All News

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has released a shortlist of 22 PV power plant projects for its AU$100 million (US$69.4 million) large scale solar scheme. The shortlisted projects total around 766 MW of capacity, indicating that around 250 MW is likely to be developed under the scheme.

BNEF calculates that 57 GW of solar PV was installed last year, marking an increase of around 30% on 2014. Latest figures also show that, despite factors which could have impeded growth, clean energy financing reached US$329.3 billion in 2015. Chinese and U.S. markets led the charge, alongside a host of new markets; European activity, however, decreased.

Low oil prices present the mining and resource community with the opportunity to strike favorable deals from renewable energy providers. Offgrid renewable consultant THEnergy made the claim this week, noting that remote mine sites reliant on diesel for electricity generation now have the opportunity to make a “clever anti-cyclical” decision and sign a favorable PPA with an offgrid wind or solar provider.

France’s Exosun has signed a deal with integrator Pheonix Solar and Millennium Energy Industries to supply 11 MW of its Exotrack HZ horizontal single-axis trackers for three projects totaling 11 MW in capacity. The projects are merchant arrays, providing electricity to Sheraton and Marriott hotels in Jordan.

Germany’s federal Ministry of Economics has taken stock after the first three pilot tenders for ground-mounted solar PV systems. It particularly notes the decline of prices from round to round, and stakeholder diversity. Whether tenders are likely to achieve installation targets, politicians cannot yet say, however. The Green Party, meanwhile, has criticized the Federal Government for wanting to expand renewable energy tenders without having reliable results.

ARENA’s shortlist of projects under its AU$100 million (US$69.4 million) support program for large-scale PV aims to drive down soft costs including construction costs, finance, and BoS components, says the agency’s CEO Ivor Frischknecht. Shortlisted projects developers include large international companies with proven track records, indicating such cost reductions appear likely.

At a presentation of its latest solar innovations yesterday in Freiberg, Germany’s largest solar cell and module manufacturer announced a PERC efficiency of 22%. Advances in busbar-less modules with half cells and bifacial PV modules were also announced.

Korea’s LG has confirmed that all of the four new lines to be added to its cell and module production facility in Gumi through 2018 will employ high efficiency cell and module tech. The expansion is on the back of compelling demand for its NeON 2 modules, which employ n-type mono cell technology along with busbarless cell interconnection.

As U.K. homeowners brace for the introduction of the new and reduced feed-in tariff, the Solar Trade Association says that solar remains a good investment for the average household.

Despite substantial public outcry and national scrutiny, state regulators have rejected a motion to delay implementation of changes to net metering until appeals can be heard.