The market research company expects the Chinese market will decline by 15 GW this. Part of this slow-down, however, will be off-set by lower module prices and accelerated demand across markets with pent-up demand.

Despite recent developments in China, the European solar association believes global newly installed PV capacity this year will reach 102 GW, only 5 GW lower than its previous guidance.

Tesla’s batteries may soon be Made in China. The announcement was made by Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga during a conference accompanying the company’s 2018 fiscal-year results last Friday.

The solar module manufacturer reports that Europe will likely replace the United States as its number one market, due to Trump administration duties. While Q1 revenues grew by around 2.5% year-on year, and net profit almost doubled from $17.6 million to $31 million, the outlook for 2018 shipments has been reduced by 400 MW to 5.6 GW to 5.8 GW.

Four different thin film solar PV technologies were tested by the MIT experts across three types of environment in the U.S.: Arid (Arizona); temperate (South Dakota); and humid (Florida). The research found that despite high costs, tandem cells may become viable in rooftop applications.

Singapore’s National Water Agency is seeking proposals to deploy two floating solar plants with a combined capacity of 2.5 MW at the Bedok Reservoir and Lower Seletar Reservoir.

The French oil group, which is the parent company of U.S. solar manufacturer SunPower, is set to acquire a 74.33% stake in France’s third largest electric utility Direct Energie. Prominent Australian renewable developer and IPP Neoen was established by Direct Energie in 2008, although it will not be affected by the transaction and will continue to remain “totally independent”.

Last year, the Chinese module maker shipped 9.8 GW, and achieved revenue of $4.0 billion. Both gross and net profit, however, declined due to lower ASPs, higher polysilicon prices and increased output from OEM partners.

Only one month after announcing a PERC module efficiency of 20.41%, the Chinese solar manufacturer announced it has now achieved a 23.6% efficiency for its PERC monocrystalline cells, thus beating its own previous records.

Last year’s result surpassed by more than 1 GW the results registered in 2015 and 2016, when the combined capacity of this market segment reached 4.4 GW and 4.3 GW, respectively.