Troubled Indian manufacturing-linked solar tender now reportedly oversubscribed
A series of new amendments by the Solar Energy Corporation of India appear to have paid off, as the organization’s ambitious manufacturing-linked solar tender has reportedly ended up oversubscribed by 1 GW – of the capacity offered as an incentive at least.
China’s nuclear operator to develop 1 GW solar field
China General Nuclear Power Group is reportedly preparing to invest almost $2.5 billion into a huge solar project – plus 2 GW of wind turbines – in the autonomous province of Inner Mongolia. Local authorities say the massive project will be complete in 2021.
British capacity market row continues over £1 billion payment insecurities
The bickering around the British Capacity Market is not over yet. The European Commission has closed its formal investigation into the market mechanism’s alleged violation of EU State Aid rules, finding no violations of that kind. But footing the bill for the year-long suspension of the scheme might prove complicated.
Côte d’Ivoire gets World Bank support for 60 MW of solar
The African country has joined the World Bank’s Scaling Solar Program. Two PV plants will be located in Touba and Laboa, in the northeast of the country.
Mirova raises €857m in Eurofideme 4 funding round for renewables
The investment manager is now Europe’s largest renewable energy fund. The €1.3 billion group already has a 1.8 GW generation portfolio.
Bangladeshi government will renegotiate solar tariffs for projects which miss deadlines
Officials in Dhaka frustrated by the lack of progress on several PV projects have decided to punish tardy developers by setting new power prices which reflect the falling costs of solar project development.
Angola’s solar plans boosted by Italian oil giant Eni
The Italian oil and gas provider has signed a concession agreement with the government of the African oil country to build a 50 MW solar plant. The project is expected to be in the province of Namibe and will be part of the nation’s plan to deploy 600 MW of solar by 2022.
Flexible energy supply companies hampered by lack of policy
Britain’s renewable energy trade body has published a report examining the state of flexibility market readiness in nine European markets. The result makes for sobering reading for Germany, France and the U.K.
Chinese trade visit presages big investment in Greece’s energy infrastructure
Beijing already owns 24% of Greece’s electricity transmission system operator and has pledged to back a new Greece-EU funded interconnector to Crete which is set to open up more possibilities for solar on the island. The arrival of two of China’s biggest lenders also offers the prospect of new investment in renewables.
Italy’s struggle to re-join the gigawatt club
Italy’s main solar event, the Key Energy fair held in Rimini, demonstrated the continuing importance of rooftop PV for Italian renewables but also promised a gradual return for large scale solar. Industry insiders are hoping for at least one gigawatt of solar next year, on top of a projected 600 MW this year.
