UAE minister and OPEC chief says IRENA’s solar forecasts for Gulf nations will prove conservative
With the International Renewable Energy Agency’s number-crunchers predicting almost 5.4 GW of new solar across the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations today, Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui said his nation alone would install 6-7 GW of new renewables capacity by 2024, as pv magazine editor-in-chief Jonathan Gifford reports.
Statkraft plans its first floating solar plant in Albania
Norway’s state-owned hydropower and wind company intends to deploy a 2 MW floating installation at its 72 MW hydropower plant in Albania’s Elbasan district.
Balfar Solar wants to bring production of solar cells to Brazil
The Brazilian module maker expects to start construction of a factory in the state of Tocantins in the second half of the year. The project is receiving support from the local ministry of environment.
Morocco issues 200 MW PV tender
Through the procurement, now at the pre-qualification stage, Moroccan state-owned utility ONE aims to build seven large-scale PV plants in the south and east of the country. German development bank KfW is a partner in the project.
Another big solar PPA signed in Italy
Danish developer European Energy has secured a 12-year agreement from Axpo Italia, the local unit of Swiss energy provider Axpo. Around half the 300 MW of solar projects the company is developing in Italy are now ready to build.
SMIT Thermal Solutions secures a big order from China
The Dutch PV equipment provider will supply 15 vacuum coating systems for a planned 500 MW production capacity of cadmium telluride thin film modules. The value of the contract is more than €40 million.
BBOXX secures $31m investment – as well as a top eco prize
Topping off a great week for the British next generation utility platform, BBOXX won the Zayed Energy Prize after receiving funding from the Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers fund to speed up roll out of its platform in Rwanda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Greece adds just 41 MW of solar in 2018
The amount of new PV added by Greece in 2018 is tiny but signals the sector has been restarted, mainly thanks to renewable energy tenders. However, significant challenges remain when it comes to meeting a 2020 solar energy target.
PV rooftop simulators may unlock solar growth in developing cities
IRENA says technologies for 3D rooftop footprint generation and solar irradiation modelling are becoming increasingly cheap, making them suitable for deployment anywhere in the world. Developing cities across Africa and Asia could access such technical resources to plan rooftop PV development.
Glass business Sunpartner Technologies files for insolvency
French BIPV glass manufacturer Sunpartner is seeking buyers for its two businesses after starting insolvency proceedings due to the lack of short-term funding.
