utility scale PV

Better Energy is developing a new pilot project to demonstrate how future solar parks can be built on restored wetlands, not only reducing CO2 emissions by producing green power, but also by restoring carbon-rich lowland areas to wetlands.

Egyptian energy services company Elsewedy Electric T&D (EETD) recently secured a contract to build a 20 MWp PV plant and 35 MWh storage system in South Sudan.

Western Australian utility Horizon Power will build the nation’s first remote microgrid using renewable hydrogen generation at Denham, in the state’s northwest, having secured the support of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Researchers are seeking to understand the extent to which sudden spikes in irradiance can affect solar power plants. The preliminary findings indicate large scale PV projects are not immune to such events, especially when the spikes last longer than a minute.

Trade body SolarPower Europe’s preliminary statistics suggest this could be the continent’s best year for PV since 2010, with capacity additions set to soar 104% year on year. Spain is leading the way with an expected 4.7 GW of new solar, followed by Germany, with 4 GW.

The Australian utility-scale PV and wind industries have just gone through a record two years of construction and commissioning. More specifically, writes Rystad Energy’s David Dixon, utility-scale PV has transformed from a megawatt-scale market to one measured in gigawatts. The resultant boom in utility-scale PV in the country has attracted developers, EPCs and OEMs, from at home and across the globe.

Developers have until November 18 to submit bids for projects anywhere in India. The projects are to be set up on a develop, build, demonstrate and transfer basis.

With the transition to an auction procurement mechanism under way, Japan is this year set to expand the range of projects subject to the tender system from 2 MW-plus to 500 kW and above. With certain FIT cuts for projects with more than 2 MW capacity set to take effect in the second half of the year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has now proposed reducing tariffs for 10-500 kW commercial PV systems.

Wood Mackenzie notes that new investors and sources of capital are chasing down a limited supply of viable U.S. solar projects and sees tightening targets, expanding project appetite, and evolving techniques.

The Ngonye project proposed by Italian energy giant Enel Group and Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation, will be financially underpinned by senior loans of up to $10 million from the International Finance Corporation, up to $12 million from IFC-Canada Climate Change Program and up to $11.75 million from the European Investment Bank.