Policy

Editor’s Note: In recent months, the U.S. government has taken a number of actions against China that could significantly impact the global solar supply chain. The situation continues to evolve and the purpose of this article is to highlight these potential issues and likely outcomes, and discuss how impacted companies can manage the risks associated with disruption

Danish manufacturer Vestas held the title as the world’s largest supplier of wind turbines in 2017, according to preliminary findings from FTI Intelligence. The preliminary figures also show that the top five turbine OEMs, Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Goldwind, GE and Enercon, dominated new wind installations in 2017, accounting for 62 percent of all installations, almost

China installed more than 30 GW solar PV in the first seven months in 2017 which was triggered by the second Feed-in Tariff (FiT) reduction announced at the end of 2016. The solar industry believes 2017 will be a record year and that new installations will pass 40 GW. However, in this Spark – Energy

The U.S. solar industry is holding its collective breath as it awaits the outcome of a section 201 trade petition, filed in April, by bankrupt manufacturer Suniva. While Suniva is requesting trade barriers and punitive tariffs on imported solar cells and modules, downstream participants in solar stand to lose in terms of jobs, investment activity,

2017 is the second year of declining installations after a record year in 2015. Will this trend continue? When will the Chinese wind market bounce back? What are the strategies of Chinese turbine OEMs facing the current market downturn at home? In this Spark – Energy Insight Near-term Domestic Challenges Driving Chinese OEMs to Internationalize,

  Danish manufacturer Vestas recaptured the title as the world’s largest supplier of wind turbines in 2016, according to preliminary findings from FTI Intelligence. This achievement was in large part due to increased installations in the U.S. market, where it overtook U.S. manufacturer GE as the No. 1 supplier. According to the findings, GE and Enercon rose to

The UK must build at least 20 GW of new electricity generation capacity by 2020. This is equivalent to replacing 30 percent of current power plants. In this Spark – Energy Insight UK Policy Should Promote Learning to Reveal Lifetime Technology Costs, FTI Intelligence explains the options available to meet carbon emissions targets in addition

Nuclear energy is an important source of carbon-free electric power generation in the U.S. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) sets aggressive carbon reduction targets for the electric power sector but fails to recognize the economic, regulatory and political challenges that face the nuclear industry. In this Spark – Energy Insight The Impacts of U.S.

As interest in wind energy continues to grow strongly in both existing and new markets, significant volumes of capacity are starting to reach the end of their designed life spans. In this Spark – Energy Insight Repowering of Wind Assets: Opportunities and Challenges, FTI Intelligence considers what options operators have in respect of these older

The EEG, Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act, has played a fundamental role in making Germany Europe’s largest wind market. To tap more of Germany’s renewable potential while having the cost limited at the economically necessary level, Bundestag, the German parliament, has just approved the EEG reform that will come into effect in January 2017. In

Leaving the EU suggests three clear options with the best one staying within the Internal Energy Market (IEM). However, this may be dependent on accepting other options on immigration policy politically unpalatable to the Brexit camp. Whatever happens, a potentially damaging period of uncertainty looks inevitable. Ahead of the referendum on the 23rd of June,

Following the unexpected December 2015 five-year PTC phase out plan passed by the US Congress, on 6 May 2016, the US Internal Revenue Service published Notice 2016-31 to extend the Continuity Safe Harbor deadlines. This is yet another positive and unexpected outcome for the wind industry – sure to have a notable impact on the

The United States biofuel industry is set for growth in the wake of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) alternative fuel mandates and goals, spurring from the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. The DOD has exercised authority on Title III of the Defense Production Act to commit over $500 million to “assist the development and

Net metering has been a key driver in the adoption of residential and commercial PV, however, changes to net metering programs are being considered all across the US, and there will be wins, losses and new fees. These will potentially significantly impact the deployment of residential solar in the US. Announcements in key states California,

Taking its first step towards the delivery of the Energy Union, on 16 February, the European Commission presented its Energy Security Package. With the aim of bolstering security of supply, the package sets out a wide range of measures to strengthen the European Union’s resilience to gas supply disruptions and takes yet another small step

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change delivered a speech aimed at “re-setting” UK energy policy. The rhetoric favored more thermal gas generation and new nuclear capacity, shifting away from support for renewable energy. However, there was also a commitment to completely phase out coal fired generation by 2025. In this Spark –

The UK renewable sector has been hit with rapid changes to renewable subsidy regimes since the Conservatives won a strong election victory. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has stated that there will be no retroactive changes to tariffs for any technologies, however the removal of Levy exemption certificates and grandfathering rights for

Based on the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA) installation figures for 1H 2015, China saw a 40.8 percent growth compared to the same period in 2014. According to the CWEA, the key driver for the growth is the change in onshore Feed-in tariffs (FiT) announced by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in January

The “Belt and Road” initiative refers to the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road. This initiative shows the political will to support Chinese companies doing business abroad. For the Chinese wind industry, the initiative is a real benefit in solving one of the major challenges facing the domestic market: excess