International News
T
aiwanese ‘Solar Power Flagship Company’ announced, plans for module factory in the US
Three of Taiwan’s most prominent companies involved in renewable energy technology, on Jan. 29 confirmed a proposed merger to establish a “solar flagship company”
PID (“potential induced degradation”)-free Eagle modules
Survey Digital, a company specializing in sales, installation
to Enerray, an Italian subsidiary of Maccaferri Industrial
& commissioning, and maintenance for solar inverters.
Group and Desert Technologies (‘DT’), a Saudi renewable
Survey Digital has been designated as a certified sales
energy engineering and construction contractor. Enerray and DT acted as turnkey EPC and O&M contractors for this project.
agent and service provider for AlsoEnergy in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). For AlsoEnergy, the top selling independent monitoring
to create a “competitive edge on the global market” for
Located 125 miles north of the Jordanian capital in Ma’an,
Taiwanese solar panel manufacturers.
the 23MW solar park uses 73,320 pieces of JinkoSolar
provider for commercial PV in North America, this
high-efficiency Eagle modules. The project has been
partnership is an opportunity to extend international
completed and is expected to produce approximately 47
coverage for sales and support. AlsoEnergy has expanded
GWh/year for the Red Sea port city of Aqaba and reduce
international offerings over the past several years and
The three companies involved in the merger are; Gintech Energy (TPE:3514), Solartech Energy (TPE:3561) and Neo Solar Power (TPE:3576). An “Extraordinary General Meeting” for the board of all three companies is planned for March 28, when the official resolution will be passed. After the March proceedings the combined company will be named the United Renewable Energy Co Ltd (UREC)
T
rump says solar tariff will create ‘a lot of jobs.’ But it could wipe out many more.
Trump says a tariff on solar-energy cells and panels will create jobs and revive a U.S. manufacturing sector that has been decimated by imports. The tariff sparked controversy in the solar industry after Trump imposed it Jan. 23. A couple of remaining U.S. solarcell manufacturers say it will help them get back on their feet. But the developers that install solar panels and farms - a much larger segment of the industry - say it will hike their costs, kill projects and make it harder to compete with wind and natural gas. Fueled by low prices and innovations in imported solar cells, the U.S. solar market began to grow at a breakneck pace starting in 2010.
CO2 emissions by about 25.000 tons/year. This project marks the first large scale project in the Middle East and is one of the 12 approved PV projects by the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. It is backed by a twenty-year power purchase agreement with the National Electrical Power Transmission Company (NEPCO).
O
T
ariff on foreign-made solar products could cost Minnesota jobs
President Donald Trump promised last week that a new 30 percent tariff on foreign-built solar cells and panels will “create jobs in America for Americans.”
penetration in the EMEA region, providing localized sales and services for the AlsoEnergy product line. Survey Digital will also assume frontline support service for the existing AlsoEnergy install base in the EMEA region.
L
The low prices seen by Alberta’s recent renewable electricity
ocus Energy Announces Active Monitoring & Clarity Fleet Analysis Offerings
auction clearly shows renewable energy has arrived.
Enables residential solar asset owners, loan providers,
The future is here for no-emission, small-scale solar
installers, developers, and distributors to truly understand
power, thanks to Alberta’s abundant, world-class solar
how their PV systems are performing.
utlook is sunny for renewable energy in Alberta
resource. Energy Efficiency Alberta is helping support the growing use of solar energy to generate new jobs, train professionals and earn revenue for Alberta-based solar providers and associated service companies. Energy Efficiency Alberta was created a little more than a year ago. We launched our first program last February and currently have five programs focused on energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy, including our Residential and Commercial Solar Program.
Locus Energy announced the launch of a comprehensive, low-cost monitoring, analytics, and fleet management solution for residential solar sites. The offerings, Active Monitoring and Clarity Fleet Analysis, separate out addressable issues, such as capacity losses, from nonaddressable issues, such as shading and snow losses, in order to increase system uptime and reduce maintenance costs. Locus currently monitors more than 5 GW of solar capacity
But the tariff is bound to change the dynamics. Will it add “a lot of jobs,” as Trump says?
the Survey Digital partnership will enable further market
A
BB to Support Integration of Solar Energy in Saudi Arabia
High voltage switchgear to support Saudi Arabia’s first integrated solar and natural gas power plant. ABB has won an order to supply Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) which will be installed at a substation that will
across more than 130,000 sites and hundreds of different device types globally, with flexible, highly reliable data acquisition services. Leveraging Locus’ expertise as the leading independent residential solar monitoring firm, the new offering ensures that residential sites are well-serviced and performing to expectations.
transmit power from Green Duba, the first integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power plant in Saudi Arabia. Located
V
erano Capital wins large portion of Argentina’s solar tender to deliver 100 MW project
Curt Shellum, who runs a solar panel installation business
in the country’s north-west, along the Red Sea coast, when
in Rochester, doesn’t see it.
operational in 2018, the energy generated from the plant
The tariff comes too late to save Minnesota’s biggest
will be equivalent to the annual power consumption of
manufacturer of solar panels, which shut its doors in May,
approximately 600,000 Saudi Arabian households. The
Verano
and only one solar-panel plant continues to operate in the
order, worth around $26 million was booked in the fourth
headquartered in Chile, announced that it won 18% of the
state. The effect on installers like Shellum, who rely on the
quarter of 2015.
solar capacity in auction at the Argentinian energy tender
foreign producers that make 90 percent of all solar panels,
The Green Duba power plant will deploy an innovative
with its 100 MW VeCaSo-1 solar project. Located near
is likely to be higher costs.
solution that integrates solar energy and combines with
Mendoza, Verano’s PV project was selected on a winning
Some in the industry fear that the tariff could slow the
natural gas to produce up to 550 megawatts (MW) of
bid at $42.50/MWh.
growth of renewable energy by raising prices, a possibility
electricity, of which 50 MW will be from solar.
that could cost hundreds of solar jobs in the state. The Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group, believes roughly 600 of the state’s estimated 4,000 solar jobs may be lost.
J
A
lsoEnergy Partners with Survey Digital for Sales, Installations, and Support in EMEA Region
inkoSolar Supplies 23 MW of Solar Modules to Jordanian Solar Park
For AlsoEnergy, the top selling independent monitoring
Capital,
an
American
project
developer
This is yet another achievement for the company, who completed the development of a project that was awarded a large chunk of the Chilean energy auction just 2 weeks ago. The VeCaSo-1 100 MW project is set to be completed in 2019 and will run on a 20-year “take-or-pay” power purchase agreement. Within this PPA framework, the
provider for commercial PV in North America, this
generator takes on the production risk, with its plant
partnership is an opportunity to extend international
expected to deliver power on a must-run basis. CAMMESA,
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”)
coverage for sales and support.
Argentina’s national utility company, on the other
(NYSE: JKS), a global leader in the solar PV industry, today
AlsoEnergy, a leading provider of monitoring and SCADA
hand, must integrate all of the plant’s output, or remit
announced that it has supplied 23MW of high-efficiency
systems for solar PV, is announcing a partnership with
compensatory energy payments if it fails to do so.
w w w . s o l a r q u a r t e r . c o m
Solar Quarter • January 2018 8