Daily news round-up: UK reveals details of next renewables auction, Iran’s first floating PV and more hydrogen
Taiwanese cell manufacturer Inventec Solar reportedly halted production this month and Ireland is preparing to remove rooftop solar panel restrictions, according to the Irish Independent.
Japan’s struggle to drive down renewables costs
A nation famous for high electricity prices has seen power costs fall 15% this year, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie, a figure which will help attract $100 billion of solar and wind investment to 2030. Renewables will have to work even harder, however, to displace fossil fuels in hydrogen production.
New business model to help utilities own and operate rooftop PV
Scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the U.S. have defined a utility-ownership model for rooftop PV they say could raise power company shareholder earnings 2-5%.
Covid-19 weekly round-up: Differing opinions on energy storage fall-out, a trade show update and some surprisingly positive financials
Negative second-quarter updates from China and uber-low new-solar figures from India, however, show the world is far from out of the woods yet.
India could add 2.5 GW of big solar in second half
Some 1 GW of utility scale project capacity was added to the end of June.
The ‘rubber-band effect’ on renewable energy project margins
David Riester of Lacuna Sustainable Investments, looks at how, on the journey from concept to monetized power plant, renewables and energy storage projects tend to get tugged toward ‘zero’ margin, from either direction. The further the rubber band is stretched, the stronger the pull back toward zero.
Mexican regulator opposes solar energy communities and storage
With the government having already introduced measures which will reduce the volume of renewables in the national energy mix, further new provisions will restrict the deployment of energy storage and the ability of solar energy generators to sell excess power to nearby consumers.
Another record year for small-sized solar in Germany
Germany may see the deployment of around 800 MW of PV systems not exceeding 10 kW in size so far this year, according to EUPD Research. If this result is achieved, this year may even surpass record year 2011.
Innovative community solar in the United States
A 497 kW project on five roofs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., uses SREC sales to provide $1.50 in community benefits for every dollar of power generated. Call it community solar-plus.
Digital prospecting and selling tools for rooftop PV
An Australian-developed aerial mapping technology is being deployed to speed PV uptake.
