“I was not surprised by the figure itself but by the trend,” Bartosz Majewski, CEO of solar distributor Menlo Electric, told pv magazine. “As a distributor, we have decided to limit inventory as much as possible, in anticipation of the upcoming winter and the price drop that happened at the beginning of July. Even though the prices are decreasing since Q4 last year, they have then been sliding gradually through Q1 and Q2, but in Q3 the prices dropped by 30% in China – this is what really caught many distributors by surprise.”

Majewski said Menlo reduced its module inventory by a factor of 2.5 between July and the end of September.

“Now we are well below our one month's worth of sales,” he explained. “Rystad probably worked on different substocks or categories. For example, if modules are sold from Chinese manufacturer to their European subsidiary, or a distributor, under Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) incoterms, then they are formally exported the moment they are loaded on the ship. This is why they may appear that as European “stocked“ modules, even though they are still at sea and haven’t reached Europe yet. It takes roughly six weeks for these panels to come to Europe. So, if you assume that the Chinese are exporting 8 GW to 10 GW per month, that would mean that there would be about 10 GW to 15 GW worth of stock at sea, not in warehouses.”

“We do have some clients that have purchased significant stocks in anticipation of this season and some of them are still going through these stocks, although it is already October.”

Filip Sypko, general manager key accounts at Menlo Electric, that the tens of gigawatts of stored solar power in Europe primarily serve residential and commercial installations.

Most of the modules stored in Europe are based on PERC technology, with the result that the related market segment, mostly residential and C&I installations, is highly saturated.

“There is much oversupply and is very difficult to make positive margins there,” Majewski said. “For n-type products, it is a bit different, as it is still possible to make some positive margins.”

According to Majewski, n-type is currently only €0.01 more expensive than p-type.

“For p-type, it doesn’t matter at what price it was purchased, but at what price the buyer is willing to buy. All these modules in European warehouses will have to be sold by the end of this year, which means that regardless of what was the purchase price in the market, people will try to sell at the current market price because they need to release cash to pay their bills. For many companies it will be a matter of survival,” he said. For this reason, these stocked modules, especially those relying on p-type technology, may now be offered at a lower price than new arrivals from China.

When the bottom will be reached is unclear and installers will not wait indefinitely.

“You can wait, wait and wait but some installation just need to be delivered by the end of the year,” Majewski said.

Majewski believes there will be a limit to further module price drops in the months to come.

If you look at the margins made by the polysilicon and wafer manufacturers, and at those made by module makers, you realize that panel producers have not benefitted that much from the upward trend of the last two years. It was mostly the polysilicon and wafer manufacturers that captured windfall profits,” he said. “Now, however, both polysilicon and wafer producers are largely operating close to their marginal cost. So, it means that there is not too much potential for the prices to go significantly down further. They may continue to slide slowly but not as quickly as we have seen in Q3 2023.”

From pv magazine Germany

Germany installed 919 MW of new PV capacity in September, according to the latest figures from the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). This compares to 1,056 MW in August and 750 MW in September 2022.

In the first nine months of this year, developers connected 10.72 GW of solar to the grid, compared to 5.6 GW in the same period a year earlier.

This means that the German government's goal of achieving a newly installed capacity of 9 GW for this year has already been exceeded. With a view to the goal of a cumulative installed capacity of 215 GW by 2030, the monthly increase – viewed linearly – would have to be 1,578 megawatts, as determined by the Federal Network Agency. This value has not been reached in any month so far this year.

The country's cumulative solar capacity surpassed 77.67 GW at the end of September.

In September, the combined capacity of rooftop systems supported with feed-in tariffs or market premiums totaled 666 MW. This is also the lowest value since February and a significant decrease compared to previous months when there were more than 800 MW in this segment – with the peak value of almost 937 MW having been reached in June.

Reduced moisture in the Amazon delivered clear skies and increased irradiance across the tropics of South America. Solar assets in the region saw 110-120% of average monthly irradiance through September.

A strong and slow-moving storm early in the month lessened irradiance in southern Brazil, but the rest of mid-latitude South America saw mostly normal irradiance, according to data collected by Solcast, a DNV company, via the Solcast API. The Altiplano Plateau saw the highest irradiance for the whole continent. This is in line with historical averages, as the area records some of the highest irradiance levels in the world.

In September the tropics saw higher irradiance than usual. This was due to clearer skies caused by the current drought in the Amazon. The northeastern part of the Amazon has been dry since mid-July, resulting in reduced moisture in the rainforest and less evapotranspiration. This is a major source of moisture fuelling cloud formation over rainforest regions.

The region saw regular cumuliform clouds typical of tropical regions, but not the large storms and rainfall events that are typical of the start of the wet season in September. The rivers in the Amazon are reported to be at their lowest level in over a century as there has been a lack of rainfall and ensuing dry conditions in recent months. This has been exacerbated by warm conditions, as South America recorded the warmest September extending from heatwaves.

The Brazilian southern states of Rio Grande de Sul and Santa Catarina saw reduced irradiance. It recorded 10-20% below September averages and is due to an unusually strong extra-tropical cyclone. The storm moved onshore from the Atlantic in early September, and it’s slow-moving nature meant the irradiance impacts were more focussed and intense. Most of the remainder of mid-latitude South America saw much more moderate irradiance at or slightly below the long-term average.

Solcast produces these figures by tracking clouds and aerosols at 1-2km resolution globally, using satellite data and proprietary AI/ML algorithms. This data is used to drive irradiance models, enabling Solcast to calculate irradiance at high resolution, with a typical bias of less than 2%, and also cloud-tracking forecasts. This data is used by more than 300 companies managing over 150 GW of solar assets globally.

