Emiliano Bellini
Engie wins Senegal’s 60 MW PV tender with bids under €0.040/kWh
The French energy giant will now build a solar PV power plant in Tauba, central Senegal, which will sell power at €0.0380 per kWh, while a second plant selling electricity at €0.0398 per kWh will be constructed in Kahone.
Vattenfall resorts to crowdfunding for its Dutch PV projects
Nuon, the Dutch subsidiary of Swedish energy giant, Vattenfall, is offering bonds to its customers, as well as to customers of other power providers, in order to raise additional funds for the financing of its solar project pipeline in the Netherlands.
Turkey registers another 648 MW of unlicensed PV capacity in March
Since the beginning of 2018, newly registered unlicensed solar up to 1 MW has reached over 1.1 GW, while total cumulative capacity has topped 4.59 GW.
Netherlands’ Energyra starts construction on 100 MW module factory
The Dutch solar PV panel maker has received financial support from the government of region of North Holland, where the manufacturing facility will be located. The first module shipments are planned for the end of 2018.
Brazil allocates 806 MW of solar in A-4 auction, final average price drops to $35.2/MWh
Around 20 GW of solar PV projects were initially competing in the contest. PV was again the source with the largest share, accounting for around 80% of total assigned capacity. The final average price for solar was 118 BRL (US$35.2)/MWh.
Guinea Bissau plans its first big solar-plus-storage project
A solar power plant with a capacity of between 20 and 30 MW is currently being planned with the support of the World Bank, which is now seeking consultants to carry out a feasibility study for the project.
Estonian utility Eesti Energia sees solar business increase
The Estonian state-owned power utility announced its plans to enter the solar energy business in September. The company has now commissioned a 200 kW rooftop solar power generator, which will sell power to a local farmer under a 25-year PPA.
Irish wind specialist SSE Airtricity expands into solar
The Irish renewable energy supplier, which is already active in the residential and commercial solar business, has agreed to acquire a 40% stake in rooftop PV installer, Activ8 Solar Energies.
Spain: Government expects solar to dominate by 2030 with up to 77 GW
In a new report, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Digital Agenda has predicted that solar will become the country’s largest electricity source by the end of the next decade. Cumulative installed PV power could even reach 77 GW by the end of 2030, according to the most bullish scenario drafted by the Spanish government.
German scientists use germanium to improve performance of kesterite solar cells
Although current efficiencies for solar cells based on kesterite do not exceed 12.6%, the use of germanium may enable the development of cells with a higher energy band gap.
