Weekend read: Famine to feast, China’s solar market in 2023
China’s solar industry rebounded in 2023 after years of pandemic-related sluggishness. As the year draws to a close, Vincent Shaw looks back at key highlights of 2023 and considers the prospects for 2024.
China module prices slide to new lows, manufacturers cut production
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.
Empirical approach shows PV is getting cheaper than all the forecasters expect
With the consistently unambitious forecasts for solar trotted out by entities such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) now a matter of record, a German risk management company has tried to predict more realistic figures for 2030 and beyond.
Rooftop solar is crushing* the returns for large-scale VRE
* rooftop PV is a dominant factor, though there are others… such as the ongoing need for ‘Keeping the Lights on Services’ (which large-scale VRE largely does not supply).
The extraordinary story of rooftop solar in Australia’s National Electricity Market
The sun is shining, the weather is sweet. In this Opinion and Analysis piece, Lumi Adisa, Director of Energy Market Analytics at NEOM and ex-Investment Director of Energy Markets at Octopus Investments Australia, presents a deep dive into the unprecedented impact of rooftop solar in the NEM. As rooftop solar continues to drive changes in the intraday demand and price trends, it is evident that customers will remain a significant part of the energy transition for years to come.
Adaptation to climate change is a vital discussion we need to have
While mitigation remains the best strategy, Amy Steel argues it is now vital to start having frank discussions around climate adaption.
With China PV modules reaching record low prices, is there a chance for local PV manufacturing elsewhere?
From the International Solar Energy Society’s perspective, and the vision of a world with 100% renewable energy for everyone used wisely and efficiently, PV module production should not become an oligopoly and should not be concentrated in one corner of the world.
Future of long-term energy storage isn’t about lithium, it’s about battery supply chains
Dr. Thomas Nann examines the benefits and limitations of lithium-ion batteries, imploring Australia to embrace disruptive innovation, not incrementalism.
PERC inventor from UNSW discusses the future of the technology
University of New South Wales academic Aihua Wang is the first female recipient of the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth Prize (QEPrize) for Engineering, after sharing the 2023 award with Andrew Blakers, Martin Green, and her husband Jianhua Zhao for their work developing the passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cell. pv magazine caught up with her to ask about the achievement.
China module prices hit new record lows, operating rates estimated around 60%
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.
