On February 3, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, a subsidiary of Toshiba Group, announced that it would withdraw from the residential solar power generation system business. The company decided to terminate the development of a new sales system and the transfer of after-sales services related to this business. The original Toshiba-related services will be performed by the acquirer - Xsol Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries. It is understood that the sale of the asset does not mean that Toshiba has completely withdrawn from the field of solar power generation. The company stated that the photovoltaic power generation system business is positioned as one of the key areas. In the future, it will focus on the industrial photovoltaic power generation business with engineering capabilities and provide high-reliability one-stop solutions. It is reported that as early as 2010 Toshiba began selling residential solar power generation systems. Since the introduction of the feed-in tariff (FIT) system in Japan in 2012, the photovoltaic power generation market has expanded rapidly, and the company's business has also expanded. However, due to intensified market competition and worsening profitability, Toshiba decided to terminate the business and transfer the maintenance service business after comprehensive consideration of its future business strategy. Currently, Toshiba is also focusing on next-generation solar cells, launching a large-area polymer thin-film perovskite solar module in 2021, saying the result was the highest efficiency reported at the time. Toshiba plans to start mass production after 2025, relying on the material technology foundation to lay out perovskite, and strive to show its talents in the photovoltaic cell market.

BIPV fully transparent glass project settled in Liaocheng, Shandong On February 13, the BIPV fully transparent solar power generation glass project, a major investment attraction project with an investment of over 5 billion yuan in Shandong Liaocheng Development Zone, was officially signed. It is understood that the BIPV fully transparent solar power generation glass project plans to invest a total of 5 billion yuan, and will be invested and constructed by Sichuan Mammoth Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. The project uses the existing 80,000-square-meter workshop of Macrolink in the development zone, and mainly constructs a fully transparent solar power generation glass project with an annual output of 3 million square meters, of which the first phase of construction will produce 1 million square meters of fully transparent solar power glass; 2 million square meters of automotive coated glass production line. After the project is fully completed, it can realize an output value of 2.5 billion yuan, and the annual economic contribution will not be less than 200 million yuan.

U.S. Department of Energy: In 2023, 54% of new power generation in the United States will come from photovoltaics A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that by 2023, 54% of new electricity generation in the United States will come from photovoltaics. Developers plan to add 54.5 gigawatts of new utility-scale generation capacity to the country's grid this year, according to the EIA's list of plans for generating capacity. Of these, more than half are photovoltaic power generation. Developers and power plant operators report upcoming projects to the EIA, which add up to an estimated 29.1 GW of installed capacity. Analysts believe that this is mainly due to the impact of the "Inflation Reduction Act" - there are nearly 370 billion US dollars for climate change and clean energy industries, including support for photovoltaic and wind power. Most of the new solar capacity will be in Texas, with 7.7GW expected to be connected to the grid, followed by California with 4.2GW, the EIA said. Combined, the two states account for about 41% of new solar capacity planned for this year. However, "there is some uncertainty about how much of the program will be completed this year," said Morris Greenberg, senior manager of power analysis for North America. According to the EIA, in the scale of new power generation, electrochemical energy storage is second only to photovoltaics, accounting for 17%. U.S. utility-scale solar capacity has been growing rapidly since 2010, but 2022 is an exception, according to EIA data. Due to the disruption of the supply chain (what is the specific reason, let’s make up your own mind) and the impact of the new crown, the new addition of solar energy in 2022 will drop by 23% year-on-year. “We expect partially delayed 2022 PV projects to start operating in 2023, so developers plan to install up to 29.1GW of solar this year,” the EIA said. “If all of this capacity comes online as planned, 2023 will set a record for new U.S. PV installations – the previous record was set in 2021. Electrochemical energy storage in the United States has grown rapidly over the past few years. Electrochemical energy storage capacity in the United States could more than double by 2023. The developer stated in the report that it plans to add 9.4GW of battery storage capacity to the existing 8.8GW of battery storage capacity. Battery storage systems will increasingly be installed in wind and solar projects. Wind and solar power are intermittent sources of electricity generation; they only generate electricity when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Batteries store excess power from wind and solar generators for later use. By 2023, EIA expects that same whopping 71% of new battery storage capacity will be in California and Texas, two states with huge installed solar and wind capacity. Source: Chasing Carbon Technology

