Overnight, an update from Deutsche Bank landed in my inbox – it’s a regular report that captures some of the more interesting developments in the solar and wind industry over the past week.
The solar section, in particular is striking. In Australia, despite the efforts of households and some businesses, the industry is moribund. And the government seems wilfully ignorant of what is taking place around the world.
So, here’s the Deutsche Bank summary of development in just this past week, just to give a taste of what is really occurring:
Solar
* India plans to spend $100B on climate-related projects
* India: Cabinet approves 1GW of grid-connected solar PV power projects
* China can still reach 14GW of installed solar this year: GCL Chairman
* South Africa plans to raise renewable energy to curb blackouts
* US-China trade deal still possible despite claims of breakdown: Report
* South Carolina’s utilities agree to pay for excess power from rooftop systems
* New York’s PSC agrees to raise the cap on net metering
* New Mexican utility proposes rooftop solar tax
* City of Austin (Texas) plans for at least 950MW of solar PV by 2025
* First Solar acquires an equity stake in Clean Energy Collective
* Trina buys 28% stake in Shuntai Leasing
* SolarCity and BofA announce $400M solar finance program
* SolarCity invests in $16M fund for off-grid solar in Africa
* Abengoa plans to accelerate sales of energy assets to its yieldco
* Canada: EDF signs contracts for 134MWp of solar power
* Duke Energy’s 128MW North Carolina PV project approved
* SunEdison awarded 350MW of solar PV in Chilean auction
* SunEdison, IFC, OFID and CABEI close $146M financing to develop ~82MW of solar in Honduras
* India: NTPC plans to set up PV projects atop thermal plants
* Hanergy to build 300MW thin-film solar factory in China
* Acciona connects a ~94MW solar farm to the grid in South Africa
* JinkoSolar supplies 80MW for Project in Henan Province
* Allianz Global Investors acquires 58MW solar park portfolio in Southern France
* Capital Stage acquires ~51MW French portfolio
* Two solar projects to add 52MW to Japan grid
* SoftBank and Mitsui to build 43MW solar station in Japan
* Mexican govt approves ~37MW PV project
* LDK Solar supplying ~31MW of modules for a project in China
* ECOS to build 30MW PV plant in Argentina
* Uganda selects four solar projects totaling 20MW
* GET mulling overseas production
* GlobalWafers Japan to expand 8-inch wafer capacity in 2015
* Panasonic Enterprise Solutions invests in Coronal Group
You get the picture. From Uganda and elsewhere in Africa, to Latin America and Mexico, Chile, to India, China, Europe and north America, solar installations are happening at pace.
Remember, this is a weekly update of what is happening around the world. Meanwhile, what could Australia possibly have announced in the past week – nay, the past few months to compete with this? A handful of rooftop solar systems of 100kW and more, and that’s about it.
Instead, increasing numbers of international project developers are now looking at that international market, and wondering whether it is worth continuing the cost of an Australia office. That’s the price of the current freeze in renewable energy investments in Australia, courtesy of the Abbott government’s anti-renewable agenda.
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