Markets

The Sahara Desert, and the Sahel region, could be set to take advantage of large-scale wind and solar power projects covering huge surfaces.

The results of Jordan’s Round 3 solar PV auction have been announced. Jinko Power (HK) Company Limited submitted the lowest bid of US$0.02488/kWh. Jinko, along with two other companies, are now in pole position to be awarded projects. A final decision will be made after the financial offers have been validated, among other things.

Energy Impact Partners, who partners with 14 electric utilities, has raised US$681 million to continue investing in technologies that have a high probability of influencing the future power grid.

Taiwan-based analyst firm, WisolPro says the global capacity for PERC cells is rapidly increasing, with the technology likely to replace polycrystalline cells. HJT, thin film, and n-type PERT technologies are also on the rise.

The new Italian government has maintained, almost unchanged, the provisions for the creation of an auction scheme for solar, wind and other renewables designed by the previous government. It has, however, postponed the first auction for large-scale projects from November to January. Furthermore, it has introduced new rules to enable the replacement of asbestos covers with rooftop PV systems through an ad-hoc FIT scheme.

By 2025, Taiwan aims to reach a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 20 GW. However, by mid-2018, just 11.2% of this goal had been met. TrendForce analyst, Rhea Tsao, examines the situation and discusses what needs to be done to reach the target.

Changes to Jordan’s Round 3 renewable energy auction will mean just 150 MW of capacity will be allocated for PV projects, down from 200 MW. Meanwhile, the government has accepted all 16 of the technical bids submitted in April, meaning it now hangs on price. The final results are expected soon.

Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency is seeking consultants to conduct feasibility studies and develop a masterplan design for the ambitious program, which aims to establish a new energy infrastructure in the state of Jigawa. The program is backed by the African Development Bank.

The mini-tender will be held under the RenovAr program for large-scale renewables, but will be limited to projects not exceeding 10 MW in size. The quota for solar and wind will be around 350 MW. Auctions for projects larger than 10 MW were suspended by the Argentinean government in early August.

The British energy and services company’s acquisition of the C&I solar contractor is the latest among a number of moves it has made into solar and batteries.