World’s largest solar plant goes online in China
China Green Development Group has switched on the 3.5 GW Midong solar project in Urumqi, China’s Xinjiang region. The project required an investment of CNY 15.45 billion ($2.13 billion).
Kosovo opens subsidy scheme for solar thermal systems
Household consumers in Kosovo can now apply for a subsidy to install a solar system for heating sanitary water. Applications to the first of two stages are open until August 31.
Hive Energy secures grid connection permit for 215.6 MW of solar projects in Serbia
UK’s Hive Energy said the projects will feature battery energy storage systems that equate to 10% of the overall solar capacity.
Colbún proposes 800 MW desalinated water-powered pumped storage project in Chile
Chilean utility Colbún has unveiled plans for a massive pumped storage hydropower project in northern Chile. The facility will use desalinated water from the Pacific Ocean to store energy and use it when it’s most needed.
PVEL releases tenth edition of ‘PV Module Reliability Scorecard’
The independent test lab Kiwa PVEL names 53 manufacturers and 388 models–a record number of Top Performers in the ten-year history of the Scorecard.
Electricity prices falling in most European markets
AleaSoft Energy Forecasting says electricity prices fell in all major European electricity markets during the last week of May, except for the Italian and Nordic markets. Additionally, Portugal broke its record for daily solar energy production again.
Australian property giant signs first-ever matched energy supply deal
Enosi Energy has signed a first-of-its-kind initiative with real estate investment business EG Funds by using a matched energy supply agreement to bulk up renewable energy used by commercial properties in Sydney, Australia.
Bangladeshi jute producers go solar
Bangladesh’s state-owned Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd. (IDCOL) is providing loans to several jute producers and textile makers to deploy 40 MW of rooftop PV systems.
ITRPV says solar module prices fell 50% in 2023
The new edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic (ITRPV), published this week, reveals that the world’s installed PV capacity reached 1.6 TW at the end of last year. The learning curve, which reflects average module prices relative to cumulative shipments, is 24.9% for the period from 1976 to 2023.
Freight costs edge toward pandemic levels, hitting solar module costs
Freight costs, which represent around 4% of a solar module’s total costs, are increasing on trade lines between the Far East and the US West Coast, Northern Europe, and Mediterranean region.
