Markets

The French authorities have wrapped up a procurement exercise for commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop PV projects. They allocated 362.2 MW of solar capacity to 42 developers at an average price of €0.1021 ($0.1104)/kWh.

India’s NTPC has allocated 1,584 MW of renewables-plus-storage projects at $0.056/kWh. The winning developers will set up renewable energy projects backed by energy storage systems to provide firm, dispatchable renewable energy, developed on a build-own-operate basis.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ plan for a multibillion-dollar polysilicon production plant in Australia has received a major boost, with the Queensland state government clearing the way to fast-track the project.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Chile, Uruguay and Argentina saw irradiance up 5% to 15% above normal in January and February. Responsible for the surplus sunlight across South America was the ongoing Amazon drought, and circulation changes that pushed weather fronts further south of the continent than usual.

The need for long-duration energy storage in a net-zero world is undeniable but with conventional battery prices tumbling, can anything dislodge the mainstream grip of lithium ion? S&P Global’s Susan Taylor provides an update on non-lithium storage technologies.

There may be a global solar boom but a drastic revision of California’s net metering program has ruptured the industry overnight and is affecting everyone from installers to financiers to makers of power electronics.

UK-based Konexa has finalized a deal that will see Climate Fund Managers and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund invest $18 million to establish Nigeria’s inaugural private renewable trading platform and provide renewable energy to Nigeria Breweries.

Volatility in the global PV market did not go unnoticed this week at the Solar Solutions Amsterdam trade fair. However, the prevailing impression is that the Dutch PV market is poised for stability.

In the third article of a series, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Aga Michalak, the head of marketing, BD and ESG at JinkoSolar EU. She says networks among the solar industry is where women can build meaningful relationships, get support, find role models, and, most of all, where they can have a voice and are heard within a safe space.

The Atacama Desert in Argentina and Chile is the sunniest region on earth. Despite the excellent solar radiation resource availability and plenty of room on rooftops and on the ground, solar PV is not as widespread in either country as would have been expected based on the initial deployment of large-scale PV power plants in both countries some ten years ago.