Commercial & Industrial PV

Japanese financial services giant Orix has agreed to buy an 80% stake in Spain’s Elawan Energy, as part of its plans to develop solar and wind projects.

India’s PV industry has experienced an eventful year, with record lows in both new capacity additions and tariffs.

The 919.73 kWp captive solar plant at the module manufacturer’s Falta unit in West Bengal uses multiple PV technology advancements, including its own SOMERA monocrystalline, half-cut and full-cut cell panels.

A Brazilian research team has shown the advantages of linking solar-powered zero-energy buildings to recharging stations for electric vehicles. It proposed a model that can be applied to any location.

Researchers have assessed how much solar may be deployed on the rooftops and coal storage sheds in coal power plants in China and they have found potential for around 4 GW.

Once again, solar was the only technology competing in the procurement exercise for renewables not exceeding 1 MW in size. The ERO reported a minimum price of PLN228.7/MWh ($61.2), which compares to PLN269.0 a year earlier.

An analysis by India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) says improvements in PV panel designs and costs, lower financing costs and state-specific sectors, such as the location’s solar potential and certain waivers, have driven the decline in Indian solar tariffs.

The so-called “super bonus” for building renovation projects has been extended until the end of 2022. The Italian government has established a maximum price of €2,400 per kilowatt installed for PV systems and €1,000/kWh for storage systems.

Solar windows are only likely to reach commercial maturity when manufacturers consider how they can add “soft” value to buildings, as required by the construction industry. In order to increase this value, increasing their conversion efficiency will become less important, while understanding how to blend them into the existing value chain in the real estate business will be crucial.

Sweden was set to replace its rebate scheme with unspecified tax breaks by the end of this year, but the government has instead decided to allocate another $31.5 million for 2021 – for enterprises and municipalities only.