• January 05, 2023

The year ahead will see major changes for the U.S. solar industry. The past year has been a turning point for the U.S. solar industry. The start of the year was marked by ongoing pandemic-related delays, trade enforcement, supply chain issues and higher prices for components and shipping. Many headwinds led to delays and cancellations, and project deployments fell short of initial forecasts. There was renewed optimism in the second half of the year as the landmark 2022 U.S. Inflation Reduction Act passed, allocating a record $369 billion in spending for climate and energy measures. Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, dubbed the next 10 years the "solar plus decade," as solar and storage buildouts are expected to continue their momentum, now driven by spending plans. What can we expect in 2023? As is the case with new technology policy and adoption, the country will use California as a case study for where the solar industry is headed. Specifically, net energy metering (NEM), which contributes to the value of solar energy on residential rooftops, will be a policy of renewed focus this year. Just before the clock switched to 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved NEM 3.0, changing the mechanics of how residential rooftop solar customers get paid for sending excess generation to the grid. Under the new NEM 3.0, Californians who install projects after April 15 will receive an average of 75% less export solar than under the previous system. This disruptive impact on customer value has led ROTH Capital Partners to project a 30% year-over-year decline in residential solar installations in the state by 2022. The state will be watching California's residential solar industry closely to see how it will adapt to the loss of system value. Installations are expected to surge by April as Californians rush to secure NEM 2.0 credits for the next 20 years. After that, the industry's installation requests could drop sharply, as happened in Nevada in 2017, when it made similar cuts to net metering.

• January 03, 2023

Japan's Okinawa Electric Power Company introduced photovoltaic curtailment measures in response to high solar radiation levels and low energy demand. For the first time, Okinawa Electric Power has cut power supplies from solar power plants and other renewable energy sources. The Japanese utility said it was forced to take the measures in response to high solar radiation levels and low energy demand during the holiday season. The control period will run from 8am (GMT+9) to 4pm and will last at least three days, depending on weather and demand, the company said. It noted that the measure was implemented from Jan. 1, when electricity demand reached about 669 MW, compared with supply of 738 MW. Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture in Japan. According to The Okinawa Times, the prefecture currently has about 1,400 solar installations.

• December 30, 2022

Dear new and old customers: Thank you for your continued trust and support in 2022, and we look forward to working together in 2023. Wintop wishes you a Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in the new year!

• December 28, 2022

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Administration Laura Daniel-Davis recently announced new government initiatives to support solar development on public lands in the West and help achieve the country's ambitious renewable energy and protect the target. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, will develop an updated plan to guide responsible solar development activities on public lands through an updated Solar Project Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) based on the 2012 version. The 2012 Solar PEIS identified Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah as states with high solar potential and low resource conflict to guide responsible solar development. Now through 2022, the BLM will add more states, adjust exclusion criteria and seek to identify new or expanded areas to prioritize solar deployment. Meanwhile, the BLM is initiating a review of three proposed solar projects on public lands in Arizona with an estimated combined capacity of more than 1 GW. They are the proposed 600 MW utility-scale Jove Solar Project in southeastern La Paz County, the 250 MW Pinyon Solar Project in Maricopa County, and the 300 MW Elizabeth Solar Project in Yuma County.

• December 20, 2022

In yet another record year for solar, SolarPower Europe estimates that European PV capacity will grow by 47% in 2022, from 28.1 GW in 2021 to 41.4 GW this year. Germany installed the most with 7.9 GW, followed by Spain with 7.5 GW and Poland with 4.9 GW. For the first time, the top 10 solar markets in Europe all added at least 1 GW. According to the SPE, total solar capacity in the EU has grown by 25%, from 167.5 GW in 2021 to 208.9 GW in 2022. The industry body forecasts annual PV growth in Europe to reach 53.6 GW in 2023 and 85 GW in 2026 under its "most likely" scenario. This means that the EU solar market will more than double within four years, reaching 484 GW by 2026. Five key areas for Europe to get ready for solar: expanding the number of solar installers, maintaining regulatory stability, improving grid stability, simplifying administrative procedures, and strengthening European manufacturing.

