Bangladesh net metering requirement may deter solar pump owners
The government has finally issued guidelines on how solar-powered irrigation system owners can be paid for exporting power back to the grid. However, for those who expect to have to use grid power to augment solar from time to time, there could be a sting in the tail.
Bosch buys more solar power
German utility RWE will sell solar electricity to the German conglomerate under a 16-year power purchase agreement. The electricity will be generated by a 50 MW solar plant in southern Germany. Bosch has also sealed power supply deals with Statkraft and Vattenfall.
BP’s latest green pledge includes fossil fuel assets sell-off
The British energy company has pledged to raise investment in low-carbon energy – including biomass and natural gas-fired hydrogen – tenfold by 2030 and said it would reduce its upstream oil and gas activity 40% over the same period.
Germany launches first auction of coal-exit compensation payments
Federal network agency the Bundesnetzagentur has announced it will retire 4 GW of coal-fired generation capacity through the exercise, which will see plant operators compete to secure one-off payments in return for shuttering, or converting operations.
Ireland may allocate 796 MW of solar in first renewables auction
The government has announced the provisional results of the nation’s first renewable energy procurement exercise and says the 1 TWh auction will end up allocating more than 2.2 TWh of generation capacity for an average final electric price of €0.07408/kWh.
English councils tender for solar car parks and storage
Two local authorities on the English south coast are tendering for up to 250 kW of solar generation capacity and at least 300 kWh of energy storage under an arrangement which should not cost the cash-strapped councils a penny.
CPV panels for agrivoltaics
Swiss start-up Insolight has raised €4.6 million to bring its concentrating PV module technology to commercial production. The panels have a claimed efficiency of 30% and power output of 160 W. Originally conceived for rootop solar, the product is now being recommended as an interesting option for agrivoltaic projects.
Chevron turns to renewables to power Australian operations
The power company has announced it will build 500 MW of renewable energy projects to power some of its global facilities under a four-year agreement with Canada’s Algonquin Power & Utilities.
Texan utility tenders 900 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage
CPS Energy has taken the first step towards bringing those volumes – plus 500 MW of firming capacity – to the Lone Star State in pursuit of the power company’s 50%-renewables-by-2040 goal.
Renewables met half Germany’s power demand in first half
The Federal Environment Agency said clean energy provided 8% more electricity in the first six months of the year than in the same period of 2019. Solar accounted for 28 TWh.
