Solar Energy-Solar Mounting Systems: 四月 2015

2015年4月21日星期二

Australia: Module dumping causes negligible injury

Findings of solar module dumping practices by some Chinese producers have lead to duti

es or trade barriers having being put in place in the EU and U.S. Inquiries into dumping in Australia has lead to the finding that dumping has taken place, however no action will be taken.

The Australian Anti-Dumping Commission delivered its finding today. It notes that there is only one module manufacturer currently operating in Australia and that as it supplies AC modules at a high price point, it was not adversely affected by the dumping. It also noted dumping margins ranged from 2.1% to 8.7%, warranting no countervailing measures.

The Commission found that Wuxi Suntech had the largest dumping margin with 8.7%, followed by Trina Solar (4%), Residual Exporters (3.9%), ET Solar (3%) and Renesola (2.1%). Module exports for China were investigated for the period July 2012 through 31 December 2013.

Australia’s only module manufacturer is Tindo Solar, which operates a 60 MW facility in South Australia.

The Commission finds state that while there was evidence of module dumping in the assessed period, “the injury, to the Australian industry or the hindrance, to the Australian industry’s established, caused by PV modules or panels exported to Australia at dumped prices is negligible.”

The factors the Commission took in deciding not to impose countervailing measures were that the size of the dumping margins were not sufficient, that Tindo’s AC product represents “a premium model and priced significantly higher than the imported direct current PV modules,” and that there were not major changes in Australian PV module market during the period.

“The Commission found that injury or hindrance to the establishment of an Australian industry caused by dumped exports is negligible; therefore the Commission has not calculated a non-injurious price…”

The Australian Solar Council (ASC) has welcomed the move, saying that it is “a win for common sense.”

“The Australian Solar Council welcomes this outcome,” said ASC CEO John Grimes. “It is a win for Australian solar PV consumers.”

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China dispatch: $255 billion needed for achieving renewable targets

According to plans from the Chinese government, the cumulative capacity of solar and wind power will reach 35 GW and 100 GW respectively by the end of 2015, and 70 GW and 160 GW by the end of 2017. Calculations by E&Y shows the total investment will be at least RMB1.58 trillion ($255 billion) for these targets to be reached.

“Financing is always a major challenge for PV projects," said a high-level JinkoSolar official cited in the E&Y report. E&Y predicts the investment required for distributed PV targets alone will grow from RMB80 billion ($12.9 billion) in 2014 to RMB178 billion ($28.7 million) in 2017.

To meet the looming financing challenge, E&Y suggests China use multiple innovative funding modes including yieldcos, institutional financing, leasing, and crowd-funding or community-funding.

Yieldcos in particular can acquire financing directly from the stock market for operating projects. Institutional funds usually show more interest in long-term projects with stable returns. Leasing can be an alternative funding method for some projects. Crowd-funding and community-funding could help to fund both small distributed PV projects and individual investors.

ET Solar to build 70 MW solar plant in Philippines

ET Solar is expanding operations to the Philippines, where the Chinese company is building its first utility-scale PV plant with local renewable energy developer Gate Solar Philippines Corp.

ET Solar and Gate Solar will develop, invest, finance, construct and operate the 70 MW project. The companies expect to begin construction in the fourth quarter of the year, with commercial operation expected to begin in March 2016. ET Solar will serve as co-development partner and technology provider as well as investor in the project.

The installation is ET Solar’s latest large-scale project in Asia but its first in the Philippines, noted ET Solar President and CEO Dennis She. “It demonstrates our ability to handle every aspect of utility-scale solar plants, from planning and financing through construction and all the way downstream to O&M. With our integrated capabilities and global experience, we are able to achieve the lowest possible LCOE.”

She added that the company not only competed against other players for the contract but also raced against time to be eligible for the highest tariff rate.

“Once again, our ability to integrate all the required resources and move faster than other companies got us to the finish line first," She said.

