China auction allocates subsidies for 22.7 GW of solar with lowest bid of $0.0407/kWh
China’s National Energy Administration has given the greenlight to 3,921 ground-mounted and distributed generation projects. The approved energy price bids ranged from $0.0407 to $0.080, depending on system size, for an average price of $0.048.
The United States is headed for a battery breakthrough
A new report by the Energy Information Administration projects U.S. installed battery storage capacity will reach 2.5 GW by 2023. Florida and New York are set to pave the way as massive projects in each state will account for almost half the coming capacity.
Shell, Sumitomo invest in LO3 Energy to develop blockchain-based community microgrids
Two corporate heavyweights have announced investments in the New York-based developer and operator of peer-to-peer energy platforms. The funding will allow LO3 to scale its blockchain-based community energy networks worldwide.
‘True grid parity about more than electricity price’
The head of Mercom Capital says solar has a long way to go before it can stand without policy support. Effective grid parity will only be achieved when the cost of PV electricity factors in the expense of grid upgrades and the storage systems its intermittent nature requires, says Raj Prabhu.
Australia will need 15 GW of utility scale storage by early 2040s
Increased storage and strategic transmission development will be needed to ensure the most economic and lowest risk transition of Australia’s energy system, the Australian Energy Market Operator said in its latest study. In 20 years’ time, the need for storage will be at a scale not seen before in the national electricity market, and pumped hydro and distributed storage are set to play major roles in lowering electricity prices and building a reliable and resilient power system.
Grid data transparency vital to making the case for renewables in Vietnam
With a glut of solar capacity having come online this year, cheaper financing would help keep some of that momentum but policymakers cannot be persuaded of the economic benefits of clean energy unless state-owned utility EVN opens up.
Grid service payments the key to unlocking China’s energy storage potential
The world’s biggest solar market could be about to replicate that feat in energy storage, provided it manages to reform the payment system for rewarding the grid services offered by batteries.
When the battery is a building… or vice versa
AES has announced the start of construction of its Alamito Energy Center, a 100 MW/400 MWh battery for electric utility SoCalEdison which is being constructed as a full-on building – much like a data center.
There may be a sunny outlook for Greece
The nation elected a new government yesterday, awarding a clear majority to the pro-EU New Democracy party. What could that mean for Greece’s solar sector?
Vietnam overtakes Australia for commissioned utility scale solar following June FIT rush
Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy has placed the Australian and Vietnamese solar markets side by side and found the Southeast Asian country left its rival trailing in terms of commissioned utility scale PV capacity. A staggering 4.46 GW of connected PV capacity in Vietnam at the end of June came as a surprise to many.
