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$4 Million Raised By Clean Energy Social Enterprise Angaza

by Jake Richardson October 26, 2015

Angaza has closed a Series A round of financing for $4 million, which was led by a large unnamed-family office, with additional funding by a number of other organizations, including The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund.

Angaza uses a pay-as-you-go model to help consumers access clean energy products such as solar lamps, clean cookstoves, microgrid meters, and solar water pumps. This model allows people with little financial means to make small payments and get clean technology that improves their lives. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have enough to buy such technology outright.

Clean technology such as a solar lamp or a small home solar power system is actually cheaper than paying for kerosene for lamps over a long time period. It has been estimated that the typical African family using kerosene spends up to 15% of its income on the smelly, pollution-generating fuel. Some of the health problems related to kerosene use have been documented, “Many studies report that accidental ingestion of kerosene is the primary case of child poisoning in the developing world. In South Africa alone, over 200,000 people are injured or lose property each year due to kerosene-related fires, in addition to 79,750 very young children unintentionally ingesting kerosene (in 3.6% of all households), of which 60% develop a chemically induced pneumonia.”

Angaza also has a distributor program to help retailers bring these products to markets where people live off-grid and typically are too far from a grid or can’t afford a grid connection. The distributor program has a Web interface that allows a retailer to manage sales and customer relations. (An app is available for distributors too.)

“Typically, our distribution partners see a four- or five-fold increase in sales when switching from cash sales to Pay-As-You-Go,” explained Angaza CEO Lesley Marincola. “We’re thrilled that these new funds will allow us to reach more manufacturers and distributors around the globe, which will ultimately enable the 1.2 billion people living off-grid to access clean energy devices.”

Angaza doesn’t only work with distributors though — it also works with manufacturers to bring more clean tech products to the right markets. In the last two years, Angaza has expanded into countries like Pakistan, India, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, South African, Uganda, and Malawi.

The for-profit social enterprise is based in San Francisco, California and Nairobi, Kenya.

Image Credit: Florence Devaourd, Wiki Commons

October 26, 2015 0 comment

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IHS Raises 2015 Global Solar PV Forecast To 59 GW

by Joshua S Hill October 13, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

Global solar PV demand will reach 59 GW in 2015 due to rising Asian and US deployment rates, says information and analysis firm IHS.

Earlier this year, IHS published global solar demand forecasts for 2015, predicting global solar PV would grow by 30% over 2014 numbers, reaching 57 GW. Speaking at the SNEC 9^th (2015) International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai in April, IHS analysts looked to China to be the leading driver of this growth. Ash Sharma, senior research director for IHS, stated that, “for the third year running, China will be the largest end-market and the key driver of global demand in 2015.”

“China will be the largest driver of global growth, but it also presents the largest single risk to the industry’s supply-demand balance,” noted Sharma. “If the country manages to install in excess of 17 GW in 2015—which is likely—it will generate much healthier operating conditions for solar companies and a return to healthy profit margins.”

Fast-forward to October, and IHS has had to again revise its 2015 and 2016 estimates due to rising growth in the US and in China. Specifically, IHS is predicting total 2015 global solar PV demand to reach 59 GW, up 33% on 2014 figures, while 2016 is forecast to reach 65 GW, a revision of more than 2 GW up on previous IHS estimates for the year.

Two main reasons underlie the need to revise estimates, according to IHS:

“first, an acceleration of projects in the United States, ahead of the solar investment tax credit (ITC) expiration; and, second, faster growth in China, led by a likely increase in long-term government targets.”

Growth in 2016 over 2015 figures is expected to drop to a reasonable 12%, and total cumulative global solar PV will surpass 300 GW, in advance of a lacklustre 2017 that will be caused, at least in part, by the likely expiration of the US production and investment tax credits.

“IHS Technology already had one of the most bullish forecasts in the industry,” said Ash Sharma, senior research director for IHS. “But due to accelerated and expanded deployment in the United States, as well as in China, India and other countries in Asia, our forecast has increased further.”

October 13, 2015 0 comment

Solar Projects

SunPower Launches Remote Operations For Large-Scale Solar

by Joshua S Hill October 7, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunPower has announced the launch of a remote operations control center for monitoring and controlling large-scale solar power plants.

The remote operations control center (ROCC) is designed to monitor and control large-scale solar power plants that SunPower is currently operating throughout the United States (including those projects owned by its joint-yieldco company, 8point3 Energy Partners), as well as monitor solar power plants SunPower has constructed throughout Latin America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

“SunPower’s remote operations control center is designed to optimize energy production at our solar power plants, allowing utilities and power plant owners to better manage their energy,” said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO and president. “Increasingly, utilities are adding solar to their energy mix to provide their customers with reliable, cost-effective and emission-free energy.”

