Policy

The Biden Administration’s decision to ban solar imports from four Xinjiang-based polysilicon manufacturers, Hoshine Silicon, Daqo, East Hope, and GCL New Energy Material, has already raised concerns. One analyst warns of a “significant negative impact” across the U.S. solar industry.

Despite the impact of the pandemic and associated economic crisis, 2020 saw unprecedented growth in the solar market. With the International Energy Agency stating that high rates of capacity additions are the new normal, has the energy and investment environment fundamentally changed? Felicia Jackson in London explores these issues.

The federal government’s revelation of a deadline for the solar industry to “step up” and address the growing issue of solar PV module waste or face regulation has coincided with the Australian Capital Territory government announcing plans to investigate recycling options for solar panels.

If the three record-busting low solar price tariffs recorded in the Middle East in the past 18 months are to be believed, renewables-powered hydrogen in prime sites in the region could already compete with gas-plus-CCS production, according to IRENA. Has the Gulf discovered the new petrol?

The contentious two-way pricing reform proposed by the AEMC, dubbed the ‘sun tax’, is based on the understanding that solar is a plaything of the rich. In fact, the inverse may be true, according to a new paper published by the Victoria Energy Policy Centre. But Vinnies’ research manager Gavin Dufty, an instigator of the rule change, told pv magazine Australia such analysis misses the point, branding it ‘myopic’.

The City of Subiaco, an affluent suburb just west of Perth city, has become the first carbon neutral local government in Western Australia certified under the Commonwealth’s Climate Active program.

In a big win for renewables and a big loss for the Morrison Government, the Senate has blocked the Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s attempt to illegally expand the mandate of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to fund non-renewable projects.

Investments in solar and wind in the Asia Pacific could double over the next decade compared to 2011 – 2020, hitting AU$1.7 trillion, according to new analysis by Wood Mackenzie.

The Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources is inviting discussion on its newly proposed Guarantee of Origin certification scheme for hydrogen production. The discussion itself however, which is welcomed by hydrogen industry stakeholders, has a long way to go before its methodology works to accurately differentiate hydrogen produced by renewables from other sources.

The two solar manufacturers will get priority access to polysilicon produced at the planned fab in Inner Mongolia, which developer Xinte Energy has said will be fully operational by June 2023.