Turkey adds 1.7 GW of solar PV in 2017
Turkey’s solar industry has just come out of its best year so far, adding about 1.7 GW of new PV capacity in 2017. Some peculiar characteristics of the Turkish PV market remain, however.
Belgium to host its first “giant” solar park
The 100 MW Kristal Solar Park will be the first ground mounted solar park built in the country since 2013. Belgium has so for implemented policies that have supported residential rooftop PV, and that only recently have helped increase the share of the commercial and industrial segments.
Italy added 382 MW of PV in first 11 months of 2017
The Italian solar market grew by 25% in the first 11 months of 2017. This growth was mainly determined by the grid connection of several “grid-parity” PV plants totaling 66 MW, which were installed in Montalto di Castro, Italy’s central region of Lazio.
France announces winners of 150 MW tender for rooftop PV
Overall, the French government has selected 283 projects in the tender. The final average price was €85/MWh, slightly below the previous tender of the same type. Around 40% of the winning developers were granted the €3/MWh bonus which is guaranteed to the projects partly relying on crowdfunding.
India rejects U.S. solar claim at WTO
India hit back on Monday at Washington’s latest legal assault on its solar power policies at the World Trade Organization, rejecting a US legal claim and exploring possible new protection of India’s own solar industry.
German Development Bank granted incentives to 6,900 residential solar-plus-storage systems in 2017
Approved incentive applications reached a volume of approximately €123 million. At the turn of the year, however, the rebate granted by the German Government dropped from 13% to 10%.
Germany reports high realization rate for PV projects selected in auctions
Around 90% of the projects selected in the third round of the country’s tender program for PV plants ranging in size from 750 kW to 10 MW have reached completion on time.
EU launches initiative to support solar, renewable energy
The Clean Energy Industrial Forum will be part of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, which is setting the energy strategy of the Old Continent for the period 2020-2030.
Mexico’s PV capacity reached 460 MW at the end of June
Solar was able to cover just 0.17% of the country’s total power production in the first half of last year, representing 0.62% of total generation capacity.
Brazil hits 1 GW solar milestone
Almost 85% of the country’s installed capacity, which is sitting at around 1.1 GW, is represented by large-scale solar plants contracted by the Brazilian government in energy auctions that were held between 2014 and 2015.
