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SFCE Dec 24
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JA Solar, Trina Set for Uncertainty
Dec 24, 2015 | Barron's
By Philip Shen & Justin Clare
On Monday, the Department of Commerce released the preliminary results of the second Administrative Review of the 2012 solar-trade-case tariffs, which suggests the potential for a modest reduction in the combined tariff. The U.S. government ostensibly could have used this review for leverage in the U.S./China trade discussion... -
China Says Climate Deal ‘Imperfect’ in Funding, Technology
Dec 24, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
China said the landmark climate change agreement signed in Paris this month was “imperfect” in the areas of funding and technology transfer from developed countries to developing nations. The world's countries should finalize details of technology innovation, cooperation and transfer... -
Not a Sunny Day for Solar Stocks
Dec 22, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Maureen Farrell
A number of solar stocks are taking a hit Tuesday after hedge-fund manager David Tepper‘s firm Appaloosa Management LP sparked a sell off in SunEdison SUNE +1.51%, Inc. Mr. Tepper’s hedge fund owns a stake of more than 9% in a SunEdison affiliate... -
Google Prepares To Build 15th Global Data Centre
Dec 23, 2015 | Tech Week Europe
By Ben Sullivan
Clarksville, Tennessee data centre will be Google’s eighth in the US, costing the search giant more than £400m Google has set out plans to build a new data centre in the US state of Tennessee, a data centre that will be Google’s 15th globally, and its eighth data centre in the US. -
Pennsylvania Continues Moving toward Smarter, Cleaner Electric Grid
Dec 23, 2015 | The Energy Collective
By Dick Munson
Just in time for the holidays, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) quietly gave the gift of more affordable electricity to millions of Pennsylvanians. PECO Energy Company, a leading Pennsylvania utility, had requested a significant distribution rate increase – meaning higher bills for its approximately 1.6 million electric customers. -
New clean energy investment mandate a shift from policy proposed by Abbott
Dec 24, 2015 | The Guardian
By Shalailah Medhora
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has been directed to focus on innovative and emerging technologies, reversing a mandate by the former prime minister Tony Abbott that would have specifically blocked funding for windfarms and small-scale solar projects. -
Spain's Supreme Tribunal questions whether removal of the feed-in tariff was constitutional
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SolarCity quits Nevada following ‘anti-solar’ decision
Dec 24, 2015 | PV Tech
By Tom Kenning
US Residential solar PV installer SolarCity has stopped operating in the US state of Nevada after the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a plan that will restrict net metering credits and boost charges against solar users in the state. -
Happy Christmas solar industry, from the European Commission
Dec 24, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Ben Willis
Europe’s solar sector has been handed a somewhat unwanted Christmas present in the form of a fresh set of duties on solar imports from Asia. The European Commission yesterday revealed the results of an investigation launched earlier in the year at the behest of SolarWorld into whether Chinese...
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JA Solar, Trina Set for Uncertainty
Dec 24, 2015 | Barron's
By Philip Shen & Justin Clare
On Monday, the Department of Commerce released the preliminary results of the second Administrative Review of the 2012 solar-trade-case tariffs, which suggests the potential for a modest reduction in the combined tariff. The U.S. government ostensibly could have used this review for leverage in the U.S./China trade discussion, though it appears politics may have stayed out of the decision.
The DOC issued lower antidumping duties (AD) for most separate rate applicants in the preliminary results of its second Administrative Review of the 2012 trade case. The preliminary results for the countervailing duties (CVD) were not released at the same time. They are expected on Jan. 4 with only three companies -- JA Solar Holdings (ticker: JASO ), Trina Solar ( TSL ) and Suntech [of China] -- included in the review.
Based on our understanding, the results of the prior CVD Administrative Review (or an approximate 21% duty) for all other companies continues to remain in effect. Adding the approximate 21% duty to the preliminary AD rate from Monday of about 7% (versus the current rate of 10%), results in the potential for a lower combined rate of about 28% (versus the current rate of 31%). This, in our view, could represent a modest economic improvement for the U.S. solar market.
If the preliminary results are finalized, we believe JA Solar could see its AD rate improve from 14% to 7%. Trina could see the lowest AD rate of 5%. That said, there is greater uncertainty for both JA Solar and Trina as the preliminary CVD rate for both has not been issued.
