Corporate demand and state mandates are driving utility solar installations, but voluntary procurements based on pure economics continue to dominate. Voluntary procurement of utility solar remains the top driver of U.S. utility PV in development, according to Wood Mackenzie. WoodMac defines voluntary procurement as procurement based solely on the economic competitiveness of renewables against other […]
WoodMac: Global Solar Market Set to Resume Growth in 2021 as Coronavirus Impact Fades
After a pause in 2020, the global solar market looks set to chart new heights each year in the 2021-2025 period. The global solar market is expected to stay nearly flat between 2019 and 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts, according to Wood Mackenzie. But a significant increase in demand is now […]
Huawei, Sungrow and SMA Were the Top Solar Inverter Players in 2019
A rise in solar PV inverter retrofits contributed to the market’s 18 percent growth last year. Huawei, Sungrow and SMA remained the solar inverter market leaders for the fifth year running, based on a new Wood Mackenzie report on the inverter market in 2019. These top three vendors have now held the same positions from […]
WoodMac: Emerging Solar Markets to Come of Age in 2020s
As more countries join the “gigawatt club” this decade, new markets will bring new kinds of challenges for solar. Emerging solar markets will come of age in the 2020 as countries from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan to Malaysia join the “gigawatt club.” Outside of the OECD, there are now auctions planned in 44 countries, and […]
The State of Power Market Evolution in Europe
The electricity sector has been a cornerstone of the energy transition. But with the pace of change increasing, are power markets helping or hindering? Centralized markets with prices set by the cost of marginal dispatch, most often from fossil-fuel generation, are the bedrock of most major power systems. However, market arrangements are not static. They […]
Who Will Fund the Renewables Boom of the Next 15 Years?
New solar and wind investment could hit $190 billion a year by 2035, Wood Mackenzie says. Where will that money come from? How much capital for renewables is likely to be deployed going forward, and where will it come from? Wood Mackenzie estimates that the combined global capex spend on wind and solar projects will […]
Spain’s Solar Bubble Looks Set to Pop. The Market Will Be Just Fine
Consolidation is coming to Spain’s red-hot solar market, but in a post-subsidy world the landing will be relatively soft. The Spanish solar market is red hot. It’s hard to think of any solar market generating so much interest in the absence of a generous subsidy package. The bulk of this speculation is built on the […]
Summit Ridge Energy Secures Project Finance Fund for 100MW of Community Solar
One more financier is jumping into the budding community solar market. Low-carbon investment firm Hannon Armstrong has partnered with developer Summit Ridge Energy to finance community solar projects, the companies announced this week. The companies structured the deal as a joint venture called Summit Ridge Capital, which will invest cash equity in community projects that […]
The Top 5 Inverter Players Saw Their Combined Market Share Slip by 6% Last Year
The industry’s leading suppliers have commanded more of the market each year since 2013, but 2018 was different. The top five PV inverter market players have commanded more of the market each year since 2013, but 2018 was different. In 2018, the top five inverter vendors decreased their total combined market share, which dropped from […]
Tandem PV Secures a Rare Fund Raise for Perovskite Solar
A Silicon Valley startup wants to pair newfangled materials with silicon cells to create a higher-efficiency module. Silicon Valley-based Tandem PV closed a $2.4 million seed round in February to commercialize an exotic new solar technology. The startup is developing perovskite solar materials, which it will layer on top of conventional silicon cells to make […]
