According to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables (WoodMac), energy storage projects in the US market are expected to reach 13.5GWh in 2022. The market research and analysis firm has just released the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor Report for the second quarter of 2022 in partnership with the Clean Energy Association of America. During the three-month period, the United States developed 3,042.4MWh of energy storage across the grid, residential and non-residential (commercial, industrial and community) market segments, the report found. In the grid segment alone, installed capacity reached 2,608MWh in the quarter, the highest recorded in the second quarter so far. The Texas market is the single region that contributes the most to the grid, with development accounting for more than 60%.

On September 14, the European Commission formally proposed to ban all goods subject to forced labor from entering the European market. The ban initiative is designed to cover all stages of production. After the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered the "State of the Union Address", he announced a legislative initiative on banning forced labor products in the EU market, which has attracted great attention from all walks of life. President von der Leyen made it clear in his State of the Union address that the EU proposes to ban products produced by forced labour on the EU market, regardless of where they are produced. The European Parliament has long called for a ban on goods made with forced labor. A year ago, European Commission President von der Leyen pledged to ban the sale of forced-labour products in a speech on the situation in the EU. In February, the European Commission proposed a due diligence rule; in April, the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade and the European Commission exchanged views on a future legislative instrument effectively banning products manufactured or harvested by forced labor. The elimination of forced and child labor was repeatedly mentioned in a joint statement issued in May at the EU-US Trade and Technology Council Ministerial Meeting, the forum for the United States and the EU to coordinate solutions to key global trade, economic and technological issues;6 Last month, lawmakers again warned the European Commission in two clear resolutions that the European Commission should finally act. The U.S. UFLPA, which came into effect on June 21, also forced the European Union to speed up the formulation of similar measures. US pressures EU on forced labor legislation! China's solar industry may face trade barriers again China is the main country of origin of silicon materials. The implementation of UFLPA is expected to affect the export of silicon materials and even downstream power silicon wafers, cells and modules. The new regulations proposed by the European Commission may also affect the clean energy of EU countries. , especially the development of the solar energy industry.

According to reports, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government of Japan plans to install photovoltaic panels on new single-family houses in the capital to help achieve the goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The plan to amend the relevant regulations will be proposed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in December. After the regulations are passed, they will go into effect after a two-year publicity period. As a policy goal, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1 in 2000 by 2030. As of 2020, the emissions of offices and logistics-related industrial sectors are lower than in 2000, while the household sector has increased by 30% and has been slow to respond. Therefore, as an emission reduction measure for the household sector, new residential buildings will be required to be equipped with photovoltaic panels. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's system plan, the requirement to install photovoltaic panels is a requirement for single-family house developers who sell houses, not for people who buy houses. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government envisages targeting the top 50 companies with the largest number of single-family housing developers operating in the city. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government stated that if this measure is introduced, Tokyo will become the first city in Japan to require the installation of photovoltaic power generation systems such as single-family houses. The basic policy states that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will submit a draft revision of the ordinance to the Metropolitan Assembly in December 2022, and if passed, will strive to implement it from April 2025. In addition, in the two years before the implementation of the new regulations, the Metropolitan Government will pay close attention to research on how to provide supporting support in terms of the cost of installing photovoltaic power generation systems, maintenance management after installation, etc., and will also provide support for the installation of photovoltaic power generation systems. and prepared entities to provide assistance to deepen the understanding of the new measures among the population and entities. Source: Global PV

Solar power generation in the EU reached record levels this summer, with summer solar power generation up 28% compared to 2021. According to an analysis by climate think-tank Ember, the cost of burning the natural gas will be as high as 29 billion euros ($28.9 billion) between May and August, with solar generating about 12 percent of the EU's electricity. The figures underscore how renewable energy will help Europe reduce its reliance on imported fuels in the months and years ahead. Pawel Czyzak, an analyst at Ember, said: "The investment in solar capacity has paid off, with solar electricity helping to reduce the consumption of natural gas and saving European citizens billions of dollars. It is clear that we need as much solar power as possible. ." Ember's analysis shows that solar generation reached 99.4 MWh in the summer, up 28% year-on-year, which saved about 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas use. The EU is looking to further harness its renewable energy for power generation, capping excess revenue for companies generating electricity from sources other than natural gas and returning profits to consumers. Developers are building new solar farms across Europe at a rate that could mean solar power will break records every summer for at least the next decade. This summer, as Europe suffered a biting heatwave, demand for air-conditioning has been boosted. Meanwhile, most of France's nuclear reactors were shut down for maintenance, leaving the continent without one of the most important sources of low-carbon electricity. Relentless heat and drought have also dried up the waterways that support hydroelectric power, another key to replacing gas and coal power. But this winter, when the days get shorter, solar will also lose some of its capacity, and less predictable winds will fill the void.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released its annual report on U.S. PV module shipments. The report shows that in 2021, U.S. PV module shipments will rise from 21.8GW in 2020 to 28.8GW in 2021. In 2021, despite the impact of the epidemic, withholding orders and anti-dumping and anti-circumvention, U.S. PV module shipments will still achieve 32% growth. The U.S. added 13.2 GW of large-scale ground-mounted PV in 2021, an annual record and a 25% increase from the 10.6 GW added in 2020. Research by Princeton University and its affiliates predicts these numbers could reach 50GW per year by 2024 and 100GW per year by 2031. According to EIA statistics, small PV plants under 1 MW will add 5.4 GW in 2021, and residential installations will exceed 3.9 GW in 2021, up from 2.9 GW in 2020. According to EIA’s previously released expectations, the United States will deploy 78.3GW of new power generation capacity (utility-scale power plants with a scale of 1 MW and above) in 2022-2023, of which photovoltaic power generation will account for 49% or about 38.3GW.