From pv magazine USA

FERC's new energy infrastructure report shows that solar holds the largest share of capacity additions in the energy mix in the United States. 

In the January-August period, just under 9 GW of solar capacity was added, representing 40.5% of all capacity additions. This represents 36% growth year on year. 

Wind power provided an additional 2.7 GW, accounting for about 12.5% of new capacity additions. When including solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass, renewable energy sources contributed 54.3% of capacity additions. 

Much growth lies ahead for decarbonized energy to push out fossil fuel sources. For total available installed generating capacity, natural gas remains the leader. More than 44% of available electricity generation capacity comes from natural gas, followed by coal, wind, hydropower, and solar.

FERC forecasts strong growth in solar for years to come. It expects more than 83 GW of “high probability” solar capacity additions through August 2026. This dwarfs the 4 GW of natural gas additions expected through that date. 

FERC said that the 83 GW of “high probability” solar additions may be quite conservative. There are more than 214 GW of solar additions in the three-year project pipeline. 

Natural gas has 564 GW available installed capacity today, while solar has 92 GW. Looking ahead three years, if solar were to add all the projects in the pipeline to the grid, it would reach 306 GW. The figures suggest that with a healthy ramp-up of projects, solar could feasibly push out natural gas as the No. 1 provider of electricity by 2030. 

Reaching status as the number one provider of electricity will take significant funding. A report from Rhodium Group and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) showed that the United States’ total investment in clean energy, clean transportation, building electrification and carbon management reached $213 billion over the last year (from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023). 

The $213 billion invested represents a 37% leap over 2021-22 investments of $155 billion. Clean investment continues to strongly increase each year. In 2018/2019, total investments reached $81 billion, and it has climbed every year since.  

Domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies has become an increased focus in recent years, and rich tax credits and incentives have served as an attracting force. Manufacturing investments totaled $39 billion in 2022/2023, more than doubling the $17 billion invested in the previous report period.  

Solar represented the largest energy and industry investment category in the second quarter of 2023, attracting $8.62 billion. This was followed by storage with $4.08 billion, and wind with $2.03 billion.

China Mono Grade, the OPIS benchmark assessment for polysilicon prices in the country, fell 4.22% to CNY79.5 ($11.07)/kg week-on-week for the first time in more than three months on the back of weakening demand across the solar supply chain, which has finally impacted the upstream polysilicon sector.

Domestic polysilicon prices were assessed in the range of CNY75-83/kg. While major polysilicon makers hold their price quotes at the higher end of the range, tier-2 producers have cut prices to their lower end, pulling overall market prices down.

Weakening polysilicon demand – driven by lower solar installation rates in the fourth quarter of 2023 – contributes to the move downward, with trade volumes light in the week to Tuesday. Wafer makers have cut their operating rates as module inventories build and solar installations face delays in the fourth quarter. Expecting polysilicon prices to fall further, wafer makers adopting a wait-and-see approach when purchasing the material.

High inventories in both the polysilicon and wafer segments also weigh on prices. According to a solar market veteran, China’s wafer inventories are estimated at 20 GW and polysilicon inventories at around 50,000 MT.

China polysilicon prices are expected to bottom out in the fourth quarter as more polysilicon capacity comes online and building inventories contribute to a supply glut.

OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data, and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals, and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly Report.

Another topic was about projects and issues facing minigrids.

“Not all rural last-mile sites look the same. They look very different, with some sites doing fine with approximately 50% capex grant as the subsidy while others need a more significant subsidy and others doing fine with less than 50%,” said Julie Greene, managing director of Renewvia Solar Africa. “We have seen that there has only been one financing model that works for some sites and others. To reach last-mile customers, we need to look at the actual sites and see where to apply mini-grids and SHS because these are distributed communities.”

According to Sanjeev Debipersad, the director of Investments Portfolio AECF, there is plenty of funding available. “How do we transition away from the dependencies on grants?” he asked.

“We need to step back before approaching the villages and precede with other instruments that help de-risk the minigrid,” said Debipersad. “For example, SME’s stimulations.”

The 2023 Smart Energy Forum took place at Prague's O2 Universum conference hall from Oct. 17 to 18. The event drew 5,000 attendees and 72 exhibitors across 8,500 m² of floor space, with more than 30 panel discussions focused on solar. pv magazine covered the first day of the conference in Prague, Czechia.

As the central European nation clocked in 2,627 MW of installed solar PV capacity at the end of 2022 – which is 426 MW up from the previous year, according to estimates published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – the Czech Republic’s continued achievement of these solar gains was on the lips of most attendees. However, the obstacles in the way of these achievements – fraudulent operators, lagging grid infrastructure, and lengthy application processes – were also heavily discussed and dissected.

Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladik said that the solar industry is currently experiencing a huge boom. However, he dashed hopes for the country only pursuing PV by stating that its generating capacity would be a mix of renewables and nuclear. There are six commercial reactors generating roughly one-third of the landlocked country’s electricity.

Hladik said the government is on the cusp of releasing a national climate policy. The document will establish a roadmap for the government to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, including a fivefold increase in solar and wind capacity. He added that the government also wants to increase grid flexibility.

