Weekly Review

PV market news this week：

1. Vietnam Plan to Buy Power from Residential and Commercial Rooftop Solar

The Vietnamese government has announced a plan to buy excess electricity generated by residential and commercial rooftop solar panels, according to multiple reports.

The government is proposing a tariff of VND671 (US$0.024) per kWh for surplus power from the rooftop solar panels, with a proposed offtake volume of up to 10%. If approved, the price will be lower than half of the price of electricity that national power grid operator EVN is buying from solar PV plants.

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2. Solar Nears 9% of US Total Electric Generation Capacity

FERC has released its "Energy Infrastructure Update"?for May 2024. The report tracks the interconnection of new sources of generation to transmission grids nationwide.

In May the United States added 3,189 MW of new generating capacity. The solar industry added 78.9% of this total, bringing 2,517 MW of new solar assets online. This was followed far behind by wind (277 MW), hydropower (211 MW), and natural gas (184 MW).

Cumulatively in 2024 through May, solar led the way in capacity additions, bringing online 10,669 MW, or about 74% of the total 14,435 MW added across all technologies. Over the same period wind added 2,095 MW, nuclear 1,100 MW and natural gas 348 MW.

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3. Ireland Reaches 400 MW of Operational Distributed-Generation Solar

According to new figures from Ireland's distribution system operator (DSO) ESB Networks, the country now has more than 100,000 rooftop solar projects, cumulatively adding more than 400 MW of clean energy to the national grid.

According to ESB Networks, the rooftop momentum has been building in recent times, with 20% of the total current capacity installed over the past six months. Moreover, ESB Networks said in a statement that it is continuing to progress with about 750 microgeneration connection applications per week.

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4. Egypt Aims to Add 4GW of Renewables by Next Summer

During a meeting between Egyptian and Emirati officials, Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has unveiled plans for the country to add 4GW of renewables by next summer.

This is in response to the increased power demand from the country which has recently reached a daily volume of 37.3GW of power consumption.

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5. ADB Finances US$240.5 Million for Indian Rooftop Solar

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided US$240.5 million in loans to finance rooftop solar systems in India.

The financing will be offered to the State Bank of India (SBI) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). SBI will receive US$90.5 million from ADB's Clean Technology Fund, while NABARD will receive US$150 million, consisting of US$80 million from ADB's ordinary capital resources and US$70 million from the Clean Technology Fund.

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6. New UK Government Signals Strong Support for Solar

The Labour Party's landslide victory in the General Election has been followed by strong signals to the market that PV will be a priority for the government. Within days of the election there were indications to developers that key decisions on major projects would be delivered quickly, and the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Ed Miliband has already green lit three utility-scale projects for a combined total of more than 1.3 GW of new installed capacity.

His first few days in office also saw Miliband appoint former Climate Change Committee chief executive Chris Stark to lead a new clean energy taskforce, and DESNZ has confirmed it will reactivate the Solar Taskforce – a government-industry body co-chaired by the secretary of state and Hewett.

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7. Czechia Installs 484 MW of Solar in H1

Czechia deployed 484 MW of new solar in the first half of the year, according to data obtained by Solární Asociace.

The installed capacity of 484 MW in the first half of 2024 is in line with the 487 MW installed during the same period in 2023. However, the number of solar panels put into operation in Czechia fell by 21,000 in 2024 compared to 2023, pointing to a slowdown in the residential market.

The Solar Association attributed the decline in solar panel installations to the "overall calming of the situation on the energy market,"?a drop in energy prices, and changes to the country's New Green Saving subsidies.

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8. Peru Records 115.5 MW of New Solar in H1

Two solar projects in Cajamarca and Moquegua, Peru, were connected to the National Interconnected Electric System (SEIN) in the first half of 2024, totaling 115.55 MW, according to MINEM. It said that the 0.55 MW Carhuaquero solar plant in Cajamarca began operations in February, with an investment of $400,000.

The 115 MW Clemesí project also started operations in Moquegua in February, with an investment of $81 million. The installation features 525 W bifacial solar panels across 270 hectares – more than 220,000 modules in total.

The government said in April that the 97 MW Matarani plant in Arequipa will begin operations this year. The project is in the Mollendo Desert, which has some of the highest solar radiation in the world. It will be one of Peru's largest renewable facilities upon completion.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Peru had 287 MW of installed PV at the end of 2023, which means that the country now has around 400 MW of operational solar capacity.

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9. Solar Module Prices Rising in Brazil

Brazil imported around 10.1 GW of PV modules between January and May, according to PV InfoLink. This capacity, worth $1.2 billion, exceeds the $1.13 billion import quota set by the Brazilian authorities for exemption from 9.6% import duties on solar modules from January to June 2024.

The next round of tax-free import quotas is set at $1.014 billion from July 2024 to June 2025 and may be exhausted quickly. The government will impose taxes if the import limit is exceeded, and higher shipping costs could also drive up solar module prices.

Given the US dollar's 15% increase against the Brazilian real this year and rising freight costs, an increase in PV system costs is expected in the second half of the year, said the executive.

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