Canadian Solar ( CSIQ ) and JinkoSolar Holding ( JKS ) could see their AD rates improve from 10% to 7%, resulting in the potential for a modest low-single-digit margin improvement with a combined 28% tariff.
Yingli Green Energy Holding ( YGE ) may be at a disadvantage if the preliminary AD results are finalized as the company was assigned the highest AD rate of 11% (versus prior of 0.8%).
The potential combined AD/CVD rate of 28% represents potential for a modest improvement versus the current level of 31%. If the preliminary results become final, cash-deposit rates for Chinese manufacturers could fall by about 3% and result in modest margin improvement all else being equal. Assuming a cost to ship to the U.S. for a Chinese manufacturer of about 45 cents per watt including two cents a watt for shipping, an AD/CVD rate of 28% results in a cost of 58 cents a watt versus 59 cents a watt with a 31% tariff. With a U.S. average selling price (ASP) of about 64 cents a watt in mid-2016, it appears margins on shipments subject to the combined AD/CVD rate of 28% could see a potential approximate 2% improvement from about 8% to about 10%. We believe this would be an incremental positive as U.S. margins for module vendors are typically among the worst.
What’s next? We expect the preliminary CVD results of the second Administrative Review to be applicable only to JA Solar, Trina, and Suntech and to be released on Jan. 4. The final results of the second Administrative Review of the 2012 tariffs could be released as early as April, though they could also be extended to as late as July. We saw this type of lengthy delay in the final results from the first Administrative Review in 2015.
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China Says Climate Deal ‘Imperfect’ in Funding, Technology
Dec 24, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
China said the landmark climate change agreement signed in Paris this month was “imperfect” in the areas of funding and technology transfer from developed countries to developing nations.
The world's countries should finalize details of technology innovation, cooperation and transfer in follow-up negotiations, Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative on climate change, said during a Dec. 23 briefing in Beijing. There is no timetable on the funding support the developed world will provide, he said.
Envoys from more than 195 nations took the boldest steps yet Dec. 12 to stem climate change, extending limits on fossil fuel pollution to developing nations for the first time. While the package is a step forward, environmentalists said more action is required to contain temperatures that are on track to set a record in 2015.
China expects 15 percent of its energy use to be derived from nonfossil fuels, including renewable energy and nuclear, by 2020 from a target of 12 percent this year, said Xie. The share will climb to 20 percent by 2030, by which time the nation also aims to hit peak carbon emissions.
The actions to counter climate change also will help China reduce smog, said Xie. Hazardous smog has blanketed most of China's northern and eastern regions in the past week.
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Not a Sunny Day for Solar Stocks
Dec 22, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Maureen Farrell
A number of solar stocks are taking a hit Tuesday after hedge-fund manager David Tepper‘s firm Appaloosa Management LP sparked a sell off in SunEdison SUNE +1.51%, Inc.
Mr. Tepper’s hedge fund owns a stake of more than 9% in a SunEdison affiliate, Terraform Power Inc.TERP +2.18% Mr. Tepper asked to see Terraform’s books, after recently raising questions about the relationship between SunEdison and Terraform.
The request was made public in a regulatory filing Monday.
Terraform Power was spun off from SunEdison as a so-called “yieldco.” That was part of SunEdison’s push to monetize some of its renewable-energy assets in emerging markets by taking them public.
SunEdison’s shares closed down more than 20%, while Terraform Power’s stock ended down 0.5%. Terraform Global GLBL -0.55%, another spin out of SunEdison, closed down 7%.
Many other solar companies took a big hit Tuesday too.
On a day when the major indexes ended modestly higher, shares of SolarCity Corp.SCTY +0.31% fell 7%; and First Solar Inc.FSLR +1.82% ended down 1%.
Part of what Mr. Tepper’s firm is questioning about the relationship between SunEdison and Terraform is what happened when SunEdison announced a deal to buy Vivint Solar VSLR +0.51% for about $1.9 billion in July. As part of that deal, one of Terraform Power’s subsidiaries would buy Vivint’s rooftop solar portfolio from SunEdison.
In the letter sent Monday, Appaloosa said it’s seeking to look at Terraform’s books to see whether it had breached Delaware law or if directors had breached their fiduciary duties.
Both SunEdison and its two TerraForm spinoffs have had a challenging year. SunEdison’s stock is down 72% this year, and Terraform Power’s stock is down nearly 60%. Terraform Global, which went public in 2015, has seen its shares drop 33% in the past three months.
