Industry News | EnergyNorthwest.com

Trade Case Causes Stir at International Solar Conference

September 20, 2017

Hanging like a thick fog over the proceedings of the annual Solar Power International (SPI) conference in Las Vegas, an ongoing trade case cast uncertainty on the industry. The case, which pits two solar manufacturers against just about everybody else in the industry, was the focus of several panels and nearly all side conversation at the conference, which ran September 11–13.

The petitioners, Suniva and SolarWorld, argue that imports of foreign made solar modules have made it impossible for them to compete in the industry. They ask that the International Trade Commission (ITC) recommend significant tariffs on all foreign made modules.

However, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and representatives from several major solar companies argue that the tariffs would cripple the U.S. solar industry. Opponents of the tariffs go so far as to allege that the problems Suniva and SolarWorld have had in the industry are wholly due to their own business practices.

“This is a case about companies that are saying they can’t compete.…

Dubai Awards Contract for Phase 4 of Massive Solar Park

September 18, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Dubai’s government on September 16 said its state energy utility has awarded a $ 3.9 billion contract for construction of a 700-MW solar power plant at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The government said the project includes an 850-foot-tall tower that will receive focused sunlight, the world’s tallest such structure in a solar park.

The contract was awarded to a consortium of Shanghai Electric and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power. A spokesperson for ACWA Power in an email to POWER said the new plant is the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which ACWA says is the largest single-site concentrated solar power (CSP) facility in the world, with plans to produce 5 GW of solar power by 2030. The first phase of the solar park, a 13-MW solar farm built by First Solar, opened in October 2013. The second phase, a 200-MW solar plant built by ACWA Power and Spain’s TSK, began operations in March 2017.…

Solar Industry Celebrates Record Breaking Q2

September 16, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

The solar industry enjoyed its largest second quarter in history, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced, kicking off the annual Solar Power International (SPI) conference in Las Vegas. In the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, GTM Research and SEIA found that in Q2 2017, the industry installed 2,387 MW of solar photovoltaics (PV), the largest total ever recorded in the second quarter.

“That’s up 8% from last quarter and 12% from last year, which is notable considering how large 2016 was,” Shawn Rumery, SEIA director of research, said while presenting the report at SPI.

Growth was seen across all market segments. Commercial, residential, and utility-scale market segments experienced quarter-over-quarter growth. “The U.S. installed 2,044 MW of capacity in Q1. The non-residential and utility-scale market segments also posted year-over-year growth,” according to an SEIA release. The non-residential market grew 31% year-over-year, installing 437 MW.

Utility-scale solar accounted for 58% of PV instillations in the second quarter. “In fact, Q2 marked the seventh straight quarter in which the U.S.…

Japan Regulatory Group Gives Conditional Support for TEPCO Restart

September 14, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency has given Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) conditional approval to restart two reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The units were taken offline after the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in March 2011.

The country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on September 13 said TEPCO could restart the units after it provides a detailed plan of how it can ensure the operational safety of the boiling-water reactors, the same type that operated at Fukushima, which was crippled after an earthquake and tsunami struck the region, resulting in flooding at the nuclear plant. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported the NRA’s action.

A district court in March of this year ruled that TEPCO and the Japanese government were aware of risks at Fukushima and could have taken action to avoid the meltdown of three reactors.

TEPCO Under Scrutiny

Units 6 and 7 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture were among 54 nuclear facilities in Japan—the country’s entire nuclear fleet—ordered to shut down after the 2011 earthquake.…

DOE Rolls Out Funding for Turbines, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

September 12, 2017

| 1 Comment

| Industry News

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is kicking off September with a couple of significant funding announcements. The department announced September 6 the selection of 16 projects to receive a combined total of more than $ 10 million in funding to advance solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. That announcement was followed up September 7 with the selection of nine projects to receive a combined total of $ 5.4 million under the University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) program.

SOFC Award

The 16 projects selected under the SOFC award “will address the technical issues facing the cost and reliability of SOFC technology and conduct field testing of an integrated prototype system project intended to validate the solutions to those issues,” according to a DOE press release.

The projects fall under two categories, prototype system testing and core technology development.

Only one project was selected under the prototype system testing topic area. Receiving total funding of $ 7.1 million, LG Fuel Cell Systems will deploy a 250-kW integrated fuel cell system in North Canton, Ohio.…

Pruitt: EPA Will Have CPP Replacement Proposal in Coming Months

September 10, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose a replacement rule for the Clean Power Plan (CPP) this fall, according to a September 7 court document filed by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

The document, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, provides an update on the EPA’s efforts to develop the CPP replacement. The court heard oral arguments in a massive ongoing lawsuit, pitting a coalition of 27 states and numerous energy producers, utilities, and trade organizations against the EPA, nearly a year ago, but has yet to reach a decision in the case.

After President Donald Trump on March 28 issued an executive order calling on the EPA to begin a reevaluation of the Clean Power Plan, the Justice Department asked the court to hold the case in abeyance until the EPA had fully reviewed the rule. A month later the court filed an order suspending the case for 60 days, and in August, the abeyance was extended 60 more days.…