Brexit paralysis and lack of incentives leave community energy facing uphill struggle in the UK
The future benefits of technology such as smart meters and the associated aggregation of small scale generation are not being adequately rewarded, support for solar and wind is being cut off and parliament is fixated solely on one issue.
Colombia imposes renewables quota on power distributors
The obligation will be applied annually from 2022. The clean electricity required will have to be bought through power purchase contracts of at least 10 years’ duration.
SMA: ‘We can’t be credible if we’re not sustainable’
Credibility comes not just from offering products that generate clean electricity, but also from the way in which those products are manufactured, says SMA Solar Technology CEO Jürgen Reinert. Here, transparency and sustainability are key. That’s why one of the world’s largest PV inverter producers has partnered with pv magazine’s UP sustainability initiative. In the following Q&A, Reinert lays out what SMA is doing to step UP its green game.
Australia’s AEMO radically curtails output of five large solar farms
The Australian Energy Market Operator constrained the output of several large-scale solar plants by 50% on Friday, in response to voltage fluctuations in a 220 kV network spanning the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
India’s SECI to supply 1.3 GW of clean power through recent deals
With India’s power minister hinting that a new renewable energy tariff policy could be in the works, the federal agency responsible for solar has started boasting about the volume of clean power it has in the pipeline.
IRENA and the UN ink agreement to combat desertification with renewables
A memorandum of understanding signed by the institutions was not solar specific but the use of PV modules for shading, especially in agriculture, can reduce water consumption and help halt the expansion of deserts.
Sweden increases budget for solar incentives by $48m
Funding for the rebate scheme had already been increased in April. Overall, the budget for this year now amounts to almost $125 million.
Greece to tender 287 MW of new solar capacity in December
The nation’s energy regulator today announced separate tenders for solar and wind generation capacity will be held on December 12.
Solar-plus-storage vs grid enhancement part II
Grid expert Andrea Mansoldo tells pv magazine how energy markets based on solar and storage are feasible as an alternative to costly grid infrastructure work. He says around 6 GWh of battery capacity may be a good alternative to building 1000km of power line or an AC 750 kV high-voltage line.
Germany will need 160 GW of solar by 2030 to prevent power shortages
EuPD Research has calculated what needs to be done to replace the nuclear and coal generation to be phased out in Germany. Accelerated expansion of PV appears the best short-term option. However, storage capacity will need to increase 30-fold by 2040 so solar can become the main pillar of the country’s energy system.
