- Email: [email protected]
Sweden helps rural Vietnam with PV
NEWS The company has also recently launched its new English website, with full information on the company and its products, as well as downloadable catalogs and datasheets. Contact: James Plastow, MSK Corporation, 19F STEC Joho Building, 1-24-1 West Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan Tel: +81 3 3342 3838, Fax +81 3 3342 6534, Web: www.msk.ne.jp
The high rates of growth came from respondents from all most all regions of the world, including Europe but excluding Germany and Switzerland. Off-grid rural and on-grid residential both featured well in the >20% growth responses. Contact: Solarbuzz USA, PO Box 475815, San Francisco, CA 94147-5815, USA. Tel: + 1 415 928 9743, Fax: + 1 415 928 8612, Web: www.solarbuzz.com
Solar incentive programs Australian PV rebate to boost market program hits trouble The combined impact of major solar energy incentive programs in Japan, Germany and the US helped produce a record world market for solar PV installations, with a total of 436 MW in 2002. This is an increase of 26% over 2001, says San Francisco-based Solarbuzz in its 2003 ‘Annual Report on the World Photovoltaic Market’. Strong growth in the US was partially offset by slower growth in the key European market of Germany, while Japan continued its dominance as the largest PV market in the world, the report said. Solarbuzz added that as investment in new manufacturing capacity for solar PV cells through 2002 and 2003 remains ahead of the pace of market growth, the solar PV industry is projected to continue its long-term trend of price decline in 2003. Worldwide PV cell shipments rose by 36% to 530 MW, as Japanese manufacturers set the pace on expanding solar cell manufacturing capacity. ‘The US became the fastest growing major PV market in 2002, as we projected a year ago,’ said Craig Stevens, president of Solarbuzz. ‘The world PV market in 2003 will be shaped by long-term positioning of the leading solar cell manufacturers against a backdrop of continuing strong global demand growth.’ He added: ‘At a time of global uncertainty, it is also encouraging to see how the PV industry is demonstrating that, given the opportunity, it can make an increasingly serious and sustained contribution to the energy mix of countries.’ The Marketbuzz 2003 report includes a comprehensive market survey of solar PV dealers from around the world. This year, 58 companies participated in the survey. The answer to one question on market demand shows that most dealers continued to experience very high rates of growth. Only three respondents estimated a decline in their markets, and they were in Germany and Switzerland. Overall, PV regions continue to display robust growth, with 45% of respondents describing a growth rate in excess of 20% in the regional market in which they operate. 6
Photovoltaics Bulletin
According to Climate Action Network Australia (CANA), the Australian solar power industry ‘could come to a grinding halt’. This is as a result of a decision by the Australia Greenhouse Office (AGO) to cap grants for new solar power systems. CANA is an alliance of more than 25 regional, state and national environmental, health, community development and research groups throughout Australia. The Photovoltaic Rebate Program (PVRB), which began on 1 January 2000, provides Australian households which install PV systems with a rebate of A$5/W, up to a maximum of A$7500 per household. The rebate was designed to stimulate Australia’s emerging solar power industry. However, it may turn out to have been a victim of its own success. This is because overwhelming demand has forced the AGO to cap the funding at A$100 000 per month. Only 14 household systems can now be supported each month across the whole of Australia. This measure is so that the program can be sustained until the end of the financial year. ‘This ill-timed and clumsily executed cap is a major setback for an environmentally friendly industry primed to provide thousands more jobs to Australians,’ said CANA’s Danny Kennedy, in a letter to government ministers. ‘If the PV Rebate Program were continued in order to allow investor security and growth-to-scale, this sector would employ 6000 people in a billiondollar business by 2010.’ ‘Unfortunately, this does not even cover the applications already submitted under the program,’ said Ric Brazzale, executive director of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy. ‘This means Australia’s solar power industry will effectively come to an immediate grinding halt.’ The Australian federal government introduced the solar program in 1999 as part of a suite of greenhouse initiatives at the time of the introduction of its controversial Goods & Services Tax (GST). Prior to this PV systems
were tax-exempt. Brazzale said that sales will now halt until 1 July, may then continue for a couple of months, and beyond that ‘we don’t know’. The uncertainly makes business planning impossible and threatens jobs and many small businesses, he added.
Sweden helps rural Vietnam with PV Staff from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi have signed an agreement as a first step towards collaboration in rural energy supply to 2008, according to the Australian-based Asia Pulse news service. The deal will be based on off-grid systems powered by micro-hydro and solar PV. Representing an investment of US$5.6m, this is an effort to increase energy supply for the more remote and mountainous areas in Vietnam. For example, it will mean that pupils could do homework under electric lights rather than candles or kerosene lamps. Also, small businesses such as workshops should get access to reliable electricity, while ordinary people will be able to receive TV and radio broadcasts. The report adds that several pilot projects will proceed in one or two provinces. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry will head the development and implementation of this project.
