Markets & Policy

The price tariff agreed by German company ABO Wind for a 10 MW solar project in Igoumenitsa came in a tender which allocated only 142 MW of generation capacity, well short of the hoped-for 482 MW. It is hoped a slimline licensing process, to be applied in the next procurement round, will address the problem.

Scientists from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have presented research suggesting a new topology for residential solar+storage inverters.

Despite strong revenue growth in its domestic market, Quick Mount PV – which was acquired by Netherlands-based Esdec last year – is abandoning its U.S. manufacturing to move overseas.

Scientists in India have taken a close look at the potential impact of growing volumes of PV waste, and have conducted surveys that suggest a lot more work is needed from manufacturers and policymakers to develop management systems for end-of-life PV products.

Saudi developer ACWA Power has announced One Belt, One Road Chinese infrastructure partner Shanghai Electric will offer engineering, procurement and construction services on the next phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar field in Dubai.

Spanish renewables company Acciona has commissioned Spain’s first floating installation and utility EDP has finalized the first, 1 MW phase of a 4 MW project at the Alqueva water reservoir in southern Portugal.

U.S. scientists have developed a model to predict the performance of bifacial PV at project level. Their results show that when improved temperature sensitivity is properly taken into account, the advantage of bifacial modules could be even larger than previously thought. And for upcoming module technologies like heterojunction in particular, it could mean bifacial is viable in even more parts of the globe.

The country’s National Irrigation Administration will bet on floating PV and solar-powered irrigation to improve water and energy supply. The Pantabangan and Casecnan dams, in the province of Nueva Ecija in the Central Luzon region, have been identified as ideal locations for floating solar.

Developer Anumar has secured the signature of Norwegian renewables company Statkraft on a 50 MW power purchase agreement for the project and another 30 MW of generation capacity has been awarded a feed-in premium tariff in a tender. Umweltbank provided a €55 million loan.

Canadian non-profit Plug’n Drive has looked at Ontario’s time-of-use electricity rates and found electric vehicle owners could generate substantial income by charging at night and selling to businesses during the daytime. Doing so could mean EVs have a lower net cost than conventional vehicles.