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Through a new package of measures for the energy sector, the German government has introduced a significant incentive reduction for commercial and industrial solar, but has also allocated an additional 4 GW of solar capacity in tenders up to 2021.

At the weekend’s G20 summit, a framework agreement for the project expansion was signed by project initiator Jemse SE and Chinese partners Power China and Shanghai Electric. The plant expansion will include the deployment of storage capacity. The project is one of two PV plants, totaling 400 MW, selected in round one of the RenovAr program for large-scale solar and renewable energies.

The pitch of bifacial trackers is an important design factor in maximizing energy gain, says Soltec, which recently spoke during a pv magazine webinar on how its trackers can help to increase energy yields in large-scale bifacial PV installations. Read on to discover the answers to your questions from albedo to backtracking and everything in between.

French developer Voltalia has secured an $18.1 million loan for its 50 MW Kopere solar project. The plant will sell power to utility KPLC under a 20-year PPA. The country’s Rural Electrification Authority is also tendering 1.1 MW of solar plants associated with minigrids in off-grid regions.

Accumulated water at hydropower facilities can work as a virtual charge during the daytime while direct solar power is being used, according to a study. Reservoir-based hydropower plants will offer the best such option, as they are highly controllable and offer abundant water levels.

The outlook for sales and operating result has once again been lowered by the inverter maker. EBITDA is now expected to show a mid-to-high double-digit loss.

Lithium-ion prices are jolting upwards, it’s time to take a second generation storage solution seriously. Craig Irwin of ROTH Capital Partners says his company has been a long-term skeptic on both the lithium-ion battery cost curves shared by major OEMs and price forecasts presented by industry consultants.

Carbon Tracker has released a report claiming it is cheaper, in many markets, to construct new renewable generation assets instead of running legacy coal-fired power plants. Billions could be saved for customers, while profits in the two-digit billion-dollar range look set to be lost by the coal industry.

That would mean a market increase of around 25% on this year. Demand is predicted to become particularly strong in the second half of the year.

The vast majority of the newly reported capacity was small and medium-sized PV rooftops. For ground-mounts, as in September, there was little volume. By the end of October, the government’s annual target of 2.5 GW of new capacity was almost reached. Solar FITs will fall another 1% in December.