Puerto Rico utility favors LNG over solar in Siemens plan
The Puerto Rico utility’s favored generation plan, in a report prepared by Siemens, involves an LNG terminal at San Juan and would achieve only 55% renewables by 2038. A scenario without LNG would reach 79% renewables by 2038 at comparable cost, based on undisclosed cost assumptions.
Spain wants 100% renewable electricity by 2050 as part of climate change strategy
The Law on Climatic Change being prepared by the Spanish government provides greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 20% compared to 1990 levels in 2030, and that the electric system has 70% generation from renewable energy sources. By 2050, the targets will be raised to 90% and 100%, respectively.
IHS revises up outlook for Chinese solar to 40 GW after underestimating demand
Around 34.5 GW of PV was installed in China in the first three quarters – 1.5 GW more than expected by IHS analysts, who have raised their full-year guidance.
German government devotes €1bn to battery cell production
The Federal Ministry of Economics has published further details of possible battery cell production on a gigawatt scale. At the Networking Conference Electromobility 2018 in Berlin this week, Minister Peter Altmaier stressed the urgency of the project, for Germany and Europe to be independent of Asia and the US in storage technology.
Indian state-owned utility tenders a further 1.2 GW of solar
The projects, in Maharashtra state, will be commissioned through a reverse auction with technical bidding to close on December 19. The deadline for the submission of financial bids and the date for the reverse auction after the opening of financial bids, will be published in due course.
Edison connects large-scale storage system at PV plant in southern Italy
The Italian power provider has implemented its first pilot storage projects linked to solar. The system can provide grid services such as primary and secondary frequency regulation and tertiary and voltage regulation.
Extent of India’s new utility-scale solar has almost halved in six months
India added 1.2 GW of large-scale projects in the third quarter of 2018-19, taking new capacity in the first half to 1.9 GW. The numbers are down 43% and 44%, respectively, on the same periods of the previous year, according to Bridge to India’s quarterly India Solar Compass.
Dutch government sets up €100 million fund for PV in schools
The scheme would provide low interest loans to Dutch schools willing to go solar. Some 6,000 of the country’s 7,000 school buildings have yet to install an array.
Czech Republic may exclude PV from future renewables auctions
Once a leading European PV market, the Czech Republic may resume development of large-scale renewables from 2021. Only wind, hydro and biomass projects, however, will be eligible, under a proposal from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Only rooftop solar, of up to 1 MW, would be backed by a ‘feed-in premium’ scheme.
PV to take lion’s share of $120 billion annual investment
The impressive growth is unlikely to replace coal-fired power generation as it will only be sufficient to cover the predicted increase in demand for electricity. The electrification of heating, manufacturing and transportation offer room for further development.
