U.S. adds 4.6GW of solar in Q3, down 17% YoY On December 13, the Solar Energy Association of America (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie released the "U.S. Solar Energy Market Insights Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2022". %, the decline in data is mainly due to trade barriers and continued supply chain tensions, which continue to drag down the progress of clean energy in the United States; in addition, under the influence of this factor, it is expected that the annual solar installations in the United States in 2022 will drop by 23% compared with 2021. Wood Mackenzie said that the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) has dragged down the recent solar installation plan in the United States and caused the incentive effect of the Reducing Inflation Act (IRA) to be greatly reduced. Separately, the recent decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose anti-circumvention tariffs on solar products in Southeast Asia poses a downside risk to future solar deployments. “America’s clean energy economy is being weighed down by its own trade measures,” said SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “The solar and energy storage industries are taking aggressive action to establish legal supply chains, but solar supply and trade constraints prevent local manufacturers from producing quickly. The utility-scale, commercial and community solar markets all experienced sequential declines in the third quarter due to supply chain constraints. Segments such as residential solar were less directly impacted, with 1.57GW of new installations, a 43% increase over Q3 2021. "Installations have declined significantly this year due to supply chain constraints," said Michelle Davis, principal analyst and lead author of the report. "As it turned out, the evidence requested by UFLPA became increasingly difficult and time-consuming, further delaying the delivery of equipment to the United States." Wood Mackenzie's forecast sees UFLPA limiting solar deployment until 2023 and dragging down IRA incentives in the short term. The report forecasts that 10.3GW of new utility-scale solar will be installed in 2022, a 40% drop from 2021 production. IRA-driven growth will begin to accelerate by 2024, with annual solar growth averaging 21% between 2023-2027. Despite supply chain constraints on solar market growth, U.S. solar will account for the largest share of all new electricity additions at 45% through the third quarter of 2022, the report shows. Source: SOLARZOOM

Many people are not unfamiliar with photovoltaic power generation, but they may not be clear about "how much electricity can be generated by a photovoltaic panel" and "how much carbon can be reduced". The reporter came to the world's largest single agricultural photovoltaic hybrid power station located on the east bank of the Yellow River in Yinchuan, Ningxia, to find out. On the vast Gobi, the neatly arranged photovoltaic panels can't be seen at a glance, like a "blue ocean". Under the sunlight, the photovoltaic panels continuously convert the solar energy into electrical energy. Different from traditional photovoltaic power plants, the photovoltaic panels of this power plant can move "by light" like sunflowers, ensuring maximum solar energy absorption and greatly improving power generation efficiency. According to the reporter's understanding, each photovoltaic panel used in this power station has an area of nearly 2 square meters and a capacity of 330W. 556,700 tons of coal were used! At the same time, in order to make comprehensive use of land resources, goji berries are planted under the photovoltaic panels here, building a new photovoltaic industry development model of "multiple uses in one place, complementary agriculture and photovoltaics". The photovoltaic industry is an important direction for my country's green and low-carbon transformation. Over the years, my country's photovoltaic industry has developed rapidly. By 2020, my country's cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity has ranked first in the world for six consecutive years. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, new energy represented by photovoltaics is expected to become the main driving force for my country's energy growth. 

