Markets

In our series of renewable energy and geopolitics interviews, Indra Øverland – head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs – explains why hydropower can be the perfect match for intermittent renewables such as solar and wind. Hydropower assets are one of the biggest geopolitical stories of the energy transition but receive almost no attention. Nations with strong hydro potential may become linchpins of regional renewable energy.

The deal introduced a 15-year grace period for household PV system owners, during which they could choose whether to take net metering payments based on assumed energy use or a potential new system based on actual use and measured by smart meters.

The new credit lines are for the development of on and off-grid renewable energy projects. The European Commission is offering the fund a €40 million helping hand.

The 16.4 MW solar facility is located 14 km southwest of the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport. The project was developed by Sharp Corporation in partnership with Sermsang Power (SSP) and Tenuun Gerel Construction (TGC).

Although it is unclear how much generation capacity will be contracted, several projects submitted for the subsequently cancelled fourth government renewables auction may participate in Thursday’s procurement. ‘Qualified users’ – energy consumers needing more than 1 MW of power and without access to regulated power supply from national utility CFE – are expected to be among the buyers at the exercise.

After earmarking €3 million last year and €4 million in 2017, the Italian region of Lombardy has decided to further support residential and commercial storage projects linked to renewables.

Using an application based on resource data and country-specific techno-economic inputs, a report has analyzed the costs of developing utility scale renewables in Southeast Asia and found abundant, cost-competitive potential.

The Chinese state-owned infrastructure investment fund, which already has strong ties to the Saudi power company, will be a major shareholder in a Middle East and African clean energy portfolio that adds up to 1668 MW of generation capacity.

The scheme will be open to renewable energy systems not exceeding 500 kW in capacity. The Albanian government expects the program to enable the deployment of 200 MW of PV.

Brazilian energy agency the EPE has pre-qualified 1,829 renewable power projects with a combined capacity of 100.8 GW for the procurement exercise. The A-6 auction is expected to be the largest in terms of allocated capacity and to deliver lower bids than previous rounds.