ET Solar’s entry into the Philippine market follows its recent expansion into Israel, where the company is likewise building its first plant in the country, a 50 MW facility near the ancient port city of Ashkelon.

Iraq seeking solar, wind investors

The Iraqi government is looking for foreign investment partners to build three new solar power plants of between 5 MW and 10 MW each.

The Ministry of Electricity and the National Investment Commission (NIC) announced the renewable energy project this week. In addition to the three solar plants, the country is also looking to construct a wind power station of similar capacity. The solar power plants are planned for the provinces of Diwaniya and Najaf while the wind turbines will be erected in Misan.

Two of the solar plants will be built in Diwaniya at two separate sites, one covering an area of 50 donum (12.5 hectares or 31 acres), the other between 12.5 and 15 hectares. In Najaf, the planned solar facility would cover some 200 donum (50 hectares).

According to the NIC, investors willing to invest in the project should submit an interest letter to the Commission within the next 30 days that includes a project feasibility study matching one arranged by the Ministry of Electricity, preliminary engineering plans, project financing details and reference projects.

The project will enjoy tax and fees exemptions according to investment law provisions. In addition, the Ministry of Electricity, the NIC and provincial governments will ensure investors obtain all necessary licenses and approvals for the project as well as assistance during the implementation and operation stages. Investors also have the right to repatriate capital, revenue and workers fees following payment of financial dues, the NIC added.

Major power blackout hits Turkey

The good news arrived earlier today from the Turkish Statistical Institute saying that the country's economy grew by 2.6% in the last quarter of 2014 and that annual growth stood at 2.9%. Both figures are higher than previous estimates.

However just a few of hours later a major electricity outage hit Turkey, affecting cities and the countryside, including the capital city Ankara and the Bursa Province in the Marmara Region. The blackout caused traffic chaos across Istanbul and other large cities.

pv magazine spoke to a number of energy industry insiders that indicated that the Thrace Region, the city of Istanbul, the Black Sea Region and the East Region of the country are now able to access the grid, and power has been restored.

Turkey's Electricity Transmission Company (TEIAS) did not provide any answers as to what caused the power cut. However, Turkey's energy minister said that a power plant in the Aegean Region cut off the system and that this may have caused the blackout.

Gas imports hit record high

Meanwhile, a few days earlier, Turkey's energy regulator (EPDK) said that Turkey's natural gas imports hit an unprecedented high record in December when importing above 5 billion cubic meters (bcm).

In previous years, Turkey has imported about 3.6 bcm of gas in December 2009, 4.2 bcm in December 2010, 4.7 bcm in December 2011 and 4.9 bcm in December 2013.

Overall gas imports in 2014 were 8.8% higher than in 2013.

Turkey's electricity generation mix, which currently relies around 40% on natural gas imports, needs to diversify urgently, including the country's rich renewable energy sources. Despite the apparent drive for renewable energy development though, the country is still allocating the licenses resulting from the first call for solar PV licenses in 2013.

A week ago, TEIAS announced that on 28th, 29th and 30th April 2015 it will tender a cumulative 302 MW of solar PV capacity, which is part of the country’s inaugural call for 600 MW of solar PV in 2013.

pv magazine will examine Turkey’s PV landscape in the forthcoming April issue, including policy, financing, grid issues and the sub-1 MW unlicensed market.

Global investment in green energy rises 17% to $270 billion

The world saw a record 103 GW of renewable energy capacity added last year – the equivalent of all 158 nuclear power plant reactors in the United States – and a 17% increase in global investment in green power generation to $270 billion, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Prepared by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report found that more than $2 trillion was invested in renewables worldwide between 2004 to 2014.

According to the study, solar, wind, biomass and waste-to-power, geothermal, small hydro and marine power contributed an estimated 9.1% of world electricity generation in 2014, up from 8.5% in 2013.