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Google Prepares To Build 15th Global Data Centre
Dec 23, 2015 | Tech Week Europe
By Ben Sullivan
Clarksville, Tennessee data centre will be Google’s eighth in the US, costing the search giant more than £400m
Google has set out plans to build a new data centre in the US state of Tennessee, a data centre that will be Google’s 15th globally, and its eighth data centre in the US.
Built on a former Hemlock Semiconductor site, the data centre in America’s eastern region is set to cost up to $600 million.
State governor Bill Haslam seemed rather chirpy with the news of bringing Google’s Internet prowess to Clarksville. Grateful
“We are grateful for Google’s significant investment in Tennessee and the new jobs that will be created in Montgomery County,” Haslam said.
“This is one of the world’s most well-known brands, so it says a lot for our state that it will soon be home to Google’s eighth US data centre. We welcome Google to Tennessee and look forward to building a strong partnership with the company in the years to come.”
Google claims that the new data centre will use 100 percent renewable energy, thanks to a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
It was July when Google said it will build a massive data centre on the site of a coal power plant in Jackson County, Alabama.
The Widows Creek coal station is set to be shut down imminently, with Google planning to splash $600m to redevelop the site into its fourteenth major data centre.
“Data centres need a lot of infrastructure to run 24/7, and there’s a lot of potential in redeveloping large industrial sites like former coal power plants,” said Patrick Gammons, Google’s senior manager of data center energy.
“Decades of investment shouldn’t go to waste just because a site has closed; we can repurpose existing electric and other infrastructure to make sure our data centres are reliably serving our users around the world.”
Google, much like cloud rival Amazon, said that it has the ultimate goal of one day powering its cloud facilities with 100 percent renewable energy. Google said that it will be using Widows Creek’s existing power lines to bring in renewable energy to the site, in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Google claims that it is the world’s largest corporate renewable energy purchaser. Earlier in December, Google bought 842 megawatts of renewable energy capacity to power its global data centre operations, claiming that it is now one step closer to its commitment to triple its purchases of renewable energy by 2025.
The renewable energy capacity, consisting of both solar and wind power, has been purchased from Sweden, Chile, and the United States.
Google said the purchase of renewable energy capacity was the largest and most diverse purchase of renewable energy ever made by a non-utility company.
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Pennsylvania Continues Moving toward Smarter, Cleaner Electric Grid
Dec 23, 2015 | The Energy Collective
By Dick Munson
Just in time for the holidays, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) quietly gave the gift of more affordable electricity to millions of Pennsylvanians.
PECO Energy Company, a leading Pennsylvania utility, had requested a significant distribution rate increase – meaning higher bills for its approximately 1.6 million electric customers. After months of discussion, last week the PUC approved a settlement with a lower rate increase and a directive for PECO to hold a series of collaborative meetings with all interested parties on revenue decoupling, or separating a utility's profits from its sales. Decoupling suggests a system in which utilities are rewarded based on the overall service they provide, rather than the amount of electricity they sell.
The PUC’s decision represents a win for grid modernization and distributed energy resources like energy efficiency, energy storage, and rooftop solar in the Keystone State.
PECO settlement encouraging for clean energy
The U.S. electricity system is currently undergoing a major transformation in which more and more people are using less energy or generating their own power. As a result, utilities across the country have been trying to obtain fixed charges – or a set amount all customers must pay each month – to recoup investment and grid maintenance costs.
Higher fixed charges discourage the use of distributed energy resources, because people have to pay a high fee regardless of whether they are conserving or producing their own energy. That’s why the settlement – which reduces PECO’s rate increase request by 33 percent – is good news for small-scale clean energy resources.
[Tweet "Pennsylvania continues moving toward a smarter, cleaner #moderngrid]
Numerous diverse parties support the settlement, including:Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance,the Clean Air Council,Natural Resources Defense Council,the City of Philadelphia,Environmental Defense Fund, andmany more.
