Solar PV manufacturing and overall costs continue to fall sharply, but that’s being overlooked as the media focuses on solar trade wars, price wars, scandals and insolvencies.
Solar PV trade disputes between China and its main trading partners are escalating, as a group of German solar companies, led by SolarWorld AG, filed a WTO anti-dumping petition with the European Commission. The filing heightens tensions and divisions among industry participants, who have been put under increasing pressure as a result of a massive build-up in solar PV supply and manufacturing capacity, the bulk of which has come from China. […]
Global clean energy investment jumped 24% during Q2 2012 to reach $59.6 billion, led by China’s 92% financing surge. […]
SunEdison’s asset sales and service agreements raise cash and secure an income stream as it looks to weather tough market conditions and continue expanding. […]
Vestas’ sale of its Varda wind tower factory to China’s Titan Wind Energy is to save Danish green jobs and confer numerous benefits for both companies. It’s also clear evidence of the effectiveness and success of China’s industrial policy drive to dominate wind and solar PV manufacturing worldwide, one that’s “hollowing out” U.S. and E.U. manufacturing well before they’ve had the chance to mature. […]
New research on clean energy financing in the Group of Twenty (G-20) nations released by The Pew Charitable Trusts shows that investment grew to a record $263 billion in 2011, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year, with the United States beating out China in the race to secure … [continued]
Last week, I posted on Ernst & Young’s latest Country Attractiveness Indices for renewable energy. It put the U.S. as the second-most attractive country for renewable energy investment, behind China and ahead of Germany (and every other country in the world, for that matter). Ernst & Young has also … [continued]
George Soros, through his recently launched Silver Lake Kraftwerk fund, and other leading private sector investors are stepping up their investments in developing solar and other renewable energy resources and technology.
If it wasn’t already apparent, China’s latest Five-Year Plan highlights the vast differences between the Chinese and US economic systems and political economy. When it comes to solar PV, solar energy and trade, China plays by its own rules, and that spells more trouble for foreign competitors and trade partners.
Utilities and independent power producers with ready access to the US bond market are ramping up their project development and ownership activities, and that may open up opportunities for other industry participants to follow suit. Recent developments indicate that institutional investors may have an appetite for solar energy bonds, as well.
