Utility Scale PV

Spending commitments outlined by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves include investment in planning departments, more funds for heat pump grants, confirmation of funding for commercial hydrogen projects, and more cash for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

A trio of companies owned by DCC Group are teaming up on a support scheme to provide Irish businesses with capital to install rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels on their premises. The scheme aims to support 100 companies to install a total of 50 MW of solar over the next five years.

Estonian renewable energy company Sunly is building three solar parks in Latvia with a cumulative capacity of 225 MW. The projects are being developed as hybrid parks, combining solar with wind and battery energy storage.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that October delivered record-high irradiance across much of the United States, with a high-pressure system over the Eastern and Central regions driving a sustained period of warm, dry, and clear weather. Meanwhile, contrasting conditions in Canada’s coastal provinces and extreme weather in Florida underscored this month’s diverse impacts on North American solar generation.

One to four hours of battery storage for a solar power facility can significantly increase site revenue in areas with high population density or abundant solar energy. However, the added value diminishes with storage capacities exceeding four hours.

Emirates Water and Electricity Co. (EWEC) will review proposals from Engie, a consortium of EDF Renewables and Korean Western Power (Kowepo), and a consortium of Jinko Power and Jera for its fourth large-scale solar park in Abu Dhabi. EWEC plans to award a contract in the second quarter of 2025.

France installed around 3.32 GW of new PV systems in the first nine months of 2024.

France’s new feed-in tariffs (FITs) for November to January range from €0.13 ($0.141)/kWh to €0.088/kWh, depending on system size.

With hailstorms in Australia and the United States severely damaging solar arrays – including “golf-ball sized” hail at the 350 MW Fighting Jays project in Texas in March 2024 – insurers are raising premiums and reducing or canceling hail coverage. Everoze Partner Simon Mason discusses the challenges the industry faces in minimising its hail risk exposure.

Verano Energy, a renewables developer headquartered in Chile, has started building a 200 MW solar project in western Argentina. The installation is due for completion and connection before the end of 2025.