Covid-19 weekly round-up: Biden’s $2tn green recovery program as Germany prepares to return to normality

The AlphaBeta consultancy in Australia owned by Irish professional services company Accenture, has suggested 12 policy proposals it says could lead to the creation of 76,000 jobs Down Under in the next three years, to drive a green recovery from Covid-19 and last year’s disastrous bushfires season.

Chinese solar manufacturer GCL System Integration Technology cited the Covid-19 pandemic among the reasons for an expected first-half loss of RMB150-220 million ($21.4-31.4 million), following a net profit of RMB18 million in the same period of last year.

German federal network agency the Bundesnetzagentur plans to return to publication of the results of national clean energy tenders in September, after halting the process during the Covid-19 pandemic. With publication triggering the start of project deadline periods, the results of procurement rounds from March until this month have yet to be released in order that project companies have more time to develop the facilities.

Ducking: The issue

Byron Serjeantson, regional manager for Australian utility Flow Power says the fall off in commercial energy demand, and rising daytime energy needs caused by the Covid-19 lockdown have not had much image on the nation’s solar ‘duck curve’ – which occurs when PV panels generate at their peak midday volume but energy demand is at its lowest, and vice versa in the evenings. Serjeantson added, delays in large scale solar deployment caused by the pandemic may be outweighed by the increasing popularity of rooftop PV.

pv magazine USA has summarized the key points of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden’s green recovery plan, which involves turning the solar pariah into a 100% clean energy nation by 2035 by spending $2 trillion over four years, massively accelerating the $1.7 trillion to be spent over a decade that had been previously announced.

The head of Australian renewables body the Clean Energy Council has warned the government it has a binary choice when applying its Covid-19 economic recovery package – every dollar spent will either help or hinder the nation’s attempt to reduce carbon emissions.