• December 16, 2022

Tokyu Land and Dutch offshore PV specialist SolarDuck will develop a floating solar project in the Tokyo Bay area. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has awarded Japanese real estate company Tokyu Land a contract to build an offshore floating photovoltaic demonstration project in the Tokyo Bay area. Tokyu Land stated that it will build the demonstration project in cooperation with Dutch offshore photovoltaic specialist SolarDuck and Tokyo-based Everblue Technologies, and said it would provide more project details after consultation with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Policy Planning Bureau. The three companies aim to commercialize floating solutions throughout Japan in the future. In 2021, SolarDuck unveiled the first solar demonstration project using its floating structure technology for estuaries, natural harbors and offshore sites, an nearshore site on the Waal (Rhine) channel near IJzendoorn in the Dutch province of Gelderland Deploy a 64 kW system. Recently, SolarDuck agreed to develop a pilot project in the North Sea in cooperation with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), the Netherlands Maritime Research Institute (MARIN) and Deltares. The consortium of companies has received 7.8 million euros in funding from the Dutch government. The floating array fixes the solar panels at a height of more than 3 meters above the water surface, and is able to cope with coastal sea conditions and hurricanes, and the system is optimized for offshore sites in estuaries and natural harbors, as well as nearshore sites. The basic floating platform is a 16m x 16m x 16m triangular structure, similar to an offshore floating wind power platform or a floating stone well platform, which can be flexibly connected together to form a large power station.

• December 12, 2022

According to the latest report from Mercom India, an Indian research institute, India installed 1.9 GW of open solar (photovoltaic capacity supported by private contracts) from January to September this year, which is an increase of 96% on the basis of 956 MW in the same period in 2021. In December 2021, the country's cumulative "open" solar power generation capacity exceeded 7 GW, of which Karnataka was about 2.7 GW, accounting for as much as 38%. Maharashtra was second with an installed open solar capacity of 801 MW, accounting for about 11% of the total capacity. High electricity tariffs, timely approvals by distribution companies, and favorable regulatory frameworks are the key drivers of open solar capacity growth in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, the report said. India will add 596 MW of new open solar capacity in Q3 2022, compared to just 312 MW in Q3 2021. As of September 30, more than 5 GW of open PV projects are planned (in development and pre-construction stages).

• December 08, 2022

The Tokyo municipality is working on new regulations to make it mandatory for new homes with a total roof area of more than 20 square meters and for buildings with a roof area of less than 2,000 square meters to install solar energy. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japan Photovoltaic Electricity Association (JPEA) are jointly developing new regulations to support the development of rooftop photovoltaics throughout the Japanese capital. The authorities plan to introduce new mandatory PV requirements for new buildings and dwellings from 2025. The city government first announced plans for a mandatory solar requirement in early September and it is still under discussion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. The new rules, if approved, could apply to new homes with a roof area of more than 20 square meters and buildings with a total roof area of less than 2,000 square meters, and could also require businesses to install solar arrays on 30 percent of their roof area, and some parts of the city will also May face the requirement of 85% PV coverage on all roofs. The new rules, which will require developers and installers to use panels from manufacturers that respect human rights, appear to mean that solar modules made with polysilicon from Xinjiang, China, may not be allowed due to alleged use of forced labour.

• December 06, 2022

The Spanish government said it would finance five hybrid battery storage projects with a cumulative installed capacity of at least 600 MW. Each project can receive up to 15 million euros ($15.68 million) in funding. The Spanish government has announced plans to fund hybrid energy storage projects that use renewable energy to generate electricity. This is part of Spain's Recovery, Transformation and Recovery Plan (RRTP). The initiative will fund five energy storage projects with a cumulative installed capacity (equivalent to total energy supply) of at least 600 MW. These projects must use a combination of renewable energy sources, and the funds can only be used for new energy storage. Each project and each developer can receive up to 15 million euros in financial support. The amount of assistance for each installation will be determined based on the total project cost and the size of the developer. The same project can receive funding from the Spanish government incentive program and other EU programs at the same time, but these funds cannot be used to pay for the same expense. The government will only subsidize projects that would face financial difficulties without state support. Projects that were in development before applying for funding are also not eligible. Projects without grid connection permits can also apply for financing, as developers can apply for permits during the implementation phase. In order to speed up the project financing process, developers can ask the government to prepay 80% of the total funds.