Abu Dhabi’s Masdar vies for stake in Indian developer Hero Future
State-owned Masdar Clean Energy is in talks to acquire a 30-35% stake in Hero Future Energies. With the stake sale, the renewable energy arm of Hero Group expects to raise $300-350 million for its expansion into global markets, according to reports.
China ready to set 3 GW quota for residential solar in 2019
Sources have told pv magazine the authorities are ready to restart the nation’s residential rooftop segment and have also agreed upon subsidy payments for other distributed generation and utility-scale projects.
100 MW Saran solar park commissioned in Kazakhstan
The SES Saran solar project is in the Karaganda region. The project was financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and built by German developer Goldbeck.
Australia to lead world in residential battery uptake in 2019
More than 70,000 Australian households will install battery storage this year, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance. With the nation’s storage demand set to triple, Australia is expected to make up 30% of global demand.
Price pressure and delivery bottlenecks lead SMA to significant loss in 2018
The German inverter maker struggled after China’s announcement at the end of May drove down prices and markets around the world and left a clear mark on its figures. Both the commercial PV segment and the storage business fell short of expectations due to delivery bottlenecks.
Cayman Islands project shows solar potential of hurricane-hit island nations
Richard Branson says the efforts made by one of his companies to roll out PV in the Caymans are part of a wider drive to bring renewable energy to the Caribbean.
Another disappointing solar auction for Japan as prices stay high
In last month’s exercise, final prices were slightly lower than those seen in previous procurements and the total allocated capacity was 196.6 MW. Through the three tenders held by the Japanese government, around 500 MW of solar was assigned, against a target of 1-1.5 GW. Land availability, grid constraints and high labor costs make projects expensive and force developers to use mountainous regions.
Chile tender to assign up to 9,000 hectares of public land for renewables
Some 8,891 hectares could be allocated through the tender, in the form of 179 plots of land in the northern and southernmost regions of the country.
PV Market Alliance expects 120 GW of new solar capacity in 2019
The global market stagnated last year, with around 98 GW deployed. For 2019, the experts expect stronger solar growth, provided there are no setbacks in China.
Giant solar complex secures approval in northeast of Brazil
The 540 MW project, in Brasileira, will feature 18 units with a capacity of 30 MW each. The developer is Brazil-based Gruppo Interalli and work on the giant plant is expected to start in the second quarter of the year.
