Belgium: Flemish government to improve conditions for “direct lines” for renewables
Flanders’ Ministry of Energy intends to make it easier for renewable energy suppliers to sell power to a final customer through a direct connection. This is expected to encourage industrial customers and public entities to increase consumption from clean energy sources.
Bentley Motors to install UK’s largest solar car port
The 2.7 MW installation will be located at the luxury car maker’s factory headquarters in Crewe, England, and will meet 24% of the site’s electrical energy requirements.
Renewables set to lower UK’s summer demand for grid electricity, says National Grid
Rise in small scale solar contributing towards new trend of falling summertime peak transmission system demand on U.K. grid, says outlook report. Inflexibile gas and nuclear plants may be curtailed to make way for solar and wind.
Apple claims to be 100% renewable-powered
Technology multinational, Apple Inc. has announced that its global operations are now 100% powered by clean energy. Additionally, another nine of Apple’s manufacturing partners have committed to powering their production with 100% clean energy, meaning a total of 23 suppliers have now made this commitment.
Large-scale PV: Three markets, three questions
The large-scale solar markets of China, the USA, and Europe have experienced vastly different fortunes over the past couple of years. As China has boomed and the U.S. held steady, Europe has seen growth rates plunge. But nothing is constant in PV, and each of these three vital markets faces a series of unique challenges and opportunities, as pv magazine discovered.
RE generation capacity topped 2,179 GW in 2017 – IRENA
According to the latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global renewable energy (RE) generation capacity hit 2,179 GW last year. Leading the charge were renewable hydro, onshore wind and solar PV.
2018: India second largest solar market on back of 113 GW global installations
With 11 GW, India is set to become the second largest solar PV market in 2018, usurping the U.S., as global demand reaches 113 GW, says IHS Markit. It adds that Q4 will be the biggest quarter in history for installations, with 34 GW expected.
Jordan: New policy allows public institutions to build, own 10 MW PV plants
Jordan’s Government has approved a new policy allowing all public institutions in the country to build and own a solar PV plant up to 10 MW. The first to benefit, Mutah University has launched a 10 MW tender.
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.
