Policy

The Netherlands has proposed amendments to its Environmental Decree to fast-track permitting for electricity transmission and distribution projects above 21 kV, aiming to expand grid capacity and ease congestion through 2032.

Two lots were tendered, to serve communities in Amazonas and Pará, with BRL 312 million ($58 million) of equipment. In Amazonas, 20,165 MW will be installed via five solar and diesel-fired thermal generation sites. Pará will get a 30.1 MW battery, solar and diesel facility.

Investec has become one of the first financial institutions in South Africa to be awarded a license to buy and sell energy, beginning with a 50 MW solar project currently under construction. There are now 14 private companies with an energy trading license in South Africa.

Chad plans to raise $1.1 billion to add 886 MW of power capacity, the majority of which is expected to be solar.

The first hybrid power project belonging to Danish renewables developer European Energy is a 39.3 MW solar array tied to a 49.6 MW wind facility in southern Sweden.

China installed 7.36 GW of new solar in August, bringing year-to-date capacity additions to 230.61 GW and total power generation capacity to 3.69 TW.

An amendment to Czechia’s Energy Act has increased the limit for mandatory electricity generation licences from 50 kW to 100 kW. The change applies to solar installations that produce electricity for direct consumption.

This week, during EU PVSEC 2025, Women in Solar+ Europe (WiSEu), in collaboration with PVSEC, hosted the workshop “Leading with Inclusion: Exploring the Six Traits of Inclusive Leadership,” creating a dynamic forum for dialogue and co-creation. Drawing on Deloitte’s framework, six industry leaders and experts guided participants through the traits of commitment, courage, cognisance of bias, curiosity, cultural intelligence, and collaboration. What emerged was a collective recognition that inclusive leadership cannot be reduced to a single quality, but must be consciously nurtured through the interplay of all six traits.

Scientists have used a CPLEX-based MIP model and tested it on a section of the 10 MW Masdar City Solar Photovoltaic Plant. In their simulation, they assume the use of two robotic cleaners to operate over a 90-day horizon. Total cleaning costs were estimated at $7,987.

Mexican state-owned utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is seeking proposals for the Puerto Peñasco Secuencia III solar plant, which will also include 103 MW of battery capacity.