Asia

According to the Taiwanese analysts, the solar PV module market is still stable. However, EnergyTrend expects a new price war to erupt with the end of minimum import tariffs (MIPs). In particular, Taiwanese manufacturers will have to cope with increasing price pressure.

Wrapping up the year in which it established its wholly-owned manufacturing facility in Thailand, the Brisbane-based battery supplier says it is negotiating contracts with a number of customers, sharpening its focus on key target markets in Australasia, Asia Pacific and South Africa.

While it took 60 months to reach the first million electric vehicle (EV) sales, in late 2015, it took the fourth million just six months. China is driving this development. Meanwhile, as first generation EVs batteries are reaching their end-of-life, interest in second-life use cases is growing. The volume of retired EV battery packs is set to be 108 GWh by 2029 – representing a third of the expected storage capacity market at that time.

The new control room located in Bangkok will help the German renewable energy developer to keep tabs on its growing APAC portfolio.

Thailand-based Modern Energy Management (MEM) says it has teamed up with an undisclosed investor to develop a 130 MWp solar PV project in Myanmar. It is expected to come online in Q4 2019. Overall, the country is said to have a large-scale solar pipeline totaling 1.5 GW.

Rumor has it industry lobbying has persuaded the government to agree to 300-500 MW of distributed PV in each of the populous nation’s 34 local government areas, with a reduction in “non-technical costs” making up for a lack of guaranteed payment.

Solar power will be traded across the meter among four participating entities at Bangkok’s T77 precinct – a shopping centre, international school, serviced apartments and a dental hospital.

Low emissions hydrogen offers significant exporting potential for Australia, and could contribute $1.7 billion to domestic economy annually, shows a new report released by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). A separate briefing paper released by the Australian government’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, describes hydrogen as Australia’s next multibillion dollar export opportunity.

At US$518.4 million, the quarterly turnover of the South Korean-German manufacturer was down 10.3% year-on-year, while its net result swung from a profit of $18.7 million in the second quarter of 2017, to a loss of $41.3 million in the latest quarter. Despite this, the outlook for full fiscal 2018 remains unchanged.

According to PV Info Link, the price for monocrystalline cells in China fell below that of the usually cheaper multicrystalline products. However analysts expect it to be a blip, with multi prices expected to fall and mono to be supported by the Top Runner Program, now China’s main source of demand for the rest of 2018.