The Italian PV market grew 7% last year with new capacity additions of 437 MW. Of that figure, only about 47 MW was for installations larger than 1 MW – a clear sign rooftop PV is still driving demand.
Projects not encompassed by the new, central-subsidy-free, ‘grid-parity’ regime will be eligible to bid for a government subsidy. But, at a reported $446 million, the pot is not very big.
The €125 million solar park is under construction near Seville. The project was selected in an auction held by the Spanish government in July 2017.
As national utility Eskom faces a financial and operational crisis, rumors are spreading that the government may ask independent power producers to renegotiate the tariffs of PPAs awarded in the first two rounds of its renewable energy program. South African solar association SAPVIA has already given short shrift to the idea.
With the transition to an auction procurement mechanism under way, Japan is this year set to expand the range of projects subject to the tender system from 2 MW-plus to 500 kW and above. With certain FIT cuts for projects with more than 2 MW capacity set to take effect in the second half of the year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has now proposed reducing tariffs for 10-500 kW commercial PV systems.
The energy regulator of Flanders has set a provisional feed-in premium of €0.02595/kWh – to be added to the spot market price – for a 1.35 MW solar project under development in the region. That is considerably more affordable for public support than the feed-in premium of €0.078/kWh the VEA set a year earlier for a 100 MW project under development by Engie.
The Dutch government will deploy bifacial PV modules on noise barriers along the country’s main roads. A first, 400m solar array has been built along the A50 near Uden, in the Netherlands’ southern province of Noord-Brabant.
Last year’s trend continued in the first 2019 round of PV tenders. The average final price was €0.0480/kWh. Almost all the selected projects will be on arable land in disadvantaged areas of Bavaria.
Plans were broadly sketched out in the nation’s twelfth five-year plan, in 2008. Since then China’s Defense Science and Technology Bureau has supported key technology research. An initial, megawatt-scale project is planned in the stratosphere sometime in the 2021-2025 period.
The solar event in Lyon illustrated how expectations of French solar remain big despite lower-than-expected development and issues related to regulations and carbon footprint requirements. The large participation of international and Chinese players seeking business among installers and distributors is a signal things may improve in the short term, and larger volumes may be deployed in the coming years.
This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy.
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.