Utility Scale PV

In a recent interview with pv magazine, Supreeth Srinivasa Rao – associate director of the industrial practice at Frost & Sullivan – explained how drones can minimize the need to send employees to project sites, as they can be deployed for monitoring, operations, and maintenance purposes.

The Western Downs project will become Australia’s largest solar farm upon completion, roughly 460 to 480 MWp. The installation is expected to produce significant economic benefits in southwestern Queensland.

The country’s previous solar target was 4 GW by 2031. Around 1.4 GW of large scale projects are expected to be tendered this year, according to a document published by the Ministry of Energy.

Sunco Capital has secured a deal with oil major Shell. The electricity will be provided by two solar parks Sunco is building near Ciudad Real, in southern Spain.

Researchers from the United States have investigated how solar could help electrochemical methods for water treatment become more competitive. The scientists analyzed how electrochemical technologies such as electrocoagulation, capacitive deionization, electrodialysis, and electrodeionization may be combined with solar power generation.

The 15 GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub has been recommended for approval by environmental authorities in the Pilbara region. The project was originally intended to export clean energy to Jakarta and Singapore via subsea, high voltage DC cables but its focus has shifted to domestic industrial consumers.

The German solar developer has secured a power purchase agreement from French energy giant Engie, which has agreed to buy electricity from a 41.5 MW solar plant under development in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region.

The importance of start-ups and climate tech companies in advancing the use of machine learning to combat climate change was emphasized at a recent online workshop.

Longi and Sungrow both announced solid financial results last week. Module maker China Solar delayed the resumption of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, and polysilicon producer GCL-Poly unveiled plans to raise up to US$16.8 million by issuing shares. Coal miner Baofeng Energy, meanwhile, announced the construction of what it claims will be the world’s largest PV-powered hydrogen plant, and Seraphim and Lu’An Solar revealed that they will open a 5 GW PV panel factory in China’s Jiangsu province.

The move has been brought in by the National Energy Control Center which claims it is necessary to safeguard energy security during the Covid-19 public health crisis. Critics say the authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to extend a pattern of action against the renewables industry.