From pv magazine USA. Bifacial solar modules have been excluded from Section 201 tariffs as per a ruling by the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) meaning bifacial products will no longer pay a fee of 25% on top of the cost at the point of import into the U.S. The ruling, found in Product Exclusions: Particular Products from the Solar Products Safeguard Measure, states the following products will be excluded: (15) bifacial solar panels that absorb light and generate electricity on each side of the panel and that consist of only bifacial solar cells that absorb light and generate electricity on each side of the cells Other products applied for exclusion from the tariff but in the ruling, the USTR ignored the claims of products with 72 or more cells and those without busbars or gridlines and suggested it would be unlikely to revisit the issue. The ruling does excludes flexible fiberglass solar panels with an output of 250-900 W from the Section 201 tariffs, as well as those with a spacing greater than 10mm between cells filled by optical film. The effect of the change will be blunted for large projects with long construction timetables but there is probably a developer on the phone right now who sees a chance to change products that are getting put on a boat somewhere, because the savings could be substantial. A module that cost $0.25-0.35 per watt under the import tariff will now save $0.06-0.09/W in the U.S. by switching to bifacial. For developers seeing all-in pricing of around $1 per watt-DC, a system price decrease on that level is significant. Large scale developers have a delivery window that can be years long – for instance the Palen Solar Project, in its filings with the Bureau of Land Management, suggested solar modules would take 22 months to arrive at the site via more than 8,000 truck deliveries (see table above). Those modules, if delivery had begun this month, would first save 25% up to early February, then 20% and 15% as the tariff declined annually. As those groups are already going all-in on single axis trackers specifically designed for bifacial modules, it could be utility scale product shifts will be limited as the market has already shifted to greater adoption of bifacial technology. Given bifacial modules can often be found at a similar price point as standard panels, one might think developers would purchase whichever product is cheaper, even when siting restrictions mean not all the benefits offered by bifacial technology are available. As a result, we should expect to see some cannibalization of the market for standard modules. However, that can only go so far. Manufacturing lines for certain product types can only change so fast. Also, glass on glass bifacial modules don’t fit in the standard module supply chain as easily, as their physical structure requires different installation hardware. There is a chance the legal change can be exploited on manufacturing lines if Dupont can deliver its clear bac...

New solar in Africa can be established at a going rate of just nine U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour, according to investors at yesterday’s opening day of the Africa Energy Forum. States should embark on a solar gold rush to secure global investment for independent power producer (IPP) led projects, said delegates at the event, which is being held in Lisbon this week. Although schemes such as the Scaling Solar program run by World Bank private-sector arm the International Finance Corporation can lead to even lower tariffs, African states unwilling to participate in the initiative can still secure nine-cent solar using the IPP model, said delegates. Burkina Faso energy minister Bachir Ismael Ouedraogo, raised the $0.09/kWh figure and told the forum his country’s fossil fuel electricity generation is expensive, at $0.20-0.25/kWh. Faster pace required Despite the falling cost of PV technology and rising interest from potential investors, the pace of solar development in Africa is slow, argued Andrew Herscowitz, coordinator of Power Africa, a U.S. initiative established by former president Barack Obama to widen access to electricity in the continent. Often, added Herscowitz, African energy ministers encourage renewables projects only to realize fellow ministers have no idea about them or actively oppose their development. He added, the diversity of cultures seen across the 54-nation continent also makes it vital to consider how locals conduct business. Investors will not wait forever and will move on to other promising markets, such as India, unless African states work with them to bring projects to financial close in a timely manner, warned Herscowitz. The Power Africa representative did not appear hopeful mini and microgrids would offer an alternative to IPP projects, mainly because such schemes are not yet commercially viable. Instead, Herscowitz argued, utility scale solar projects offer the way forward for African power development. Governmental focus would be required, added Herscowitz, to designate development sites and bring in supportive policy to enable gigawatt-scale solar generation capacity pipelines to take shape in many African states over the next decade.

Solar panel maker ARTsolar has filed a petition with the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa, seeking customs tariffs on all imported crystalline silicon PV panels. In the document, submitted at the end of March, the manufacturer complained there was no protection for module manufacturers in the country, as existed in the U.S. and Europe, although in the latter case trade measures were lifted last year. “A number of photovoltaic module/panel manufacturers had ceased their production operations in the SACU region due to high competition from low-priced imports,” the petitioner wrote, in reference to the Southern African Customs Union area which also includes Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini. Rising costs Andy Pegg, CEO of the SegenSolar (Pty) Ltd South African subsidiary of U.K. solar distributor Segen Ltd, said the introduction of import tariffs could see the price of PV modules rise by 10% overnight in South Africa. “The 10% tariff will, ultimately, be passed down to the customer or installer in the form of increased product prices – which could see demand plummet and profit margins squeezed, particularly for smaller distributors,” he told pv magazine. Pegg added, the major problem with tariffs in South Africa would be the lack of government support for the sector. For tariffs to be effective, he said, the policy and regulatory environment must support the growth and supply of the renewables sector. “For example, China has seen explosive growth in solar PV power generation due to continually adjusting its solar energy targets upward in line with demand – which increased from 10% in 2012 to 55% in 2017,” he said. It’s all about Eskom Pegg also highlighted the operational and financial problems of state-owned utility Eskom as a handicap to the country’s energy sector. Last month, Eskom required an emergency $355 million bailout to prevent a debt default when it was already struggling to fix crippling power shortages. Media reports claimed the utility also failed to receive ZAR7 billion ($485 million) in loan payments from the Chinese Development Bank this month. “It seems more likely the proposed import tariffs would make it explicitly easier for the state-owned Eskom to keep its monopoly on energy supply in South Africa,” Pegg said. Chris Ahlfeldt, energy specialist at Blue Horizon Energy Consulting Services, said tariffs would probably have a net negative impact on jobs for the domestic solar industry, adding they would slow down customer adoption through higher prices. “Solar PV installers create many more local jobs than the manufacturing industry globally, so the focus should be on accelerating growth in the industry as a whole to create jobs and not slowing it down with tariffs,” he said to pv magazine. ‘Incentives, not penalties’ According to Ahlfeldt, the best way to incentivize localization of industry is by creating stable demand. Rather than introducing tariffs, he said, the government should focus ...

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