Australia will need 1.9TW of solar PV to reach net zero by 2050, according to a new report titled Net Zero in Australia, published by the Universities of Melbourne, Queensland and Princeton. This acceleration will be most pronounced in the next decade. By then, installed solar PV capacity will need to reach 654GW in 2040, a substantial increase from the 98GW required in 2030. The report states that 1.9TW of solar PV capacity in 2050 will be driven mainly by export opportunities, with power generation increasing to 8-15 times current levels. "With coal and gas exports in decline, Australia has the resources to build a new clean export industry." Large-scale solar photovoltaic plants, complemented by energy storage, will support electricity exports, while new transmission lines will be needed to bring electricity to the parts of Australia's vast expanse where it is most needed. Sun Cable is developing one such project, which aims to export up to 20GW of solar power from Australia to Singapore. The project is scheduled to start construction in 2024 and be fully operational by 2029. In addition, regions such as Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland will be the focus of most solar PV additions. Solar PV will also play an important role in Australia's transition to net zero. Wind power is expected to add only 180GW by 2050. The report added that rooftop solar would play an important role in decarbonising Australia. Robin Batterham, chair of the Australia Net Zero Steering Committee, said: "Our findings show that there are no two paths to net zero emissions by 2050 and Australia must transition. New renewable power generation projects, power transmission, hydrogen supply chains and more Significant long-term investment is required. We need new skills and training to harness Australia's clean energy potential." In addition, in order to accommodate more than 2TW of renewable energy generation, 60-130GW of cross-regional power transmission needs to be expanded. In June last year, the Australian Energy Market Operator called for a $12 billion investment in grid infrastructure for the National Electricity Market (NEM) to accommodate growth in renewable energy generation in Australia. Decarbonising Australia will require up to 1.3 million new workers with technical skills, mainly in Australia's northern regions, with recruitment being influenced by the level of clean energy electricity exports Australia can achieve. Australia has long been seen as a climate laggard and criticized for climate inaction. But Australia's relationship with renewables looks set to shift as the recently elected Labor government embarks on a different path than the previous one. Australia says it wants to transform into a "renewable energy powerhouse". Australia has yet to enact legislation to achieve net zero by 2050, but that could change. Legislation recently introduced by the Albanese government locks in Australia's pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to China Trade Remedy Information Network: On August 29, 2022, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to initiate 337 on Certain Solar Power Optimizers, Inverters, and Components Thereof Survey (survey code: 337-TA-1327). On July 28, 2022, Ampt, LLC of Fort Collins, CO of the United States filed a 337 investigation application with the United States ITC, claiming that the product exported to the United States, imported in the United States and sold in the United States infringed its patent rights (US registered patent No. 9,673,630, 11,289,917), requesting the US ITC to issue a limited exclusion order, a restraining order. US SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. of Milpitas, CA, Israel SolarEdge Technologies, Ltd. of Herzliya, Israel are listed defendants. The U.S. International Trade Commission will set a deadline for the investigation within 45 days of filing the case. Relief orders issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission in 337 cases are effective from the date of issuance and final on the 60th day after the date of issuance, except where the U.S. Trade Representative vetoes for policy reasons. Source: China Trade Remedy Information Network

