World

Solar and/or wind are said to be the cheapest source of new energy generation in all major economies, apart from Japan, finds BloombergNEF. It adds that China’s utility-scale PV market has contracted by over a third this year; and that battery costs are set to drop a further 66% by 2030, driven by EV adoption.

The leading trio – China, the United States and India – will comprise 70% of the projected 552 GW of solar capacity, which will be added between end-2017 and 2027, finds Fitch Solutions, which has revised down its original forecast for solar capacity growth in China. The curbed growth in China, due to subsidy cuts and restricted access to the United States and India, is expected to squeeze domestic solar equipment manufacturers, but also lead to access to cheaper solar panels in other smaller markets.

New research from institutes at the London School of Economics has found a significant gap between what countries declared they would be doing in compliance with the Paris Agreement, and what they have translated into national law three years later. As officials from around the world will flock to Poland next month to negotiate the implementation pathway of the Paris Agreement, this and other new studies draw a dark picture of current performance.

As price pressure continues to exert its strong grip on the inverter market, digital services make their way into the offerings of manufacturers. The new technologies create the possibility to steadily generate profits, and thus create resilience to market fluctuations. But they also allow the installation of more solar assets, as they cater to the need to improve grid resilience to compensate for intermittent renewable energy.

Following the launch of Greensmith Energy’s new Gridsolv standardized storage solution, which integrates software helpers and standardized architecture for easy installation, pv magazine caught up with CEO John Jung to discuss the state of the storage market and the role of digital services.

An unexpectedly large gathering of international bifacial PV experts convened in Denver, USA in early September, at the 2018 bifiPV Workshop to trade notes on the performance of bifacial PV modules, lauded by some as the most promising advance in solar for a decade. pv magazine was in attendance.

The tipping point, where the world shifts from oil and gas to renewables, will be the year 2035, says Wood Mackenzie. This is when renewables and electric-based technologies converge, with around 20% of global power needs being met by solar or wind, and roughly 20% of miles traveled by cars, trucks, buses and bikes using electricity. Will the transition come soon enough, however?

The World Energy Council, in partnership with PwC, has interviewed 39 top level management energy leaders to find out if blockchain is driving an evolution or a revolution in the energy ecosystem.

The global installation of photovoltaics is expected to reach the terawatt level within just five years, according to Bloomberg NEF. And with more than 99.1 GW of grid-connected solar installed in 2017, switching on to the importance of storage is key.

The agency’s base case expects relatively flat growth in solar deployment over the next six years, but for solar to still dominate growth among renewable technologies. The agency’s estimates are again below those of major market analysts.