Markets

Shell Energy Europe Ltd has signed a five year power purchase agreement (PPA) with British Solar renewables (BSR), for the off-take of energy from England’s largest solar PV power plant.

The European Parliament has approved a proposal to raise the target submitted by its Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) in late November.

BNEF has released its top 10 clean energy predictions for 2018, including at least 107 GW of solar PV installs. China will lead, but Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East will notably up the ante. India will install less RE than in 2017, but will see fossils outpace RE for the last time; and China will see distributed grid connected solar leading the market. Li-ion prices are also declining, while EV sales grow.

The Ten Merina solar facility was built by Engie’s subsidiary, Solairedirect. The project was financed by French investment firm, Meridiam and Proparco.

In an interview with pv magazine, the Business Planning and Strategy Manager of Jordan-based consultant, Sina Industrial Projects Co, Ali Suleiman provides an extensive overview on the emerging Middle Eastern PV panel manufacturing industry. How much more this industry will be able to grow, however, remains unclear. It is also difficult to predict if big players will emerge on the Middle Eastern solar energy landscape.

All forms of renewable energy will be cost competitive with traditional generation sources by 2020. This was one of the key findings in the latest report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). It was delivered yesterday at IRENA’s 8th annual Assembly in Abu Dhabi.

Negotiators of the three German parties have agreed on a common preliminary paper. They also agreed on additional tenders for large-scale solar and wind power projects, with a volume of 4 GW in the years 2019 and 2020.

The Chinese Tier 1 solar company had hoped to finalize the sale of six PV power projects in the fourth quarter of last year, but delays to necessary government approvals mean Q4 revenue is lively to be around $700 million lower than expected.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has postponed the 2 GW PV project tender until further notice. The company has also extended the deadline for expressions of interest for setting up solar manufacturing plants in India until January 29.

According to provisional figures released by Swissolar, solar demand remained stable in the country last year. Looking ahead, the association expects another 300 MW to be deployed this year.