Solar Markets & Finance News

Afghanistan kicks off tender for another 40 MW solar project
The facility will be developed under the World Bank’s Scaling Solar initiative on a public-private partnership basis in Herat province.
Oct 28, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, tender, Asia, Afghanistan
8minute, Doosan GridTech to collaborate on predictive solar-plus-storage dispatch controls
Leading US solar developer 8minute Solar Energy is to collaborate with Doosan GridTech to use advanced, predictive software controls to dispatch energy from solar-plus-storage plant in California.
Oct 28, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, pv power plants, solar pv, solar-plus-storage, North America, Doosan Gridtech, 8minute Solar Energy, Tom Buttgenbach, predictive software, frequency response
Statkraft enters Irish solar foray with 320MW deal
Nordic renewables giant Statkraft has confirmed its entry into Ireland’s nascent solar power market, acquiring nine solar projects in the country.
Oct 28, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Ireland, Europe, utility-scale, Statkraft, Kevin O’Donovan, JBM Solar
Large Brattleboro solar array has new owner
One of the largest solar arrays in Vermont has a new owner.
Oct 26, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, Canada, Vermont, North America, Brattleboro, Robert Sher, Bob Spencer
Dominion acquires 72-MW South Carolina solar project from First Solar
Dominion Energy has acquired a 72-MW solar project still under construction in Beaufort county, South Carolina, from First Solar.
Oct 26, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, First Solar, Dominion Energy, North America, South Carolina, Carolina, Keller Kissam
Battery costs for commercial market expected to drop 35% by 2024
According to new research from Wood Mackenzie, non-residential storage system costs will fall by 27% in the United States over the next five years. The fall in system costs will help drive a more-than-tenfold growth in the U.S. non-residential storage market by 2024. Commercial and industrial customers with predictable, peaky loads are increasingly turning to storage to help manage demand charges.
Oct 26, 2019 // Commercial, Residential, Markets & Finance News, Storage, Software, USA, storage, Wood Mackenzie, North America, Mitalee Gupta
Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association now a formal SEIA affiliate
SEIA announced that the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association (MnSEIA) is now a formal SEIA state affiliate. This past year, SEIA has also added state affiliate groups in Kentucky, Alabama and Vermont.
Oct 26, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, USA, SEIA, North America, Abigail Ross Hopper, Minnesota, MnSEIA, David Shaffer
Meyer Burger raises another $14m by selling software subsidiary
The Swiss solar equipment maker has already sold its corporate headquarters this week as it aims to generate a fighting fund until the hoped-for returns of a European PV manufacturing renaissance materialize.
Oct 25, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Markets & Finance News, China, solar cells, Europe, Asia, meyer burger, Switzerland, AIS Automation Dresden GmbH
China’s much-trailed second-half solar rebound has failed to materialize
The world’s solar superpower added only 16 GW of new generation capacity up to the end of last month, according to the head of the main industry association. Short of a ten-week miracle, the annual capacity figure seems set for a second consecutive steep annual decline.
Oct 25, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Markets & Finance News, China, Asia, Wang Bohua
Statkraft buys 326 MW of solar projects in Ireland
The Norwegian power company acquired the projects for around $17.3 million. The transaction indicates interest in large scale solar is on the rise in Ireland and unsubsidized projects are viable.
Oct 25, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Ireland, Europe, Statkraft
Merchant solar becoming real in Canada
German developer JP Joule is set to begin construction of a 25.4 MW solar plant to sell power on the spot market as part of a diversified plant portfolio. The facility, in the province of Alberta, will expand the increasing list of unsubsidized projects announced in the region in recent months.
Oct 25, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Canada, Canadian Solar, North America, alberta, JP Joule, David Pichard, GP Joule Canada, GP Joule
Sungrow makes further inroads in US market with bankability rating
At the recent Solar Power International trade show in Salt Lake City, Utah, part of the larger North America Smart Energy Week, pv magazine met with Hank Wang, President of the Americas Region at the Chinese inverter manufacturer Sungrow. The company expects to ship 2 GW of products to North American markets this year with utility-scale products making up the bulk of these shipments.
Oct 25, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Markets & Finance News, USA, Sungrow, utility-scale, North America, Hank Wang
Trina the only solar winner in Colombian energy auction
The Colombian government has revealed more details of the renewable energy procurement exercise finalized on Monday. Chinese manufacturer Trina was the bidder behind all three successful solar projects in the auction.
Oct 25, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Markets & Finance News, South america, auction, Trina, Colombia
Bangladeshi solar mini grids threatened by fossil fuel commitments
In racing to provide access to electricity to all its citizens, the government has commissioned extensive coal, gas and nuclear generation capacity and the solar sector fears an ever-expanding national grid will kill the business case for solar in previously off-grid areas.
Oct 25, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, Grids, Policy, Bangladesh, Asia, ACWA Power, Siddique Zobair
First Solar sold out through the second quarter of 2021
‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member, First Solar said it was sold out of thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar modules through the second half of 2021 as the company continues to ramp its Series 6 larger-area modules.
Oct 25, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, USA, First Solar, pv power plants, Mark Widmar, North America, first solar inc, cdte thin-film modules