Jolywood signs mega-deal to supply 7 GW of household solar
Based on the price agreed for the first year of the five-year contract, the total deal would be worth almost $4 billion to the $1 billion company. However, with input costs rising and the state-owned sponsor likely to expect to pay lower fees for subsequent years, the TOPCon manufacturer’s margins may not remain so fat.
South African bank secures continent’s ‘first green loan’
The private-sector arm of the World Bank says it will lend up to $150 million to Johannesburg-based Absa Bank for green project funding.
Polish solar developer bought by Norwegian state-owned energy company
Buyer Equinor could be in for a pleasant surprise – its assessment Wento boasts a 1 GW solar project pipeline in the nation significantly under-reports the 1.6 GW claimed by private equity fund seller Enterprise Investors.
Botswana tops list of world’s ‘super abundant’ renewables nations
A Carbon Tracker report estimates 60% of the world’s technical solar potential – enough to produce 3.5 exawatt-hours of clean electricity per year – would already be cheaper than fossil fuel if installed. Of the remainder, most would be in sub-Saharan Africa, a region which has the potential to be a global solar and wind powerhouse.
Legal challenge to Ukraine’s retroactive FIT cuts
Lithuanian-owned solar developer Modus Energy International is reportedly seeking €11.5 million from the Ukrainian government after it retroactively reduced feed-in tariff payments from August. Modus claims Kiev breached the Energy Charter Treaty with its reduced-payment legislation.
EU approves Danish contracts-for-difference incentive program
The €400 million, three-year scheme will guarantee price stability for developers while limiting costs to the Danish treasury and applies to on and offshore wind, wave power and hydro, as well as solar.
Solar-plus-storage for Egyptian gold mine
German developer Juwi plans to have a 36 MW off-grid solar plant and 7.5 MW of battery storage operational at the Sukari mine during the second quarter of next year.
India to finance 100 MW Bangladeshi solar plant
The federal government will provide $131 million of soft loans for a $177 million, 100 MW solar park near the Jamuna river in Bangladesh’s Jamalpur district, where a second park of a similar size is being planned by Dhaka and a Chinese partner.
A case study in African solar policy problems
Dutch off-grid solar organization GOGLA has focused on the negative effect of the reimposition of VAT and import duties on solar lighting systems in Kenya as emblematic of the lack of legislative support for clean energy across the continent.
GCL nears resolution of its $500m senior notes headache
The Chinese poly maker expects to sign off a debt reorganization plan in Bermuda next month and has announced its latest $102 million solar project sell-off.