On January 23, the Netherlands-based solar start-up Lightyear (hereinafter referred to as "Lightyear Car") announced that Atlas Technologies, which was responsible for the production of the first product Lightyear 0 solar car, filed for bankruptcy. Moreover, the request has been approved by the court, and the court officially declared Atlas Technologies bankrupt. This means that the company's first car, Lightyear 0, has died. Lightyear 0 is the world's first mass-produced solar car. Lightyear spent six years developing a car that can be charged by solar energy. Mass production will just begin at the end of 2022. According to media reports, as of the end of production, the total output of this car was only a dozen. It is understood that when Lightyear Motors released this car in June 2022, it can be said to be a surprise, and it conducted a road test in the Navarra region of Spain. The designer of "Light Year 0" once stated that the top of the car is equipped with a 5 square meter solar panel, which can provide a cruising range of about 70 kilometers in sunny weather. If the driving does not exceed 35 kilometers per day, and the weather is good enough, the car can run for 7 months without additional charging. In order to absorb sunlight to the maximum extent, the length of "Light Year 0" reaches 5083mm, width 1972mm, height 1445mm, and its drag coefficient is only 0.19. It is worth mentioning that in addition to solar charging, it can also be charged on charging piles to cope with long-distance driving. It has a built-in battery of more than 60 degrees, and the power consumption per 100 kilometers is only 10.5 degrees, and the battery life can reach 625km under WLTP conditions. According to the Light Year Automobile Plan, "Light Year 0" will start mass production in the fall of 2022, and it will be launched in Europe as early as November. In fact, Lightyear Motors is not the first company to research solar cars. With the rapid development and popularization of photovoltaic technology, many companies have participated in it. For example, the solar car built by the Belgian Agaora solar team broke the world record, and the student team (Agoria Solar Team) of KU Leuven drove the BluePoint Atlas in the 1051 kilometers of continuous driving in 12 hours. This is the ninth solar car built by the Belgian Agora solar team, surpassing the record of 924 kilometers held by the Dutch solar team since 2020. Although at present, solar-powered cars are still some distance away from being able to drive without charging, but it is believed that with the in-depth research and development of technology, solar-powered cars are expected to become one of the mainstream trends in the future.

NTPC Renewable Energy has invited bids for a 1 GW solar balance of system (BoS) package with an option for 500 MW of additional capacity. The tender deadline is January 21. NTPC Renewable Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), has launched a tender for 1 GW of solar projects, with an option for 500 MW of additional capacity. These projects will be connected to the interstate transmission system and can be built anywhere in India except Rajasthan. Installers can bid for capacities ranging from 100 MW to 1,000 MW and must bid in multiples of 50 MW. Bids for individual projects must be at least 50 MW in size, and bids must be made in multiples of 10 MW. This scope covers all engineering, procurement and construction work (excluding solar module supply) and full operation and maintenance for a period of three years. The plants will be developed under the "open" category, allowing the use of solar modules from any source. NTPC Renewable Energy said it would supply the PV modules to the BoS contractor on site as materials issued by the owner.

A few days ago, JA Solar announced that it has leased its first manufacturing plant in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The facility, which will produce high-performance photovoltaic products, is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2023, creating more than 600 new jobs. It is reported that the new facility, with an investment of US$60 million, will utilize a highly automated assembly line to produce high-efficiency solar panels for commercial and residential rooftop applications, as well as for utility-scale solar power plants. Once fully operational, the annual production capacity will be . Reach 2GW. Source: Polaris Solar Photovoltaic Network

On Thursday (January 5), local time, Ronen Faier, chief financial officer of inverter giant SolarEdge, said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will promote substantial growth in the European solar market, while the industry's growth is expected to slow down in 2023. is an Israeli company that develops and sells solar inverters for photovoltaic arrays, energy generation monitoring software, battery energy storage products, and other related products and services. Attending a conference in Miami on Thursday, he told investors that high prices and regulatory uncertainty will limit U.S. solar expansion, although the new Inflation Cut Act is expected to boost long-term growth such as solar. In August last year, U.S. President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the largest climate bill in U.S. history, which will invest $369 billion in new energy and climate change projects. "We believe that the IRA has largely stabilized the benefits of the ITC policy (solar tax credit) over the next few years and will not put a lot of pressure on anyone at a time when interest rates are relatively high. " However, Faier pointed to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that has led to a spike in fossil fuel prices, Europe's decision to accelerate its transition to renewable energy, and countries such as Germany to offer generous incentives for solar development. Last May, the European Union unveiled a $317 billion plan to completely wean itself off Russia's fossil fuels within five years. The plan proposes that by 2030, 45% of the EU's energy will come from wind, solar and other renewable resources. It is expected that some solar markets in Europe, especially German-speaking countries and the United Kingdom, may grow by more than 100% this year. In contrast, the US solar market is expected to grow by only about 15% this year. In addition, Japan and other Asian markets will also accelerate the expansion of solar energy construction and use. The United States is suffering from a severe shortage of solar panels. There are very few domestic solar panel manufacturers in the country, and more than 80% of solar panels are imported. Due to the U.S. trade policy, a large number of solar panels cannot enter the country's market, and import obstruction has severely restricted the growth of U.S. solar installed capacity. Source: Financial Associated Press

