Asia

India’s Union Budget will be presented next week. Developers in the country hope for lower goods and services tax (GST) and import duties on solar components, as well as a delay in enforcing the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) until domestic supplies improve.

China’s regulators are reportedly considering a comprehensive fire safety inspection and upgrades of operating energy storage facilities. For older storage stations, enhancing fire safety measures will significantly increase non-technical costs, potentially up to CNY 0.2 per Wh ($0.028/Wh).

ZNShine Solar says it has applied to list H-shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The company runs three factories in China with a total capacity of about 10 GW.

BlackRock’s climate infrastructure business has increased its stake in Brite Energy Partners. The KRW 100 billion ($72 million) investment will help to scale the South Korean independent power producer’s solar portfolio and expand its energy storage and EV charging operations.

Philippine renewables developer Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. and San Miguel Global Light and Power Corp., a unit of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., will jointly develop a 153.5 MW solar plant in the Philippines.

Yang Meng, Sungrow’s director of distribution in Europe, says that despite signs of slowing demand in parts of the residential segment, Europe’s overall solar and storage markets are on a stable path, with potential for growth in the commercial and industrial storage space.

A research group including scientists from Chinese module maker Longi has developed an undoped monocrystalline heterojunction cell that uses the promising MXene compound for the hole transport layer. The experimental device achieved an efficiency of 12.2% and was able to retain around 86% of its initial efficiency after 105-day exposure in ambient environment. 

Jupiter International has obtained $36 million to expand its PV manufacturing operations, including the construction of a 1.8 GW solar cell facility, as well as a joint venture with AmpIn Energy for 1.2 GW of integrated solar cell and module capacity each.

Malaysia’s ILB Group Bhd is acquiring Armani Sinar and its solar assets for MYR 98 million ($21 million) in cash. This deal will increase its PV capacity from 13 MW to 30 MW.

The tool has been billed as the world’s first independent daily spot market price assessment for solar panels. S&P Global says it has been launched to aid transparency in technology pricing as solar modules become increasingly commoditized.