The next generation of technological change! European-made plus-size perovskite-silicon tandem cells Europe will benefit from a new research and innovation (R&I) project aimed at advancing the manufacture and capacity of tandem solar photovoltaic cells on the continent, with a focus on perovskite-silicon tandem cells. The project, called "PEPPERONI", will last for four years and is co-funded by the European Union under the "European Horizon" program (R&I's long-term funding scheme) and the Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. The PEPPERONI project was launched on November 1 under the coordination of the climate research institute Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the international solar manufacturer Qcells. Project aims to help push silicon-perovskite technology toward mass manufacturing Qcells said it will build a tandem cell production test line at its European headquarters in Thalheim, Germany, with the ultimate goal of realizing the industrial production of perovskite-silicon tandem cells. The total investment will be around €14.5 million (US$15 million) over the project's four-year lifespan. Qcells also said that PEPPERONI aims to accelerate the achievement of Europe's 2050 net-zero target. The boost in power conversion efficiency that tandem cells can provide exceeds what is practically possible with pure silicon cells, allowing long-term reductions in the levelized cost of electricity and enabling short-term development in areas with limited space, such as rooftops. Fabian Fertig, Director of Global Silicon and Cell R&D at Qcells, said: "Together with global technology partners, Qcells is proud to be part of the PEPPERONI Alliance. This research is expected to lead to new breakthroughs in advancing perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell and module technology. With the current energy system under unprecedented pressure, this is an exciting first step towards the industrialized manufacturing of next-generation photovoltaic technologies in Europe. " The partners at PEPPERONI believe that well-established industry expertise and the falling cost of silicon PV production are the basis for scaling up the production targets for tandem cells. The goal of the PEPPERONI project is to expand the useful area of perovskite-silicon tandem cells from the current record device of 1 cm2 to an industrial size. In July this year, the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) jointly set a new world record for perovskite-silicon tandem photovoltaic cells, reaching 31.3%. Last month, Dutch researchers also announced the unveiling of a perovskite-silicon tandem cell with an efficiency of 30%. Bernd Stannowski, Head of Industrial Compatible Processes, Solar Cells and Modules at the HZB Group, added: "At HZB we have developed a world-record level of efficiency for lab-scale stacking technology. Working with industry partners to scale this very promising new tec...

Heavy! National Energy Administration: Wind and solar projects should be combined as much as possible, early and allowed to be connected to the grid in batches! On November 29, the Comprehensive Department of the National Energy Administration issued a notice on actively promoting the integration of new energy power generation projects as soon as possible and the early integration of related work. , in accordance with the principle of "combining as much as possible and as early as possible", effective measures should be taken for wind power and photovoltaic power generation projects that are eligible for grid connection to ensure timely grid connection.

The EU rooftop solar market is constantly evolving and developing. Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed an EU solar roof initiative as part of the REPowerEU initiative. Since then, the solar roof initiative has continued to ferment. Just last month, a coalition of 18 organizations urged EU member states to set requirements for installing solar on all new and refurbished buildings, as well as existing non-domestic buildings. Currently, seven EU countries have mandatory solar energy regulations for refurbished buildings, and nine countries have mandatory solar energy installation regulations for new buildings, reports SolarPower Europe. In this context, more and more EU member states are joining this cohort. The French Senate has approved new legislation that mandates the installation of solar energy in outdoor parking lots, which will boost the development of renewable energy in France. French senator Jean-Pierre Corbisez said that large outdoor car parks with more than 80 parking spaces will be legally required to use solar photovoltaics, which will add 6.7-11GW of solar in the next few years, nearly doubling France's installed solar capacity . As of 2021, France has a solar capacity of 13.2GW. Under the new rules, from July 1, 2023, car parks with at least 80 parking spaces and a maximum of 400 parking spaces will have five years to meet the new requirements, and larger car parks will need to implement changes within three years . Certain exceptions may apply if technical, safety, architectural, historical or environmental constraints prevent solar roof installation. Other measures passed by the law include increased requirements for non-residential roofs - 50% of which must be covered by solar photovoltaics, up from 30% previously. Several proposals around agri-PV have also been adopted, including the removal of asbestos from agricultural roofs to support solar PV, which will be implemented as a pilot measure over the next three years. The French Renewable Energy Trade Association (French: SER) welcomed several provisions proposed by the Senate that would accelerate the development of renewable energy in France.

India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued an announcement to postpone the issuance of final ruling on China-related photovoltaic cells and modules On November 3, 2022, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India issued an announcement that the Ministry of Finance’s office memorandum dated October 31, 2022 mentioned that it accepted its application on October 27, 2022 to postpone the publication of the products originating in or imported from China, The recommendations of the final ruling of the anti-dumping investigations on solar cells and modules in Thailand and Vietnam (Solar Cells whether or not assembled into modules or panels) have been agreed to be extended to November 14, 2022, and will not be extended thereafter. On May 15, 2021, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued an announcement stating that in response to an application submitted by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) on behalf of Indian companies Mundra Solar PV Limited, Jupiter Solar Power Limited and Jupiter International Limited, the original Anti-dumping investigations were initiated on photovoltaic cells and modules produced in or imported from China, Thailand and Vietnam. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India has twice applied for an extension of the issuance of the final ruling of the case, from May 15, 2022 to October 31, 2022. Involves products under Indian customs codes 85414011 and 85411012.

