Solar

In a new report, the association states that urgent action is required for, among other issues, the improvement of solar generation forecasts, the exploitation of storage systems, and the reduction of minimum operation and start-up times for both existing and new thermal and hydro generators.

The alert came from the Dutch Social and Economic Council, which advised the government to invest in, among other things, training more workforce specializing in building and maintaining renewable energy power plants. On the other hand, is a fact that qualified installers are urgently needed to deploy the several GWs of of solar power allocated under the SDE+ incentive program.

The Gujarat state government has approved a 5 GW solar PV park, to be located in the Dholera Special Investment Region. The development of what will become the world’s largest such project when complete, is seen as “crucial” on the back of Bangladesh’s recent interest to procure 2 GW of solar energy from India.

Norway based project developer, Scatec Solar has posted consolidated revenue of NOK 289 million (US$37.1 milion) for the first quarter of 2018, and the company’s EBITDA increased to NOK 212 million ($27.1 million), over the previous quarter’s NOK 207 million. It attributes the improved financials to an increase in development and construction activity.

The 15 MW project was developed under the Netherlands’ SDE+ program for large-scale renewables.

The governments of the U.K. and India have announced a new green fund, managed by Lightsource BP and the Everstone Group, which will see up to £500 million invested in green energy in India. The U.K. has also joined the Indian-led International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The IPP project is being conceived mainly for self-consumption, although its developers have not excluded selling some of the generated power to a nearby industrial district.

The project, to be developed in the province of San Juan, was selected by the Argentinean government in the second auction round (Ronda 1.5) of the RenovAr program for large-scale renewable energy projects.

U.S. technology company Microlink Devices has achieved a record efficiency of 37.75% on its triple junction thin film cells. The lightweight cell achieves a power density of more than 3000 W/kg, and is designed for use in satellites and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The new efficiency record is confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The final average price of the awarded projects was €80.8/MWh, slightly below the previous tender of the same type, in which the average price was €85/MWh.