Italy’s digital platform to monitor solar parks
Through the Piattaforma Performance Impianti, developed by energy agency GSE, owners of PV plants above 1 MW in size will be able to conduct geo-analytical comparative analysis between projects while visualizing performance levels and sharing best practice
US Senate proposes business-as-usual energy budget
The upper chamber of Congress has called for stable funding for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in 2019, with an emphasis on electric vehicles as well as increasing the budget for ARPA-E by 6.5%
Elgin Energy to build 50 MW PV project in Scotland
British developer Elgin Energy has received approval from the Scottish government for a scheme it says will be Scotland’s largest solar plant. The site for the project is a former RAF airfield near the town of Elgin, in northern Scotland
Suntech to supply 304 MW of modules to Voltalia
The news comes after Suntech recently announced a separate 116 MW module supply deal, with both orders related to Egypt’s mega Benban complex
Enerray and Suntech ink contract for supply of 116 MW of modules for Benban
Italian developer Enerray is progressing three PV plants in Egypt’s Benban complex. The modules will be supplied by the Chinese manufacturer
Russian region of Kalmykia to host 75 MW of solar
Russian module maker and project developer Hevel intends to deploy 75 MW of capacity by 2022 in the region, which has poor connections with the country’s national grid
Dutch solar sector fights belief PV is eroding agricultural land
With ground-mounted solar plants popular in the Netherlands, critics says large-scale plants are devouring agricultural land. PV association Holland Solar says even if the country reaches an installed capacity of 16 GW by 2050, only 0.5% of its agricultural surfaces would be covered
Few answers for UK solar as Brexit negotiations drag on
As the second anniversary of Britain’s vote to leave the EU approaches, the nature of the UK’s future energy relationship with the bloc is still very much unclear
Open letter: German government must protect its solar industry
In an open letter, more than 30 German PV companies and research institutes demand an industrial strategy to retain a domestic solar industry. According to the signatories, that means increased co-operation with France and the consideration of sustainability criteria for PV tenders
Around 250 signatories call for an end to EU anti-dumping measures
In a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, more than 250 organizations and companies from EU member states have called for the termination of trade restrictions applied to Chinese PV manufacturers. The current anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs – and minimum import prices for Chinese crystalline modules and cells – are due to run until 3 September