Baotou City to carry out the 2022 distributed wind power and distributed photovoltaic project competition work, a total of 85MW On November 7, the People's Government of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia issued the "Announcement on the Competitive Configuration of Distributed Wind Power and Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects in Baotou City in 2022". In 2022, Baotou City will be equipped with a total of 26MW of distributed wind power and a planned capacity of 59MW of distributed photovoltaic power generation projects, totaling 85MW. Among them, the scope of application of distributed photovoltaic power generation projects this time is only for industrial and commercial distributed photovoltaic power generation projects carried out relying on buildings and facilities, and the application must meet the requirement that the installed capacity of a single access point project does not exceed 6MW. The project should start construction before April 2023, and all projects should be connected to the grid at full capacity before December 31, 2023. This competition does not accept consortium declarations. The person in charge of the declared enterprise is the same person or different enterprises with holding or management relationship, and shall not participate in this competition at the same time.

Recently, it was reported that the Kazakh government has signed a $50 billion agreement with the European renewable energy group Svevind to build one of the world’s top five green hydrogen production facilities in the Mangsto region. Office of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Announced on October 27. Hyrasia will separate hydrogen from water using electricity generated by solar panels and wind turbines. It aims to start production by 2030 and produce 2 million tonnes per year by 2032. This is equivalent to one-fifth of the EU's 2030 green hydrogen import target - although transporting the gas from Kazakhstan to Europe will face logistical challenges. Wolfgang Kropp, CEO of Svevind Energy Group, which is based in Sweden and second only to Europe's largest onshore wind farm, said the meteorological conditions and skills base in western Kazakhstan were ideal for the project. Operates in Germany. “The Mangystau region of Kazakhstan offers very favorable natural resources. Wind conditions are very stable and strong, comparable to offshore wind parks near the coast, solar radiation is as strong as in southern Europe, vast steppe areas are not widely used and sparsely populated. ” he told Eurasia.com in an email. “Due to its experience as an oil and gas exporter, Kazakhstan has a lot of expertise that will contribute to the realization of Hyrasia One.” Production costs are also competitive, Kropp said. Svevind subsidiary Hyrasia One explained in a statement that the project will use wind and photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of about 40 gigawatts and generate about 120 megawatt hours of renewable energy per year. This energy will power a 20-gigawatt industrial park near the port of Kuryk on the coast of the Mangstori Sea, which will generate hydrogen through water electrolysis. When hydrogen burns, only water vapor is released. The company noted that the project could "supply hydrogen on an industrial scale." Hyrasia One could be "the current supporting pillar of the hydrogen market in Europe, Kazakhstan itself and Asian countries". In response to emailed inquiries, the company said it had not yet made a decision on the export destination and route. Pipeline transportation is the most cost-effective, but existing natural gas pipelines must be reused or the hydrogen will be mixed into the natural gas. Transport by rail or ship is already feasible. The shrinking Caspian Sea will be the source of water for hydrogen production. Hyrasia One could not specify how much water it needs, but will keep "water withdrawals as low as possible" because the ocean "must be used sustainably to protect the environment". The plant will create 3,500 jobs during construction and 1,800 permanent jobs. The company will provide initial financing and is seeking long-term investors to build the project at a cost of $40 billion to $50 billion. Source: Sinopec News

