Japan

Wood Mackenzie has predicted solar equipment cost increases will ease back after last year saw the average cost of solar electricity rise for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Canada-based renewable energy developer will use the funds to support four solar-plus-storage projects in Massachusetts.

The result is claimed by the company to be the highest efficiency yet reported for any large, polymer film-based perovskite PV module.

The technology is being developed in Japan and should be able to inspect solar modules to provide data on traceability and components used.

The Japanese brand plans to shutter its Malaysian factory, liquidate its Panasonic Solar Energy Malaysia subsidiary, and lay off staff by March 2022.

Also in the brief: A surge of nuclear outages in the U.S. this summer, Japan’s struggle to drive down renewables costs

IEA PVPS report: Global solar demand increased by 12% in 2019 compared to 2018 — but that was BC. According to the report, photovoltaics provided just under 3% of global electricity needs in 2019.

“Brand is powerful — after a house and a car, a PV/storage system worth tens of thousands of dollars is one of the larger purchases a family will make.”

Also in the morning brief: Arizona mandatory solar panel recycling bill, Sumitomo invests $46 million in long-term energy storage from Highview Power, and more.

Elon Musk has spoken of the “exponential” ramp-up of its solar glass tile at the Buffalo factory. Panasonic’s tiles never made the cut for that product