Utility Scale PV

Dii Desert Energy, an energy transition think tank, has reported the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will have a cumulative solar capacity of 75 GW at the end of the decade if the current project pipeline is fully realized. It adds an additional 40 GW of solar projects need to be planned and executed in the next five years to match the region’s pledged 2030 targets. 

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that January was an eventful month for European weather, with a series of named storms impacting Western Europe and Scandinavia. Solar irradiance was above average in the British Isles and around the Black Sea, where periods of high pressure allowed for clearer skies.

A before-after-control-impact study conducted at six French lakes for three years has revealed that PV coverage decreases water temperature by 1.2 C on average. The reduction in water temperature also occurred in areas of the lakes that were not covered with modules.

The Somali government has kicked off a tender for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a 55 MW solar plant with a 160 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Mogadishu. The deadline for applications is April 14, 2025.

A report from BloombergNEF said fixed-axis solar levelized cost of energy is expected to fall to $0.035/kWh, while battery energy storage LCOE is expected to decrease 11%.

Chile installed 2.14 GW of new solar in 2024, bringing its total installed PV capacity to 10.5 GW by year-end, according to the National Energy Commission (CNE).

Scientists in Pakistan have developed a fuzzy reconfiguration method that can reportedly mitigate power losses due to shading and hotspot faults by up to 23.5% compared to conventional techniques. The proposed scheme is said to be suitable for both square and rectangular PV arrays of different sizes.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has unveiled a $23.4 billion plan to expand the national electricity system, targeting 13.02 GW of new capacity by 2030, including 4.67 GW of large-scale solar.

The government of Liberia is seeking transaction advisers to develop the legal, technical, commercial and financial mechanisms for the country’s first solar and battery energy storage auction. The deadline for expressions of interest is Feb. 25, 2025.

Companies interested in an engineering, procurement and construction contract for two 20 MW ground-mounted solar plants in eastern Uganda must request pre-qualification questionnaires by Feb. 21, one week before a deadline for expressions of interest.