SMUD cuts spending on PV program According to the East Bay Business Times newspaper in California, high costs and the state’s budget problems are forcing the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to chop its spending on solar-energy system installations this year. The report suggests that the move may slow SMUD’s progress towards its solar energy goals – an area in which it was viewed as an industry leader. In February, the SMUD board of directors approved budget changes to the solar program to cut residential solar-power system installations by over half the amount originally planned for this year. As a result, commercial systems will be reduced by about one-third. Nevertheless, if SMUD’s plans continue, it will install about 415 kW of PV capacity this year. But this will be two-thirds less than last year and 80% less than in 2001. Contact: Sacramento Municipal Utility District , PO Box 15830, Sacramento, CA 95852-1830, USA. Tel: +1 916 452 3211, Web: www.smud.org
April 2003
The high rates of growth came from respondents from all most all regions of the world, including Europe but excluding Germany and Switzerland. Off-grid rural and on-grid residential both featured well in the >20% growth responses. Contact: Solarbuzz USA, PO Box 475815, San Francisco, CA 94147-5815, USA. Tel: + 1 415 928 9743, Fax: + 1 415 928 8612, Web: www.solarbuzz.com
Solar incentive programs Australian PV rebate to boost market program hits trouble The combined impact of major solar energy incentive programs in Japan, Germany and the US helped produce a record world market for solar PV installations, with a total of 436 MW in 2002. This is an increase of 26% over 2001, says San Francisco-based Solarbuzz in its 2003 ‘Annual Report on the World Photovoltaic Market’. Strong growth in the US was partially offset by slower growth in the key European market of Germany, while Japan continued its dominance as the largest PV market in the world, the report said. Solarbuzz added that as investment in new manufacturing capacity for solar PV cells through 2002 and 2003 remains ahead of the pace of market growth, the solar PV industry is projected to continue its long-term trend of price decline in 2003. Worldwide PV cell shipments rose by 36% to 530 MW, as Japanese manufacturers set the pace on expanding solar cell manufacturing capacity. ‘The US became the fastest growing major PV market in 2002, as we projected a year ago,’ said Craig Stevens, president of Solarbuzz. ‘The world PV market in 2003 will be shaped by long-term positioning of the leading solar cell manufacturers against a backdrop of continuing strong global demand growth.’ He added: ‘At a time of global uncertainty, it is also encouraging to see how the PV industry is demonstrating that, given the opportunity, it can make an increasingly serious and sustained contribution to the energy mix of countries.’ The Marketbuzz 2003 report includes a comprehensive market survey of solar PV dealers from around the world. This year, 58 companies participated in the survey. The answer to one question on market demand shows that most dealers continued to experience very high rates of growth. Only three respondents estimated a decline in their markets, and they were in Germany and Switzerland. Overall, PV regions continue to display robust growth, with 45% of respondents describing a growth rate in excess of 20% in the regional market in which they operate. 6
Photovoltaics Bulletin
According to Climate Action Network Australia (CANA), the Australian solar power industry ‘could come to a grinding halt’. This is as a result of a decision by the Australia Greenhouse Office (AGO) to cap grants for new solar power systems. CANA is an alliance of more than 25 regional, state and national environmental, health, community development and research groups throughout Australia. The Photovoltaic Rebate Program (PVRB), which began on 1 January 2000, provides Australian households which install PV systems with a rebate of A$5/W, up to a maximum of A$7500 per household. The rebate was designed to stimulate Australia’s emerging solar power industry. However, it may turn out to have been a victim of its own success. This is because overwhelming demand has forced the AGO to cap the funding at A$100 000 per month. Only 14 household systems can now be supported each month across the whole of Australia. This measure is so that the program can be sustained until the end of the financial year. ‘This ill-timed and clumsily executed cap is a major setback for an environmentally friendly industry primed to provide thousands more jobs to Australians,’ said CANA’s Danny Kennedy, in a letter to government ministers. ‘If the PV Rebate Program were continued in order to allow investor security and growth-to-scale, this sector would employ 6000 people in a billiondollar business by 2010.’ ‘Unfortunately, this does not even cover the applications already submitted under the program,’ said Ric Brazzale, executive director of the Australian Business Council for Sustainable Energy. ‘This means Australia’s solar power industry will effectively come to an immediate grinding halt.’ The Australian federal government introduced the solar program in 1999 as part of a suite of greenhouse initiatives at the time of the introduction of its controversial Goods & Services Tax (GST). Prior to this PV systems
were tax-exempt. Brazzale said that sales will now halt until 1 July, may then continue for a couple of months, and beyond that ‘we don’t know’. The uncertainly makes business planning impossible and threatens jobs and many small businesses, he added.
Sweden helps rural Vietnam with PV Staff from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi have signed an agreement as a first step towards collaboration in rural energy supply to 2008, according to the Australian-based Asia Pulse news service. The deal will be based on off-grid systems powered by micro-hydro and solar PV. Representing an investment of US$5.6m, this is an effort to increase energy supply for the more remote and mountainous areas in Vietnam. For example, it will mean that pupils could do homework under electric lights rather than candles or kerosene lamps. Also, small businesses such as workshops should get access to reliable electricity, while ordinary people will be able to receive TV and radio broadcasts. The report adds that several pilot projects will proceed in one or two provinces. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry will head the development and implementation of this project.
SMUD cuts spending on PV program According to the East Bay Business Times newspaper in California, high costs and the state’s budget problems are forcing the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to chop its spending on solar-energy system installations this year. The report suggests that the move may slow SMUD’s progress towards its solar energy goals – an area in which it was viewed as an industry leader. In February, the SMUD board of directors approved budget changes to the solar program to cut residential solar-power system installations by over half the amount originally planned for this year. As a result, commercial systems will be reduced by about one-third. Nevertheless, if SMUD’s plans continue, it will install about 415 kW of PV capacity this year. But this will be two-thirds less than last year and 80% less than in 2001. Contact: Sacramento Municipal Utility District , PO Box 15830, Sacramento, CA 95852-1830, USA. Tel: +1 916 452 3211, Web: www.smud.org
April 2003