ABB supplies inverters for 20 MW project in southern Egypt
The plant was installed in an area of Egypt’s Western Desert that is devoted to a governmental project to transform half a million acres of desert into arable land.
Australia’s North Territory backs 50% renewables plan, to boost home solar and batteries
The Northern Territory government has given broad support to a plan to transition the territory to 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, and announced new funding for rooftop solar and grid upgrades, after the release of a Roadmap to Renewables report on Monday.
Germany develops hybrid compensation plant system combined with storage, converter
In the system, the research team combined energy storage with a very powerful converter that can influence the signal flow in the power grid. This should help reduce the number of individual systems that are used for system services and expand the use of storage.
NASA develops new tool to measure total solar irradiance
NASA is on course to more accurately monitor the level of solar irradiance that reaches the earth, with the launch of a instrument for the International Space Station.
Soltec provides trackers for Scatec’s 162 MW solar project in Brazil
Around 5,300 trackers will be installed at a plant that Scatec Solar has developed in the Brazilian state of Ceará. With this project, Soltec has supplied a total of 909 MW worth of trackers in the country, and 1.7 GW in Latin America.
European PV market expected to grow by 35% in 2018 – GTM Research
European countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain are all forecast to be gigawatt-scale markets in 2018. Globally, around 606 GW of new PV capacity is forecast to be installed between 2017 and 2022.
EU Energy Committee’s proposal to upgrade 2030 RE target to 35% welcomed
The European Parliament has proposed both an upgraded, binding RE target of 35%, and plans to reduce energy consumption by 40% by 2030. The two resolutions, along with other provisions to remove fees or taxes on self-consumption, now have to be approved in January. SolarPower Europe has welcomed the news, saying the move will boost jobs and investment.
Brazil’s BNDES offers new financing conditions for projects in upcoming auction
The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has changed its loan committments, and will now cover 80% of the financing of all competing technologies, compared to the previous auctions, where this percentage was granted solely to solar. As in the previous auctions, financing will only be allocated to projects using locally-manufactured equipment.
Burkina Faso commissions 33 MW PV plant
The country’s largest solar facility was officially inaugurated in the presence of French president Emmanuel Macron. The project was financed by France’s Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union.
Netherland’s Ballast Nedam expands into large-scale solar business
The Dutch construction group is currently developing four PV plants with a combined capacity of 50 MW in the Netherlands.
