Utility Scale PV

Ongoing grid connection issues and concerns about Australia’s unpredictable regulatory and policy environment have been identified as the key culprits with a new report revealing investor confidence in the nation’s renewable energy sector has slumped to a five-year low.

The Africa Solar Industry Association has recorded almost 2 GW of large scale project announcements since the start of last month with 18 countries planning new clean power infrastructure and including energy storage in the plants.

According to Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co. Ltd, demand for solar PV in China could “effortlessly” surpass 100 GW in 2022, following a year of “flat” demand in 2021. It adds that a “massive overcapacity” situation in the production sector is looming. Meanwhile, the distributed solar PV market is on track for huge growth, with potential for annual demand to reach upwards of 20 GW+ from next year.

A 63 MWp solar project has been completed in the Philippines by Modern Energy Management (MEM) for AC Energy. The Gigasol project is part of the latter’s plan to roll out 5 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

The 200-acre solar plant is located in the Kheragarh district of Agra. It benefits from a 25-year, fixed-tariff power purchase agreement with Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited.

The polysilicon maker, which is disposing of the solar farms managed by its New Energy business to pay down debt, is preparing to pay more than RMB1.2 billion to buy a minority stake in a subsidiary it already owns the rest of.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has chosen Exus to manage the 700 MW Travers Solar Project.

The UAE-based, state-owned renewables company had its original suggestion of a $0.0299/kWh price for the solar power generated refused by Yerevan, with the government putting the project out to a competitive tender. Masdar has won the bidding, but at a reduced energy tariff.

The Jinko Power unit of the solar manufacturer is planning a huge hybrid solar and wind project and China Energy Engineering is also making, slightly more modest, plans for generation capacity, as poly maker GCL continued its great PV project sell-off.

The current planning regulations would mean Italy not hitting its 2030 climate change targets for another 70 years and clean energy trade bodies say the Simplification Decree being debated in parliament – which was drafted to secure €191 billion of EU cash and loans – does not go far enough.