Trade tariffs are spreading across the global PV industry. The United States has been especially active with its sandwich of old antidumping and countervailing duties coupled with new Section 201, 232 and 301 duties. Some of these are part of the Sino-U.S. trade dispute; others impact not only Chinese producers, but manufacturers around the world. So, what will be the impact of this new era of PV protectionism on the solar sector?

A British study has found co-location of solar and storage may accelerate the deployment of profitable merchant renewable energy projects in the United Kingdom. The report predicts installed solar capacity in the U.K. could increase from around 13 GW next year to 19 GW in 2030 and 32 GW in 2040.

Revision in the outlook to ‘stable’—from ‘positive’—stems from resurfacing renegotiation fears and continued delay in payments from some of the offtakers.

The project—commissioned for food processing firm Keventer Agro—is spread across 250×70 m2 and uses 6240 numbers of Vikram’s high-efficiency 345Wp monocrystalline modules.

The plant—with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd as the offtaker—is the company’s first ISTS connected solar project.

Why on earth would you want to install PV on water? There seem to be plenty of safer sites for solar PV on solid ground or stable rooftops. Nicolas Choleur of Everoze highlights the key requirements for the bankability of floating PV, right through the project life cycle, from development to dismantling.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the institutions was not solar specific but the use of PV modules for shading, especially in agriculture, can reduce water consumption and help halt the expansion of deserts.

With the power minister hinting a new renewable energy tariff policy could be in the works, the federal agency responsible for solar – which has come under fire after the latest delay to a troubled PV manufacturing tender – has boasted of the volume of clean power it has signed deals for recently.

Technical consultancy DNV GL has published its Energy Transition Outlook 2019. While the electric vehicle, storage and renewable energy industries are likely to see significant rises in demand, the sobering conclusion is the world will miss carbon reduction targets by a long shot.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India has extended the deadline yet again for a procurement exercise originally intended to secure 5 GW of PV manufacturing capacity and 10 GW of generation assets 13 months ago. The deadline for bidding for 2 GW of production and 6 GW of generation capacity is now October 11.

The invention converts energy produced by PV cells directly into mechanical motion without batteries or power electronics. Its developers claim the solar motor can drive irrigation water pumps and ventilation turbines for more than 20 years without maintenance.

The Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and the Ministry of Science and Technology of State of Israel will fund joint research on advanced materials for next-generation solar energy utilization and energy storage. The deadline for the submission of proposals is December 5.

October 16 is the bidding deadline for rooftop and ground-mounted solar plants that are to set up in various sizes—10 KWp or smaller, 11-100 KWp, above 100 kWp and combinations thereof—within consumer premises across the state.

October 3 is the bidding deadline for the ‘RESCO mode’ projects that can be developed using Indian or foreign make crystalline silicon solar modules.

In addition to accelerated deployment of battery based energy storage systems, the country needs to look at a combination of technologies to manage peak electricity demand whilst maintaining grid stability at least overall cost.

The GCL System chief executive made comments that fly in the face of an expected solar gold rush in China that analysts predict will start this month. Though rising overseas demand will address overcapacity fears, according to Luo, the soundbite is sure to chill PV boardrooms across the world’s biggest solar market.

The U.S. company claims its 300 MW manufacturing plant in Hyderabad will deliver a fully integrated and customizable system solution of solar panels, lithium battery packs and controllers under a single roof.

Choosing the best material to cover the backside of a module has long been a contentious issue, and the rise of bifacial technology has brought further complexity to the debate. With transparent backsheet materials quickly making their way to market, the Intersolar Europe edition of the Quality Roundtable event series sought to bring some clarity to the rear side of modules, and illuminate some of the issues that can occur in the field – both with glass-glass and glass-backsheet modules.

Jaipur based Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited has invited bids for supply of 10,00,000 quantities of 4.6W multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Bidding closes on September 19.

Decentralized model of solar project development has avoided the need to spend huge amounts on grid upgrades in India’s newest state. With EV charging plans advancing Telangana now intends to change policy to reflect falling solar costs.

Two related challenges have become barriers to increasing penetration levels for rooftop solar: the hosting capacity of the grid, and the need to maintain stability during periods of peak demand. The Future PV Roundtable, held alongside The smarter E event in Munich, looked at how distributed energy resources such as PV and battery storage, along with demand-side flexibility, can help to meet these challenges – all thanks to VPPs.

The energy storage company is ramping up R&D efforts to try and fast-track commercialization of the more productive – and more expensive – battery tech. The news was announced as part of an uninspiring first-half update thanks to falling lithium salt prices.

Vehicle-to-grid functions could soon become increasingly important. While policymakers discuss the necessary regulations in other nations, the Netherlands government is motoring ahead with the technology.

Pilot-scale operations at a facility near Mumbai successfully recycled the spent Li-ion batteries. The company seeks to eventually scale up the capacity to recycle 500 tonnes of spent Li-ion batteries.

The charging stations—located at the resorts of Haryana Tourism Corporation Ltd at Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat and Samalkha (Sonepat)—are equipped with a rooftop solar power plant each to supply green energy for electric vehicle chargers.

The goal of the ‘SuryaKranti Solar Challenge’ is to develop a deeper collaboration between Indian industry and its engineering colleges. The event, on the lines of World Solar Challenge-Australia, aims to drive the culture of innovation in India by trying to solve a great challenge of climate change: building a sun powered car and driving it for a significant distance.

Most residential customers buy PV systems by obtaining quotes directly from PV installers. However, this can prove time consuming, costly and ineffective. Homeowners need an online quote platform, which offers a seamless buying experience. This can increase solar power awareness among Indian homeowners and help grow the adoption of rooftop solar power in the Indian residential market.

India needs special institutional structures within leading public financial institutions to cater to market segments that do not attract commercial capital at competitive terms.

Since 2017, several European governments have announced bans on sales of conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles. Countries like France and the United Kingdom have set bans to come into force by 2040, while Norway has set a more ambitious goal of 2025. Raquel Soat, Research Analyst at Navigant, looks at how policy might affect European electric vehicle markets over the coming years.

Solar pioneer Philip Wolfe lists the world’s largest solar parks. In these articles, a ‘solar park’ is defined as a group of co-located solar power plants.