• November 14, 2023

Statistics from Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej, a Polish research institute, show that despite the rise in the number of project rejections, the Polish solar market is still expected to see significant growth due to an increase in the number of projects receiving grid-connected permits. Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO) revealed that as of the end of September, 6,929 PV projects with a total capacity of about 18 GW had been granted preliminary grid-connection permits. Compared to the end of March, project and planned capacity increased by 41% and 46%, respectively. Since December, Polish authorities have issued grid-connected permits for 6.6 GW of PV projects, of which 1.2 GW also received construction permits. "In total, the total capacity of PV projects with construction permits between December 2022 and November 2023 is more than 2.5GW," the IEO said. Despite new projects and increasing capacity, the country's transmission system operators have rejected many project applications. Over the past two quarters, for example, Enea has rejected 380 project applications with a total capacity of 6.28 GW and 109 projects with a total capacity of 312 MW. According to the IEO, by the end of 2022, Poland's cumulative installed PV capacity has reached 12.4 GW. By the end of 2025, its installed solar capacity could more than double to 26,791 MW. IEO's latest report shows that the country is expected to add about 5,981 MW of PV capacity this year, while 4,392 MW and 3,996 MW are expected to be added in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

• November 09, 2023

According to data from OPIS, a subsidiary of Dow Jones, solar cell prices hit a record low this week. The assessed prices of Mono Perc M10 and G12 cells were US$0.0603 per watt and US$0.0645/watt respectively, and the FOB China prices were US$0.0056/watt and US$0.0058 respectively. /watt. Last week. Prices for M10 TOPCon cells also fell by $0.0031/W on a weekly basis to $0.0690/W. Battery prices fell for the fourth consecutive week, according to OPIS data. Due to a serious lack of downstream demand, battery manufacturers have launched price wars; one battery manufacturer said they must compete to reduce prices to stimulate demand and increase sales. According to OPIS market research, the market mainstream product Mono Perc M10 battery is currently valued at approximately RMB 0.489 (USD 0.067)/W ExW in the Chinese domestic market this week. This is approximately 27% lower than the price of approximately CNY0.67/W at the beginning of the third quarter. According to industry insiders in the polysilicon industry, based on current upstream material prices, the cash cost for Tier 1 battery manufacturers to produce Mono Perc M10 batteries is approximately 0.48 yuan/W. At the same time, a second-tier cell supplier said they were losing money selling Mono Perc M10 cells at a price of 0.5 yuan/W, indicating that their production costs were higher.

• November 07, 2023

Chinese cell and solar module manufacturer BYD has recently developed a bifacial photovoltaic panel for agrivoltaics. The company has developed its new "Bem-te-vi" panels at BYD's module factory in Campinas, near São Paulo, Brazil. . Its power output is 340W to 355W, and its power conversion efficiency is 16.33%. It uses 36 half-cell, 23% efficient monocrystalline PERC cells and uses a multi-busbar architecture. A BYD Energy spokesman said the panel also has a transparent backsheet. These panels can form greenhouses or enclosures, optimizing the use of space and allowing light to reach the crops. BYD will deploy these new panels in a 100 kW agrivoltaic array at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Brazil.

• November 02, 2023

French independent power producer (IPP) Neoen and Swedish solar developer Alight said this morning they have begun joint development and ownership of the 100 MW Hultsfred solar project in Småland, Sweden. The project will install low-carbon photovoltaic panels around the runway of Hultsfred Airport and connect it to E.ON, Germany's largest electricity supplier. The CEO of E.ON Energidistribution pointed out that this is very important to ensure the power supply in southern Sweden. The developer plans to put the project into operation from 2025 and sell 95% of the electricity to H&M Group through a long-term power purchase agreement to support the retailer's renewable energy goals. The exact purpose of the power supply has not yet been determined.

• October 30, 2023

An important milestone in Taiwan's green energy development, Taipower held a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony for its innovative "Sun Rock" green energy operation and maintenance center. This historic project is a collaboration with Reiju Construction and renowned construction company MVRDV, aiming to set new standards for sustainable development in Taiwan. Sun Rock aims to be Taiwan’s first “net-zero building” with a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability. The exterior of the building will be decorated with solar panels, shaped like an armadillo, that will use ample sunlight to generate nearly 1 million kilowatt-hours of green energy every year. This sustainable design not only meets the building’s energy needs but also feeds excess energy back into the grid, making it a net-zero emission structure. The center will serve as an operating base for more than 50 wind turbines for the Phase 1 and 2 offshore wind farm. It will also serve as a storage facility for onshore wind turbines, solar panels, maintenance tools and equipment-related materials. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 and will improve the efficiency of Taipower’s green energy infrastructure.