Robert Sedmera, a sales representative for Austrian PV manufacturer Fronius, told pv magazine that the company has operated in Czechia since 1991. He said that does not believe the country’s solar capabilities will ever eclipse nuclear, but noted that the public appetite is leaning more toward the sun and cheaper electricity prices. He added that the price for electricity is currently “high” at CZK 6 ($0.24)/kWh, and noted that there is an additional distribution fee of around CZK 4 crowns, bringing the total cost to CZK 10/kWh.

“About two, three, four years ago, the price for the electricity was much lower, so then the also the return of investment was 10 years or 12 years,” Sedmera said. “Nobody would like to, and nobody could, I would say, imagine that electricity would now cost that much.”

He said that compared to Austria and Poland, Czechia is not meeting all demand for solar. The government is “taking too long” to approve installations, he said.

Martin Bursik, president of European Renewable Energies Federation (EREF), said that the elephant in the room for Czechia is the government's lengthy approval process. However, he noted that a directive is in the pipeline so these times could be slashed if projects meet certain criteria.

Pavel Chovanec, sales manager of local distribution company SolSol, told pv magazine that government subsidies have helped to ramp up commercial PV installations of late. But he said that he agrees that local authorities need to expedite sluggish processes.

Miloš Preisinger, a renewable energy specialist for Swiss mechatronics specialist Stäubli, told pv magazine that the local solar market is growing due to changing government legislation and growing community desire to cut back on fossil fuel emissions. However, he claimed that “risky products and companies” have threatened to derail the reputation of the local sector.

Milan Hošek, a representative from the Czech Photovoltaic Association, echoed these concerns. He told pv magazine that the caliber of rooftop installations is the “biggest problem” facing the domestic industry. He said that incorrectly installed PV rooftop arrays pose lightning risks, and that could damage the sector's reputation.

Preisinger said another “major problem” is grid connection. The government needs to invest in improving aging infrastructure, he said, estimating it would cost “many millions” over at least five years to ensure that the entire country is properly connected.

“It is very important because many people have made investments to the photovoltaic system,” Preisinger said.

Stepan Chalupa, president of the Czech Renewable Energy Chamber, said that Czechia's energy market is continuously improving, but better regulations are needed to prohibit fraudulent providers from operating. This concern was echoed by Natálie Foltýnová, marketing coordinator of German renewables developer BayWa re.

Due to surging energy prices caused by the war in Ukraine, “everyone wanted PV on their roof in the Czech Republic” last year, she said. This led to more mounting companies flooding the market, but not always delivering results. “They only collected money,” Foltýnová explained. “Now everybody is afraid, and nobody trusts the mounting system companies.”

Chalupa appeared to express optimism about the government working with stakeholders to establish key acceleration project zones. Later in the day, Pavel Doucha, founder and partner of the local law firm Doucha Šikola advokáti, clarified this legislative push in greater detail.

“I heard from our partner that there will be some subsidy model commercial solution, for example, a factory can install the commercial operation though the commercial solution, [and] can save more money on the electricity bill,” she said. “I think it will be good for business.”

From pv magazine 10/23

Solar installations in India have been steadily rising since March 2023. As per official numbers, India installed 9 GW (AC) of solar capacity from January to August 2023, which is around 12 GW of DC capacity, according to estimates. These installation numbers reflect many projects that were originally supposed to be built in 2021 and 2022 but were hindered by high equipment prices.

A government-approved relaxation of restrictions imposed by the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM) – which indicates which products can be included in government-backed projects – has accelerated Indian PV installations, helped also by falling module prices.

The start of 2023 looked a bit gloomy for India, compared with the usual pattern of a strong first quarter each calendar year. Module price and availability prevented many projects from being completed. In May, after the SNEC solar trade show in China, the market turned around. Module prices, excluding import duties, quickly dropped below $0.18 per watt (W) and continued to fall, reaching less than $0.15/W in the July to September period. Installers took the chance to complete pending projects, driving the current installation boom, which is likely to continue through the first three months of next year.

Rising imports

Local developers have grabbed the opportunity offered by module price declines to order in bulk. We believe that will lead to a strong upswing in module imports in the final three months of this year and the first three months of 2024. These modules will go into projects in the first part of next year and possibly even further out, depending on how legislation evolves.

Current regulation allows for government-tendered projects to include modules not named on the ALMM list, until March 31, 2024. Modules imported before that deadline but not installed will not be eligible for installation on government-aided projects. Developers are trying to persuade the government to extend that deadline by another three months, to give them more flexibility in terms of orders and imports.

Expanding production

Module manufacturers have ramped up India’s solar panel output, with annual production capacity expansions driven by national local-content policies. Annual module manufacturing capacity in India has already crossed the 20 GW mark but the factory utilization rate remains below 50% to date. That means, with local manufacturers having brought their prices closer to the cost of imported modules (plus basic customs duty), they will not be able to meet demand.

The fall in imported solar cell prices has resulted in a strong spike of cell imports over the past few months, which is likely to boost solar module-assembly factory utilization rates. The share of Indian-manufactured modules in new installations is expected to increase accordingly, especially after March 2024.

The combined generation capacity of imported and locally manufactured modules is still not enough to supply the 60 GW (AC) or so of solar projects that the Central Electricity Authority reports as being at some stage of construction.

Projects corresponding to more than two thirds of this capacity are unlikely to obtain modules before March 31, 2024. Hence, most developers of government-backed projects will need to procure modules included on the ALMM list. Such constraints on module procurement put the solar project pipeline at risk of delays.

