleased to enhance our solar energy capabilities from development through to design, engineering, procurement and delivery management, to build on Macquarie Capital¡¯s solar energy track record across Asia Pacific,¡± said Neil Arora, head of Macquarie Capital for Asia and the Middle East.

¡°Today¡¯s acquisition will also further strengthen our battery storage expertise and allow us to pursue other investment opportunities in a rapidly-growing region for the renewables sector,¡± he added.

Conergy has developed 500MW in the Asia Pacific region and around 2GW globally. Conergy Asia was acquired by two private equity funds in 2017.

¡°Conergy has had extensive solar experience in the Asia Pacific market and our employees have a strong reputation in the region,¡± said Alexander Lenz, CEO, Conergy. ¡°Given Macquarie¡¯s green investment credentials and activity in the sector, we are excited to join Macquarie and leverage our capabilities to help accelerate Macquarie¡¯s aspirations in solar,¡± he added.

¡ö India clarifies any form of energy storage permitted in wind-solar hybrids

(August 14, 2018/pv-tech.org)

India¡¯s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued an amendment to its National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy, clarifying that any form of energy storage ¨C not just batteries ¨C can be used in hybrid projects.

Parts of the original policy had specified ¡®battery storage¡¯ thereby restricting other forms of storage such as pumped hydro, compressed air, and flywheels, among others. The word ¡®battery¡¯ has now been removed from the relevant clauses of the policy.

Clause 5.4 now reads: ¡°Storage may be added to the hybrid project (i) to reduce the variability of output power from wind solar hybrid plant; (ii) providing higher energy output for a given capacity (bid/ sanctioned capacity) at delivery point, by installing additional capacity of wind and solar power in a wind solar hybrid plant; and (iii) ensuring availability of firm power for a particular period.

¡°Bidding factors for wind solar hybrid plants with storage may include minimum firm power output throughout the day or for defined hours during the day, extent of variability allowed in output power, unit price of electricity, etc."

The hybrid policy was finalised in May this year. In Late June, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) then issued a Request for Selection (RfS) document for 2.5GW of hybrid wind and solar projects to be connected to the Interstate Transmission System (ISTS).

Draft National Energy Storage Mission

India has also released Draft National Energy Storage Mission (NESM) document, which claims that battery manufacturing represents a ¡°huge economic opportunity for India¡±.

The joint report, which focuses on the potential for scaling up domestic manufacturing of batteries for EVs, was written by NITI Aayog (the National Institution for Transforming India) and US think-tank Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).

¡ö Solar Philippines seeks to bring Indian PV competitiveness back to Southeast Asia

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

PV developer and manufacturer Solar Philippines plans to enter the Indian solar market, but then use that experience to become even more competitive in Southeast Asia.

Remarking on what attracts the company to India, Leandro Leviste, CEO of Solar Philippines, told PV Tech: ¡°There's the obvious reason: India's solar industry is 10 times the size of the entire of Southeast Asia's, and after years of getting by with smaller volumes in the Philippines, we felt it was time to participate in India, the most exciting market in the world. A less obvious reason is we hope being in India will train us to bring the same competitiveness back to Southeast Asia, where we see rates of US$0.04-0.06/kWh soon becoming the norm.¡±

Leviste added that his company¡¯s latest tariff in the Philippines stands at US$0.044/kWh (with escalation) ¨C under a 50MW tender held by Filipino utility Meralco ¨C with much higher land and development costs and lower irradiance compared to India. Describing his overall entrance strategy, Leviste noted that his company is willing to accept initially lower returns since it believes in India's massive long-term potential.

India recently imposed a safeguard duty of 25% on imports of cells and modules from developed countries as well as China and Malaysia, which is under dispute in various ongoing legal battles at present. Leviste said he saw the duty as a ¡°short-term consideration¡± that should not deter companies who see the bigger picture, which is of an Indian government that has a long-term vision for solar energy.

