Thailand

As the solar industry digests yesterday’s announcement by Theresa May of a net zero carbon ambition by 2050, developer Solarcentury says Downing Street is hugely underestimating the role PV can play in achieving that milestone.

A unit of the Japanese electronics group has finished building a 49 MW solar array in Quang Ngai province, in collaboration with Thailand’s Sermsang Power.

The program will be open to solar power systems with a generation capacity larger than 10 kW. Initially, some 100 MW of solar power will be allocated through the mechanism. Net metering tariffs, however, will be little more than half the current electricity price.

Solar-plus-storage could be competitive against gas peaking power plants in Australia within the next five years, as the average solar-plus-storage LCOE across the Asia-Pacific region is set to fall from $133/MWh this year to $101/MWh by 2023, according to a newly released research report.

With Narendra Modi being tipped to triumph again in the current Indian elections, Indian solar capacity is expected to grow robustly, at 15.3% per year, on the back of continued strong government support.

Following a petition by domestic PV panel manufacturers, India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies has recommended the imposition of duties ranging from $537-1,559/metric ton on solar ethylene vinyl acetate sheets imported from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

While solar is lauded as a cheap energy resource in OECD countries, the cost of financing PV projects in developing nations has impeded progress. Development banks and the Clean Technology Fund they finance have played a key role in providing access to cheap financing for clean energy projects in many markets.

Floating plants with capacities of 45 MW and 24 MW have been announced by Thailand’s largest power provider. They may be the first of nine projects at dams operated by the utility.

The bank continues its involvement in Thailands largest IPP B.Grimm, which is set to grow its renewable energy portfolio. According to ADB, the green bond proceeds will go to nine operational solar PV plants with a cumulative rating of 67.7 MW, and 30.8 MW that are currently still under construction.

Another German car manufacturer has announced ambitious electric vehicle plans. Daimler AG says it has invested €20 billion in the purchase of battery cells to further advance its electric fleet.