Is Mexican utility CFE entering the solar business?
Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is seeking approval to develop 350 MW of solar in the state of Baja California. The arrays will be built on the same site as the 820 MW Cerro Prieto geothermal project. However, it remains unclear whether the PV installations mark the company’s formal entry into the solar business.
US utility invests in Australian prefab PV system manufacturer
AES, one of the world’s largest power companies, has made a strategic investment in Sydney-based prefabricated solar system manufacturer 5B.
Germany added 437 MW of PV in June
June installations brought first-half capacity additions to 2.36 GW, as Europe’s largest solar market largely shrugged off the impact of the pandemic.
German PV tender concludes with lowest price of €0.0490/kWh
The country’s latest tech-specific PV tender was oversubscribed, but the final prices are slightly lower than those recorded in the last procurement round.
Strategies to prevent overvoltage-induced inverter disconnections
Australian scientists have identified seven methods to prevent PV losses when overvoltage-induced inverter disconnections occur. The methods include battery storage, reactive power inverters, export limits, distribution static synchronous compensators, the replacement of old conductors in power grids, load reconfiguration, and dynamic voltage restoration.
Fuzzy logic MPPT to improve PV system performance
A Pakistani-Chinese research group has demonstrated a new maximum power point tracking method, based on a fuzzy logic algorithm to provide faster results. The converter tech is claimed to have an impact on PV system efficiency and provide isolation between the load and the PV array.
India to hit large-scale PV target of 60 GW by 2022
India’s cumulative renewables capacity will hit 120 GW to 125 GW by December 2022, with solar to account for about 50% of the total, according to a new report by ICRA.
Texan utility tenders 900 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage
CPS Energy has taken the first step towards bringing those volumes – plus 500 MW of firming capacity – to the Lone Star State in pursuit of the power company’s 50%-renewables-by-2040 goal.
World’s largest solar project for on-site consumption
Utility Iberdrola will provide solar power to the Spanish site of Saudi petrochemical company Sabic, which has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement. The electricity will be generated by a €70 million, 100 MW solar park.
Restrictions for solar on agricultural land may slow PV growth in Taiwan
Taiwan-based TrendForce says the nation added only 410 MW of solar capacity to the end of May, towards this year’s 2.2 GW target. The lower-than-expected deployment volume may be further hampered by new restrictions for PV on agricultural land introduced by the Council of Agriculture this month.