When asked whether his firm would participate in India¡¯s new tendering plans to link PV manufacturing with downstream deployment, given Solar Philippines capabilities in both areas, Leviste said: ¡°We would love to explore these opportunities, after we've completed our initial projects in the market, and hope to support the government's ¡®Make In India¡¯ programme over the long-term.¡±

He also indicated a target of 500MW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) within the year in India. Solar Philippines will focus mainly on utility-scale projects but is open to all opportunities and in the long-term is interested in having an increasingly large proportion of its portfolio in mini-grids, as it believes rural India will benefit from solar-plus-storage at competitive rates.¡±

¡ö Sungrow highlights robust floating solar system after drought and typhoon season in Taiwan

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

Major PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow Power Supply Co said that a 1.9MW floating solar (FPV) plant in southern Taiwan had experienced extreme environmental conditions through a dry season and then a typhoon season that caused some unique issues but survived relatively unscathed.

The 1.9MW FPV plant in southern Taiwan had been built and commissioned in April, 2018 but subsequently experienced a rare drought, which had a significant impact on the water level with parts of the lake bed exposed to the sun and dried-out.

Sungrow noted that due to the uneven lake bed, the floating matrix appeared to deform, while one of the main floating bodies was pierced by a tree stump. Fortunately, the distorted floating body and matrix did recover and was said to have operated well after the lakes water level rose after raining.

However, soon after on July 10th, the super typhoon Maria hit the region of the FPV, creating wind speeds near typhoon centre of 30m/s, subsequently the water level in the lake increased rapidly in a very short time.

Sungrow said that the FPV had been specifically designed with an anchoring system that could cope with the local seasonal weather conditions of strong wind and waves as well as the huge difference in water levels.

In addition, Sungrow said that it had conducted a number of tests to enhance the reliability of the FPV plant, which include a bending fatigue test as well as a strain relief test and an environmental stress crack resistance test of the system design and modules. This was said to also be part of studies being undertaken on FPV plants for locating in offshore and high typhoon areas in general.

Sungrow had been a key colaborator on the largest FPV system to be built in 2017, a 40MW system on a former flooded coal mining region in Huainan, south Anhui province, China.

¡ö Ikea in commissioning phase of 800kW rooftop solar plant in Hyderabad, India

(August 8, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Swedish retail giant IKEA will open the doors to its first store in India on Thursday and it is in the commissioning phase of an 800kWp rooftop solar plant to go with it.

Hyderabad-headquartered firm Photon installed the plant, while modules were supplied by China-based Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) member LONGi Solar.

Belgian technical consultant 3E has also carried out a provisional acceptance test (PAC) as part of its analytics service provision.

Ikea will also open rooftop solar plants in Navi Mumbai, and Bangalore of roughly the same size. Designing of these other projects is underway.

¡ö Daqo¡¯s solar wafer sales set to sink 70% in Q3 as China caps bite

(August 7, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy has guided wafer sales volume down 70%, year-on-year as the caps on utility-scale and Distributed Generation (DG) solar projects in China at the end of May start impacting quarterly business results for many companies dependent on the China solar market.

PV Tech had previously highlighted that Daqo¡¯s multicrystalline wafer sales volume had been slashed by as much as 50% for the second quarter of 2018, due to the impact on the caps in the last month of the second quarter.

Daqo had revised its wafer sales volume guidance to approximately 9.5 million to 10.0 million pieces, down from previous guidance of 15.0 million to 20.0 million pieces. In releasing second quarter financial results, wafer sales volume was reported to be 9.8 million pieces, near the high-end of revised guidance.

However, Daqo guided third quarter 2018 multicrystalline wafers sales volume to only reach between 7 million pieces to 8 million pieces, a 70% decline, year-on-year.

¡ö Ciel & Terre opens floating solar factory and prepares first project in India

(August 7, 2018/pv-tech.org)

France-based floating solar specialist Ciel & Terre has launched a new subsidiary in the Indian city of Bangalore, a new manufacturing line in Maharashtra, and is set to deliver floats to its first 5MW project in West Bengal.