According to survey data recently released by the Indian Ministry of Commerce, India imported $597.48 million (approximately Rs 4,739 million) of photovoltaic modules in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, a 22% drop compared to the same period last year. Compared with the previous quarter, imports fell by 51% to $1.23 billion (approximately Rs 9,262 crore). India's PV module exports in the second quarter of 2022 fell by 57% year-on-year to $26.22 million (approximately Rs 2.07 billion), compared to $60.58 million (approximately Rs 4.8 billion) in the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, exports in the second quarter increased by 250% compared to the $7 million (approximately Rs 555.1 crore) exported in the first quarter of 2022. In the second quarter of 2022, China remained India's largest exporter of PV modules and cells, accounting for nearly 85.3%, followed by Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, accounting for 9.1%, 3.5%, and 1.7%, respectively , 0.1% and 0.1%,. In the first quarter of 2022, China's share of India's PV imports was 95.7%. PV module imports, which had grown significantly in the past two quarters, have fallen as India implemented Basic Duty Duty (BCD) in April this year. The increase in PV module imports in the first two quarters was mainly due to the large-scale procurement and storage of about 10GW of PV modules by Indian PV developers to save costs. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's (MNRE) Revised "Approved List of Models and Manufacturers" (ALMM) order stipulates that only the models and manufacturers included in the ALMM list are eligible for use in government projects, government aided projects and the projects under the national government plan. For tenders issued after April 10, 2021, developers can only source modules from the list of PV module manufacturers in the ALMM list, currently only Indian manufacturers are listed. The impact of the implementation of the Basic Duties (BCD) and the mandatory compliance with the ALMM list is already starting to be reflected in the import and export data. After the implementation of the basic tariff (BCD), the price of PV modules soared by 40%, which seriously affected the import of PV modules. Export of photovoltaic modules The US continued to be the largest market for India's PV exports in Q2 2022, accounting for 45% of its market share, compared to 52% in Q1 2022. Somalia, Afghanistan, Oman, Canada and South Africa account for 20%, 13%, 11%, 2 and 1% of the market, respectively.

Australia's Queensland state government said on Thursday that the country's largest 400-megawatt solar farm has the capacity to send more than 100 megawatts of electricity to the grid. The A$600 million ($416 million/€409 million) solar power plant built by French developer Neoen SA (EPA: Neoen) is dubbed the Western Downs Green Energy Centre. According to the project website, a 200-megawatt battery will be added to the solar park. Queensland's state-owned clean energy company CleanCo will undertake the 320 megawatt generation capacity of the solar farm. The project is being phased out and is currently undergoing test work with Powerlink and the Australian Energy Market Operator. Located in the Western Downs region, close to Powerlink's transmission network and existing substations, the plant is expected to produce more than 1080 GWh per year. CleanCo board chairman Jacqui Walters said the project reinforces CleanCo's commitment to bring 1,400 megawatts of new renewable energy to market by 2025. Walters also said the company will use this power purchase agreement (PPA) to help commercial and industrial customers achieve their net-zero goals and build their global competitiveness with competitively priced energy. Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Minister Mick de Brenny said the project had already provided more than 450 construction jobs. "By building more cheap QLD energy from our abundant natural resources, we are also putting downward pressure on future electricity prices," he added.

High temperatures and severe drought in Europe this summer have affected hydro, nuclear and solar power generation. Statistics from Norwegian consulting firm Rystad Energy show that in the first seven months of this year, Europe's hydropower generation decreased by 20% compared with the same period last year, and nuclear power generation decreased by 12%. High temperatures lead to increased evaporation in rivers, lakes and reservoirs, lowering water levels, and hydropower bearing the brunt. In Italy, for example, hydropower accounts for 20% of the country's total electricity production, but the country's hydropower production has plummeted by 40% in the past 12 months. Hydropower production in Spain also plunged by 44%. Energy analyst Fabien Langningen said that although hydropower production fluctuates widely, the 40% drop is "very extreme", not only in local areas, but all European hydropower majors have not been spared. Energy exporter Norway has warned that it may have to stop exporting energy to countries such as the UK if the country's reservoirs fail to recover. Insufficient investment in hydropower infrastructure and aging transmission lines are also reasons for the decline in hydropower output, some hydropower industry experts say. Eddie Ritchie, an expert at the International Hydropower Association, said: "We are going to have (power) problems this winter. This should be a wake-up call for us to invest more in infrastructure in the next few years." The drought has also affected nuclear power, with France being particularly affected. Several nuclear power plants of EDF have cut production in recent days, because the water temperature in natural waters is currently high, affecting the water used for cooling reactors in nuclear power plants. Sonia Senaviratner, a professor at ETH Zurich, explained that if the water level in the river is too low and the water temperature is too high, the cooling of the reactor can only be stopped, otherwise the discharged water will endanger the life in the river. The French government on the 5th of this month instructed a crisis response working group to coordinate the work of various departments to deal with the drought. "This is the worst drought ever recorded in France," the French prime minister's office said in a statement. High temperature weather is also not conducive to solar power generation, because photovoltaic power generation panels are "afraid of the sun", and high temperature will lead to power loss of power generation panels and shortened service life. Kathryn Porter, a consultant at energy consultancy Watt-Logic, said that when temperatures exceed 25 degrees Celsius, the output of photovoltaic panels drops significantly, and "everything works worse when the temperature is high".