As 2022 comes to an end, PV Tech is reviewing the year in solar, reflecting on some of the biggest stories and trends of the last 12 months. Here we take a look at the major manufacturing announcements and PV equipment supply deals during Q1.
Demand is soaring in the US for residential solar and storage, driven by a desire for energy resilience and sustainability, but traditional utilities are hampering progress.
On 15 December, the California Public Utilities Commission will vote on the latest net energy meeting (NEM) proposal regarding the state’s rooftop solar market. Ahead of the vote, activists have taken to the streets in a series of demonstrations against the legislation, and the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA) and other representative groups have been vocal in their criticism of the proposal.
With the US Department of Commerce finding that solar manufacturers in Southeast Asia are circumventing duties on Chinese PV cells, questions have been raised over potential legal challenges that lie ahead and whether American project developers will be able to secure enough modules to meet soaring demand.
Curtailment remains the most talked-about subject in Vietnamese solar, but potential solutions such as foreign investment in transmission and grid-based energy storage are being held back.
Two of the world’s major coal-based economies were expected to receive billions of dollars of funding at COP27 from a G7 initiative to wean them off coal and deliver clean energy transitions, but while Indonesia has walked away with a US$20 billion deal, talks have stalled on the US$5 billion set aside for its Southeast Asian neighbour Vietnam, leaving the G7 nations that deliver the funding scratching their heads.
The top four solar module manufacturers had shipments totalling more than 114GW during the first three quarters of 2022, as demand slowed in Europe but grew rapidly in China.
An energy consultant updates PV Tech Premium on how the south Indian state, driven by supportive policy changes, is now swiftly installing rooftop solar and EV infrastructure while concentrating on large-scale floating solar to side-step land scarcity.
