Covid-19 weekly round-up: US job losses raise concern but France and China continued to add new solar
Cell supply shortages could kick-start manufacturing activity in India, EV car sales are braced for a fall while still gaining market share and a new date has been set for the world’s biggest solar trade show.
Turkey plans 1 GW solar tender before October
Minister of energy Fatih Dönmez announced the procurement exercise, which is part of a plan to relaunch the nation’s economy during the Covid-19 crisis.
Turkish solar market changing shape
According to the latest figures from the Turkish grid operator, 109 MW of new solar was added in the first quarter, most of it net-metered rooftop systems. The troubled 1 GW national tender originally planned in January 2019, however, has been postponed for a second time, with the government stating the Covid-19 crisis will cause the exercise to be staged next year.
Turkish solar reaches 6 GW
The nation deployed around 923 MW of new solar last year. Around 350 MW came in the form of unlicensed projects given an extension to their grid-connection deadlines.
Big money for Turkey’s 500 MW solar factory
With the Turkish government having given Kalyon Enerji another three years to build the 500 MW facility it won a tender to construct with former partner Hanwha Q Cells, Ankara has now committed a $333 million “super incentive” to the fab.
Mega projects, mega problems
The clouds gathering over Turkey’s 1 GW solar park in Konya, the first YEKA tender, are dominating discussion among the country’s PV players. Developments surrounding the Konya tender illustrate the Turkish solar market’s challenges, as the country’s unsteady economy and its policy preference for local manufacturing appear to be acting as a brake on installations.
The weekend read: Land of the Crescent Sun
Despite its abundant solar resources, Turkey’s potential for solar energy development remains largely untapped. Although the market grew considerably between 2017 and 2018, the outlook for the next two years, due to the macroeconomic situation and the current regulatory framework, appears rather gloomy. If regulations will not be changed, and tenders for large-scale solar remain unimproved, unsubsidized PV and self-consumption may remain the best options available to seek more growth.
Turkey scraps 1 GW solar tender
The procurement exercise, intended for the deployment of large-scale projects across three locations, was to have been held on January 29. The tender will be re-issued this year – and it may include storage.