In parallel with the government-backed PV project pipeline that dominates the Indian solar market, there is also growing interest among commercial and industrial electricity consumers seeking to procure solar power via on-site systems or private power purchase agreements. As these are not limited by ALMM list requirements, these segments of the solar industry are in position to benefit from possible module inventories in 2024. India’s PV deployment is, hence, set to diversify further across different market segments.

Given the high number of PV projects waiting to be commissioned and the level of module imports expected for the rest of the year, S&P Global Commodity Insights forecasts India will have installed 20 GW of solar this year. Solar installations in 2024 could be even higher than our forecast, depending upon government policy and possible further ALMM relaxations. Deadline extensions are possible, as we have seen previously in India’s solar power market.

About the author: Josefin Berg is an associate director for solar research at S&P Global Commodity Insights, leading a team that covers forecasts, trends, and company strategy in the downstream solar market. Her focus areas include developers and engineering, procurement and construction business strategies, demand for PV in emerging markets, and the role of solar in the power mix. With more than 12 years of industry experience, she writes reports on PV markets and trends and regularly speaks at industry events.

The European Council approved a proposal this week to improve electricity market design in Europe. If the European Parliament approves the reforms, they will result in more stable energy prices, lower dependence on fossil fuel costs, and better crisis resilience, according to Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Spain's ecological transition minister.

Two-way contracts for difference – only applied after a transition period of three years, but five years for hybrid projects connected to two or more bidding zones – would apply to investments in renewable energy, including solar.

“The council added flexibility as to how revenues generated by the state through two-way CfDs would be redistributed,” it said. “Revenues would be redistributed to final customers and they may also be used to finance the costs of the direct price support schemes or investments to reduce electricity costs for final customers.”

The proposal includes a clause regarding consumer protection, with the amendment establishing the free choice of supplier and the option of accessing dynamic electricity prices. This would be across fixed-term and long-term contracts.

“The council agreed to stricter rules than previously for suppliers in their price-hedging strategies to shield customers from variations on wholesale markets,” the council stated. “It agreed to protect vulnerable customers from disconnections by putting in place ‘supplier of last resort’ systems to ensure the continuity of supply at least for household customers if such systems do not already exist.

From pv magazine France

From pv magazine USA

Qcells announced the successful completion of the expansion of its solar module factory in Dalton, Georgia where it added 2 GW of solar capacity, bringing the factory’s output to more than 5.1 GW.

The company said its Dalton factory is the largest manufacturing plant of its kind in the Western Hemisphere and the first solar panel plant expansion since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The expanded factory will manufacture nearly 30,000 solar modules a day, focusing on the new Q.TRON G2 residential solar module and a bifacial module for the commercial and utility markets. The company expects both products to achieve an ecolabel known as EPEAT, which is intended to help customers identify sustainably made products. QCells says the expanded factory will create 510 new jobs.

“Completing this factory marks the third expansion we’ve made in Dalton, and it’s just the beginning of Qcells’ larger mission to build a fully integrated solar supply chain in America,” said Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells. “The Inflation Reduction Act and the efforts of Georgia’s economic development team helped make these ambitious plans possible, and with it thousands of careers in clean energy. As we build new solar technology from Dalton and prepare for the start of Cartersville, it is critical that our local to federal leaders continue to work not only with us, but the larger industry to ensure our collective investments deliver for communities for decades to come.”

In January, QCells announced that it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a complete solar supply chain in the U.S.. Considered the largest investment in U.S. solar history, it also made QCells, a subsidiary of Hanwha Solutions, the first company to establish a fully-integrated silicon-based solar supply chain in the U.S.  Qcells intends to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art facility in Cartersville, Georgia, where it will manufacture 3.3 GW of solar ingots, wafers, cells and finished modules.

By 2024, between the Dalton and Cartersville facilities, Qcells anticipates its solar production capacity will reach 8.4 GW a year, or enough to power 1.3 million homes annually with clean energy.

Qcells opened its first factory in Georgia in 2019 and hired 750 people to manufacture 1.7 GW of solar. This initial investment was made possible in part by the Section 201 tariffs imposed on solar cells. Last year, Qcells announced a second expansion, which would add 1.4 GW to its manufacturing output and hire 535 more people. This now completed third expansion as well as the new facility that will manufacturing cells, wafers and ingots, follow the passage of the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act (SEMA) within the IRA and are made possible with support from Georgia’s economic development team.

Upon completed construction, Qcells estimates that its production in Georgia could avoid more than 12 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents per year while expanding domestic manufacturing of solar products amidst the push for Made-in-America clean energy solutions.

From pv magazine India

German PV module manufacturer Axitec has revealed plans to set up 600 MW of its own pilot lines to produce solar modules in India.

Tanmoy Duari, chief executive officer at Axitec Energy India, told pv magazine that out of the planned 600 MW, 300 MW will be built in Gujarat. Another 300 MW will be installed in Tamil Nadu to overcome the transportation challenges in catering to the markets in the south.

The two plants will produce n-type TOPCon PV modules in bifacial glass-glass variants with power outputs of 580Wp to 585 Wp, though the same lines can also be used for mono PERC modules.

Duari said the production will begin in the first quarter of 2024.

“Our focus being on quality, we will primarily target the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, not the massive utility-scale projects,” he added.

From pv magazine Germany

The Austrian government has decided to reduce the VAT for solar modules to 0% from January 2024. Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler announced the new measure as part of a new economic stimulus package.

