PV plant

Electricity regulator ANEEL has proposed applying a fee for solar systems with up to 5 MW of generation capacity and reducing energy payments for participants in the nation’s net metering program.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency expects the nation’s solar generation capacity to have increased by another 5 GW by the end of next year, from around 4.4 GW at the end of 2018. By the end of 2023, installed PV capacity is predicted to reach approximately 15 GW.

The Korean Ministry of Defense has said the huge project will not interfere with the flight operations of U.S. forces stationed in a base near Saemangeum, an estuarine tidal flat on the coast of the Yellow Sea where the plant would be deployed.

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.

Google pre-qualified bidders and used reverse auctions to obtain the lowest price for renewable energy. Reverse auctions for corporate purchases could potentially benefit solar developers, if their transparency and simplicity can influence more corporations to procure green power.

In September, PV systems with a total generation capacity of 287 MW were registered in the country. The feed-in tariff has fallen again for this quarter as a result of the new capacity additions.

Five PV power plants, each with a generation capacity of 15 MW, were grid-connected in the Russian Republic of Buryatia and the Zabaikalsky Territory. The projects were built under a program which offers generators capacity payments and the ability to trade on the wholesale energy market.

Saudi energy giant ACWA Power won the tender for the project in August thanks to a lowest final electricity price offer of $0.02752/kWh. Construction of the facility, which will use bifacial panels, is expected to be complete by April 2021.

Two PV plants are set to be built under the Project for Promotion of Auctions for Renewable Energies program, being implemented with the support of Mozambican utility Electricidade de Mocambique, which is likely to be the future off-taker of the solar energy generated.