Utility Scale PV

Austria could become a gigawatt market for the first time in 2022. Its cumulative solar capacity is potentially set to hit 4 GW, up from 2.78 GW at the end of 2021. The country is expected to install more than 1 GW of solar every year until 2030.

A group of researchers from Italy has proposed formulas to determine the optimal tilt angle for PV installations in France and Italy, claiming improved positioning would result in an increase in collectible solar energy of up to 4%.

Sun Cable plans to develop the world’s biggest intercontinental solar and storage project, and has signed a deal with the Indonesian government that could unlock more than AUD 170 billion ($115 billion) in renewable energy generation and transmission operations across the archipelago.

Italian scientists have looked at how non-linear degradation curves could affect the profitability of large-scale solar projects. They found that full substitution of the modules after 10 years could be justified if the performance loss rate was higher than 1% per year.

Brazil has deployed 7 GW of utility-scale solar and 14.98 GW of distributed-generation PV projects below 5 MW in size to date.

After almost four years of delays the solar-wind hybrid 60 MW Kennedy Energy Park in the Australian state of Queensland is inching towards full operation after project developer Windlab confirms the final stage of testing and commissioning of the Australian-first hybrid project is underway.

Sembcorp Green Infra has agreed to acquire Mumbai-based renewables producer Vector Green, which has a 583 MW solar and wind portfolio in India.

A Dutch offshore floating solar consortium has obtained €7.8 million ($8.07 million) to test and develop a solar platform at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The 500 kW pilot project is expected to wrap up testing and monitoring by the end of 2024.

An irrigation community has built a 786 kW floating solar array on a small water reservoir in Murcia, Spain. The facility will provide power for a solar water pumping system, a desalination unit, and the community itself.

A grid-modeling company has proposed an underground high-voltage DC transmission overlay for the continental United States. It could potentially help to reduce climate pollutants and electricity costs, in addition to facilitating solar and wind deployment.