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Thứ Hai, 2 tháng 3, 2020

New hold-up in proposed $536m windfall for GCL New Energy

The proposed acquisition by state-owned China Huaneng of 294 MW of GCL project capacity in China has been delayed a second time.

There has been another potentially ominous delay in the planned RMB1.08 billion ($155 million) sale of 294 MW of Chinese solar project capacity by developer GCL New Energy to Chinese state-owned China Huaneng.

Huaneng walked away from a proposed takeover of the heavily-indebted Hong Kong-listed solar developer in November and subsequently announced plans to instead acquire seven GCL New Energy project companies in a deal which would also remove RMB2.66 billion from the developer’s huge debt pile.

The acquisition, by two China Huaneng-owned funds, is dependent on approval by shareholders in GCL New Energy and its GCL Poly parent company. However, with details of the votes required originally set to be published on February 13, and then postponed until Friday, information about the shareholder meetings has now been put back again, to March 31.

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Italian firm finalizes acquisition of inverter business

Italian inverter maker Fimer has completed its purchase of AAB’s manufacturing and R&D sites in Finland, India and Italy, along with 800 employees in 26 countries. Fimer said the combined business will ship more than 7 GW of inverters this year.

Italian inverter manufacturer Fimer has completed the acquisition of the inverter business of Swiss conglomerate ABB which it started in July.

Fimer confirmed the transaction included all of ABB’s manufacturing and R&D sites in Finland, India and Italy and 800 employees in 26 different countries. The buyer still has not announced the full cost of the deal and ABB also failed to do so in its July financials. The Swiss company did, however, admit it would shoulder six-year costs of around $430 million (€388 million) in relation to the transaction, connected to product warranty provisions. ABB also said it expected ‘separation costs’ of $40 million as a result of the deal.

The new owner said ABB’s inverter business generated around €340 million in revenue last year.

“Fimer’s commitment is to continue to create value and maintain existing facilities as well as employment levels. Investment in research and development are of key importance,” the company said in a statement. “As a result, Fimer decided to maintain both the R&D hub in Finland and manufacturing plants Italy and India.” Those plants will augment the inverter manufacturing facility Fimer owns in Vimercate, in the province of Monza and Brianza, in Lombardy, northern Italy. The combined business now has around 1,100 employees.

A global player

The Italian manufacturer said the transaction made it the world’s fourth largest inverter provider. The combined business expects to ship more than 7 GW of inverters this year, according to Fimer, which did not mention the fact coronavirus-hit Italy has registered more cases of the virus in Lombardy than in any other Italian region.

ABB products will feature the Swiss brand for the time being. “Following the acquisition and integration of ABB’s solar inverter business in the first quarter of 2020, and under the umbrella of the renewed Fimer brand, the newly acquired solar inverter portfolio continues to carry the ABB brand under the trademark license agreement,” the Italian company stated.

In September, Fimer and ABB replied to an open letter published by trade body the U.K. Solar Trade Association which was critical of the Swiss brand’s products and customer service. The U.K. organization said some its members feared the impending takeover of ABB’s inverter business by Fimer would make enforcing warranty claims more difficult and remarked on what members described as poor customer service.

At the time, ABB said it had taken the necessary steps to ensure the situation would be properly managed and it was in close contact with all affected customers to resolve pending matters. Fimer told pv magazine it would take charge of issues raised by the U.K. trade body before the transfer of the inverter business was finalized.

Ukraine unveils plan for retroactive FIT cuts

The government has suggested PV plant operators accept a ‘voluntary’ 12.5% reduction in feed-in tariffs. If developers refuse, policymakers could impose 15-25% cuts, albeit with payment contracts extended five years. The drastic measures are being considered to reduce the cost of the state-owned Guaranteed Buyer body, which purchases all electricity generated in Ukraine from renewable energy facilities.

The Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine is considering retroactively slashing feed-in tariffs (FITs) for large scale PV projects 15-25%, trade body the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy (UARE) has told pv magazine.

An announcement to that effect was reportedly made by Konstantyn Chyzhyk, head of office at non-governmental business organization the National Investment Council, during the Ukrainian Energy Forum event.

The FIT cuts under consideration would see solar plants with a generation capacity of up to 10 MW shoulder a 15% reduction in payments with the figure rising to a 20% cut for 10-50 MW projects and 25% for larger facilities. Chyzhyk reportedly offered to soften the blow for developers by extending the term of affected ten-year contracts by five years.

The FIT program which expired at the end of last year paid large scale, ground-mounted PV projects €0.1502/kWh over a period of 10 years.

‘Voluntary’

An alternative method of reducing the cost of subsidizing Ukrainian solar would see developers of PV projects of all sizes agreeing to take a “voluntary” 12.5% FIT reduction. Russian press agency Interfax reported Chyzhyk told the energy forum on Thursday: “The logic of this option is that such a reduction is much smaller than a decrease [combined with] extending the payment term. [Either] you pass restructuring, extending the payment term but at the same time you lower the feed-in tariff by a larger percentage, or you [do] not extend [the] payment term but at the same time take a slightly lower tariff reduction.”

With Ukraine currently sparing solar developers costs of imbalance – the obligation to financially compensate the grid for over or under-production from their generation assets – the National Investment Council head of office reportedly warned, project owners who do not agree to voluntary cuts will face the introduction of such payments this year. Developers who play ball, however, will not have to pay such costs until 2022, Chyzhyk reportedly suggested.

The energy forum also reportedly heard the proposed retroactive FIT cut for wind power facilities would be 10% combined with five-year payment contract extensions.

Investor confidence

Renewables lobby group the UARE said the proposals flew in the face of plans announced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to attract renewables investment.

