Floating solar

Underlining India’s commitment to becoming the global renewable energy leader, Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said the country plans 500 GW of capacity by 2030. He also underlined India’s plans for becoming a solar and storage manufacturing hub; and said the International Solar Alliance needs to widen its membership.

There was incredulity in some quarters as the federal government raised its renewables ambition another 22%, but the stellar performance of the past four years points to the new target being a realizable one.

Price deflation and technological innovation are helping solar transform the global electricity sector. A new report by IEEFA highlights the latest solar milestones around the world and charts important trends including the rise of floating solar and the corporate PPAs helping the tech giants ‘green’ their energy-hungry data centres.

Singapore’s National Water Agency is seeking proposals to deploy two floating solar plants with a combined capacity of 2.5 MW at the Bedok Reservoir and Lower Seletar Reservoir.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has announced a tender for the development of a 150 MW grid connected floating solar PV power project in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The floating solar array will be deployed at the water reservoir of Peñol-Guatapé, which is owned and operated by local energy and telecommunications utility, Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM).

What has been termed the continent’s first utility-scale floating solar PV tender has been announced. Bids are being invited to install a 4 MW plant in the Seychelles.

A joint venture between Kyocera Corporation and Tokyo Century Corporation has completed a 13.7 MW floating solar PV plant in Japan.

The past year has been an exciting period for proponents of floating solar. A range of new projects and pilots have been announced across the globe over the past 12 to 14 months, with IHS Markit’s Solar Deal Tracker now listing floating PV installations in 24 countries throughout the world, all in varying stages of development.

In an exclusive interview, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) CEO, Jayant Parimal, tells pv magazine the renewable energy company is looking to expand both its module and cell manufacturing capacity to 2 GW. Moreover, it is looking to develop floating solar PV projects in its home market, India, in addition to continuing its focus on the utility-scale solar and wind sectors.