Vietnam greenlights $3.3bn worth of solar PV projects – reports
Country’s Dak Lak province grants series of MoUs and licences for a raft of solar PV projects, including a reported 300 – 500 MW solar farm to be developed by U.S. power firm AES Corporation and a mooted 2 GW project by local firm Xuan Thien Daklak, reports Reuters.
Certified PV project is first of its kind in Jordan
The certification of a 5 MW solar PV plant in Jordan is the first of its kind in the Middle Eastern country and opens up new trade opportunities.
Algeria to launch 4 GW solar tender by the end of March
The Algerian government is set to launch a tender for the construction of large-scale PV projects totaling 4 GW. The tender will be held in three 1,350 MW phases and will select projects with an average capacity of 100 MW.
USTDA awards grant for solar in Burkina Faso
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a grant to Société de Production d’Energie Solaire de Kodéni SAS, a Burkina Faso based solar industry association. The grant will fund feasibility studies for two 17 MW PV plants to be located in the southwest of the country.
The pv magazine weekly news digest
Amid the innovation on display in Portugal, the optimism in Japan and the, well, eagerness in Norway were stories of takeovers, Tesla and storage that shaped yet another fascinating week in the global solar PV industry.
Apple Supplier Ibiden to invest in 12 MW PV installations
Japanese electronics company Ibiden, a major component supplier to Apple, will power all of its manufacturing for the U.S. tech giant with renewable energy. To meet this pledge, Ibiden will invest in solar projects with a total capacity of more than 12 MW, including one of Japan’s largest floating PV projects.
Elon Musk throws down “serious” challenge to tackle South Australia’s energy crisis
Tesla founder Elon Musk has thrown down a challenge to the Australian government, saying that he can build a battery array capable of resolving South Australia’s energy stability issues within 100 days. Musk took to social media to make the challenge, saying that Tesla could develop a 100 MWh system to stabilize the state’s electricity network, within 100 days of a contract being signed, or that he’ll provide it for free.
Over 50,000 distributed generation PV projects expected to come online in Mexico this year
Mexican company Conermex forecasts that investment for distributed generation projects (DGPV) in Mexico could reach $750 million between 2017 and 2018.
Netherlands’ PV market set to reach 2 GW milestone
The Dutch market keeps showing signs of sustained growth. Estimated new installed PV power for 2016 is expected to surpass 500 MW, while another 600 MW is forecast for this year. Several PV projects developed under the SDE+ program for large-scale renewable energy projects began to come online in the past months.
Chile registers increase in PV installations for self-consumption
PV systems installed under Chile’s net-metering scheme have reached 6.4 MW. The Chilean government has recently made it easier to install small-sized PV for self-consumption.