According to research by Rystad Energy, the cost of operating gas-fired power plants in Europe will be 10 times higher than the cost of building new solar PV projects in the next few years. High gas prices, market challenges and falling renewable energy costs all suggest that, in the medium to long term, Europe's main source of electricity will no longer be gas, the research firm said. Its research is based on a comparison of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of natural gas to solar PV and wind. The study shows that gas will struggle to remain competitive in the European electricity landscape even if natural gas prices retreat from recent abnormal highs. Rystad Energy says high gas prices, market challenges and falling renewable energy costs all suggest that gas will no longer be the main source of electricity in Europe Natural gas prices have risen from an average price of €46/MWh ($45.8/MWh) in 2021 to €134/MWh ($134/MWh) in 2022, a surge of 189%. Still, gas-fired power generation rose 4% in the first seven months of the year, in part due to a 100TWh drop in nuclear and hydropower generation in 2022. Conditions are not expected to improve this winter, with natural gas needed to maintain power supply through 2023. However, next year will see the return of nuclear power plants. EDF hopes to bring 30GW of capacity back into operation after the shutdown for repairs, in addition to more than 50GW of solar PV and wind projects in the pipeline. Natural gas prices are expected to stabilize, with LCOEs of around €150/MWh for existing plants by 2030 and around one-third of that for new solar PV projects, cementing solar as the most expensive in most parts of the world. The status of an inexpensive way to generate electricity. Carlos Diaz Torres, head of power at Rystad Energy, said: "Gas will continue to play an important role in Europe's energy mix for some time to come, but unless there is a fundamental change, mere economic performance and climate issues will tip the balance in favour of renewables. " European countries have been accelerating the development of renewable energy projects in light of recent price increases and the market trying to adjust to the loss of Russian gas. In fact, according to forecasts, there will be a "significant" increase in solar PV development in Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rystad predicts that more than 100GW of renewable energy capacity could be developed if funds used to maintain gas-fired power generation are repurposed, and 333GW of capacity by 2028 if funds originally used for gas-fired power generation are available. Such a high capacity is enough to generate 663TWh of electricity. The forecasts are based on repurposing funds originally planned for natural gas, and build on Rystad Energy's forecast of more than 2TW of solar and wind installed by 2050, and 520GW of large-scale project batteries. Rystad said gas was still needed to support the intermittent nature of renewable electricity...

CEA: Global polysilicon production capacity will reach 536GW by the end of 2023, far exceeding installed photovoltaic capacity A few days ago, the Clean Energy Association (CEA), a technical consultancy for solar energy and energy storage supply, released a photovoltaic industry report. The report pointed out that by the end of 2022, the global polysilicon production capacity is expected to reach 295GW, and by the end of 2023, it will reach 536GW. Far more than solar capacity, which may indicate that the shortage of silicon material is expected to ease. On the other hand, module capacity expansion is slowing down, while many manufacturers are expanding cell capacity to meet technology trends for N-type TOPCon and HJT cells. CEA said that in the second quarter, the production capacity of silicon ingots increased by nearly 30GW, but the production capacity of silicon wafers decreased slightly; on the battery side, the data of 17 battery suppliers in the report showed that the solar cell production capacity increased by 22% in the second quarter to 47GW, The total reached 262GW; PV module production reached 324GW in the second quarter, and CEA expects this figure to expand by 20% to 400GW by the end of the year. Only 7 suppliers covered by the CEA report are vertically integrated upstream and downstream enterprises, and most of the remaining suppliers are mainly independent links in the industry chain. "With increased choice of wafer types, most suppliers have little need to expand upstream," CEA noted, with suppliers working to optimize industry-standardized 210 mm (G12) and 182 mm (M10) wafers, with "182 mm Plus" (182P) to further reduce the "empty space" caused by the inter-cell gap for additional output up to 5 W. "210 mm Reduced" (210R), which reduces the wafer width to accommodate rooftop PV applications at the expense of power output, is expected to introduce new module sizes to the residential solar market. Many analysts predict that China's installed PV capacity will exceed 100 GW this year. However, CEA expects China's PV installations to decline slightly in 2022, as high prices in the PV industry chain affect utility-scale projects. The company said that many projects were delayed because they were unable to meet expected yields. The CEA also noted that the majority of the polysilicon supply chain is located in China, with 11 GW of polysilicon capacity outside China, 42 GW of cell capacity and 50 GW of module capacity, which are expected to expand to 23 GW and 73 GW, respectively, by the end of 2023 and 74 GW. Source: pv-magazine, SOLARZOOM