The ROCC is staffed by eight employees who, by 2016, will be monitoring and controlling approximately 1.3 GW of solar power plants 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

“As an energy services provider, our ROCC enables SunPower to be a good manager of the utility grid, and enhance safety at our power plant sites,” Werner added. “It is scalable to accommodate the anticipated continued growth of our global power plant fleet.”

The launch of the ROCC will be an interesting move for SunPower, and will be intriguing to see how it impacts the company’s bottom line. In the second quarter, SunPower reported lackluster revenue of $381 million, down slightly on the first quarter and down significantly year-over-year, which saw the company provide measured full-year guidance for the first time in 2015 — GAAP revenue for the full year 2015 to reach between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion, with a gross margin of 10% to 12%, and a net loss per diluted share of $2.35 to $2.05.

October 7, 2015 0 comment

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92 GW of Solar Annually by 2020, Apricum Predicts

by Adam Johnston August 12, 2015

written by Adam Johnston

Global solar installations will rise by to 2020 to 92 GW yearly, according to a new report from Apricum, compared to 42 GW annually in 2014.

The Berlin-based cleantech consulting firm said most of the 50 GW in annual increases from 2014 until 2020 will come from China, the US, and India, with 36 GW combined.

Image Credit: Queen of the Apostles Solar via Flickr Some Rights Reserved

The Middle East/North Africa/Africa (MENA) region will represent 6 GW, the rest of Asia 5.6 GW, the non-US Americas 4.1 GW, and Europe 3.5 GW.

However, Japan expects to see declines yearly (-5.2 GW) as it looks to slow its hot growth.

Apricum also notes cumulative installations will reach 604 GW, from 178 GW six years earlier.

In regards to cumulative installations, China will lead with 180 GW, followed by the US (83 GW), Japan (57 GW), Germany (46 GW), and India (41 GW). Concerns over air pollution and climate change will help China with its steady growth.

Meanwhile, the US will see continued growth as more regions hit socket parity and grid parity. Apricum predicts a good 2015, followed by a drop in utility-scale installations as the federal tax credit drops from 30% to 10%, due in 2017. However, strong rooftop demand, thanks to declining solar prices will continue to bolster US markets, Apricum suggests. Recent clean power legislation and Hillary Clinton’s plan of reaching 140 GW by 2020 may also have positive effects.

August 12, 2015 0 comment

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Atlantic Wind & Solar Surpasses 1 GW Solar + Wind Pipeline

by Joshua S Hill August 11, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

Atlantic Wind & Solar has announced that it is entering the Asia region for the first time, and surpassing a pipeline of 1 GW.

Based out of Toronto, Canada, the renewable energy development company focusing on wind and solar has announced that it will be entering into the South Asia region, developing several projects in Thailand and India, and solidifying its position as it begins to look further afield.

“Management has watched Asia with interest over the past few years,” the company wrote in the corresponding press release. “While many projects have been presented there was never the feeling that the timing, or that any one project itself, was right. But this past year seemed, to management, to mark a change in the quality of opportunities in the far east.”

Subsequently, Atlantic Wind & Solar is planning to develop 230 MW of solar projects in Thailand, as well as a possible-additional 90 MW of wind projects.

Further west, Atlantic is also planning the development of approximately 210 MW of solar projects.

Atlantic warned investors that “there can be no assurance in our ability to convert this entire pipeline into commercial operation.” Nevertheless, the company is hopeful that its first foray into the region will be a successful one.

August 11, 2015 0 comment

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Global Utility-Scale Solar PV Capacity Reaches 45 GW, Wiki-Solar Reports

by Joshua S Hill July 14, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

New figures released Monday by Wiki-Solar have pegged global utility-scale solar PV capacity at 45 gigawatts at the halfway mark of 2015.

According to the self-proclaimed utility-solar authority, there were 8 gigawatts (GW) of new solar PV plants in the first half of 2015, which could set a new annual record if things continue along this track.

Unsurprisingly, the global spread of newly commissioned solar PV capacity is quite evenly distributed across the leading three regions — Asia, Europe, and North America. However, Wiki-Solar.org also notes that the remaining three regions it monitors — Australasia & Oceania, Africa, and South America — are beginning to feature within the global world totals.

New capacity of utility-scale solar projects by continent and year

Another completely unsurprising turn of events is China’s continued growth, now exceeding 10 GW in cumulative solar PV capacity. China may in fact have taken the top spot away from the US, said Wiki-Solar, adding that “the capacity shown … is probably understated, as new installations often take some months to be reported.”

Country	# of Plants	Capacity (MWac)
United States	604	10,454.5
China	344	10,038.2
United Kingdom	461	4,123.9
Germany	301	3,604.9
India	232	2,946.4
Spain	174	1,550.9

The UK did make a surprising move, however, jumping into the third spot over Germany, having installed 2 GW of new solar PV capacity in the first quarter of 2015.

Cumulative operating capacity across the 6 regions therefore looks like this:

Note: Wiki-Solar’s database covers over 4,500 utility-scale solar projects, of which about two-thirds are operational, and the remainder are under construction or development.