Furthermore, the addition of the decoupling collaborative gatherings reflects a greater trend among Pennsylvania regulators toward building a smarter grid. For example, Commissioner Robert F. Powelson indicated the collaborative is part of a broader discussion, saying, “The time has come to better align rate structures in a way that equally benefits all stakeholders, including ratepayers, utilities and the environmental community.” And Commissioner Andrew G. Place emphasized finding better ways to incorporate distributed energy resources and create a more efficient, reliable grid. Plus, the ruling follows a PUC move earlier this year toward more fairly valuing two key clean energy resources: energy efficiency and demand response.
The PECO decision demonstrates the Pennsylvania PUC is looking forward and creating pathways for a clean energy future – a fine way to ring in the New Year.
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New clean energy investment mandate a shift from policy proposed by Abbott
Dec 24, 2015 | The Guardian
By Shalailah Medhora
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has been directed to focus on innovative and emerging technologies, reversing a mandate by the former prime minister Tony Abbott that would have specifically blocked funding for windfarms and small-scale solar projects.
The mandate came into effect on Thursday, with a new clause outlining the shift in focus.
“As part of its investment activities in clean energy technologies, the corporation must include a focus on supporting emerging and innovative renewable technologies and energy efficiency, such as large-scale solar, storage associated with large- and small-scale solar, offshore wind technologies, and energy efficiency technologies for cities and the built environment,” the clause said. “ This will in turn increase the uptake of emerging technologies such as large-scale solar and energy efficiency.”
The investment mandate is not exclusive, meaning that established technologies can still be funded, and not retrospective, so projects that have already been funded will not be affected.
“The CEFC will therefore continue to pursue a diverse range of investment activities that are within the scope of the CEFC Act and this new investment mandate,” a statement by the body said.
“Together, the new investment mandate and the accompanying explanatory statement provide guidance on how the CEFC should approach investment in mature and established technologies, such as conventional onshore wind and conventional hydro,” it said. “It is the government’s expectation that, in many circumstances, projects involving mature technologies should be able to secure finance from commercial financing sources.”
The mandate is a shift from what Abbott proposed in July, when he said the body should no longer fund small-scale solar projects such as rooftop panels and wind technology.
“It is our policy to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation because we think that if the projects stack up economically, there’s no reason why they can’t be supported in the usual way,” Abbott had said. “But while the CEFC exists, what we believe it should be doing is investing in new and emerging technologies – certainly not existing windfarms.”
The CEFC chairwoman, Jillian Broadbent, wrote to the environment minister, Greg Hunt, and the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, welcoming the new mandate. She said it was an “appropriate approach that allows the CEFC to support the Australian government policy priorities while still allowing a measure of investment flexibility”.
Several members of the Abbott government frontbench, including Abbott himself, have criticised windfarms for their visual and health impacts.
“I’ve been up close to these windfarms. Not only are they visually awful but they make a lot of noise,” Abbott told the radio broadcaster Alan Jones in June. “I do take your point about the potential health impact of these things.”
Later the same month, Hunt appointed a windfarm commissioner to investigate claims of ill-health associated with turbine noise. Innovation has been a big focus of Malcolm Turnbull since he took the Liberal party leadership from Abbott in September. Earlier this month, Turnbull released a $1.1bn package of 20 initiatives, aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and harnessing new ways of thinking.
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Spain's Supreme Tribunal questions whether removal of the feed-in tariff was constitutional
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SolarCity quits Nevada following ‘anti-solar’ decision
Dec 24, 2015 | PV Tech
By Tom Kenning
US Residential solar PV installer SolarCity has stopped operating in the US state of Nevada after the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a plan that will restrict net metering credits and boost charges against solar users in the state.
Both SolarCity and residential solar installer Vivint Solar had threatened to walk away from Nevada if the proposals were approved.
Nevertheless PUC voted unanimously earlier this week to go ahead with the new plan, which would cut into the amount of money that the state’s largest utility NV Energy pays to consumers for the excess energy that their PV panels generate — as well as adjust the flat service rate for customers with installed PV panels.
SolarCity said the decision by PUC will “severely undermine” Nevadan’s ability to install solar systems. It also said it amounts to a “massive bait and switch” for the local solar industry and customer rights.
SolarCity said 12,000 existing solar customers would be hit with the higher fees in what it claimed was an attempt to protect the profits of NV Energy.
SolarCity chief executive Lyndon Rive said: "This is a very difficult decision but Governor Sandoval and his PUC leave us no choice. The people of Nevada have consistently chosen solar, but yesterday their state government decided to end customer choice, damage the state's economy, and jeopardize thousands of jobs.
