World Bank provides $185m for 310 MW of renewable capacity in Bangladesh
Multilateral lender hopes to leverage $212 million more from the private sector as falling solar development costs make renewables more attractive. A solar plant with a 50 MW capacity in Feni will be one of the first to benefit from the new funds.
Brazil to hold next A-4 auction on June 27, solar likely to be included
The Ministry of Energy and Mines is planning nine energy auctions up to 2021. The plan includes two “new energy” procurements per year – A-4 and A-6 auctions – and one per year for existing power plants. It is unclear whether solar will be eligible and, if so, which auctions it would compete in, but Brazilian solar association ABSOLAR is confident PV will admitted to both.
Gujarat’s 1 GW solar tender fails to attract bidder
Developers turned their back on a procurement exercise linked to projects at the Dholera Solar Park, after insisting the challenging terrain meant the electricity price ceiling stipulated by the state would make projects unviable.
Global solar demand reached 104 GW in 2018
According to new figures released by SolarPower Europe, last year saw 1.4 GW more new solar generation capacity than trade body had expected. Lower demand in China was compensated for by stronger developments in emerging markets.
Shortlisted bidders go forward in Lebanon’s 180 MW, 12-plant tender
Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy and Water has qualified 28 domestic and international firms to enter the next stage of a tender for 180 MW of solar generation capacity.
ADB provides $11.5 million for 50 MW PV project in Kazakhstan
The Asian Development Bank has signed an agreement to finance a project in the south of the central Asian nation.
Smart Energy Week in Tokyo: Self-consumption, storage and a plentiful pipeline for now
Though we’re unlikely to see a return to the days of double-figure GW annual installation levels, Japan will stay at the top table of solar. Last week, pv magazine visited PV Expo Japan, part of Tokyo’s World Smart Energy Week, and found plenty of market developments to discuss, along with healthy interest from major players.
Statkraft virtual plant integrates renewables, storage and gas in UK
The virtual facility is monitoring approximately 1 GW of combined wind, solar, storage and flexible gas engines in the U.K. and its capacity may double in the summer. The energy managed by the plant is being sold on the British energy market.
Rajasthan solar auction draws electricity price of just 3.5 US cents
Record-setting Acme Solar has secured a third of the latest procurement exercise in the state with a lowest bid of INR2.48/kWh. The tender was oversubscribed by more than 100% as offers came in for 1,620 MW of capacity.
France changes tender rules for innovative PV
After receiving approval from the European Commission in November, the French government has now published new rules for tenders assigning a fixed tariff to solar projects that use innovative technologies such as new cells and modules among others.
