Policy

A study into the potential pitfalls of the shift to clean power in the nation’s coal-dependent energy mix, pointed out almost all of South Africa’s solar farms are far to the south and west of the coal regions likely to bear the brunt of job losses in a country which already has 29% unemployment.

The latest edition of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report indicates the stagnation of the sector continues. Just 2.4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity came online last year, compared to 98 GW of solar. The world’s operational nuclear power capacity had declined by 2.1%, to 362 GW, at the end of June.

The Portuguese and Dutch governments want to connect the hydrogen project of Sines to the Port of Rotterdam and to develop a strategic export-import value chain to ensure the production and transport of green hydrogen to the Netherlands and its hinterland.

Both the current status, and the future of, solar PPAs in the Turkish market as a key tool for increasing PV capacity has become a widely discussed topic. This is particularly due to the fact that after mid-2021, the future of YEKDEM (Turkey’s local FIT regime) is uncertain. The incentives could be lower than expected, or even unavailable for some technologies. This has raised the question of alternative financing mechanisms with respect to new investments.

Amid an uptake in EV sales, researchers are examining battery material supply chains. A report has indicated policy-driven circular economy strategies must be introduced in Europe if the bloc is to strengthen its resilience to volatility in the cobalt market.

With biodiversity concerns and social impacts such as arguments over the loss of agricultural land delaying projects, non-profit The Nature Conservancy India has published a report to help developers choose their locations more carefully and get India’s energy transition back on track.

The government is aiming for 100 GW of installed generation capacity this decade but analysts suggest 170 GW will be needed to avoid electricity shortages and solar rooftops could hold the key.

Work has started on PV plants with generation capacities of 20 MW and 10 MW. The facilities will be located in Koudougou, in Boulkiemdé province and in Kaya, in Sanmatenga, respectively.

Hero Future Energies wants to make India’s first contribution to grid scale solar in its northeastern neighbor. Plans for a 100 MW plant have been stymied by the power evacuation equipment available at the Khulna site.

Victory in the economic realm (increasingly the case with solar, solar-plus-storage and wind) is no guarantee of market victory if the regulations are stacked against renewables.