Solar set to make rum taste even sweeter in Guyana
The government of the South American country has changed the designated use of a plot of land near Diamond, for the construction of a solar plant, among other projects. The PV facility is being planned by local rum producer Demerara Distillers Limited.
Dutch government launches tender for utility-scale solar noise barrier
The solar project will be built at the A58 Highway, near the municipality of Etten-Leur. More solar noise barriers, relying on bifacial module, are planned for main roads in the Netherlands.
India set to add almost 60 GW of new solar by 2023
A combination of national, state and public body commitments could see the amount of PV added nationally treble on the last four-year period. But even with a new 7-8 GW added, rooftop solar will still be bringing up the rear.
Big steel goes big solar in the US
A deal between Xcel Energy and steelmaker EVRAZ includes the building of a 240 MW solar project near the company’s Rocky Mountain Steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado. This is by far the largest behind-the-meter solar project pv magazine staff has heard of to date.
Colombian oil giant Ecopetrol goes solar with 10 MW project
The state-owned oil company has decided to power one of its fields with a solar park. The tender for the project will be launched in the fourth quarter. A renewable energy plant portfolio of around 140 MW may be built by Ecopetrol.
India’s cumulative grid connected solar capacity reaches 22 GW
According to the latest figures from the MNRE, cumulative grid-connected ground-mounted solar PV capacity has reached 22 GW in India, with 1.3 GW connected between this April to July. Module prices, meanwhile, are said to have come down “considerably”.
Brazil’s PV capacity tops 1.6 GW
At the end of June 2018, according to official statistics, large-scale solar capacity reached 1,307 MW, while the share of distributed PV generation (up to 5 MW), was 296 MW. Of the total capacity, 1.36 GW was connected to the grid in the last 12 months.
Requests to access solar net-metering in Dubai reach 323 MW
To date, 50 MW of net-metered solar power arrays have been connected to the grid in the Emirates. One of the latest is a 2 MW PV carport at the headquarters of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) building.
Peru introduces net metering, new DG rules for RE up to 10 MW
The Peruvian Government has submitted to public consultation the draft of Supreme Decree for the regulation of distributed generation (DG), which is the secondary legislation necessary to implement the DG law first promulgated in 2015. Talking to pv magazine, the president of the Society of Peruvian Renewable Energy explains how the new rules will not only introduce a net-billing scheme for installations up to 200 kW, but also a scheme for projects up to 10 MW, which is very similar to the so-called Pequeños Distributed Generation Media (PMGD) program in Chile.
When the wind doesn’t blow don’t worry, the sun shines
The heatwave across Western Europe saw wind power 20% lower than usual while solar irradiance was 20% above average, according to Vaisala, a provider of measurement systems and equipment for meteorology. If this balancing effect is confirmed by further analysis, the technologies may ensure future energy supply by providing a diversified, ‘climate-resilient’ portfolio.
