Australia paving way for global solar energy adoption
All of the leading countries for per capita solar and wind generation are in Europe except for Australia, which is generating more solar electricity per capita than any other country. Per capita, it is also a leading producer of wind energy.
Oil company commissions 100 MW solar plant in Argentina
YPF Luz has switched on a 100 MW solar facility in the province of San Juan, Argentina. It says the array is the first phase of a bigger 300 MW solar project.
ACEN issues works packages for 400 MW solar project in Australia
Construction of the 400 MW Stubbo Solar Farm in New South Wales, Australia, is scheduled to start in May. Developer ACEN Australia is launching the tender process for a suite of works packages associated with the AUD 800 million ($536 million) PV project.
EU launches first cross-border solar tender
Participants in the European Union’s new cross-border solar tender will have to submit project proposals with capacities between 5 MW and 100 MW. Luxembourg is providing a voluntary payment of €40 million ($43.9 million) and Finland is hosting the projects that will compete for the subsidies.
Italy sets new provisions for innovative agrivoltaics
The European Commission is now reviewing Italy’s new rules on agrivoltaics. They define which “innovative agrivoltaic systems” are entitled to the Italian government’s €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) incentive scheme for agrivoltaics.
India’s largest oil company targets 10 GW of renewables by 2030
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) said it plans to invest INR 1,000 billion ($12.1 billion) to build 10 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Turkey grants provisional licenses to 744 MW of storage-linked wind, solar
Turkey has approved the first batch of renewables-plus-storage projects since it enacted new rules for storage in November.
Agrivoltaics for grape farms
Researchers in Hong Kong have designed an agrivoltaic system that uses blockchain tech and smart contracts to reduce uncertainties between PV system operators and grape farmers. The proposed system uses rainwater to clean solar panels and provide irrigation.
Global solar installations hit 240 GW in 2022
IEA-PVPS has used an improved methodology to determine that newly installed PV capacity in 2022 must be somewhere between the 190 GW calculated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the 268 GW announced by BloombergNEF. Its new “Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2023” report was built on data from a range of sources, including grid-connected and off-grid figures.
New vertical PV system for parking areas
German module maker Luxor Solar and Japan’s AirWater are selling vertical PV systems for parking areas that can reportedly provide the same energy yield as conventional PV carports, but with less space. The system features 460 W heterojunction solar panels, power optimizers, and vertical racks.
