Installations

Western Australia’s regional utility Horizon Power has launched a project to deliver what it claims will be Australia’s largest solar and storage-based microgrid once complete in early 2018.

Permission has been granted to Eco Energy World’s Australia unit to develop the utility-scale PV plant in Queensland, Australia, with the company now planning to develop an ambitious 1 GW of solar PV in the country in the next two years.

The Swiss technology company will incorporate solar PV and diesel into a single microgrid for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Nairobi, Kenya, to supply the hub with reliable power for the first time, while also announcing the completion of its share buyback program.

Canadian Solar announced two big wins this week for its California based subsidiary Recurrent Energy. The company announced commercial operation on its 78 MWp Barren Ridge Project, as well as the signing of a new PPA with community program MCE.

While the political storm rages over this week’s state-wide South Australian power outage, the Lyon Group has announced a partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation which it says will seek to roll out 1GW of solar + 500MWh of battery storage by 2020.

The U.K.’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA) released its draft business tax rates for businesses that own solar arrays, dropping tax rates for ‘mainly exports,’ but spiking tax for self-consumers, in another unexpected attack on the solar industry within the country.

It’s fair to say that, overall, renewable energy development has been disappointing in Israel, however, the tide appears to be shifting. To announce this new momentum, in the coming weeks a new wave of PV installations is expected to be announced.

Four bills signed by California governor Brown will mandate a distributed energy storage procurement, fund incentives for behind-the-meter storage, and more.

A tough week of tariff cuts and bankruptcies for the solar industry, although a few success stories from California, India and the Middle East serve to lighten the mood. The strange story of a potential lifeline for SunEdison, as well Solar’s mention in the first U.S. Presidential debate, also make for interesting developments.

News on commercial scale deployments across two of San Diego’s school districts shows a strong commitment to the industry. Two contracts alone expect to save $1.6 million over 10 years and $21 million over 25 years.