“As an association, we have been calling for this measure for a long time and are very pleased that the PV expansion in the small segment will be given a boost next year,” said Herbert Paierl, CEO of trade body PV Austria. “This means that our motto ‘Zero sales tax – zero bureaucracy' will finally be implemented. It is the right step at the right time, as the industry is currently experiencing a decline in demand for photovoltaics.”

From pv magazine Germany

The downward trend in module prices across the board could not be stopped this month, but it is clearly losing momentum. Manufacturers and dealers of solar modules are still reducing their prices, but only in small steps, and seek to slowly approach the price level accepted by the market. For a long time now, nothing has been earned from products at this price level.

In China too, it's all about minimizing damage, because unsold stocks generate avoidable costs and the risk of progressive depreciation is always present. In order not to have to pay extra for transport costs, export quantities to Europe have been drastically reduced by Asian producers in recent weeks.

Interestingly, module prices on continents other than Europe and Asia are not as affected by the price decline. The price gap is sometimes drastically different – in the United States, it is up to 100% compared to the European prices for modules with comparatively low efficiency, which means with monocrystalline PERC cells.

However, products produced in China cannot easily be redirected to America because there are strict import restrictions there. This keeps prices there high and market volume low. We will be curious to see whether the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) really has the desired and needed impact on local PV production capacity. At least with the currently very high purchase and installation costs in the United States, it is rather unlikely.

Transferring this model to other markets is risky, although some non-Chinese manufacturers are already celebrating and shifting their sales focus and scope of operations to the United States. An industry cannot be kept alive permanently through subsidies, we should all have learned that by now.

Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers cannot endure a sustained period of low prices for long and are already trying to stabilize prices again through artificial shortages. If demand picks up again towards the end of the year due to the current price situation, the downward trend could soon be stopped. There is hardly a market participant who is happy with the current situation.

Overview of the price points differentiated by technology in October 2023, including the changes compared to the previous month (as of Oct. 15):

About the author: Martin Schachinger studied electrical engineering and has been active in renewables for more than 20 years. In 2004, he set up pvXchange.com. The online platform allows wholesalers, installers, and service companies to purchase a range of components, including out-of-production PV modules and inverters.

From pv magazine USA

Texas-based Plus Power announced financing commitments of $1.8 billion to advance five large-scale battery energy storage projects totaling 2.76 GW/h. The company reports that the transactions will support construction and operations of the portfolio and include construction financing, term financing, letters of credit, and tax equity investments, in partnership with 11 leading industry lenders and investors.

The recent financing includes $707 million for the 250 MW Sierra Estrella Energy Storage facility in Avondale, Arizona, which is expected to be the largest standalone battery facility in Arizona once online. This financing is in addition to initial funding of $903 million.

“Over the last year, Plus Power has raised an unparalleled amount of capital for standalone storage projects from a wide range of leading energy project finance banks and investors,” said Josh Goldstein, chief financial officer of Plus Power. “This capital will support the ongoing buildout of the largest and most diverse portfolio of standalone storage projects in the US. The scale highlights our first-mover advantage in bringing high-quality projects to market as well as the tremendous work by our fantastic team.”

The Sierra Estrella facility is one of two battery storage projects the Salt River Project (SRP) announced in fall of 2022 with Plus Power, with both projects scheduled to come online by summer of 2024. The other, a 90 MW / 360 MWh project is called Superstition Energy Storage, which is planned for Gilbert, Arizona.

Norddeutsche Landesbank and Société Générale acted as coordinating lead arrangers while Mizuho, US Bank, Bank of America, CoBank, and Siemens Financial Services were joint lead arrangers.

The financing for the SRP facilities includes:

• Sierra Estrella (250 MW/1,000 MW/h): $202 million of tax equity from Bank of America coupled with a $505 million construction, term loan, and letter of credit facility.
• Superstition Energy Storage (90 MW/360 MWh): $196 million construction, term loan and letter of credit facility.

The completed transactions were financings totaling $884 million to support construction of 700 MW of batteries on the ERCOT grid in Texas in the Ebony, Anemoi and Rodeo Ranch energy storage projects. Plus Power reports that while the Ebony and Anemoi projects are expected to operate as merchant resources in the ERCOT wholesale market, Plus Power executed an innovative hedge for Goldman Sachs’ commodities group for a portion of the Rodeo Ranch Energy Storage facility. The three storage facilities are expected to be operational next summer and are designed to bring stability to the ERCOT grid during high demand.

The financing for these projects brings Plus Power’s current ERCOT portfolio to 1.57 GW/h. Deutsche Bank and First Citizens Bank were the coordinating lead arrangers, with First Citizens Bank as the administrative agent and Siemens Financial Services, Inc. acting as the joint lead arranger.

The financing for the three ERCOT projects includes:

• Rodeo Ranch Energy Storage (300 MW/600 MW/h): $212.2 million of tax equity financing from Foss & Company, as well as $276 million of construction and term financing, for the Rodeo Ranch Energy Storage facility in Pecos.
• Ebony Energy Storage (200 MW/400 MW/h): $196 million of construction and term financing.
• Anemoi Energy Storage (200 MW/400 MW/h) $200 million of construction and term financing.

Plus Power expects the Ebony and Anemoi projects to operate as merchant resources in the ERCOT wholesale market, while the company reportedly executed an innovative hedge for Goldman Sachs’ commodities group for a portion of the Rodeo Ranch Energy Storage facility.

“These financings demonstrate Nord/LB’s commitment to the battery energy storage sector as the bank continues to play a prominent role financing strategic assets to support the energy transition as part of the broader mission to achieve a net neutral, carbon free grid,” said Sondra Martinez, managing director, Nord/LB. “We look forward to continuing the strong relationship with Plus Power to support both our company’s goals of decarbonizing the energy grid with high-quality projects.”

