Bifacial beats Trump’s tariffs
Federal trade authorities in the U.S. have ruled bifacial solar modules will no longer be subject to the Section 201 ruling which applies a 25% tariff to solar panel imports.
India’s solar cell exports to USA lose preferential treatment
Having acted against Turkey, the Trump administration has removed India too from the list of nations exempt from import tariffs on solar cells and modules.
India could benefit as US applies Section 201 tariffs to Turkish modules
With Turkey now deemed too developed to qualify for exemption from import tariffs, the nascent Indian solar manufacturing sector is one of the few markets left whose cells and modules can be shipped to the U.S. free of tariffs.
US-China trade war may lead to dumping of Chinese steel into India
The contraction in Chinese trade flows to the U.S. is likely to result in the dumping in India of Far Eastern electronic and electrical components as well as steel, iron, chemicals and plastic products.
US investor KKR and Singapore’s GIC own 42% stake in Sterlite Power’s grid trust
KKR has also applied to become a co-sponsor of the power infrastructure investment trust and plans to acquire additional 15% stake in it. The deal marks KKR’s first infrastructure investment in Asia.
China, USA and India propel energy demand by 70%: IEA
Global energy consumption in 2018 grew by 2.3%. Electricity demand rose by 4%, nearly twice as fast as overall energy demand. China accounted for over 40% of the growth in renewable-based electricity generation, followed by Europe (25%). The United States and India together contributed another 13%.
The big read: Inertia, frequency regulation and the grid
The old system of regulating frequency on electricity grids with the help of the inertia provided by large spinning masses is under threat from wind, solar and batteries. But what will replace inertia-based control, and how will the transition work?
Solar buying from India, China rises as US imposes steel tariffs
US companies have boosted sourcing of completed racks from abroad in order to avoid the tariff on raw material [steel] imports, says Bloomberg.
Big dip in import and export of solar modules and cells
A flying start to the year saw huge volumes of solar cells and modules imported to India but the scale and value of such products fell over the remainder of 2018 and export figures mirrored that trend.
Researchers upcycle plastic waste into battery anodes
A new approach could extract carbon from polyethylenes in a cost-competitive way, that could be scaled up. Researchers have also performed electric testing with the extracted carbon and found it suitable for use as anodes in Li-ion batteries, among multiple other uses.