St¨¦phane Prouvost, CEO, Ciel & Terre India, told PV Tech that the firm is working on projects spread throughout India, although Bangalore in the southern state of Karnataka is a suitable base given the sizeable tenders coming out of the nearby state of Kerala and other parts of South India.

Prouvost said there are two main markets for floating PV in India. The first is the captive market for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers since India has many conglomerates that own huge water bodies and reservoirs, particularly in heavy industries like steel and thermal power. Power from the grid for such companies comes at more than US$10 cents or 6-9 rupees per unit, whereas floating solar can offer power at less than five rupees.

India also faces high water stress. Some large companies have to import pumped water from hundreds of kilometres away due to restrictions on water use outside of agriculture in certain regions. This is both polluting and expensive, while floating solar is able to significantly reduce the rates of evaporation on these large water bodies due to the cooling and shading effect of the modules on the water.

The second major floating solar market in India is for utility-scale tenders put out by distribution companies (Discoms).

- Manufacturing plant

Ciel & Terre¡¯s 50MW manufacturing line is now up and running in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, after the company partnered with a local blow moulder. Some of the machinery has been imported to speed up the process and improve quality, while high-density polyethylene (HDPE) has also been imported for the Hydrelio product, the company¡¯s trademark floating structure. The firm is already in the process of bringing in more machines to extend the manufacturing line up to 100MW annual capacity.

Having originally seen India as potentially the first major floating PV market in the world 7-8 years ago, Ciel & Terre discovered it was too early, but Prouvost said the market is now up and running with many states pushing for big projects, including Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The firm also generated many major conglomerate leads when it first came to India, with interest from the likes of Tata, JSW Group and Reliance.

Ciel & Terre tends to open manufacturing lines in any markets where floating PV is installed, since transporting large floats can be costly and manufacturing locally can also drive local employment. The firm also explained to PV Tech last year its new manufacturing focus in Southeast Asia.

- 5MW in West Bengal

Ciel & Terre will also very soon supply is floats to a 5MW project on a raw water pond at Sagardighi Thermal Power Project, Murshidabad, West Bengal, following a 10MW tender from West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL).

The French firm is also in charge of the design of the floating structure. For each new water body, the company has to alter its designs to take into account the shape of the reservoir. It also designs the anchoring system which is affected by the local wind conditions, water level variation and soil computation. The company will also soon start installing the anchoring system at the West Bengal site and there are plans to extend the project to 15MW in size.

International Coil Limited is performing EPC services on this project.

Demand for floating solar technology is growing in India and Ciel & Terre is also in discussion with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for a 170MW floating PV project at the Rihand Dam in Uttar Pradesh, India¡¯s largest dam by volume.

- Safeguard Duty effects

While the Indian Ministry of Finance¡¯s decision to impose a 25% safeguard duty on cell and module imports will certainly pose a challenge to the overall solar industry, Prouvost said that in a way it can be seen as a boon to floating solar, which is in constant competition with ground-mount PV. Ground-mount is cheaper than floating PV, but a higher overall cost of modules for both technologies under the duties should make the cost difference between both technologies less pronounced.

Nonetheless, any added costs do impact the attractiveness of floating solar, particularly for captive projects, where the customer can directly compare floating solar costs with those of grid power.

However, the case for deploying floating solar on big industrial water bodies is also driven by the reality that many large Indian industries do not have an abundance of available land for ground-mount solar.

¡ö SECI tenders 750MW of solar in Rajasthan

(August 6, 2018/pv-tech.org)

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for the development of 750MW of grid-connected solar projects in Rajasthan.

The developers will be responsible for land acquisition, transmission and grid-connection as well as long-term open access. They shall set up the PV projects on a build, own and operate (BOO) basis.

SECI will sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with successful bidders for a period of 25 years at a maximum tariff of INR2.93/kWh.

Projects will have a minimum capacity of 10MW and a maximum of the full 750MW, with project allocation going up in increments of 10MW at a time.

Any excess generation over and above 10% of the declared annual capacity utilisation factor (CUF) will be purchased by SECI at a fixed tariff of 75% of the PPA tariff, provided SECI is able to find a buyer for this excess generation.

