Shunfeng forecasts $255m loss for 2018

New solar installations in the European Union reached around 8 GW last year

The world’s biggest solar market reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 174.63 GW at the end of last year.

More predictions from IHS Markit reveal that 123 GW of solar PV installations are expected in 2019 – up 18% on the capacity additions expected this year. It also sees a market shift away from China, with two thirds of capacity located elsewhere. The overcapacity situation is also expected to ease.

Around 34.5 GW of PV was installed in China in the first three quarters – 1.5 GW more than expected by IHS analysts, who have raised their full-year guidance.

Lazard’s newly released Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis 12.0, and Storage 4.0, finds that where utility scale wind works, it dominates – and that the unsubsidized cost to build new utility wind and solar facilities is equal to, and often less than running already-built fossil facilities.

With the ruling coalition having agreed to extend additional tenders for PV and wind power, a related, draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Economics has been disclosed. The policy document includes a proposal for a 20% FIT reduction for solar installations ranging in size from 40 kW to 750 kW.

The CIS thin film solar module maker was taken over, together with its parent company Japan’s oil and gas group, Showa Shell Sekiyu, by Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu.

Though lauded at times as a water-saving technology, PV’s concentration in arid and remote regions, in conjunction with inefficient cleaning methods, can exacerbate water scarcity and prompt rising water tariffs for plant operators, according to a new report on Indian PV installations, published by analysts Bridge to India.

Currently, new anti-dumping proceedings against solar glass makers from Malaysia are taking place in the EU. Imports of Chinese solar glass have been subject to high anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties since 2014. The European module manufacturers fear further massive competitive disadvantages and the danger of an Interfloat monopoly in Europe.

Greece’s energy regulator has published the successful solar PV and wind bids, which were awarded under the country’s renewable energy tender on Monday. The lowest tariff awarded was €62.97 per MWh for a solar project.

While overall global investment in clean energy saw a decrease of just 1% YoY in the first half of 2018, solar’s share dropped 19% following changes to China’s PV policy and lower project costs, says Bloomberg NEF (BNEF). It forecasts this trend to continue throughout the year.

China’s cumulative solar installations reached approximately 125.8 GW by the end of November, suggesting that PV developers completed nearly 50 GW of capacity in the first 11 months of 2017, according to new government statistics.

2017 was a busy year for India’s solar industry. As of the end of November, the country had installed around 5.5 GW of PV. With its ambitious renewable energy goals, it is paving the way to becoming a world leader in the industry. Overall, the country saw a rapid increase in renewable energy activity, with solar dominating almost 48% share of total capacity installed.