WEEKLY REVIEW

PV Market News This Week：

1. Australia could add over 7GW of renewable energy capacity by the end of 2024

Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has revealed that over 7GW of renewable energy capacity could be added in the country by the end of 2024.

The regulator said this is due to an upgraded estimate of 3GW to 4GW of large-scale wind and solar PV reaching first generation and an estimated 3.1GW of small-scale rooftop solar being added, according to the organisation's Quarterly Carbon Market Report for Q2 2024.

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2. SEIA launches draft standard to meet CBP traceability requirements

The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has launched a draft industry standard to help manufacturers and importers meet the US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) traceability requirements.

The document, dubbed "Standard 101", includes recommendations for actors across the solar sector to better comply with CBP traceability standards, and import fewer products with links to forced labour practices.

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3. WTO establishes dispute panel over clean energy tax credits under US IRA

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has agreed to establish a dispute panel to rule on how compatible certain tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are with WTO rules, following a second request by China.

The tax credits under scrutiny include the Clean Vehicle Credit and the Renewable Energy Tax Credits, which includes the Investment Tax Credit for Energy Property; the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit; the Production Tax Credit for Electricity from Renewables; and the Clean Electricity Production Tax Credit.

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4. Australia to open the first round of Quad's AU$50 million clean energy supply chain initiative

Australia has confirmed that the first round of the Quad Clean Energy Supply Chains Diversification Program will open in November 2024, focusing primarily on solar PV, batteries and electrolysers.?

First announced at a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders'?summit in 2023, more commonly known as Quad, this AU$50 million (US$34 million) initiative will provide grants to fund research and development projects and feasibility studies to develop more diverse solar PV, hydrogen electrolyser, and battery supply chains.

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5. Vietnam to launch new net-metering scheme for rooftop solar

Vietnam has announced plans to introduce a new net-metering scheme for rooftop PV installations next week, according to state-run news outlet Baochinhphu.

The government said that excess PV electricity sold to the grid may not exceed 20% of the power generated by a rooftop PV installation–an increase from the previous threshold of 10%.

Under the new scheme, the net-metering tariff for surplus power will match the average electricity price from the previous year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) had initially proposed a tariff of VND 671 ($0.027)/kWh.

By the end of 2023, Vietnam installed more than 17 GW of PV capacity, mainly through an expired feed-in tariff scheme that supported small-scale and utility-scale installations.

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6. Italy deploys 4.2 GW of solar in January-August period

Italy added around 4.2 GW of newly installed solar power in the first eight months of 2024, according to Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), the Italian energy agency.

This means that the country's cumulative PV capacity reached 34.48 GW at the end of August.

Overall, Italy added 5 GW of renewable energy capacity from January to August, bringing its total clean energy capacity to 67 GW. The GSE said it expects around 9 GW of new renewable energy capacity to be deployed this year.Italy deploys 4.2 GW of solar in January-August period.

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7. Spain sets new 2030 solar target of 76 GW

Spain's Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree updating the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC 2023-30) in response to a proposal from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). The draft went through public consultation in mid-2023.

A key focus of the PNIEC 2023 is promoting renewables, storage, and demand management to enhance their integration. By 2030, Spain expects to install 76 GW of solar, including 19 GW of self-consumption PV. As of early September, the country had 22,454 MW of solar capacity installed and connected to the grid, according to Red Eléctrica, the Spanish grid operator.

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8. 3GW of PV in latest Saudi Arabia tender round

The Saudi Arabian government's power procurement arm has invited bids for up to 3GW of new solar PV capacity.

The Saudi Power Procurement Company's request for proposals is part of the sixth round of Saudi Arabia's National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), which aims to meet 50% of the country's electricity demand from renewables by 2030.