Covid-19 weekly briefing: US residents ponder solar during lockdown, Aussie installers wonder what might have been and the Indian EV industry calls for help
Plus, Italian developers continue to dig deep for their health service, the pandemic piles on problems for a debt-saddled Chinese company and analysts consider whether there will be any money left for a green economic recovery after the dust settles.
Utility-scale floating PV for Indian coal mines
Solar Energy Corp. of India has tendered two floating PV projects with a combined capacity of 15 MW. The two plants will be deployed at a storage reservoir (10 MW) and an open-cast project void (5 MW) in the Indian state of Telangana.
German utility-scale PV tender concludes with average price of €0.0518/kWh
The government allocated 301 MW of PV capacity across 51 projects in the procurement exercise.
Germany and France modify solar tenders because of Covid-19
The governments of both countries are answering solar industry requests by adjusting tender schemes and considering measures to avoid financial penalties and the loss of incentives due to missed deadlines.
A dual-angle approach to building solar plants at higher latitudes
A research team in the US has proposed a ‘dual-angle solar harvesting’ method it is claimed could help PV developers optimize energy yield and land use. It is claimed the method would be particularly suitable for projects in cloudier climates and at higher latitudes.
How Covid-19 is halting solar development in Germany
pv magazine has spoken to Germany’s largest solar project developers about how construction has ground to a halt on many PV projects in Europe since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Politicians need to extend implementation deadlines for PV projects that are being built under tender schemes, but deadlines are not the only challenge that companies currently face.
Sri Lanka launches 150 MW solar tender
Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board is seeking proposals for 20 solar power projects ranging in size from 3 MW to 10 MW. The projects are part of the third phase of the ‘Soorya Bala Sangramaya’ (Battle for Solar Energy) program.
Marubeni acquires Taiwanese solar developer
The Japanese conglomerate will buy Chenya Energy for an undisclosed sum. The Taiwanese developer has a 270 MW solar project pipeline on the island.
Philippines wants auctions for 2 GW of renewables
The government is planning to introduce a procurement regime this year which the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says could drive the price of clean electricity as low as PHP3/kWh. It is thought projects which missed the feed-in tariff scheme deadline will be eligible to compete in the auctions.
Syria launches tenders for 63 MW of solar
The Ministry of Electricity Transmission Establishment is seeking to build a 23 MW solar facility in Damascus and a 40 MW plant near Homs.
