Bhutan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to lend €150 million ($160.2 million) for renewables in Bhutan, in order to fund solar and hydropower installations in remote regions. Solar facilities are expected to reduce Bhutan’s reliance on energy imports during the dry months of the year and diversify the nation’s electricity mix.

Decentralized solar devices such as PV-powered portable irrigation pumps are technically viable solutions to meet the energy needs of food value chains across the high-altitude Hindu Kush Himalaya region, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Bhutan aims to facilitate the construction of its first PV project through a new tender.

We will need 10.7 TW of clean energy generation capacity this decade to stay on track with the most ambitious of the climate change paths agreed in Paris, which would include plenty of solar investment and jobs, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The latest set of clean energy statistics compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency signal a changing of the guard when it comes to clean power, with legacy hydropower facilities overtaken by new intermittent renewables.

The national utility has kicked off a procurement round to build the country’s first major PV project.

Almost all of the energy supplied in the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan comes from 1.67 GW of hydropower capacity but with a rising population and energy demand, and an expanding economy, the 12 GW of solar the International Renewable Energy Agency estimates the Himalayan nation could host might reduce the risk of climate change-related blackouts.

U.K. developer Lightsource BP – in which oil and gas giant BP has a significant minority stake – and its Singapore fund partner EverSource Capital are reportedly ready to take up all the $100 million slice of Ayana Renewable Power which is being put up for sale.