Installations

Chinese thin film manufacturer Hanergy has announced plans to integrate its CIGS modules into the 150,000 square meter rooftop of a ‘sky bridge’ project planned as part of a major ‘tech city’ project under construction in Shanghai.

In every corner of the globe, markets are experiencing an increasing need for capital to back renewable energy assets. Apart from conventional loans, bonds and equity schemes, Shariah-compliant financing instruments, such as Sukuk, serve as a catalyst for funding PV projects, Deloitte finds.

The startup formerly known as GE Solar has become a full fledged company, with GE and BlackRock announcing the creation of Distributed Solar Development, a behind-the-meter solar joint venture.

… and it will be quite an effort. The U.K.’s grid operator, National Grid, released a new report on possible energy system transformation pathways, amidst growing public concern over climate change. Ramping carbon emissions reduction targets up from 80% to 100% prompts technical challenges. These can be overcome but will require full alignment of policy effort and individual awareness and decision making.

Overall, 31 renewable energy projects have pre-qualified for the final phase of the auction. The outcome of the procurement exercise will be announced on July 22. Around 300 MW of capacity will be allocated.

The African Development Bank is providing around $56 million to fund a program to bring electricity to around 900,000 households in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025. The financial institution will also provide African distributed energy service companies with critical technical guidance and credit enhancement.

The massive Núñez de Balboa solar plant is planned to be installed in Usagre, near Badajoz, in the southern region of Extremadura, Spain. The funding comes to multinational utility Iberdrola after securing three PPAs for the project.

After several year of stalled and failed projects, Zimbabwe’s government is now seeking to implement existing projects, and to get rid of licensed projects that have never been realized. The first attempt will be pushing forward the 100 MW Gwanda solar project, which had been awarded to Intratek in 2015. The government is further planning to grant incentives to rooftop PV under net metering.

Through a new procuremente exercise, the Oman Power and Water Procurement company (OPWP) is now seeking developers for the Manah Solar I IPP and Manah Solar II IPP projects with a capacity of 500 MW and 600 MW, respectively. Both plants will be located at Manah which is around 150 km southwest of Muscat.

Scatec Solar moved into the Malaysian Solar market in late-2016. The company sealed financing for 197 MW of capacity with the help of the country’s green bonds, the year after. Malaysia is continuing on its solar trajectory and will hold the third iteration of its tenders for the allocation of an addition 500 MW in generation capacity.