Sheffield Hallam University updates info on alleged forced labor in solar industry
The British university reports that the share of polysilicon manufactured in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and used in solar module production has dropped from 45% in 2020 to 35% in 2022. The research alsom found that polysilicon produced in interior China increased from 30% in 2020 to 50% in 2022, with the share of international markets dropping, somewhat surprisingly, from 25% to 11%.
WoodMac predicts 270 GW of new global PV capacity in 2023
Wood Mackenzie expects 270 GW of new global PV capacity in 2023, up 33% year on year. However, the annual growth rate is anticipated to fall to 1% in 2024 and to increase again by 5% in 2025.
First commercial gravity-based energy storage tower begins commissioning
Energy Vault has begun commissioning a 25 MW / 100 MWh energy storage tower adjacent to a wind power facility outside of Shanghai.
Sunrise brief: European warehouses store 40 GW of unsold solar panels
Also on the rise: New York Green Bank provides $25 million credit debt facility for energy storage. Federal agencies urged to tap 25 GW potential of solar on canals. And more.
European warehouses store 40 GW of unsold solar panels
Rystad Energy says that about $7.8 billion of solar panels are now being stored in Europe, but European developers continued to buy solar modules from China throughout the first half of this year.
Secretary Yellen’s China mission underscores economic diplomacy, domestic climate policy nexus
The central tension at the heart of the IRA – limiting dependence on competitors like China while undergoing an energy transition that we cannot accomplish without them – will inform, and even dictate, so much of U.S. policy going forward.
U.S. Customs solar exclusions may be “de facto ban on Chinese polysilicon”
Longi solar modules made of Tongwei polysilicon have been excluded from entry to the U.S.
Electric lawn equipment stored in a solar-powered tool shed
SunVilla announced the launch of its Smart Yard power station, a 6.4 kWh power capacity semi-solid state battery system which features a 3.8 kW output from batteries and 100-200 Watt solar modules mounted on a tool shed to charge electric systems and provide storage for lawn equipment.
The rapid expansion of small-scale, distributed-generation solar
Small-scale PV systems drove the installation of more than 200 GW of solar capacity last year and could support more than 300 GW this year. That means a reset for utilities.
New study finds growing inequality in metal footprints of renewable power value chains
A U.S.-Chinese research team has investigated the flow of iron, copper, aluminum, and other precious metals from source to end-use destination in the renewable energy infrastructure value chain. It found significant imbalances that can be attributed to the continuous outsourcing of metal demand for the renewable power sector to developing economies.
