‘We are at the dawn of a solar renaissance in Europe’
Head of SolarPower Europe welcomes news of imminent Solarworld sale whilst predicting removal of EU trade barriers on Chinese-made panels will bring dormant market back to life.
Meridiam buys 60% stake in 55 MW/140 MWh hydrogen-based solar-plus-storage in French Guiana
The Centrale électrique de l’Ouest guyanais was started by French hydrogen specialist HDF Energy in May. The $90 million plant, expected to generate 50 GWh per year, is being built near Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in northwestern French Guiana, and will meet the energy needs of the nearby municipality of Mana.
Japan auctions 197 MW in second PV tender
The Japanese Government has wrapped up its second of three planned solar auctions, with nine companies winning the rights to build a total of 196.96 MW of commercial PV capacity.
Construction begins on Sweden’s largest PV plant
The 5.5 MW facility was built by power company Göteborg Energi. The solar plant, in Säve, near Gothenburg, is intended to increase the utility’s generation capacity from renewable sources.
US southeastern states take the lead in utility-scale solar as interconnection queues swell to 188 GW (w/charts)
As a further sign that solar is going mainstream across the United States, a new report by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs finds that southeastern states hosted 40% of the utility-scale solar installed nationally in 2017. Interconnection queues have swelled to 188.5 GW of utility solar capacity, eight times more than installed capacity
Denmark issues tender for solar projects up to 1 MW
Through the exercise, the Danish Energy Agency will allocate around 35 MW of PV capacity. The $16.7m tender was originally scheduled for last year.
Vietnam extends provincial FiT scheme – with caveats
The government has extended the payment system in Ninh Thuan by 12 months. But with a 2 GW cap and 1.9 GW in place already, new entrants may have to move fast.
Zorlu Energy plans 50 MW solar project in Kazakhstan
The Turkish company has signed a framework agreement with the Kazakh Ministry of Energy and with the Turkestan district local authority for the large-scale project, which will be in the southernmost, sunniest part of the country.
US solar market slumps during second quarter
The impact of Section 201 tariffs is cited in a 9% year-over-year fall in installation volume during Q2. However, Wood Mackenzie and SEIA also show massive utility-scale procurement, which is expected to lead to a boom in the second half of the year.
SolarWorld halts production in Germany as raw materials run out
According to the company’s insolvency administrator it is unlikely negotiations with potential investors will generate concrete results this month. Module production has been suspended at Freiberg with employees relocated to a transfer company.