Developers of projects of up to 240MW in size will have 21 months from the date of signing the PPA to complete the projects, following a recent Ministry of Power solar procurement guidelines amendment that allowed procurers to extend the deadline for commissioning projects. In SECI's tender, projects of 250MW and above in capacity will have 24 months from the PPA signing date to be completed.

The bid submission deadline is 14 September this year.

Cost versus safeguard

SECI recently cancelled 2.4GW of auctioned projects under its 3GW Interstate Transmission System (ISTS)-connected solar tender, accepting only the 600MW won by Acme Solar due to its significantly lower bid of INR2.44/kWh. Media reports said that all other winning developers had refused government requests for them to lower their original winning bids.

It is unclear exactly how the imposition of new safeguard duty will impact any bidding in the case of a re-tender, but it will certainly be an extra factor pushing bids higher than before due to the extra costs on importing modules.

Meanwhile, bids in SECI¡¯s 200MW Odisha tender, for which an auction was held the day after the safeguard duty announcement, came in at between INR 2.79-3.20/kWh. These prices were seen as fairly unaffected by the safeguard announcement, although the tender does explicitly include a pass-through clause for a change-in-law.

¡ö Panda Green Energy expects to report a loss for the first half of 2018

(August 6, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China-based PV energy provider (PVEP) Panda Green Energy Group said it expected to report a net loss for the first half of 2018 of around RMB 80 million (US$11.7 million).

The company cited several reasons for the expected loss, primarily due to an accounting reduction in the fair value of its 75% equity interest in a company planning to build hydro-electric power stations and 80MW of solar power capacity in Tibet and Sichuan in partnership with the People¡¯s Government of Tibet Autonomous Region. The fair value was reduced on the basis that only 20MW of PV power plants were built in the reporting period.

The company is still being impacted by finance costs, which include convertible bonds, which were redeemed early as well as bank and other borrowings undertaken in the last few years to develop its power plant portfolio, which in 2017 had increased by 747.9MW, while cumulative power plant capacity reached 2,087.3MW, up approximately 62% from the prior year.

The company also noted that it was ¡°re-measuring the value of its financial instruments,¡± which were subject to the finalization of the valuation results for the reporting period.

However, Panda Green also noted that its cumulative installed capacity of power plants had reached around 2.1GW in the first half of 2018, indicating little if any project development being undertaken in the reporting period.

The company guided revenue and EBITDA in the reporting period to have increased by around 50% and 60%, respectively, compared to the prior year period.

¡ö GCL-Poly and Shanghai Electric US$2 billion polysilicon business deal collapses

(August 6, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings has agreed with Shanghai Electric Group to terminate a framework agreement announced in early June, 2018 with Shanghai Electric Group to sell a 51% stake in polysilicon production subsidiary Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon.

GCL-Poly said that after multiple rounds of discussions and negotiations the size and complexity of the transaction meant it was difficult to reach a full agreement on the relevant acquisition terms and plans within a reasonable timeframe.

Both companies were said to have agreed that the timing and conditions for proceeding with the deal were ¡°not mature enough.¡±

PV Tech had previously reported that the initial had been driven by the recent Chinese government¡¯s decision to cap solar growth in the country. GCL Group has had ambitions to establish manufacturing hubs outside of China, such as India and the Middle-East to support global expansion of both its upstream and downstream businesses.

¡ö JA Solar wins 404MW Mexico deal

(August 3, 2018/pv-tech.org)

JA Solar will provide 404MW of modules for a major project in Mexico.

The Puerto Libertad solar project in the Sonoran Desert is being developed by Spain¡¯s Acciona and Mexican firm Tuto Energy.

JA said the chosen modules had to stand up to the extreme climatic conditions presented by the desert and had undergone ¡°drought and sand tests, dry heat and damp heat tests¡±.

"We are optimistic about the industry outlook and solar energy development in Mexico,¡± said Cao Bo, VP, JA Solar. ¡°In 2017, we established a Mexican subsidiary to expand our presence and support our customers and partners in the region. JA Solar will continue to focus on expanding its share of the market in the region, and providing customers with more reliable PV modules and higher-quality services."

