Weekly Review

SolarSpace news this week:

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PV market news this week：

1.US solar module manufacturing capacity grows by 11 GW in Q1

The?US Solar Market Insight Q2 2024 report says 11 GW of new solar module manufacturing capacity came online in the United States during the first three months of 2024 – the biggest quarter for solar manufacturing growth in American history.?The report, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, estimates that total US solar module manufacturing capacity now exceeds 26 GW per year.

In addition to solar manufacturing, the United States is also quickly ramping up solar installations. With 11.8 GW of new solar capacity installed thus far in 2024, total capacity now stands at 200 GW in the United States. The utility-scale segment alone accounts for nearly 10 GW of the new capacity added.

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2.IEA urges countries to accelerate renewables deployment

The IEA reported that governments' domestic ambitions for renewables surpass NDCs. An analysis of policies, plans, and estimates of almost 150 countries revealed an intention to install nearly 8,000 GW of renewables worldwide by 2030, representing 70% of the required amount to achieve the tripling goal by 2030.

To reach the 11 GW, the IEA said the pace of deployment “needs to accelerate”?in most regions and most countries, including the European Union, the United States and India. The report noted the need for more deployment in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It identified China's renewables expansion as crucial to meeting the 11 GW target, with the country now on track to exceed its 2030 targets by 2.5 times.

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3.French agency warns against unchecked reuse of secondhand solar modules

French environmental agency Soren, which is responsible for collecting and recycling solar panels in France, recovered 5,207 tons of solar modules in 2023, up 35% from 3,848 tons collected in 2022.

Nicolas Defrenne, the general director of the eco-organization, said during a recent press conference that of the 5,207 tons collected, 4,431 tons originated from mainland France, with 1,661 tons in Occitanie, and 775 tons from overseas territories. In addition, 4,804 tons were collected on site, while 403 tons were brought to a voluntary collection point.

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4.Switzerland's solar installations hit 602 MW in January-April

Switzerland installed more than 602 MW of PV systems in the first months of 2024. This corresponds to market growth of more than 81%, according to provisional figures from government-run agency Pronovo.

The country added around 1.5 GW of new PV in 2023, 1 GW in 2022 and about 683 MW in 2021. Pronovo also said that new additions for this year include around 367 MW of installations below 100 kW in size, with a peak of 197 MW reported in May.

At the end of 2023, Switzerland will likely reach about 6.2 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity, according to Swiss PV association Swissolar. The trade body said the country will cover around 10% of its electricity demand with PV in 2024. It said it also expects additional market growth of 10% for the coming year. Switzerland is therefore on the right path to increase expansion to more than 2 GW per year in 2027, when 35 TWh of solar power will likely be consumed every year.

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5.New study outlines renewables plan for India

A new study by NITI Aayog estimates that India needs 517.34 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2029-30 to meet the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target of its 30 states and union territories. Out of this, 177.74 GW RE (including 71.14 GW solar) is already installed as of July 2023 while 339.6 GW needs to be installed. Within this balance requirement of almost 340 GW (from July 2023 onwards), solar of 262.24 GW, wind of 60.22 GW, hydro of 13.05 GW and bioenergy of 4.1 GW need to be installed in the next seven years.

Notably, the government has notified a year-wise trajectory of RPOs including energy storage obligations till 2030. As per this trajectory, the obligated entities, mainly electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), in each state, are required to meet their minimum share (24.3% in 2023 to 43.3% in 2030) of electricity purchase from renewable energy (RE) sources. These obligations are intended to drive the consumption of renewables in the country and thus help to achieve the climate action goals of the government wherein it aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuel-based power capacity to 50% by 2030.

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6.CEC: Australia’s 82% by 2030 renewable energy target a doubt despite recovery

Australia’s Clean Energy Council has signaled today (7 June) that Q1 2024 saw signs of recovery for the nation’s renewable energy generation sector but warned that investment levels must radically increase to achieve 2030 decarbonisation targets.

After some of the lows witnessed across 2023, the organisation’s Renewable Projects Quarterly Report for Q1 2024 signaled that electricity generation projects bounced back, with five projects totaling 895MW of capacity reaching financial commitment – the best quarter since the end of 2022.

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7.US breaks Q1 record to add 11.8GWdc solar capacity in previous quarter

The US installed 11.8GWdc of capacity in the first quarter of 2024 and added more than 40GW of solar capacity to the grid last year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

A report conducted in collaboration with Wood Mackenzie said the new capacity additions in Q1 2024 represented a record first quarter for the US solar industry and the second-largest quarter of installations ever, second only to Q4 2023. With the new additions, solar accounted for 75% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the grid in the US in Q1.