For the second quarter in a row, trade policy uncertainty and supply chain constraints are driving solar price increases across all market segments, according to the US Solar Market Insight report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.

The recently dismissed petitions for anti-dumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam caused significant shipping disruptions for importers, which further exacerbated supply chain constraints.

Logistical challenges and price increases in the solar supply chain will depress deployment over the next year, resulting in a 7.4 GW (25%) decrease in the forecast for 2022 compared to previous forecasts.

Solar projects will continue to face supply chain challenges in the near term, but new forecasts show that, if passed, the clean energy provisions in the Build Back Better Act will stimulate solar market growth.

The legislation will enable the solar industry to continue on its robust growth trajectory, incentivize domestic manufacturing, and alleviate supply chain constraints.

Abigail Ross Hopper, the CEO of SEIA, said: “The forecasts are clear: We must pass the Build Back Better Act to create quality American jobs, drive transformative solar and storage growth, and overcome supply chain bottlenecks.

“This legislation will help US solar capacity triple over the next five years and offset an additional 83 million metric tons of carbon. Conversely, trade and supply chain headwinds will cause a significant decrease in installations next year at a time when more solar adoption is critical to addressing the climate crisis. This makes the domestic production provisions of the Build Back Better Act even more important to the future health of the U.S. industry.”

Rising prices are impacting the utility-scale solar market the most. Prices in this segment dropped by 12% between Q1 2019 and Q1 2021, but spikes in the last six months have erased all price declines from this two-year period.

If the Build Back Better Act is enacted, the United States is projected to install 43.5 GW of additional solar capacity over the baseline forecast between 2022 and 2026. This would bring cumulative solar capacity in the United States to over 300 GW, which is triple the amount of solar deployed today.

Forecasts show that tax credits in the Build Back Better Act will increase growth in nascent state solar markets and significantly increase deployment in more established markets.

For example, if the Build Back Better Act passes, Texas is expected to add 7 GW of additional solar capacity over the baseline forecast by 2026, reaching 44 GW of cumulative capacity.

If the Build Back Better Act becomes law, 14 states will see at least a one-gigawatt boost in solar deployment in the next five years, and 14 more will see at least a 500-megawatt boost.

India has added 2,835MW of solar in the third quarter of 2021, up 14% compared to 2,488MW installed in the second quarter.

Year-over-year installations rose 547%, according to a new report by Mercom India Research.

In the first nine months of 2021, India added more than 7.4GW of solar, a 335% increase compared to the 1.73GW installed in the same period in 2020.

Increased raw materials costs, “severe volatility” in module availability and price, curtailment of power in several Indian states, and high freight charges all added to difficulties for project developers, the report said.

“Despite supply challenges, the Indian solar market is headed towards one of best years on record,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. He said he expects a strong 2022 despite continued high prices for components and uncertainties surrounding a transmission issue in Rajasthan.

The report said there was a steep rise in the average selling prices of solar modules during the third quarter.

Prices of mono PERC modules rose more than 15% from the second to the third quarter, with supply constraints occurring after major manufacturers started cutting output in China. Freight charges peaked at around $9,000 per container in the quarter.

A new green deal for India could create $1tn and 50 million jobs by 2030

The report said that manufacturing capacity ramp-up continued at a “brisk pace” as domestic producers look to take advantage of the 40% basic customs duty scheduled to be imposed beginning in April 2022. In the second quarter of next year, Prabhu said he expects to see procurement strategies starting to “change drastically as imports become expensive.”

According to the report, module prices have increased for six consecutive quarters, a trend not seen in the past 10 years.

The third quarter also recorded the largest quarter-over-quarter increase in large-scale system costs, which grew by more than 10% due to increased raw material and component prices.

Rajasthan is now the top solar state in India in terms of cumulative installed capacity, overtaking Karnataka, which had held the position since 2018 according to data from the report. As of September, the top 10 states accounted for about 96% of the country’s cumulative large-scale solar installations.

Rajasthan has been the top solar installer for three consecutive quarters by contributing about 63% of the total large-scale solar installations in the country this quarter, followed by Gujarat with 19%.

According to the report, India added close to 11.6 GW of power capacity during the first nine months of the year. Solar dominated capacity additions, accounting for close to 60%, followed by thermal power, which contributed 21%. Renewables (including large hydro) made up 79% of total power capacity additions.

The transport and supply of 5 of the 11 renewable hydrogen storage tanks to the largest plant in Europe for the production of this gas by water electrolysis that Iberdrola is building in Puertollano has begun.

The storage of green hydrogen is essential to guarantee the stability of supply required by industry and to make efficient use of renewable energy production. These tanks manufactured in Asturias allow the storage of 2,700 kg of green H2 at 60 bars.

Each tank has a volume of 133 m3 and dimensions of 23 metres high and 2.8 metres in diameter. Each tank weighs 77 tonnes empty and two cranes will be used to assemble it, a main crane with a capacity of 600 tonnes and a smaller auxiliary crane.

The tanks are made of a special steel to contain hydrogen given the small size of this particle and the thickness of the sheet metal is 47mm.

The tanks will begin arriving today, Monday 13 December, at Puertollano, their final destination.

