German cabinet issues decree for cross-border wind/solar auctions
Around 300 MW of PV and wind power plants will be selected in the future cross-border auctions, in which German developers will have to deal with competitors from other EU neighbor countries. In the pilot cross-border solar auction held last year, all selected projects were located in Denmark.
Brazil needs to improve grid in Minas Gerais to make space for solar
Brazil’s energy agency EPE has released a new study that recommends the improvement of the transmission system of the northern and north-western areas of the state of Minas Gerais, which is expected to host a considerable portion of the solar projects selected in the country’s auctions held in the past years.
EDF announces financial close for phase III of Dubai’s 1 GW solar plant
An undisclosed sum was provided by seven different lenders for the 800 MW third phase of the giant solar park.
Cameroon to install more off-grid and grid-connected solar capacity
Bank of China has agreed to lend $123 million for the country’s solar rural electrification program, while its power utility is planning to build three PV plants with a combined capacity of 35 MW.
GCL-SI achieves 20.1% efficiency for its PERC solar cells in mass production
The Chinese PV manufacturer has achieved a new efficiency breakthrough for its PERC solar cells, with the help of nanostructured black silicon. GCL-SI plans to reach an efficiency of up to 21.0% by the end of this year.
Germany’s auction for large-scale solar concludes with average price of €0.0566/kWh
The German government selected 32 project proposals with a combined capacity of 201 MW in the auction. For the first time, it was possible to submit proposals for large-scale PV projects on agricultural land in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. This has considerably lowered the biddings.
Argentina to authorize private PPAs between large power consumers and renewable energy producers
A draft of the new rules was submitted to public consultation by the Argentinean government. The new regulation, if implemented, would authorize the sale of power to large industrial power consumers by direct agreement.
Oman to tender 200 MW of solar by the end of 2017
The country’s power utility is currently seeking legal advisors for the tender it intends to launch for its first large-scale solar project.
African Development Bank considering $18 million loan for 50 MW PV project in Egypt
The Alcazar II solar project is being developed in the 1.8 GW Benban solar complex by UAE-based Alcazar Energy.
pv magazine at Intersolar Europe: Trade disputes the norm in global PV
With Solarworld’s recent insolvency announcement, questions regarding the potential for trade disputes to affect the global solar industry have once again been brought to the fore. At Intersolar Europe 2017 in Munich, pv magazine spoke with Benjamin Attia of GTM Research about the organization’s latest research into this broad reaching topic.