• October 26, 2023

The Ministry of Power of India has launched the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2022, which will be implemented on December 29, 2022, to establish uniform tariffs for renewable energy in various sectors such as solar and wind power. The main objective is to ensure fair and consistent pricing of renewable energy and create an enabling environment for investment and development in the sector. Under the rules, an "implementing agency" will be responsible for calculating a "unified renewable energy tariff" on a monthly basis for each central pool category, such as solar, wind, hydro, etc. The electricity price will be the rate at which intermediate purchasers sell electricity from these central pools to final purchasers. The term "implementing agency" as mentioned in these Measures refers to the central agency designated by the central government to be responsible for implementing the centrally coordinated unified electricity price for renewable energy. The rules create separate central pools for various renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, hydro, solar-wind hybrid, day-night generation, peak power and any other new energy pool specified by the central government. The central government defines renewable energy and the creation of multiple central pools may depend on the technology and generation mix determined by the central government.

• October 23, 2023

Australian clean energy company CleanCo has launched an expressions of interest process to add 3 GW of wind and solar capacity to its portfolio. Queensland government-owned energy company CleanCo wants to add 3 GW of clean energy capacity to support Australia's renewable energy targets of 50% renewable energy by 2030, 70% by 2032 and 70% by 2035. to 80%. CleanCo CEO Tom Metcalfe said: “We are looking for renewable and stationary projects that will help us meet our 2030 targets and contribute to Queensland’s clean energy future.” Projects totaling 3 GW include Development acquisitions, joint venture investments and offtake agreements. The deadline for 3 GW project submissions is November 17. The Queensland Government's renewable energy targets call for 22 GW of new wind and solar projects by 2035, along with at least 12 GW of energy storage, solidification and dispatchable technologies including grid-scale batteries and pumped hydro facilities. support. In June this year, the Queensland government announced that it would invest AU$500 million (US$316.4 million) through clean energy company CleanCo to "promote the development of large-scale solar and wind energy projects in central Queensland." In September, CleanCo released a letter of intent seeking up to 400 MW of renewable energy generation and storage projects to support its clean energy hub at Swan Beach, near Ipswich, Queensland. CleanCo has also secured funding to install a large 250 MW/500 MWh battery at the Swan Beach Energy Precinct.

• October 19, 2023

The Bangladesh government requires new residential, educational, medical, industrial and commercial buildings to be installed with net-metered solar systems as a prerequisite for connection to the grid. As a result, the country's rooftop photovoltaic power generation will increase significantly. Under the new regulations, buildings with a roof area exceeding 92.2 square meters must install a net-metered solar system. Homeowners wishing to achieve single-phase grid connection must install a net metered solar system with a minimum capacity of 1 kW, while those requiring three-phase grid connection must meet the 3 kW capacity requirement. The rules also apply to schools, hospitals and charities with a roof area of at least 1,000 square feet. The new regulations also require that industrial and commercial customers with a grid-connected capacity of less than 80 kilowatts must install rooftop photovoltaic systems equivalent to 15% of their total load. Customers with grid-connected capacity between 80 and 500 kW must install PV systems at 12% of their load capacity, while customers with load capacity above 500 kW must install rooftop arrays at 10% of their load capacity. Existing buildings wishing to increase their grid load capacity must also comply with the same regulations by installing additional rooftop solar systems.

• October 16, 2023

The European Council announced policies on October 12 for sectors such as transport, industry and construction, which have made slow progress in achieving the recently established target of reaching 45% renewable energy by 2030. The European Council in Brussels announced that it has adopted a series of measures under the Renewable Energy Directive (part of the legislation in June this year) that requires all EU member states to achieve a renewable energy share of 45% in the EU by the end of this decade. % of the common goal. According to a European Council press announcement, the new rules target sectors with “slower” integration of renewable energy, including transport, industry and construction. Some industry regulations include mandatory requirements, while others include optional options. The press announcement states that for the transport sector, member states can choose between a binding target of 14.5% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity from renewable energy consumption by 2030 or a minimum share of renewable energy in final energy consumption by 2030. Accounting for a binding proportion of 29%. For industry, member states' renewable energy consumption will increase by 1.5% per year, with the contribution of renewable fuels from non-biological sources (RFNBO) "likely" to decrease by 20%. To achieve this target, member states' contributions to the EU's binding overall targets need to meet expectations, or the proportion of fossil fuel hydrogen consumed by member states does not exceed 23% in 2030 and 20% in 2035. New regulations for buildings, heating and cooling set out an "indicative target" of at least 49% renewable energy consumption in the building sector by the end of the decade. The news announcement states that renewable energy consumption for heating and cooling will "increase gradually." The approval process for renewable energy projects will also be accelerated, and specific deployments of "accelerated approval" will be implemented to help achieve the goals. Member states will identify areas worthy of acceleration, and renewable energy projects will undergo a "simplified" and "fast-track licensing" process. Renewable energy projects will also be presumed to be of "overriding public interest", which will "limit the grounds for legal objection to new projects". The directive also strengthens sustainability standards regarding the use of biomass energy, while working to reduce the risk of “unsustainable” bioenergy production. "Member states will ensure that the cascading principle is applied, focusing on support programs and taking due account of the specific national circumstances of each country," the press announcement stated.