July 14, 2015 0 comment

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IEA Solar Report Provides Wealth of Information (14 Charts)

by James Ayre October 16, 2014

written by James Ayre

The newest edition of the Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme report was recently released by the IEA — detailing a huge quantity of different aspects of the global solar PV market as well as country- and region-specific solar PV markets.

This 19th edition of the report provides a number of highly interesting/useful graphs, some of which are posted below. Providing visual representations for everything from the 20 largest single-country solar PV power capacity additions from the last five years, to the contribution of electricity from solar PV systems relative to overall country electricity demand, to which solar PV market incentives and enablers have most driven solar PV growth, etc.

Enjoy.

Germany’s steadily high installations for years keep it at the top in terms of cumulative solar PV capacity, but that may change in 2014 thanks to another year with a huge red bubble floating far above the rest.

Here’s a table if you’re into tables or lists.

And here’s a broader look at the 2013 breakdown. China and Japan together account for ~half of all solar PV power installation.

But Germany is still far ahead in terms of total cumulative solar PV capacity… We’ll see if it stays there after 2014. The US, sadly, sits at #5 despite being the 3rd-most-populated country in the world and the richest.

Notice Europe’s shrinking market share. However, that’s not just due to shrinking solar PV markets in Europe — it’s also due to strong growth in North America and Asia… especially Asia.

It’s fascinating here to look at how the electricity from solar PV is differently “consumed.” Also, congrats to Italy for leading the way on this chart — nice solar resources help, but that’s certainly not the only factor at play! The US and China actually perform pretty horribly from this angle. Europe dominates the top rankings.

We still have a long way to go.

That’s some strong growth.

Somewhat crazy how much three countries contribute to the 2013 total. The story will be similar in 2014.

Feed-in tariffs are still the premier market enabler for solar PV power. Note, also, that self-consumption and “pure competitive EV” is already making up 5% of the pie.

As far as renewables go, more mature wind still dominates.

China dominates solar cell production. Who knew?

While there is often talk of Chinese solar cell and solar module producers killing US and German companies, we can see here that US and German solar cell production never came close to Chinese production even as far back as 2010, or even Taiwanese production for that matter. But there’s no denying that the German market collapsed in 2010.

Chinese domination is even stronger in the module business.

Source: IEA, via Sustainnovate

October 16, 2014 0 comment

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China & Japan Solar Boom A Huge Turning Point For Solar PV Industry

by Zach August 22, 2013

written by Zach

A leading solar market research firm, NPD Solarbuzz, projects that the booming solar markets in China and Japan are turning this ship around (the broader solar industry ship). In other words, solar corporate margins are shifting to positive thanks to a huge boom in solar PV growth in from the Asia Pacific region, led by China and Japan. I think those of us who follow the industry closely already had a pretty good sense of that, but nice to see it (almost) confirmed. Nonetheless, there’s still a lot of uncertainty that is based on uncertain solar and global warming policies in the region. Here are more details from Solarbuzz:

Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand from China and Japan during 2H’13 is forecast to reach 9 GW, representing an increase of 100% compared to 1H’13 and 70% compared to 2H’12. Overall, PV demand from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region will exceed 16 GW during 2013, up 90% Y/Y, and will account for over 40% of global PV demand this year, according to findings in the new NPD Solarbuzz Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly.

“The record level of PV shipments to China and Japan coincides with corporate margins returning to positive territory and the final shakeout phase of uncompetitive manufacturers nearing completion,” according to Finlay Colville, vice president at NPD Solarbuzz. “Having entered 2013 with a highly cautious outlook, tier-one suppliers are poised to exit the year with restored confidence, ahead of optimistic shipment and margin guidance for 2014.”

China is forecast to become the top country for PV deployment in 2013. During Q2’13, rooftop installation demand in China exceeded ground-mount installations for the first time, stimulated by government plans to develop the distributed generation segment. However, as bottlenecks related to project financing and grid accessibility for solar farms are resolved, 2H’13 will see strong ground-mount deployment from China Power Investment, China Guangdong Nuclear, Three Gorges Group, and other utility developers.

Japan continues to be the most active PV market this year, with growth of 150% in 2013 compared to the prior calendar year and a forecast of over 5 GW in the pipeline for installations before the end of Q2’14. PV demand in Japan during 2H’13 will be driven by the commercial and utility segments with 65% market share, in contrast to 2H’12 when the residential segment accounted for over 75% of demand.

Within the other key APAC markets, Australia and India, solar PV demand is being affected by policy disruptions. India is subject to delays in Phase II of the National Solar Mission, the ongoing anti-dumping case, and the prospect of reduced feed-in-tariff (FIT) payments. Within Australia, forthcoming elections and uncertainty over the future of the carbon tax and the Renewable Energy Target are also hindering growth.

Source: NPD Solarbuzz Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly

August 22, 2013 0 comment