Plus Power currently has a growing portfolio of large-scale lithium-ion battery systems in more than 25 states and Canada, and the company reports that it is executing on 10 GW of interconnection capacity now in transmission interconnection queues.

From pv magazine India

NGEL has tendered an EPC package with land for the development of 300 MW of solar projects. The projects can be located anywhere in India and must be connected to the interstate transmission system.

MSPGCL has started accepting bids for an EPC package with land for 600 MW(AC) of grid-connected, ground-mounted solar PV projects under the RE Bundling Scheme. The projects can be located anywhere in Maharashtra.

From pv magazine USA

Flexrack by Qcells and Alltrade Industrial Contractors, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company, are partnering on the construction of two solar projects in Alberta, both with bifacial solar modules on fixed-tilt trackers.

The 81 MW Scotford project is expected to be the largest behind-the-meter solar project in Canada. Additionally, the 101 MW Saddlebrook project includes the future addition of a flow battery energy storage system, projected to be one of the first of its kind in North America.

The projects are currently under construction and are providing hundreds of local jobs. Both projects are expected to complete construction by the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Saddlebrook project will be owned and operated by an energy infrastructure company, with operations in natural gas, oil and power industries. The project is partially supported by Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA). Projects range from new solar opportunities in coal-impacted communities to electrification of transportation to energy storage and more.

Once complete, the electricity produced by the Saddlebrook project will feed into the Alberta Interconnected Electric System (AIES) through a new 138 kV substation located on the project land. In total, the project is expected to directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 73,600 tons of carbon dioxide per year, or the equivalent of taking nearly 16,000 cars off the road.

Alltrade is constructing the Saddlebrook Solar Project in a joint venture partnership with SkyFire Energy, a solar contractor serving Western Canada.

The 81 MW Scotford project is expected to power a global oil producer’s refinery complex, which supports the fossil fuel company in achieving its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The project is expected to contribute approximately $200,000 a year on a levelized basis to the Strathcona County local government and school system.

“We are excited to be able to work alongside our longtime partners at Alltrade in Canada again to both support fossil fuel companies in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions as well as deliver more renewable energy to local communities,” said Ken Mack, head of Flexrack by Qcells.

Flexrack by Qcells offers custom-designed, fixed-tilt ground-mount and single-axis solar tracking systems in the commercial and utility-scale solar mounting industries. The company has completed more than 4 GW of solar racking installations in over 40 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces and across the globe. One of its notable projects is the 1.3 MW Jimmy Carter Sumpter project in Plains, Georgia.

Alltrade provides EPC services, specializing in ground-mount solar. The company has 1 GW of utility-scale project experience in Canada.

From pv magazine USA

Many large solar projects sell their electricity via PPAs, typically for time frames of about 25 years. According to LevelTen Energy's latest quarterly report, PPA prices are now rising in the United States.

LevelTen said developers face rising costs across the board, from financing and interconnection to labor and supplies. This has tempered the boost from federal tax credits made available by the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The report attributed the 4% quarterly jump in solar PPA prices to price increases for independent system operators like PJM Interconnection, Southwest Power Pool  (SPP), and ISO-New England. While price increases in the recent quarter were lower than in some previous quarters, cumulative price increases are making it more difficult for corporate buyers to secure CFO approval, it said.

“Developers are looking to find ways to provide buyers with some pricing relief, but this is exceedingly difficult amid a wide array of development and financing challenges,” said Gia Clark, senior director of strategic accounts, LevenTen Energy. “Expectations of a prolonged high interest rate environment are pushing developers’ costs up across the board, with energy players of all sizes feeling the heat.”

Prices in the Texas ERCOT region fell this quarter, down 4%. In the second quarter, threats from anti-renewables bills led developers to include risk premiums in their prices. Those regulatory threats have since diminished, and average prices have come back down in response.

Image: LevelTen Energy

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine USA website.

A group of researchers led by China's Nanjing University has created a global-scale inventory map to determine the spatio-temporal distribution of floating photovoltaics.

“Existing statistical reports on water-surface photovoltaics (WSPV) only provide aggregated summary statistics but lack spatiotemporal information, which hinders the environmental assessment and policy management,” the research's lead author, Shanchuan Guo, told pv magazine. “We developed a new and adaptive workflow for identifying WSPV using satellite imagery and integrating multiple spectral indices.”

In the paper “Mapping global water-surface photovoltaics with satellite images,” published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review, the research group explained it combined multi-source data and mapping results to assess the geographic distribution and characteristics of WSPV s and produce an an up-to-date spatial database.

The water mask was based on the global surface water dataset (GSW) created by the European Union's Joint Research Centre (JRC), which provides the annual spatial distribution of surface water from 1984 to 2020.

“WSPVs are spectrally distinct from most land cover types and can be identified by remote sensing once they are larger than the satellite pixel size,” the scientists specified. “We used Google Earth images and Sentinel satellite imagery from 2019 to 2021 to examine and modify the type changes of WSPV validation samples over three years, and finally obtained the annual correctly labeled validation samples.”

The academics claim that the proposed approach enables the mapping of WSPVs over large areas at high resolution. They found that the water areas covered with floating PV installations increased from 187.0 km2 to 272.0 km2 between 2019 and 2021. They also estimated estimated a global installed WSPV capacity of 12.9 GW.

