West African commercial solar installer looks east
Nigeria and Ghana-based Starsight Energy has spent an undisclosed amount to acquire a half stake in the Kenyan subsidiary of East African peer Premier Solar Group.
Role of distributed solar at issue in California’s net metering update
Industry groups focus on solar-plus-storage, or preserving the distributed solar industry, while a state agency aims to compensate rooftop solar at avoided costs and add a grid service charge.
Another 2 GW of solar under review in Chile
The Chilean environmental authorities are currently scrutinizing the projects Solar La Pampina (160 MW), Gabriela (220 MW), Ghungnam Kcs (709 MW of PV and 300 MW of CSP), Pelequén (175 MWp), and Planta Solar Sol del Loa (640 MW).
Rooftop CPV-thermal tech to produce electricity and freshwater
It’s claimed the decentralized desalination system can deliver a levelized cost for desalinated water of US$0.7-4.3/m3, depending on PV costs and electricity prices. It was built with several concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV-T) collectors, a hot water tank, a V-MEMD module, a seawater feed tank, and a distillate tank.
Switzerland allocates $521 million for solar rebates in 2021
The Swiss federal government has also decided to improve the bureaucratic procedures for the installation of solar PV systems.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Zhonghuan raises wafer prices as president calls for faster action on emissions
Henan province immediately responded with a plan to deploy another 20 GW of solar and wind by 2025.
The Hydrogen Stream: Massive hydrogen/green ammonia project in Chile, hydrogen atlas for Germany
Furthermore, Canadian integrated energy company Suncor and Canadian holding company ATCO are looking into a potential “world scale clean hydrogen project” in Alberta, and Japanese energy company Eneos and Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor, are exploring hydrogen applications at Woven City, a prototype city in Japan.
France allocates 29 MW in PV tender for non-interconnected areas
Akuo, Amarenco and Voltalia secured the largest amount of capacity in the procurement exercise.
‘Hydrogen as a universal climate solution might be a bit of false promise’
Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels will not be able to move forward fast enough to replace fossil fuels and tackle climate change, according to a German-Swiss research team that claims direct electrification alternatives are cheaper and easier to implement. The scientists cite too-high prices, short-term scarcity and long-term uncertainty, as the main reasons for their skepticism.
Indian utility tenders 500 MW of hybrid wind-solar projects
The selected bidders in a new Indian tender will set up wind-solar hybrid power projects to supply power under 25-year PPAs. Bidding closes on June 8.