"Had the same amount of electricity been produced using the fossil-dominated mix generating the other 90.9% of world power, some 1.3 gigatonnes of CO2 -- roughly twice the emissions of the world's airline industry -- would have been produced," the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre said in a statement.

The Chinese made by far the biggest renewable energy investments last year -- a record $83.3 billion, up 39% from 2013, followed by the U.S. with $36.3 billion, an increase of 7% on the year but well below its all-time high reached in 2011. In third was Japan with $35.7 billion, 10% higher than in 2013 and its biggest total ever.

The study showed that solar and wind accounted for 92% of all investment: Solar jumped 25% to $149.6 billion, the second-highest figure ever, while wind investments rose 11% to a record $99.5 billion.

Driven by solar and wind, global investment in green energy last year reversed a two-year dip, seemingly ignoring the challenge posed by sharply lower oil prices, the report found.

Major expansions of solar installations in China and Japan and record investments in offshore wind projects in Europe helped propel global investments to $270 billion, a 17% surge from the 2013 figure of $232 billion.

The overall boost market the first annual increase in dollars invested in and committed to renewables (excluding large hydro-electric projects) in three years. The $270 billion total is just 3% below the all-time record of $279 billion set in 2011.

The report attributes the falls in investment 2012, which reached $256 billion, and 2013 ($232 billion) in part to lower prices for renewable energy technologies due to economies of scale.

World to add 57 GW of solar PV in 2015, says IHS

Market analysts IHS will next week publish their Q1’15 PV Demand Market Tracker, which forecasts that 2015 will see the global solar PV market grow 30% year-on-year, adding 57.3 GW of capacity worldwide.

The Tracker has revised downward 2014’s final installation estimate, stating that 44.2 GW of solar PV capacity was added in 2014, down from a previous projection of 45.1 GW. The revised figure, however, represents a 14% increase on 2013, and IHS is confident that this year will see that rate of growth double once again.

Perhaps most noteworthy will be Europe’s return to growth. In 2014, just 7.9 GW of PV capacity was added across the continent, which was 30% down on 2013’s installation level. This year, though, IHS is forecasting installations to reach 9.4 GW, which would represent a return to growth after a one-year blip.

It is in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, however, where serious installation figures are expected. According to the tracker, 60% of global PV demand emanated from APAC in 2014, where 26.4 GW of capacity was added – a 5.5 GW increase on 2013.

This year, APAC will continue to contribute the lion’s share of new global solar capacity, with China on course to vastly outstrip previous years and add 17.3 GW of PV in 2015. This forecast from IHS is even above the official target set out by China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), which has set 15 GW as the benchmark figure for the year.

IHS has also raised its forecast for Japan. The analysts expect the land of the rising sun to retain second spot in global installation figures, adding 10.4 GW of capacity this year – a 4% increase on 2014.

The U.S. will add more than 9 GW of capacity, forecasts IHS (up from 7 GW in 2014), while the U.K. will consolidate fourth place by growing by 3.5 GW in 2015, with the bulk of capacity already installed, timed to beat the April 1 deadline for Renewable Obligation (RO) certificates.

Looking farther ahead, IHS expects annual capacity installation growth to slow over the coming years, with 2018 on course to contract by around 1.5 GW, largely due to a 3 GW reduction in European expansion. Asia, however, will grow to offset a great deal of this reduction. Regardless, IHS is forecasting the deployment of more than 50 GW of new PV capacity in Europe between now and 2020.

By 2019, the analysts predict, global solar PV installations will reach 75 GW.

UK: No CfD-backed large-scale solar for next fiscal year

The administrative body overseeing the new Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction scheme has revealed that the two winning solar bids due for delivery in the next fiscal year will not go ahead.

As feared, the Low Carbon Contracts Company has confirmed that both Wick Farm Solar Park and Royston Solar Farm – which won the CfD auction promising to deliver solar power at £50/MWh ($74.5/MWh) – will not be proceeding with their promised developments.

