large-scale solar

In the third of a series of four blogs, solar pioneer Philip Wolfe lists the world’s largest solar parks. In these articles, a “solar park” is defined as a group of co-located solar power plants.

The $800 million of private backing secured by Californian residential solar finance business GoodLeap helped the sector achieve VC and private equity funding of $1.6 billion in the first six months of the year, up from just $210 million a year earlier.

The SFOne tracker is designed for modules with 72 and 78-cell designs. According to Soltec, it reduces the time spent in its installation by 75% and will be available in all markets where the company operates.

The tracker has a length of 72 meters, which the company says allows for 120 modules per tracker. The new product was conceived as a multi-drive, dual-slewing system that is claimed to have improved overall stability compared to other products and to show a reduced aeroelastic effect.

For investment portfolios and for the entire renewables sector, diversity matters. A new independent study shows that by complementing Ireland’s onshore wind sector with greater volumes of large-scale solar, emissions are lower, curtailment decreases, and society potentially gains economically, to the tune of €21 per citizen. Conall Bolger, CEO of the Irish Solar Energy Association, reports on the power of daytime production.

As the ongoing changes in Italian politics inevitably create some uncertainties, PV operators continue to organize themselves, pulling together to put forward their agenda. pv magazine spoke with Andrea Cristini, spokesperson of new industry body Alleanza per il fotovoltaico in Italia, a group of 25 operators which in December joined forces to promote utility scale solar parks.

Despite a difficult regulatory framework for utility scale solar, two new projects were announced in southern Italy this week. A 700 MW project is being planned by German companies Steag and KGAL and a 78 MW plant will be built by UK-based Lightsource BP. Both facilities will be located in Sicily.

Western Australia’s opposition leader has proposed a new energy policy ahead of the state’s upcoming March 13 election, with plans to phase out coal and deploy solar, wind, and hydrogen.

The French energy company will build the facility on the water reservoir of the Lazer hydroelectric plant, to double its production. Construction is expected to require 13 months.

Ampyr Solar Europe, a new joint venture between Naga Solar, the AGP Group, and Hartree Partners, will develop ground-mounted photovoltaic projects in the three European countries. The solar parks will be financed through power purchase agreements with energy suppliers and businesses.