What Changed In The Solar Energy Industry In September & October?

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It has been a while since I wrote a “What Changed In The Solar Energy Industry … ?” article, so I’m lumping two months of news together for this one as November closes. That means cutting out more of the “small” stories, which should make this an especially potent roundup of notable changes in the electric vehicle industry. Enjoy!


September

The European Union removed trade barriers on Chinese solar panels.

A new power-optimized solar panel from Panasonic & SolarEdge was announced that speeds up installation times.

Solar tariff bids in India rose after a safeguard duty was imposed … but then Gujarat scored the lowest solar power tariff in the country’s history, Rs 2.44/kWh (¢3.37/kWh) and Rs 2.88/kWh (¢3.98/kWh) for 500 MW of solar power. A 200 MW project previously including the country’s lowest solar bid was also commissioned in the month.

Global Infrastructure Partners acquired a 4.7 gigawatt SunPower solar project pipeline.

Sony, McKinsey, & RBS joined the RE100 initiative.

The “Million Solar Roofs of Energy Storage” bill was approved by California legislature.

A California law was signed requiring 100% clean energy by 2045.

10 US cities modeled how to get the US to 100% clean energy.

sonnen launched the EcoLinx for residential energy management.

Sunflare brought a new solar shingle to market.

World Bank committed $1 billion to battery storage in developing countries.

A CleanTechnica report showed that 43% of new power capacity in the US in the first half of the year came from renewable energy sources … and 10% of electricity generation.


October

California got its first floating solar power system.

A new study found that US solar tariffs will cost customers $236.5 million.

Another new study found that US open market solar funding rose $800 million during the first 3 quarters of 2018.

Corporate renewable energy procurement is currently on track to exceed 5 gigawatts (GW) in 2018.

The Trump administration awarded $46 million for solar power & grid resiliency progress.

Sony moved its 100% renewable energy goal up by a decade.

Hanwha Q CELLS went private for $825 million.

Solar tracker producer Soltec raised €100 million for expansion.

Pika Energy Storage unveiled its upgradable residential energy storage solution.

Tesla announced, meanwhile, that Tesla’s Powerwall is getting new features … at a higher cost.

The City of Taipei, Taiwan, and Tesla joined forces “to establish a new 1.5 hectare hub to help local startups find footing and get training for new energy ventures in the city.”

Sunrun was ranked the leading residential solar-plus-storage vendor.

SolarEdge announced that it would acquire solar energy storage firm Kokam.

Solar energy emerged as the top new microgrid energy source.

Enel Green Power reached 1 gigawatt of solar power in Mexico.

The US Wind Energy Foundation rebranded as the Wind Solar Alliance.

Indian coal mining companies announced plans for $1.6 billion of solar investment.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency invested in a 5 gigawatt wind & solar energy push.

The Green Climate Fund approved $1 billion for climate action in developing countries.

IRENA teamed up with Southeast Asian countries to scale up renewables in the region.

A new report found that new renewables are cheaper than old coal in Southeast Asia.

Another new report found that “not one country” is on track to limit global warming to 2°C.


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Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

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