Utility Scale PV

South-East Asia’s biggest floating PV installation is under construction by Masdar and Indonesian energy company PT PJB. The two companies secured a PPA for the project with state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) in January 2020. The agreed tariff is $0.0581/kWh.

Developed by Chinese researchers, the novel design methodology consists of utilizing metal brackets as mounting structures, conventional solar panels, and a grooved glass plate placed between the solar panels. According to its creators, it ensures a farmer’s average income increases by 5.14 times, including the solar power generation business. A system built with this approach should cost around €715 per kW installed.

A fund controlled by the Georgian government is seeking investors for the country’s first solar park. Its development began in 2017.

The 8 MW/12MW wind-solar facility will be connected to 8.2 MW of storage and will power operations at Rio Tinto’s ilmenite mine in Southern Madagascar.

A new study from Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson models energy grids powered by 100% wind, water and sunlight across Western Europe. The study finds that in such a scenario, increased interconnection between countries would lead to lower energy costs and better grid stability, as well as a hedge against sudden loss of supply due to extreme weather or other events.

100% ownership in renewable energy projects and 25-year power purchase agreements are cited as major factors drawing foreign investors to India’s high-growth solar market. Major developers in India have solar portfolios distributed across states, which further minimizes the risk for investors.

Chiyoda Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation to conduct a joint feasibility study for a commercial-scale import of hydrogen from overseas sources to one terminal in the port of Rotterdam. Furthermore, the UK government said it wants to produce produce hydrogen from nuclear and Japan’s automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor is looking into geothermal potential for hydrogen production.

Producing nutrient-rich microbes with solar PV has the potential to produce more food with fewer resources, according to a German research group that modeled the large-scale production of microbial biomass by combining ground-mounted photovoltaics, air, water, and nutrients.

Maui’s electric power grid is expected to operate with 100% solar and wind on an instantaneous basis as early as 2024, and NREL is helping the island plan to reliably supply electricity.

In June alone, new PV systems totaling 430 MW were connected to the German grid. The country’s cumulative operational PV capacity reached 55.3 GW at the end of June.