“The PUC has protected NV Energy's monopoly, and everyone else will lose. We have no alternative but to cease Nevada sales and installations, but we will fight this flawed decision on behalf of our Nevada customers and employees."
SolarCity has hired 2,000 local workers over two years in the state, which has the highest number of solar jobs per capita in any state in 2014.
Rive added: “Most disturbing is the PUC's decision to retroactively sabotage existing solar customers' investments by changing the rules on them. The Nevada government encouraged these people to go solar with financial incentives and pro-solar policies, and now the same government is punishing them for their decision with new costs they couldn't have foreseen.
“These actions are certainly unethical, unprecedented, and possibly unlawful. While the rest of the country embraces a clean energy future, Nevada is moving backwards."
SolarCity was reported to have a 34% market share of the US residential solar sector in 2015 by GTM Research this week.
The difficult news for Nevada solar users comes shortly after the solar investment tax credit (ITC) was set to be extended beyond 2022 with the current 30% level remaining until 2019 in a move that is likely to benefit the residential solar sector particularly.
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Happy Christmas solar industry, from the European Commission
Dec 24, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Ben Willis
Europe’s solar sector has been handed a somewhat unwanted Christmas present in the form of a fresh set of duties on solar imports from Asia.
The European Commission yesterday revealed the results of an investigation launched earlier in the year at the behest of SolarWorld into whether Chinese firms have been circumventing European trade anti-dumping and subsidy duties by ‘transhipping’ product via Malaysia and Taiwan.
The commission’s conclusion was that some companies had indeed been doing this, with modules imported into the EU from non-cooperating companies and companies found to be circumventing in Malaysia accounting for 9% of total consumption of modules and from Taiwan 7%. Cells imported into the EU from non-cooperating companies in Taiwan account for 3% of total EU consumption. Its response was to announce anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of 53.4% and 11.5% respectively for Malaysian and Taiwanese firms found to have been enabling Chinese firm to circumvent other duties.
It’s only proper that companies who have been helping Chinese firms cheat the system are punished, but there could also be a potentially significant impact from the duties on Europe’s solar sector itself.
According to the commission, import duty payments on modules found to have been non-compliant with EU trade requirements will be backdated to May 2015 when the investigation was launched. Importers will be invoiced for the funds, regardless of whether or not they were aware that the products they purchased were in fact of Chinese origin.
Simple arithmetic would suggest that the bill for 64.9% duties on 16% of the modules imported into Europe since May this year could be quite a large one - many millions of euros. Potentially the most exposed market is the UK, which has been by far Europe’s most active end market this year.
None of the industry groups contacted by PV Tech have so far been able to get a handle on exactly who will be hit and by how much by the new tariffs. Endeavours by our team to get further information from bodies such as HM Revenue & Customs in the UK have also proved futile, with a spokesman for the ministry saying only that the UK had “implemented the required controls”, without elaborating further on precisely what that means.
But it seems as though the impact could be serious, with James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe, going as far as to say that the matter was “threatening to be a much bigger deal than expected”. He said SolarPower Europe and others were seeking clarification from the commission on what the latest duties mean, adding: “At face value it still seems like there will be some considerable impact in terms of retroactive fees and picking exempted suppliers going forward.”
The UK Solar Trade Association’s Sonia Dunlop said: “We are looking into this matter urgently and hope to provide members with guidance on this issue as soon as possible in the new year.”
With more and more countries in Europe now scaling back support for solar such as feed-in tariffs, the anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties that have been in place since 2013 were already proving to be significant cost impediments to a flourishing solar market in Europe.
The latest duties, while as yet an unknown quantity in terms of the additional financial burden they place on the sector, will likely only intensify that situation. And there’s more potentially in store, with SolarWorld seemingly keen to keep the pressure up on the commission to shut down other transhipping routes such as India and Thailand.
The only glimmer of hope for the industry is that the European Commission will bring about a swift conclusion to its recently launched interim review looking into whether Chinese cells should be removed from existing trade measures. There is also the dim prospect that the 15 months the commission is expected to take to conduct its expiry review of the whole regime of Chinese solar trade tariffs will take much less time and result in their being scrapped, though that is by no means a given.
Ultimately, the commission would appear to have created another obstacle to solar deployment in Europe and left the sector with little to be merry about this Christmas.
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