France launches three solar tenders for 2 GW of capacity
Two procurement exercises will be for ground-mounted PV and will be launched in January and June. A third tender, scheduled for February, will concern rooftop PV.
Uzbekistan launches rebate program for rooftop PV
The Uzbek government last week opened a rooftop solar program which provides 30% of the initial costs for buying and installing a PV system, up to around $320 per project. Tax incentives are also available.
Greek-German governments agree on 10-year green investment plan
Greece’s prime minister visited the German chancellor yesterday in Berlin and reached an agreement to set up an investment strategy that encompasses renewable energy.
Afghanistan issues 40 MW solar tender
The nation’s Ministry of Energy and Water is seeking developers for a plant on an industrial park at the center of a previous 40 MW procurement exercise.
Pakistan’s Nepra mulls another 50 MW of solar
The country is steadily expanding solar generation capacity as it aims for 5 GW by 2022, helped by an influx of foreign investment from China’s Belt & Road infrastructure program and World Bank capital.
‘Energy storage is not enough, a renewables grid needs flexible gas back-up’
The managing director of London-based energy infrastructure company Statera has told pv magazine a clean energy grid in the U.K. will require as much flexible gas plant capacity as battery storage.
Ganfeng Lithium prepares solid-state battery test line
The Chinese company is ramping up R&D efforts to try and fast-track commercialization of the more productive – and more expensive – battery tech. The news was announced as part of an uninspiring first-half update thanks to falling lithium salt prices.
Balancing solar with agriculture in the US Midwest
Today we have heard of farmers in Australia unhappy at the approval given for three solar projects on agricultural land and also learned the benefits PV can bring for fish and shrimp farmers. In this op-ed for pv magazine USA, Stoel Rives LLP attorneys Sara Bergan and Thomas Braun discuss the balancing act to be made between solar and agriculture in the emerging Midwestern PV market.
Food and energy tussle as Australian state approves controversial solar farms
The state government of Victoria has approved three projects in the Shepparton region which have a combined generation capacity of 175 MW. However, some residents are upset at the loss of prime agricultural land and now-redundant irrigation equipment which had been upgraded using government grants.
Alberta approves Canada’s largest PV project – free of subsidy and planned on a merchant basis
The $376 million Travers Solar project has had the nod from the Alberta Utilities Commission. Construction on the subsidy-free facility, which will operate on a merchant basis, will start next year with an operational date set for 2021.