“The results advanced the understanding of the global spatial-temporal dynamics of the recent WSPV development and will be useful for informing future global and regional renewable planning and management for policymakers and project stakeholders,” they stressed.

The research group also hosted scientists from Michigan State University and the Shanghai Jiaotong University.

DMEGC Solar says that its new cell manufacturing facility in Yibin, Sichuan province, will commence mass production of n-type TOPCon cells this month, with advanced automation, wireless data, and robotics. The module and cell manufacturer operates five production hubs across four Chinese provinces, with a cumulative shipment record exceeding 30 GW, including 14 GW of cells and 12 GW of modules distributed worldwide.

TCL Zhonghuan says it plans to generate CNY 13.8 billion ($1.92 billion) via a private share placement to build a 35 GW super-thin polysilicon wafer factory and a 25 GW n-type TOPCon cell plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. All solar cells produced at the factory will be supplied for Zhonghuan's PV module products.

Haitai Solar says it has canceled an investment deal in the city of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, for a 10 GW TOPCon cell factory, citing uncertainty over land-related concerns. Separately, it has signed an agreement with the city of Chuzhou, Anhui province, to construct the same 10 GW TOPCon cell factory, with the investment amount unchanged at CNY 5 billion (equivalent to $695 million).

BIPV is one of the most promising pathways to net-zero energy buildings, representing an opportunity for hundreds of gigawatts of solar-generating building components to be installed worldwide. However, integrating BIPV into design is not easy, given the vast range of data and technical factors to be considered and the difficulties that designers and developers face in choosing and sourcing materials.

“BIPV design and management is a complex process which involves requirements geophysical, technical, economical and environment factors throughout the life cycle of the system, ranging from acquiring architectural visual effects to higher solar insolation in given location, efficient energy generation and economic operation and maintenance of the BIPV system,” Rebecca Yang, a researcher for RMIT’s Solar Energy Application Group, told pv magazine. “Lack of consideration for PV integration of the building envelope in the early design phase is one of the main reasons for complicating the design and construction process of BIPV systems.”

Yang has led the development of a new tool, BIPV Enabler, which is the first of its kind to combine BIPV product, regulation, technical, economic and construction data. The tool was developed with Australian data and features maps, a 3D shape library, solar visualizations, hourly weather data and pricing information for materials and feed-in tariffs.

“The Zero Carbon Australia Buildings Plan promotes BIPV to reach a full uptake on suitable buildings by 2030. BIPV is at Technology Readiness Level 9, but adoption has been slow in Australia because it reframes distributed solar energy as a building product which needs close collaborations between the PV and building industries,” Yang said. “It is difficult to develop a business case for a BIPV project without accessible information and value-for-money solutions.”

Yang said that BIPV Enabler is the perfect solution for building designers and developers looking to select the right solar option, be it for a new build or an existing building, by retrofitting BIPV.

“We’re making integrated-solar a more attractive option to developers, slicing the time it would normally take to research and implement incognito solar devices,” she said. “Our software aims to translate technical complexities into a packaged, user-friendly platform that integrates product, technical, economic and construction data to create the best BIPV solution for individual building projects.”

Yang, the director of the Australian PV Institute and head of the BIPV Alliance, said that the platform serves building professionals in making design choices and enables PV suppliers to showcase the value of their products to clients.

In BIPV Enabler, users have several key functionalities. They include the ability to select building types and project locations with an interactive map. Users can also create building models using the 3D geometric building shapes library or default arch and draft workbenches within FreeCAD. In addition, the platform allows users to visualize the solar irradiance on the building envelope.

The software, funded by RMIT and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, was initailly announced last year and opened to users mid this year. “We provide a one-year usage for free at this stage,” Yang said.

She claimed that with minimum effort and some funding support, the RMIT team could redesign BIPV Enabler to cover other countries. It is now on the lookout for such collaborative opportunities.

Solar photovoltaic, solar thermoelectric and wind energy production

In the week of October 9, solar energy production decreased compared to the previous week in the main European electricity markets. The largest drop, 23%, was registered in the Portuguese market. In the other markets, the drop in solar energy production ranged from 19% in Germany to 8.1% in Italy.

Despite the weekly drop in solar energy production related to the seasonal change, when comparing solar photovoltaic energy production in the first half of October 2023 with the same period in previous years, since 2019, the record was broken in all analyzed markets.

During the first half of October 2023, the highest photovoltaic energy production, 2036 GWh, was registered in the German market, an increase of 5.4% compared to the same period in 2022 and 62% compared to 2019. In Mainland Spain, photovoltaic energy production for the first 15 days of October 2023 was 1613 GWh, an increase of 37% and 286% compared to the same period in 2022 and 2019, respectively. The lowest production, 160 GWh, was registered in Portugal, but still represented an increase of 33% compared to 2022 and 228% compared to 2019. For the week of October 16, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s solar energy production forecasts, solar energy production is expected to decrease in the analyzed markets.

In the case of wind energy production, the week of October 9 brought a week‑on‑week increase in most of the markets analyzed at AleaSoft Energy Forecasting. The largest increase, 51%, was registered in the French market. In this market, 261 GWh was generated with wind energy on Friday, October 13, which is the highest value registered since the beginning of August. In the other markets, the increase ranged from 8.6% in Germany to 43% in Italy. The exceptions were the markets on the Iberian Peninsula, where overall wind energy production fell by 12% compared to the previous week.

For the week of October 16, AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s wind energy production forecasts indicate that wind energy production will increase in all analyzed markets, except for Germany.

