Auction

Three energy associations, including Holland Solar, have asked the Dutch parliament to take action amid worsening grid connection problems for renewable energy projects in the Netherlands. According to the energy groups, around 700 MW of solar and wind projects allocated under the SDE+ incentive program could lose their payments if they miss connection deadlines.

Some 37 solar projects with a combined generation capacity of 202 MW were assigned in a procurement round which was oversubscribed despite a lack of onshore wind bids.

Raad Al Haris, an energy advisor to the prime minister, announced the idea at the Energy Transition in the Arab World conference held in Berlin this week. Al Haris also revealed the Iraqi government has pre-qualified 45 bidders for the first tender.

The PV facility was completed a month and a half ahead of schedule by Saudi energy company ACWA Power. The project will sell power at $0.0236/kWh.

The Alqueva Dam on the Guadiana River, in southern Portugal, will host ten floating PV projects mostly financed by a €45 million Council of Europe Development Bank loan.

In this year’s tender, which is open to PV and wind projects with a generation capacity of more than 1 MW, solar may have better prospects after securing only 1 MW in last year’s exercise. The Energy Regulatory Office also announced the auction for sub-1 MW projects will be held on December 10.

The energy provider concluded its second renewables auction on November 13, and has contracted 121.6 MW of wind and solar. Selected projects will be granted a 15-year PPA and will have to begin commercial operations in 2023.

According to the bidding terms published by the National Energy Commission, project proposals may be submitted by June 11 and the results will be announced on June 19. Successful bidders will secure a 15-year power supply deal and some 5.6 TWh of electricity is expected to be generated annually as a result of the new capacity.

PV is expected to claim 44% of the clean energy capacity needed to generate 2.4 TWh of electricity in the next two years but potentially gas driven co-generation is also set for big gains. The Ministry of Economy could announce the first auction this year. Energy company Slovenský plynárenský priemysel will be the off-taker.

The EU member state added 418 MW of new solar in the first six months of the year and its energy regulator expects another 1.4 GW in the years ahead, as a result of the METAR incentives scheme introduced in 2017. The regulator has also announced a pilot renewables auction with the results expected early next year.