When finance for the project was closed in July, it was revealed that the project would be using polycrystalline modules and trackers.

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is the offtaker for 229MW of the capacity with the requisite green electricity certificates provided. Private PPAs for 114MW of capacity are in place and 61MW will be sold on the wholesale market.

¡ö Hanwha Q CELLS plans to follow major rivals in exiting US stock markets

(August 2, 2018/pv-tech.org)

¡®Silicon Module Super League¡¯ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS said it would seek to de-list from NASDAQ, following two major SMSL members, Trina Solar and JA Solar to go private after years of experiencing lower valuations on the NYSE and NASDAQ stock markets, compared to smaller listed rivals with US headquarters.

Hanwha Q CELLS said that a subsidiary of its parent company, Hanwha Chemical Corporation plans to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company not already owned by Hanwha Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., (HSH) another subsidiary of Hanwha Chemical.

HSH is proposing to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the SMSL not already owned by HSH in a ¡®going private¡¯ transaction for a cash consideration of US$9.00 per American Depositary Share ("ADS", each ADS representing fifty ordinary shares) or US$0.18 per ordinary share.

As usual in such transactions, Hanwha Q CELLS intends to form a special committee consisting of independent directors to consider this proposal.

In both recent examples of Trina Solar and JA Solar the proposals were agreed and the companies de-listed.

PV Tech had previously highlighted in 2016 a shift by Hanwha Q CELLS to limit reporting various business information in its quarterly financial reports and earnings calls with financial analysts. The number of analysts on earnings calls had decreased over time, culminating in no financial analyst attending recent live conference calls, as observed by PV Tech.

Hanwha Q CELLS recently announced that it would still report second quarter 2018 financial Results on August 13.

¡ö Daiwa establishes ¡®Solar Fund¡¯ for large-scale projects in Japan

(August2 , 2018/pv-tech.org)

Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities Group has established Daiwa GI Green Fund LLC ¨C also known as the ¡®Solar Fund¡¯ ¨C jointly with GI Capital Management and Daiwa Real Estate Asset Management in order to make greenfield investments in mega- and large-scale solar projects in Japan.

The Solar Fund aims to support various parts of project development including construction costs, the preconstruction phase and obtaining project finance from financial institutions.

Daiwa had already established Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure Co. Ltd. (DEI) to expand its presence in energy and infrastructure sectors and the creation of the Solar Fund comes as part of this. Committed capital in the fund stands at JPY5 billion (US$44.8 million).

¡ö Trina supplying Mono PERC solar modules to 258MW Vietnam project

(August 2, 2018/pv-tech.org)

Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) member Trina Solar will provide 258MW of its monocrystalline PERC double glass modules to one of the largest private solar PV projects in Vietnam and what is claimed to be the first hybrid wind and solar farm in the country.

The power station, located in Phan Rang-Thap Cham, capital of Ninh Thuan Province, has received investment from Vietnamese investment firm Trung Nam Group. Construction is scheduled to be completed by 30 June 2019. The power station, backed by investment totaling around US$220 million, covers 264 hectares.

Yin Rongfang, vice president and head of global sales and marketing at Trina Solar, said: "We are honored to partner with Trung Nam in the integrated renewable power generation project that set new benchmarks in the industry in Vietnam, marking one further step in Trina Solar's commitment to emerging markets. With a deep understanding of the Vietnamese market, we have built a 1GW solar cell production facility in the country, in addition to several new projects under development."

German firm Siemens has won a contract to supply inverter systems and other equipment to investment and construction corporation Trungnam Group¡¯s solar plant. The project will also use single-axis trackers.

A joint venture between Thai energy firm B.Grimm Power and Vietnamese conglomerate Xuan Cau Group has awarded Beijing-based PowerChina International Group a contract to build the largest solar PV project in Southeast Asia, a 420MW project in Tay Ninh, Vietnam.