The manoeuvre for the tanks to enter the site will be carried out in reverse in order to comply with the turning radii required by the presence of the existing Fertiberia plant and the green hydrogen plant built by Iberdrola.

Green hydrogen has a very high potential as an energy vector, mainly for the electrification of industrial processes and heavy transport. It has also been identified as a key solution for the decarbonisation of the economy and for developing innovative industrial chains with high added value in Spain and the European Union.

Iberdrola has developed a project for the construction of more than 800 MW of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen and later green ammonia and fertilisers in four phases, in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), until 2027.

The initiative represents an investment of 1.8 billion euros and could make Spain an industrial leader in the green hydrogen sector and the first country with 100% production of ammonia for fertilisers that is completely green.

Iberdrola has submitted 53 projects related to green hydrogen to the Next Generation EU programme, which would trigger investments of 2.5 billion euros to achieve an annual production of 60,000 TN.

The green hydrogen production capacity would be equivalent to 20% of the national target (installed capacity of 4GW in 2030) and would ensure that around 25% of the hydrogen currently consumed in Spain would not generate CO2 emissions.

This and other Iberdrola hydrogen projects are expected to boost economic growth and employment, contributing to the creation of approximately 4,000 skilled jobs at 500 local suppliers.

UK wind energy firm Windcluster has partnered with technology firm ONYX Insight to optimise management and maintenance of its aging assets.

The two have signed a 5-year contract which includes ONYX Insight installing its ecoCMS technology to monitor Windcluster’s four 850KW V52 wind turbines at Haverigg 111 in Cumbria.

Windcluster will leverage real-time data regarding the operation of each turbine, a development that will help maximise output and improve the lifetime of Haverigg 111 through to 2040, according to the statement.

Haverigg airfield’s use as a wind farm dates back to 1988, when it became the second commercial wind project to be commissioned in the UK. In 2004, Haverigg I’s five original V27 1.125MW turbines were dismantled and in 2005 were replaced by the four, larger V52 turbines.

Consent to extend the life of these four turbines beyond 2025 was granted in October 2020.

The signing of the deal comes as more than 34,000 turbines (36GW) in Europe are now over 15 years old, according to WindEurope. Overall, turbines’ lifetime is between 20 and 25 years.

However, to enhance the efficiency and operations of such turbines and to improve their lifespan, digitalisation is key to enable fault detection as soon as possible.

For project owners, digitalisation also helps to maximise return on investments.

Colin Palmer, Founder of Windcluster, said: “We are delighted to have developed a life extension strategy which will keep the turbines spinning at one of the UK’s oldest commercial wind projects. To do this, it has been critical to gain a better understanding of our turbines.

“Digitalising our turbines during this next phase of their operational life is going to be key in ensuring they generate power at full capacity. We will be using the vibration and oil monitoring data analysis and reporting by ONYX to ensure we can extend the life of our assets to 2040.”

Keiran Knowles, Business Development Manager – UK & Northern Europe, ONYX Insight, added: “We are incredibly proud to be working with the team at Windcluster to extend the life of these veteran wind turbines and to keep them producing clean renewable energy for another 19 years!

“Across northern Europe thousands of wind projects are coming to the end of their operational life, and will need to either be repowered, undergo life extension or be decommissioned.”

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has increased its funding for the Vanuatu Energy Access Project with a $6 million grant to help the island expand its energy generation and distribution capacity.

The grant will be coupled with $1.2 million in aid from the government of Vanuatu to help fund the development of the 400KW Brenwe hydropower power plant and 79km of new distribution lines.

The Brenwe hydropower plant is expected to be operational in April 2022 and will deliver up to 90% of the Malekula grid’s needs, saving more than 200,000 liters of diesel per year and reducing Vanuatu’s dependence on imported fossil fuel.

The project, kickstarted in 2017 with $15.1 million in aid from ADB, the Strategic Climate Fund and the Government of Vanuatu, will help improve energy access for people in Malekula and Espiritu Santo islands.

The project will ensure energy affordability and sustainability for 1,050 new households and increase grid access in Espiritu Santo from 22% to 29% and in Malekula from 8% to 14%.

The programme will upgrade power distribution networks from a single wire to a three-phase system to avoid the need for future upgrades when demand increases and will deliver safer power due to an improved fault detection mechanism.

ADB Vanuatu Pacific Country Office Unit Head and Senior Infrastructure Specialist David Fay, said: “The delivery of sustainable, affordable power provides exciting opportunities to improve the lives of people in these communities.

“The upgrade will accommodate the demand of larger commercial and industrial facilities on the main grid and provide greater renewable electricity penetration to contribute to the economic development of Vanuatu.”

Vanuatu Minister of Finance and Economic Management Johnny Koanapo Rasou, added: “This project will allow us to produce clean, reliable, low-cost power to more people, many of whom do not presently have access to the main grid.

“The government wants to see the shift from polluting energy sources to clean, locally produced renewable energy which again contributes to keeping our air and water clean. New renewable systems will also contribute to our economy by creating good jobs and new careers.”

The development follows calls for multinational financing institutions and developed countries to raise financial assistance for islands and developing countries, a central talking point at the recent COP26 summit which was held in Glasgow.