Installations

The solar park is expected to be connected to the grid infrastructure of a coal power plant located nearby. Polish oil group Orlen is targeting 2 GW of renewable energy assets by 2030.

Swiss energy company Axpo will supply electricity to a supermarket chain from a 2.2 MW solar plant under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The facility is being deployed at the Muttsee dam, at an altitude of almost 2,500 meters above sea level.

Greek conglomerate Gek Terna has unveiled plans to deploy three large-scale floating PV plants at three different water reservoirs. Total investment in the projects is expected to amount to €170 million. Furthermore, the national utility PPC is reportedly planning to deploy another 50 MW and InterPhoton Group is considering to build a 500 MW facility.

The highest bid in Malta’s latest procurement exercise was €0.129/kWh. The Maltese authorities selected eight PV projects, with capacities ranging from 1 MW to 3 MW.

The Western Australian government has called for expressions of interest for its proposed 1.5 GW solar-wind-hydrogen hub at the Okajee Strategic Industrial Area. This week, it said that 65 companies from around the world are interested.

The news comes on the day a private equity investor in the English North East announced plans to jointly develop a 1.4 GWp solar portfolio with Canadian Solar.

Standalone solar-powered refrigerators present a $20 billion opportunity in India for vaccine storage, milk chillers, households, micro enterprises, and cold storage for farm produce, according to a new report by Gogla.

The Covid-19 crisis temporarily paralyzed the business for large scale unsubsidized solar projects across Europe. At the end of the year, however, demand for projects that are financed through electricity purchase agreements regained speed. Pexapark estimates that there is currently 10 GW of renewable energy capacity under signed PPAs in Europe, most of which is for solar power.

Australian researchers have analyzed different ways to improve the efficiency of PV-powered water electrolysis for hydrogen generation. They include the use of magnetic fields, light energy, ultrasonic fields, and pulsating electric fields. Energy costs remain prohibitive, but molecular movement and the redistribution of molecules in water during electrolysis could open a path to viability.

The scheme is now under public consultation and is aimed at enabling citizens, farmers, business owners, and community organizations to sell excess solar power to the grid.