Overcapacity in APAC's solar supply chain, the key challenges for accreditation in major US power markets and Ed Crooks' Energy Pulse.
Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
Wood Mackenzie is the leading global data and analytics solutions provider for the energy transition.
Increased competition and rising material costs are driving overcapacity in Asia Pacific’s solar supply chain
Amidst increasing global solar capacity, new industry players, transitions in cell technology, and the rising cost of polysilicon are behind supply chain challenges in APAC
Our recent webinar, entitled ‘How the Success of Solar in APAC is Impacted by Supply Chain Challenges’, explores the factors driving oversupply in Asia Pacific. Drawing on proprietary data, insights from research analysts, and deep industry links, we look to understand the solar industry in greater detail and reveal insights about its future.?
What new reforms to capacity accreditation mean for US power markets
Accreditation approaches are evolving rapidly across regions to address challenges including increased deployment of renewables and extreme weather events.
For grid operators, capacity accreditation is a vital tool in ensuring the availability of power when it is most needed. But as markets decarbonise and extreme weather events increase, urgent reform is needed to ensure accreditation more accurately reflects the reliability value of resources.??
The latest report from our North America Power Service team assesses the expected impact of planned reforms.
Ed Crooks' Energy Pulse
The US puts up the barriers to Chinese products
A series of steep tariff increases was announced by President Joe Biden recently, targeting imports of strategically significant products from China. The White House said the tariffs, including new rates of 100% on electric vehicles, 50% on solar cells and 25% on lithium-ion batteries, were intended to “protect America’s workers and businesses from China’s unfair trade practices”.
It would be easy to write off these new tariffs as an attack on an imaginary enemy. Their practical impact will be small. US imports of EVs, solar cells and steel from China are negligible, and were not set to become significant any time soon. President Biden’s goals were political, aimed at bolstering support in November’s elections, rather than warding off any genuine imminent threat.
Battery storage begins to play a key role for US grids
Lithium-ion batteries have long been seen as a key technology for maintaining the stability of electricity grids increasingly reliant on solar and wind power. But until recently, this use case was talked about more as a future prospect than an immediate reality.
This year, however, grid-connected batteries in parts of the US, particularly California and Texas, have started to play a significant role in helping to balance the system, shifting load away from the times of day when the net load is heaviest to times when it is lighter.
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