Having negotiated a strike price for solar plants at the same level as the current wholesale cost of electricity, the U.K. solar industry predicted that the proposed projects would prove unfeasible.

The confirmation that neither solar park will go ahead as planned between 2015/16 means that there will be no large-scale solar PV plant (>5 MW) developed in the U.K. under either the CfD scheme or the renewable obligation (RO) scheme next year.

In responding to the news, Leonie Greene, head of external affairs at the Solar Trade Association (STA), remarked: "That no large solar farms will be built in the next year under the RO or CfDs is a tragedy, as we predicted these types of projects could be cheaper than gas in just three years with stable policy support."

February’s inaugural CfD auction saw just five solar successes, amounting to 72 MW of proposed cumulative solar capacity. Now, however, two of the five winning bids will not be built, leaving just 38 MW of CfD-backed large-scale solar to come online in fiscal year 2016/17.

Those successful projects that are still penciled to go ahead next year are the Charity Farm Project from Lightsource, a 14.67 MW solar farm that won with a strike price of £79.23/MWh; the 12 MW Netley Landfill Solar project (also £79.23/MWh), and the 12 MW Triangle Farm Solar Park, which also won at a strike price of £79.23/MWh.

From rush to ruin?
So far this year, the U.K. solar sector has enjoyed what is widely expected to be a bumper quarter for solar PV development as companies rushed to connect their projects before April 1, which was the date that the RO support scheme was withdrawn for projects greater in size than 5 MW.

The new CfD scheme unfairly pitches solar PV against onshore wind (which won and will proceed with 15 out of 15 CfD contracts) in the battle for a diminished pot of support funds, creating an unevenly balanced playing field that serves to puncture solar’s hitherto impressive growth.

"British solar SMEs are now having to rewrite their business plans, again," added Greene. "For an industry that is predicted to be the dominant global energy source by 2050, the U.K.’s rollercoaster policies are not helping its position.

"We hope that the new government looks at this technology with fresh eyes to develop a fairer and more sensible approach."

The U.K. goes to the polls on May 7, after which time a new government could well be installed that is more sympathetic and supportive of the solar industry.

2015年4月16日星期四

California hits 5% solar, offsets hydro losses due to drought

California has become the first state in the U.S. to rely on solar energy for more than 5% of its electricity, the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported yesterday.

According to EIA, photovoltaic and concentrating solar power plants greater than 1 MW in capacity generated a record 9.9 million MWh in 2014, boosting solar production to more than 5% of California’s wholesale electric generation, compared to just 1.9% in 2013.

The report does not include most rooftop arrays in the state or other distributed solar projects less than 1 MW, which totaled approximately 2.3 GW at the end of 2014, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.

EIA noted that California’s big rise in solar production came in the same year that severe drought conditions depleted the state’s hydroelectric reservoirs and caused hydropower generation to drop 46% compared to the previous five-year average.

“Although solar is only available at certain times of the day, the annual increase in California's solar generation in 2014 offset 83% of the decrease in hydroelectric generation,” according to EIA.

While the Golden State leads the U.S. in solar, the Silver State, Nevada, is tied for second with Arizona at 2.8%. Solar generation remains below 1% of grid power nationwide.

However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last week reported that solar power capacity on the wholesale transmission grid for the first time went over 1% of total installed capacity, with nearly 12 GW. FERC’s data also does not include distributed solar installations that provide on-site power.

Costa Rica powered 100% by renewables so far this year

Renewable energy covered 100% of Costa Rica's electricity mix in the first 75 days of this year, acording to a release by public electricity company Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).

The increase of rain and the resulting well-filled state of the country's four main reservoirs led to an increase in hydropower electricity generation. The rest of the electricity mix was supplied by geothermal, wind, biomass and solar sources. As a result, the country completely forewent the use of fossil fuels power plants. Moreover, the ICE expects renewable energy sources to remain significant in the coming months.