In 2017, Trina Solar's global shipments amounted to more than 9GW, over 60 percent of which were delivered to locations outside of the PV manufacturer's home market of China.

Although China's domestic demand for residential and utility-scale ground solar PV installations decreased due to new government policies for the PV market enacted on 31 May 2018, Trina Solar claimed in a release that it is strengthening its capabilities in terms of expanding into overseas markets as part of its long-term development plan and strategy of balancing its focus in both traditional and emerging markets.

¡ö GCL New Energy placed rush module orders with Suntech and Hanwha Q CELLS

(August 1, 2018/pv-tech.org)

China-based PV project developer GCL New Energy (GCL-NE), a subsidiary of leading clean energy conglomerate GCL Group announced that it had purchased PV modules from both Wuxi Suntech and Hanwha Q CELLS in order to meet Chinese FIT construction deadlines, instead of typically using sister company GCL System Integration¡¯s (GCL-SI) PV modules.

GCL-NE noted that a supply deal with Wuxi Suntech in April 2018 called for 40MW of modules at a price of RMB 2.43 per watt (US$0.36/W), at a total cost of RMB 97,200,000 (US$14.29 million approx.)

A second supply deal was signed with Hanwha Q CELLS to provide 80MW of solar modules at a unit price of RMB 2.48 per watt at a total consideration of RMB 198,400,000 (US$29.18 million approx.)

Both module supply deals were said by GCL-NE to have been signed to meet construction completion dates and full-grid connection on PV power plants in China by 30 June 2018 so as to qualify for electricity tariffs set in 2017.

Recent official figures from China put first half year PV installations at over 24GW.

GCL-NE has used both companies in the past for module supply.

However, GCL-NE also signed a supply deal for Hanwha Q Cells modules at the end of July 2018 for 100MW of solar modules at a unit price of not higher than RMB 2.03 per watt (US$0.30/W) at a total consideration of not higher than RMB 203,000,000 (US$29.86 million approx..).

At the same time, GCL-NE also signed a 100MW supply purchase agreement with Wuxi Suntech at a unit price of not higher than RMB 2.0 per watt (US$0.29/W) at a total consideration of not higher than RMB 200,000,000 (US$29.42 million approx.).

¡ö India tender ROUND-UP: Himachal solar-storage, 150MW in Telangana, Clean room at NISE

(August 1, 2018/pv-tech.org)

SECI tenders for solar-plus-storage in Himachal Pradesh

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for EPC of a grid-connected 2MWac solar PV project linked with 1MW / 1MWh of battery energy storage on government land at Kaza, in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh.

The notice of issue (NIT) was released on behalf of Himachal Renewable Limited, a JV between SECI and Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEBL).

The tender is for design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing, commissioning including five of O&M services of the plants at the town of Kaza, which is the subdivisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district.

The battery will be located at Rangreek, near Rong Tong Hydro Power Station, 12,000 feet in altitude, facing annual temperature ranges of -40¡ãC to 30¡ãC. The area can see snow of up to six feet in winter months.

The tender noted that the battery ¡°shall be designed for maximum flexibility with regard to site-specific voltages, frequency, phase imbalance, and protection requirements¡±.

Any battery technology can be used as long it is deemed suitable for the location¡¯s climatic conditions. The batteries will also be containerised.

There was good news for energy storage in India recently with the reduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) on lithium-ion batteries.

SECI also recently issued a tender for two 1.5MW(AC) solar power projects with battery energy storage systems of 0.75MW / 2.5MWh each at two locations in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

SECI tenders for 150MWac EPC in Telangana

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender for EPC services on 150MW(AC) of solar PV projects at various locations of government-owned coal mining firm Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) in the state of Telangana.

The tender will include domestic competititve bidding and will be uploaded onto SECI¡¯s website on 6 August.

MNRE tenders for clean room for PV lab at NISE

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has tendered for a Class 100K clean room for advanced PV characterisation laboratory on a turnkey basis at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) at Gurugram, Haryana.

Technical bids will be opened on 13 August 2018. The tender is for planning, design, development, supply, execution and commissioning of the clean room.