Total and Marubeni win Qatar’s 800 MW solar tender
The resulting project will sell power to Qatar General Electricity and Water Corp under a 25-year power supply deal. French oil and gas giant Total and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni will hold a combined 40% stake in the power plant, which will be built near Doha, the Qatari capital.
Turkish solar reaches 6 GW
The nation deployed around 923 MW of new solar last year. Around 350 MW came in the form of unlicensed projects given an extension to their grid-connection deadlines.
The weekend read: Your guide to market growth in 2020
Some 15 countries are likely to be able to lay claim to the status of being members of solar’s “gigawatt club” in 2019, according to conservative projections from BloombergNEF. Nonetheless, PV suppliers, developers and service providers are always on the lookout for new pockets of growth. To kick off 2020, pv magazine’s global team of correspondents and editors have highlighted 10 “fast-growing” solar markets to evaluate where the opportunities, and potential risks, lie.
Panda Green update: shareholder China Merchants shaken down for $260m
The debt-saddled developer has turned to another of its state-owned backers to dig it out of a hole as it scrambles to raise $242 million in eight days.
Building Energy to lay off 28 employees in Italy
The Italian developer has announced most of its 37-strong Italian workforce will be laid off without spelling out why.
Solar is gaining traction in MENA region – but plenty of obstacles remain
Solar deployment continued to pick up in the Middle East and North Africa in 2019, the Middle East Solar Industry Association has said in its annual report.
Germany’s special PV tender concludes with average price of €0.0568/kWh
Tariffs ranged from €0.0470 to €0.0620 as the solar power price rose from the last national procurement round, which settled at €0.0459-0.0520 in October for an average €0.0490/kWh. Some 501 MW of generation capacity was allocated in the latest exercise.
Portugal pushes back solar auction to March
The minister of environment and energy transition has told parliament two auctions for large scale solar will be held this year, with a new procurement round now planned. The minister revealed energy storage may play a part in the capacity tenders.
Panda Green showcases its full portfolio
The embattled developer today published what appears to be a sales pitch as it seeks urgent investors ahead of an eight-day debt deadline.
Greece to overhaul licensing regime which puts the brakes on solar
The energy ministry has published a plan to radically simplify the renewable energy permitting process. The new system is expected to come into force as early as next month and will be applied retroactively to address a 22-month backlog in generation license applications.