In 2013, renewable energy accounted for about 88% of Costa Rica's electricity mix, including total capacity of 2,731.2 MW and 10,136.1 gigawatt hours of generation. About 70% of that was supplied by hydropower (1,725.3 MW and 6,851 gigawatt hours), according to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac). Geothermal made up some 15% of the mix (217.5 MW and 1,516.7 gigawatt hours), wind energy around 5% (148.1 MW and 484.6 gigawatt hours), cogeneration about 0.8% (40 MW and 86.3 gigawatt hours) and solar just 0.01 % (1 MW capacity, 1.4 gigawatt hours). Fossil fuel power plants made up some 12% (595.7 MW and 1,196 gigawatt hours.

Obama orders government to slash emissions, consume more renewables

The order, which calls for the government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40% over the next decade from 2008 levels, would save taxpayers up to $18 billion in avoided energy costs, estimates the White House.

President Obama's order increases the federal government’s use of renewable electricity to 30% of its total portfolio by 2025. However, this represents only a modest incremental rise from the federal target created by President George W. Bush under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which required 20% by 2020.

Obama’s order also requires federal buildings to cut their energy use 2.5% annually by 2025 and increases the size of the government’s electric-vehicle fleet.

As part of the announcement, several big-name government contractors also committed to using more renewable energy and reducing emissions—including Battelle, General Electric, Honeywell, IBM and others.

The U.S. solar industry praised the measures.

“When it comes to fighting climate change and transitioning to a clean energy future, President Obama is once again leading by example,” said Rhone Resch, head of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

“As the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America, the U.S. solar energy industry is uniquely poised to help. Think of all the wasted space on top of federal buildings—many of them larger than football fields. We’re ready to work with federal agencies to turn those dead zones into vibrant solar arrays, generating clean, reliable and affordable electricity for our federal workforce.”

The U.S. solar industry already has made some progress on that front, especially in partnering with the Defense Department. SunPower, for example, in 2007 installed a 14 MW PV power plant atop a capped landfill at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas, Nevada. Last summer, SunPower signed a contract with NV Energy to supply a follow-up 19 MW plant at Nellis. Construction is expected to start this year.

Obama's action comes as Congress begins drafting broad energy legislation that could also impact the federal government's renewable energy purchases.

Saudi Aramco turns to PV to 'displace hydrocarbons' from electricity generation

It has long been an argument for PV rollout in the Gulf States and wider MENA region: That solar can produce electricity at far more cheaply and efficiently than relying on oil or even natural gas in the region. Fraunhofer ISE’s Eicke Weber has long advocated for this being a major driver of future growth of PV in the region, where fossil fuels are used for electricity prices at heavily discounted prices.

It now seems that Saudi Aramco has accepted this argument as the firm installs its first rooftop PV array on one of its buildings as a pilot project. While only small in capacity, at 35 kW in size utilizing 144 solar modules, the company indicates that the array at its Star Building is a sign of things to come.

“On a grand scale, these efforts are not just about injecting clean energy into the power grid,” said Nour Shihabuddin, an engineer with the Renewables Department, which managed the construction and commissioning of the rooftop installation. “By generating clean energy, we are displacing hydrocarbons that could be better utilized within the Kingdom or even exported, creating greater value for the Kingdom’s economy.”

The project is a part of a bigger program to see Saudi Aramco reduce its energy consumption at its “nonindustrial buildings” by 35% by 2020. LED lighting and new standards for thermal insulation are also a part of the scheme.

The performance of the PV array will be monitored closely as energy audits identify which Aramco buildings are a good fit for PV. “Information and statistics collected through this installation will be used for analyzing performance and planning future projects in the company and/or the Kingdom,” the Saudi Aramco statement reads. A real-time monitoring display installed in the building’s lobby will “promote the value and benefits of renewable installations.”

The array is not the first time Saudi Aramco has turned to PV, however, with the company having worked with Japanese module producer Solar Frontier to develop two projects for the company including a 10.5 MW carport array at facilities in Dhahran back in 2012.

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