Policy

In the face of increasingly strident global calls to turbocharge the switch from fossil fuels to clean energy, remarks from the Saudi and Emirati energy ministers in Abu Dhabi this week will do little to encourage hopes the world can contain global temperature rises below 1.5C.

The European Commission says renewables are playing a central role in lowering spot prices and stopping rises in network charges and fees. In the EU energy market, however, coal and gas still dominate, ensuring power prices are unpredictable.

Through three tenders, Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Center is increasing efforts to bring power to rural communities, and to increase the share of renewables in a nation still dominated by hydropower.

Vanadium redox flow battery supplier Cellcube spoke to pv magazine about the latest political developments in the U.K. and what the effects on storage could be.

The nation’s Ministry of Finance is tendering six large-scale projects in Afar, Somali, Oromia and Tigray. The plants will be developed under a public-private partnership framework and their construction is expected to raise around $795 million.

Backing from the Asian Development Bank will help a 50 MW project get off the ground – and onto the water – in Chittagong, and a developer has been lined up to install solar on a stretch of the Padma river.

Central subsidies may have been cut back but the domestic market rebounded quickly and overseas shipments soared on the back of rising production volumes and ever cheaper module prices.

German concern Kaco has sold its central inverter business. The German manufacturer hopes to focus on its string inverter and energy storage branches while the South Korean buyer hopes the newly acquired knowhow can improve the energy efficiency of its large-scale PV parks.

Chinese manufacturers Risen Energy and LONGi have both announced conversion efficiency records for PERC cells as the twin quest to drive down costs and increase energy output shows no sign of abating.

Pakistani regulator NEPRA is considering a tariff for a 49.5 MW site in the Khyber district. At the same time, the country’s armed forces are eyeing PV deployment for their operations.