Electricity demand

During the week of October 9, electricity demand increased compared to the previous week in most of the main European markets. Increases ranged from 0.6% in the Belgian market to 6.2% in the German market. In the case of Germany, the rise was related to the recovery of the labor rate after the previous week’s celebration of Germany’s Unity Day on October 3. Something similar happened in Portugal, where Portugal's Republic Day was celebrated on October 5, which favored a 5.3% increase in demand in that market in the second week of October.

On the other hand, demand fell in only two of the main European electricity markets. In Spain, the drop was 7.6%, and it was related to the celebration of Spain's National Day on Thursday, October 12. Demand also fell in the French market, in this case by 0.6%.

During the same period, average temperatures fell in most of the analyzed markets, ranging from 2.0 C in Great Britain to 0.1 C in Germany and Italy. The exception was France, where average temperatures increased by 0.4 C compared to the first week of October.

For the week of October 16, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s demand forecasts, electricity demand is expected to increase in most of the main European markets, with the exception of Germany.

European electricity markets

During the week of October 9, prices in all European electricity markets analyzed at AleaSoft Energy Forecasting rose compared to the previous week. The largest percentage price rise, 70%, was reached in the Nord Pool market of the Nordic countries, while the smallest increase, 1.7%, was registered in the EPEX SPOT market of the Netherlands. In the other markets, prices increased between 5.0% in the EPEX SPOT market of Germany and 20% in the IPEX market of Italy.

In the second week of October, weekly averages were below €95/MWh in most of the analyzed European electricity markets. The exceptions were the Spanish, Italian and Portuguese markets. The Italian market reached the highest average, €145.30/MWh. In the case of the MIBEL market of Portugal and Spain, the averages were €125.39/MWh and €125.41/MWh, respectively. In contrast, the lowest average price, €9.25/MWh, was reached in the Nordic market. In the rest of the analyzed markets, prices ranged from €77.92/MWh in the German market to €90.55/MWh in the N2EX market of the United Kingdom.

Despite the increases in weekly average prices, in the second week of October, negative hourly prices were registered in the German, Belgian, British, Dutch and Nordic markets, influenced by high wind energy production values. The lowest hourly price, ‑€7.10/MWh, was reached in the Dutch market on Sunday, October 15, from 14:00 to 15:00.

But in the second week of October hourly prices above €200/MWh were also registered on several occasions in most of the analyzed European markets. This was also the case on Monday, October 16 in all analyzed markets, except for the Portuguese and Nordic markets. On that day, the highest hourly prices were registered from 19:00 to 20:00 CET. In the German, Belgian, French, Italian and Dutch markets, a price of €240.00/MWh was reached. In the case of the French and Italian markets, this price was the highest since August 24. On the other hand, in the case of the Spanish market, an hourly price of €220.00/MWh was reached on October 16 from 19:00 to 20:00 CET, which was the highest price since the end of January. On the same day and hour, the British market also reached the highest hourly price since January, at £241.19/MWh.

During the week of October 9, the rise in the average price of gas and CO₂ emission rights, the increase in demand in most markets and the general decline in solar energy production led to higher prices in the European electricity markets. In the case of the MIBEL market, wind energy production in the Iberian Peninsula and nuclear energy production in Spain decreased, contributing to the increase in prices.

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s price forecasts indicate that in the third week of October prices in most of the main European electricity markets might continue to rise, influenced by declining solar energy production and increasing demand in most markets. In the case of the German market, the decline in wind energy production might also exert an upward influence on prices.

Brent, fuels and CO₂

Settlement prices of Brent oil futures for the Front‑Month in the ICE market remained above $85/bbl during the second week of October. The weekly minimum settlement price, $85.82/bbl, was registered on October 11. On the other hand, the weekly maximum settlement price, $90.89/bbl, was reached on Friday, October 13. This price was 7.5% higher than the previous Friday.

In the second week of October, concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict on oil supply and OPEC’s global crude oil demand growth forecasts exerted their upward influence on Brent oil futures prices. However, data showed an increase in crude oil stocks of the United States that exerted some downward pressure. On the other hand, in the second half of the week, the United States started to impose sanctions on tanker owners carrying Russian oil at a price higher than the maximum price imposed by the G7, which might also have an impact on supply.

As for settlement prices of TTF gas futures in the ICE market for the Front‑Month, they increased during the second week of October. On Monday, October 9, the weekly minimum settlement price, €43.95/MWh, was reached. This price was already 12% higher than the previous Monday. The weekly maximum settlement price, 53.98 €/MWh, was reached on Friday, October 13. This price was 41% higher than the previous Friday and the highest since mid‑February.

In the second week of October, prices were influenced upward by supply concerns due to instability in the Middle East, labor disputes at Australian liquefied natural gas export facilities and a pipeline leak in the Baltic Sea. In addition, the forecast of cooler temperatures in Europe also contributed to price increases, as these would favor an increase in gas demand for heating.

Settlement prices of CO₂ emission rights futures in the EEX market for the reference contract of December 2023 remained above €80/t during the second week of October. The weekly minimum settlement price, €81.75/t, was registered on Monday, October 9, and it was 1.2% higher than the previous Monday. Subsequent price increases led to a weekly maximum settlement price of €85.95/t, reached on Friday, October 13. This price was 6.8% higher than the same day of the previous week and the highest since the end of August.

Source: Prepared by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting using data from ICE and EEX.

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s analysis on the prospects for energy markets in Europe and the financing and valuation of renewable energy projects