Philippines city prepares for 50 MW solar project first
Bacolod is expected to host its first large scale PV project within a year after domestic renewables firm Amatera signed a deal with Korean business TPC Construction Corp.
GCL-Poly generates another $349m towards paying down debt
The polysilicon maker has turned a quick $160 million profit from the sale of its stake in a fund it paid $189 million to establish just five months ago. The heavily indebted manufacturer needs to raise funds to pay for its production capacity expenditure.
Japan’s largest floating PV plant catches fire after Typhoon Faxai impact
Kyocera’s 13.7 MW floating project at the Yamakura Dam was damaged by 120mph winds the typhoon brought to the coastal city of Chiba. Firefighters said the blaze may have been generated by the strong heat produced by panels stacking up.
Softbank injects another $10m into Swedish dye-sensitized solar specialist Exeger
The Japanese multinational lender is making its second investment in the Swedish start-up. The funds will help the company ship its first products next year.
Central Bank of Brazil wants to buy power through solar leasing
Brazil’s biggest lender has launched three tenders to select solar facilities to supply it with power through leasing. The central bank expects to buy around 4 GWh of electricity per year for the Federal District and another 2 GWh in the states of Goiás and Pará.
Colombian renewables auction attracts 53 bids from 27 companies
Canadian Solar, Acciona, Enel, EDF, Solarpack and Trina are among the contenders to develop large scale renewables projects. Some 26 power distributors are participating in the procurement as buyers.
Panda Green writes off another $5.6m
The debt saddled renewables project developer has signed off on the sale of two wind farms in Shanxi at a loss of RMB40 million on investment. The sale will contribute up to RMB251.5 million to help pay off the parent company’s debts.
The weekend read: PV in need of a new chapter for wind
In part two of this feature on wind resilience in the PV industry, the lack of structural codes comes into focus. Weather events, and wind above all, are the most common causes of failure for PV plants. In the United States, the first steps have been taken to catch up with other industries and a dedicated chapter for PV is set to be included in the next update of the American Society of Civil Engineers code. In Europe, no such plans are in place.
Cambodia tender secures lowest solar power price in Southeast Asia
The Asian Development Bank-backed procurement round attracted 26 bidders for the 60 MW project, according to the development lender. The ADB says the low price secured will persuade neighboring governments to embrace auctions.
High power prices, falling PV costs and new regulations behind Brazil’s solar carnival
The nation’s thriving distributed generation market is flying, as was evident at last week’s Intersolar South America trade show. The sector seems unconcerned by mooted changes to net metering incentives in the new year and when even an environmental non-believer like President Bolsonaro is on side, it is difficult to be pessimistic.
