Andrew Burger of Microgrid Media looks at international developments in solar power. In particular, mini and micro-grids are key for emerging economies. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, and more, people are taking advantage of cheap renewables. Some 1.4-2 gigawatts (2GW) of small-scale solar power systems (<1MW) have come online in emerging economies since January 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) inaugural quarterly “Q1 2017 Off-Grid and Mini-Grid Market Outlook.” Small enough to be deemed insignificant by conventional power market and investment standards, off-grid solar-storage mini- and microgrids now account for a significant and still growing share of electrification taking place in a diverse range of populous countries around the world – from Peru, Pakistan and Yemen to island nations including the Dominican Republic, Samoa, Fiji and Indonesia. Chinese PV manufacturers dominate the market for PV solar modules, accounting for 70 percent of global production. Illustrating how fast and far distributed local solar energy use has grown, imports by emerging economies accounted for one-third – 6.8 GWs worth — from 1Q-3Q 2016. That’s $3 billion worth in U.S. dollar … Continue reading Pay-as-you-go solar and microgrids considered new class of infrastructure investment