Markets

Prices across the solar supply chain remained in bearish territory into the fourth quarter of 2024. Trade and regulatory developments have continued to preoccupy the industry and dampen trading activity.

TrendForce says silicon material and wafer prices stayed mostly stable this week, while Longi Green Energy has signed a strategic deal with China Energy Construction for green energy projects.

Policies and targets confirmed in 138-page government plan to decarbonize Great Britain’s electricity generation by 2030. Solar and storage to play a key role alongside market reforms, changes to planning process, and a revamped connections queue.

New patents to integrate artificial intelligence into global grids have grown sixfold over the past few years, with China driving overall innovation momentum. The European Patent Office, co-authors of the report, called for Europe to renew its efforts.

The Jakarta-based Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) says 2025 will be a pivotal year for Indonesia’s energy transition, as the nation has fallen behind targets in recent years. It seeks to shift fossil fuel subsidies to renewables and is urging the government to implement a clear, measurable plan for the upcoming national energy policy.

Discussions at the Sustainable Solar Europe event, held yesterday in Brussels, reveal that clearly recorded and available information is the key to ensuring sustainable and ethical practices all along the solar supply chain. And clear standards for the accuracy and relevance of this information are needed to ensure that all are moving toward the same target. The day also saw the launch of such a standard in the Solar Stewardship Initiative’s Supply Chain Traceability Standard.

This week, Women in Solar Europe gives voice to Eyerusalem Mekuria Wondemu, Project Engineer at Switzerland’s Gruner Stucky SA. She says changes in career paths are slow due to entrenched cultural norms and unconscious prejudices, but growing advocacy and representation drive progress. “Mentorship, continuous learning, and networking are critical,” she states.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Grenergy has announced the arrival of 600 MWh of BYD batteries at the Chilean port of Iquique, marking a key milestone in the first phase of the Oasis de Atacama solar-plus-storage project.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports a stronger-than-usual end to typhoon season that delivered mixed levels of solar irradiance across Asia in November.