Regional Markets
China
- Coronavirus impact on the solar panel price
Due to the outbreak, many companies and manufacturers have to extend their Spring Festival holidays. There are already signs of shortage in wafers and solar glass. The prices of solar modules are expected to rise.
- China’s National Energy Administration: "Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Non-hydroelectric Renewable Energy Generation"
The Ministry of Finance and the National Energy Administration have issued a joint announcement "Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Non-hydroelectric Renewable Energy Generation" on February 3. The document stated that starting from 2020, all new renewable energy power generation projects will adopt a "receipt to settle expenditure" method. Meanwhile, provided that the total amount of the annual subsidy funds has been determined, the market-oriented allocation mechanism for non-aqueous renewable energy power generation projects will be further improved. High-tech projects with low subsidy and a large decline in the subsidy will be preferentially selected through market competition.
- China’s tariffs on goods imported from the United States
On February 6, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council issued a notice on adjusting tariffs on goods imported from the United States. The additional tariff of 270 and 646 tax items listed in Parts 1 and 2 of Annex 1 to the Announcement is revised downward from 10% to 5%. The additional tariff of 64 and 737 tax items listed in Parts 3 and 4 is revised downward from 5% to 2.5%. The additional tariff of inverters is revised downward from 5% to 2.5% in part 3 of Annex 2. After checking the Hs Codes, no. 85044030 includes the photovoltaic inverters.
India
The largest renewables + storage tender (1.2 GW) the world has ever seen is now concluded in India, with the average successful bid at $0.0566595/kWh. 900 MW of the project was awarded to Greenko and 300 MW to Renew Power
Italy
Italian authorities have seized a waste treatment plant in Sicily, where PV panels meant for recycling are rebadged and smuggled to Syria and Africa. “About 60 tons of solar panels were also found on which investigations will be conducted to verify the regularity of the storage, treatment and recovery operations,” commented the Ministry of the Environment.
Japan
The scientists from Japan’s Gifu University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have found a chalcogenide perovskite material that could achieve the legendary conversion efficiency of 38.7%. The light absorption coefficient of this material exceeds 105cm-1, which is higher than all the solar cell materials that have been identified so far.
Vietnam
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) is considering the possibility of direct power purchase agreements (DPPA) between green energy companies and private power consumers. The eligible consumers should be industrial manufacturers that have demonstrated commitments for combating climate change on a global scale.
(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
