Independent Power Producers

The speed at which Europe’s PV buildout has taken place over the last few decades is creating challenges for the solar industry around utility-scale O&M, as attendees of pv magazine’s Week Europe virtual conference session on leveraging technology for O&M heard.

Renewables research firm Pexapark says Europe’s independent power producers (IPPs) are evolving into customer-centric platforms with a focus on adding battery energy storage systems (BESS) to their portfolios and more structuring and pricing capabilities to prepare for the next wave of deals.

From modest beginnings in 2011, Power Capital Renewable Energy (PCRE) has become one of Ireland’s foremost independent power producers (IPPs). Joint CEO and co-founder Justin Brown told pv magazine that despite Ireland’s challenging environment for solar, the company sees a lot of opportunity and is taking full advantage.

Electricity market liberalization and private sector development of solar and energy storage in Cyprus continue to be delayed. pv magazine’s Ilias Tsagas looks at why independent power producers are frustrated by electricity curtailment and a lack of market reform.

Across Africa, rooftop solar is stepping in to fill the void as fears of non-payment and inflation-reduced donor funding dampen enthusiasm for big solar. Commercial and industrial (C&I) arrays are leading the charge, driving consolidation in markets overstocked with startup and mid-size installers.

Extensive load-shedding, lack of grid capacity, failing coal-fired power stations, lack of progress in clean power procurement, and even vandalism have prompted various South African government departments to take renewables generation into their own hands, seemingly without any overarching plan, as Bryan Groenendaal reports.

Everoze Partner Abdul Sotayo highlights some of the issues that continue to hold back progress on clean energy in Nigeria, where energy poverty remains a problem, despite the nation’s vast solar potential.

The Zimbabwean government has agreed to guarantee viable power tariffs to 27 solar projects by independent power producers (IPPs). Developers are set to build 997.9 MW of capacity, with a total investment of around $1 billion.

Richards Bay Minerals has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with French renewables developer Voltalia, which plans to build a 148 MW solar project in South Africa’s Limpopo province.

President Ramaphosa’s speech this week included momentous plans for new solar and battery procurement as well as efforts to cut licensing and permitting delays as national utility Eskom scrambles to reduce the scale of black-outs.