On January 3, the European Commission announced the priorities for 2023: in the new year, the EU security and defense space strategy will be published, and the energy transition will be further accelerated, sustainable food and transportation work will be strengthened, food and textile waste will be addressed, and the Anti-corruption legislation works while building a healthier ecosystem. Source: Titanium Media

In order to reduce energy bills and ease the pressure on living costs, more and more Spanish residents choose to install solar panels on their roofs. This is a residential area located in the western suburbs of Madrid, the capital of Spain. Faced with high electricity prices since the beginning of the year, local resident Paloma Utrera decisively chose to install solar panels for his house in September this year. Paloma Utrera, a resident of the suburbs of Madrid, Spain: In the past, we could still pay the electricity bill for this big house, but the electricity price had risen too much in the past few months, forcing us to choose solar energy. After installing 13 solar panels on the roof, with the good sunshine this fall, Utrera said that her family can save about 50% of their monthly electricity bills. The local company responsible for the installation of solar panels also said that installing solar panels has become a trend for Spanish households to save energy bills. Joaquin Gasca, head of the solar panel installation company: A family can usually save 50% to 60% of the cost. If a family pays 100 euros per month for electricity, when they install solar panels, their payment will drop. To €35-€45, that's a solid savings. Data show that after the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the price of electricity in Spain continued to rise, reaching a historical high of 545 euros per megawatt-hour in March. Since then, although the price of electricity has been reduced, the overall price is still high. It is understood that Spain has sufficient sunshine conditions and better utilization of solar energy resources in the early 21st century. However, due to the reduction of government subsidies and the introduction of related taxes during the financial crisis in 2008, the utilization of rooftop solar energy once stagnated. Affected by the high electricity price caused by the continuous energy crisis in Europe this year, Spanish people are more interested in the utilization of rooftop solar energy. Source: SOLARZOOM

The European Commission (EC) has approved changes to Germany's renewable energy plan, which aims to help Germany meet its renewable energy targets. The revised program in Germany's Renewable Energy Act (known as Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz 2023) will last until the end of 2026, with a total budget of 28 billion euros ($29.8 billion), aiming to account for renewable energy generation by 2030. 80% to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. The scheme will take different forms depending on the size of the project, with smaller projects mainly through feed-in tariffs and others through market premiums that network operators pay producers on top of electricity market prices. The German Rainbow Alliance, which includes the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), released a plan earlier this year to accelerate the development of solar PV in Germany, which aims to The goal of 215GW of installed photovoltaic capacity in Germany will be achieved in 2019. In this plan, Germany also plans to increase the number and capacity of tenders for rooftop and ground photovoltaics. These tenders will be conducted by technology type and will be modified to make them more competitive, limit the risk of overcompensation, and minimize costs to consumers and taxpayers. Another modification to the tender is the introduction of a solar PV quantity control mechanism, which is used to adjust the tender quantity for each technology to avoid undersubscription. The European Commission's assessment of the plan is that it is "necessary and appropriate" to promote the growth of renewable energy and will help improve the stability of the German grid. Aid is limited to the minimum necessary and therefore considered "proportionate". Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president for competition policy at the European Commission, said, "By increasing the share of renewable energy, Germany's Renewable Energy Act 2023 plans to further decarbonize electricity generation. At the same time, it will gradually Remove support measures to prevent overcompensation of producers." From 1 January 2027, support for renewable energy generation will be phased out when prices are negative, preventing overcompensation of producers. Furthermore, Germany will once again be the largest solar market in Europe with 7.9GW of new solar capacity added in 2022, according to a new report from trade body SolarPower Europe. In addition, Germany will enter the double-digit gigawatt market by 2024. Source: PV-Tech