“If the proposal of the ministry … will be implemented, the country will lose the trust of investors and the plan of attracting $50 billion of investments within [the] next five years will [fail],” the trade body stated.

The association revealed the government had been in talks with the renewables industry since October as it attempts to reduce a financial deficit at the Guaranteed Buyer, a state-owned body which must purchase all renewable energy generated in Ukraine.

“Since that time [October] a lot of working group meetings were held where investors offered changes that can be acceptable for them,” the UARE said. “Unfortunately, offers presented by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine on Thursday are far different from those investors can agree on. The proposed changes are not acceptable for the producers of electricity from renewable energy sources, as they will lead to … investment default.”

Counter-offer

The association added, there are already delays in renewable energy payments which negatively affect market and investor sentiment.

The UARE said its members had proposed a 10% FIT cut for clean energy facilities with a generation capacity of up to 10 MW and 15% for larger projects, with the reduction applied only to facilities operational from the start of 2017 to the end of last year. In return, developers asked for contract extensions to the end of 2034.

The trade body asked for small solar projects – with a capacity of less than 1 MW – to be exempted from costs of imbalance obligations along with all facilities which entered operation before June 11, 2017, when an ‘On Electricity Market’ law came into force. In the event of government plans for a voluntary FIT cut to be offered, the UARE suggested developers who do not accept such payment reductions could pay costs of imbalance from next year. Developers who accepted such a payment regression, suggested the trade body, could pay only 10% of such costs next year, with the percentage rising 10% annually to hit 100% in 2030.

Ukraine had 1.3 GW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2018, according to International Renewable Energy Agency statistics. Large projects commissioned last year included a 240 MW solar plant and a further 240 MW of net-metered rooftop PV was also deployed, ensuring the nation currently boasts at least 1.8 GW of solar capacity.

This is your SolarWakeup for March 2nd, 2020

Happy Monday! What news is driving your business this week? As always, you can be in touch with me and the SolarWakeup team by writing us at yann@solarwakeup.com or reaching out on Twitter @yannbrandt or @solarwakeup.

Touching Base On Coronavirus. The virus is now geographically everywhere including most States in the US. Testing is slow to get started so expect that number to jump significantly once the broader reach of testing has occurred. The question is how this will affect everyday life until it is contained, major conferences are already being canceled and companies are talking about remote work for all. The solar industry should prepare for some disruptions as well given that many modules have origins in Asia where factories may be slow to get up and running.

Pennsylvania Solar Development. Development is all about getting the timing right and showing the path to investors for a project that has land rights, interconnection and revenue stream. If the economics work out and risk is properly mitigated, the project can move forward. Pennsylvania is the Texas of the Northeast. Land is plentiful and regulations are more lax to get a project approved for land use. Most importantly, you can install solar about 25% cheaper than New Jersey and still access the PJM market. Stay tuned for more action in PA.

The Nuclear Myth and Challenge. Supporters of nuclear energy tout the carbon free nature and the 24/7 ability to produce electricity. This isn’t wrong but the problem with nuclear is more fundamental. Can someone build a nuclear plant that can be built without priceless subsidies like insurance and waste mitigation and be built on time and on budget without the need for early cost recovery. Put those pieces in place and maybe there is something to talk about.

No More Subsidies. Solar has an internal talking point that rarely makes the headlines, maybe one of the many reporters will come out and steal it from here. All energy sources should lose access to subsidies, all of them. Tax incentives, land use, rate base, fuel cost guarantees, mineral rights, exploration and right of ways to start. Get rid of that and the market will be free to let consumers choose!

Opinion

GreenBiz: 4 conversations we should have about energy resilience

Best, Yann

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NSW Solar + Battery Scheme Finally Kicks Off – Sort Of

The NSW Government’s Empowering Homes scheme that offers interest-free loans for battery and solar-battery systems launched on Friday as a pilot program. First, a bit of history: Empowering Homes is the result of a commitment made by the Berejiklian Government leading up to the NSW State election in March last year. The Scheme was to […]

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Panasonic Adds Elite Tier to Residential Solar Installer Program

Panasonic says it has added an Elite tier to its Residential Solar Installer Program to recognize and reward standout installers with best-in-class benefits.

This exclusive tier is only available to the highest-performing Panasonic residential solar installers who have established successful, longstanding partnerships between their businesses and Panasonic. This new addition introduces the third level of the program, building on existing Authorized and Premium installer categories.

Panasonic Elite Installers will be the first in Panasonic’s network to gain access to new products and rebates, while enjoying preferred access to product availability and the best pricing. These installers will also retain their Premium Installer benefits, including exclusive access to leads generated from Panasonic’s website, cooperative marketing funds and an Installer Portal, which is designed to help them grow their business.

“As solar energy gains momentum in the U.S., knowledgeable and skilled installers are more critical for customers and vital to our business than ever. As trusted advisors, they are responsible for providing customers with the best recommendations for effective and reliable solar solutions on the market,” says Mukesh Sethi, group manager at Panasonic Life Solutions Company of America.

“The new Elite tier of the Panasonic Solar Residential Solar Installer program is our way of showing our appreciation to those installers who consistently exceed Panasonic’s high standard of excellence,” Sethi adds.

Since its U.S. launch in 2016, the Panasonic Solar Installer Program has grown to include 51 Premium Installers and 176 Authorized Installers.

For more information about Elite Installer benefits and requirements, click here.

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South Australian Home Battery Scheme Subsidy Reduction Flagged

The South Australian Government has announced the subsidy level and cap for its Home Battery Scheme will be decreased soon. The Scheme, which kicked off in October 2018, aims to support the installation of 40,000 solar battery systems across the state through the provision of the subsidy – the level of which depends in part on […]

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