Solar Markets & Finance News

Google pre-qualified bidders and used reverse auctions to obtain the lowest price for renewable energy. Reverse auctions for corporate purchases could potentially benefit solar developers, if their transparency and simplicity can influence more corporations to procure green power.

The margin of support for the proposed $198 million takeover by a Beijing entity came as no surprise and the deal now hinges on the holders of $430 million of defaulted debts supporting a delayed settlement of their claims. First up, though, is a date with a winding-up petition on Monday.

In September, PV systems with a total generation capacity of 287 MW were registered in the country. The feed-in tariff has fallen again for this quarter as a result of the new capacity additions.

The latest figures released by BloombergNEF show new solar and onshore wind power plants have reached parity with average wholesale prices in California, China and parts of Europe. The technologies are winning the race to be the cheapest sources of new generation for two-thirds of the world’s population.

The mono giant has announced the latest aspect of a strategy to massively increase production capacity which is currently set to cost around $3.32 billion. Longi last week issued $710 million of new convertible bonds for investors.

JNV Solar Power has added its name to the service providers working to seize the window opened by Taiwan’s solar ambitions, PV Tech heard at last month’s Energy Taiwan 2019.

Korean conglomerate LG reports increasing demand for its high-efficiency PV products in key markets while Kyocera said its solar business is improving profitability. Panasonic posted a slight increase in sales for its PV segment, including solar manufacturing.

Economic thinktank Carbon Tracker used financial modeling to determine the profitability of every coal power plant in the EU. On average, 79% of the facilities run at a loss, with Germany, Spain and Czechia among the states particularly exposed to the consequences – for coal investors and the public.

Enormous order intake is ensuring high production capacity utilization at the German PV equipment provider. The company said demand was particularly strong for high-efficiency solar cell production equipment in Asia. Thus far this year, however, that has not been reflected in the balance sheet.

Analysts at Fitch Solutions have published a report singling out Spain and Brazil as ‘outperformers’ in the global solar market and labelled Vietnam the “market to watch”. The analysts expect surging growth from the Southeast Asian nation to continue in the coming decade.

Renewables contributed some 43% of electricity consumption in Germany in the first nine months of 2019 – a new record – however doubts remain over the country’s chances of meeting future targets.

The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, utility FortisTCI and the non-profit Clinton Foundation inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to kick off the initiatives in the country’s new energy transition strategy.

The local authority is seeking proposals to build mini-grids with generation capacities of more than 5 kW to power hospitals, markets, water pumping and street lighting. The council has expressed a strong preference for the build, operate and transfer project development model.

The final results of the exercise, which attracted 22 participants, will be known on April 15. A 200 MW solar project will be assigned in the auction, with the winning bidder for that facility securing a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Industry body Gogla and the World Bank’s Lighting Global program said the last six months set a record for off-grid solar deployment. Solar home systems and other small off-grid appliances are being used in ever larger numbers.