“We helped large-scale solar be commercially viable,” says departing Australian Renewable Energy Agency boss
The booming large scale and rooftop PV market in 2018 is providing reasons to be optimistic about the future of solar under the Australian sun. Reflecting on his six-year tenure as CEO at ARENA ahead of his departure in August, Ivor Frischknecht points to the role the agency played in bringing down the costs of large scale solar as ARENA’s greatest achievement.
EBRD arranges financing for 50 MW project in Kazakhstan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced it will work alongside the Clean Technology Fund and Asian Development Bank to provide a loan for the construction of a 50 MW solar power plant in Kazakhstan’s central Baikonur region.
The unstoppable tide of solar illustrated by the rise of floating projects
Price deflation and technological innovation are helping solar transform the global electricity sector. A new report by IEEFA highlights the latest solar milestones around the world and charts important trends including the rise of floating solar and the corporate PPAs helping the tech giants ‘green’ their energy-hungry data centres.
Brazil now has 250 MW of solar under net metering
According to data from Brazilian association ABSOLAR, Brazil currently has 27,803 solar PV systems connected to the grid, which benefit 32,924 consumer units and total more than BRL 1.9 billion (around $515 million) in accumulated investments since 2012.
Water-stressed countries should resort to solar, World Resources Institute says
Unlike traditional power generation, wind and solar require zero, or a mimimum amount of, water for the operations of their respective technologies. This may help most Middle Eastern and North African countries solve their chronich water supply issues, as well as several more African, Asian, American and European countries.
Oman seeks to further implement rooftop PV plan
The country’s energy regulator is now seeking proposals for the supply of a risk management system to perform operational management and risk mitigation for the Sahim 2 rooftop PV initiative.
Canadian Solar commissions 35 MW PV farm in India
The Chinese-Canadian solar company reached commercial operation for the plant just in time to still benefit from the state of Karnatake’s lucrative incentives programme. Open access rules allow businesses to broker PPA’s directly with the PV operator.
Goldbeck Solar highlights importance of first-class guarantees
Goldbeck Solar shares the unfortunate details of a botched module supply deal with China Sunergy. To date, Goldbeck Solar claims it is yet to receive a single module.
Battery Inverter Webinar with Kaco: Your questions answered
Kaco developed its Blueplanet gridsave 50.0 TL3-S battery inverter based on experience gained from storage projects in Europe. In pv magazine‘s recent webinar in partnership with Kaco, a number of questions were raised about the device, which the experts now answer.
Ingeteam secures 555 MW Mexican order
Spanish inverter maker Ingeteam has reported a massive order to supply Mexican projects, which it claims will increase its O&M services to cover 55% of the countries solar PV installations. Supply contracts are mostly related to central inverters, although string devices, as well as LV/MV transformers, MV cells, and LV switchgear are also included in the deals.
