Streamlining large scale solar crucial for Italian market
The Italia Solare Forum event held in Rome laid bare the difficulty of securing permits for large scale projects at national and regional levels. Fast-tracking the process for big solar parks appears necessary to get Italian PV back on track.
Cutting edge module tech promised on first, 3 GW slice of 10 GW Chinese solar installation
Huanghe Hydropower Development has started work on the first phase of a huge renewable energy project which will eventually feature 10 GW of solar generation capacity along with 5 GW of wind and 1 GW of concentrating solar power. Trina will supply 600 MW of modules to the first phase of the facility.
Residential solar set new US record in the last quarter with 712 MW
The U.S. residential solar market – and 15 states – are at record highs according to analyst WoodMac’s ‘don’t call it a comeback’ Q3 report, driven by new market forces. The research firm held its 2019 U.S. solar forecast at 13 GW.
Hydrogen production as an antidote to grid constraints in northern Netherlands
Dutch transmission system operator Enexis, gas provider Gasunie and oil company NAM are considering diverting excess solar capacity in Drenthe province into hydrogen production. The companies are assessing which wind and solar projects may have been excluded from the grid.
Solar to the fore as Athens Airport announces plan for net zero carbon ground operations by 2025
Greece’s largest international airport has set a goal to operate as a net zero carbon emitter by 2025, mainly via investing in on-site solar. Should the goal be met, the airport will be Europe’s first to rely on self-generated electricity and operate with net zero emissions.
European Investment Bank signs hydrogen investment deal
The EIB and the Hydrogen Council aim to jointly develop new ways to generate funding for hydrogen projects under the European Commission’s InnovFin Advisory program. The two parties, however, have not disclosed the financial terms of their planned collaboration.
Canada’s Nova Scotia wants solar-plus-storage on brownfield sites
The province’s Alternative Energy Resource Authority is seeking proposals for three utility scale PV projects ranging in generation capacity from 800 kW to 4 MW. Two of them should be coupled with large scale batteries with a total storage capacity of up to 2.4 MWh.
Europe approves €3.2bn to support battery R&D
The European Commission has approved use of funds given by seven member states to back Europe-wide R&D projects across the lithium-ion battery value chain, with the aim of potentially unlocking an additional €5 billion in private sector investment.
India seeks global bids for 1.2 GW of PV-wind projects, plus another 1.2 GW of PV
Solar Energy Corp. of India will sign 25-year power purchase agreements for the projects, which developers will be free to build, own and operate anywhere in India.
BlackRock aims $2.5bn at solar, wind and battery storage
The good news is that the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, just closed $1 billion of a record $2.5 billion fund dedicated to solar, wind and energy storage projects. The bad news is that the $2.5 billion fund is a tiny fraction of BlackRock’s $6.96 trillion balance sheet and small change compared to BlackRock’s $17.5 billion investment in coal.
