Solar

India: Increased Commitment By Government Drives Demand For Solar Inverters

Asia Pacific, Deals & Finance, Policy, Solar, Technology

SMA has announced that it sold more than 1GW of solar inverters into all market segments in India in 2017. SMA inverter sales in the commercial sector have doubled compared to last year, corresponding to a market share of 30%. In total, the installed SMA inverter base in India exceeds 3 gigawatts. “India is one of the key markets for SMA in the Asia Pacific region. In the last 3 years, we have seen strong commitment from the Indian government driving growing market demand in the solar sector”.

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African Rise: VINCI Energies Wins Contract To Build 8 PV Power Plants In Senegal

Carbon, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Policy, Solar

VINCI Energies has won a project that could be at the spearhead of many other similar projects for EU, Chinese and US firms. A €26.8m contract for 8 pv power plants with a combined capacity of 17 MW, to be built over a period of only 10 months. Strategically the project will diversify Senegal’s energy mix and electrify the country’s isolated regions. The power plants will use 62,850 panels overall and produce the annual energy consumption for 140,000 people. The project represents a €26.8 million investment, financed by the German bank KFW and Senelec.

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100MW PV Project Win For Enel Highlights African Potential And Ethiopian Market

Deals & Finance, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Solar

A consortium led by Enel Green Power has been selected as the preferred bidder for a 100 MW solar project in Metehara, Ethiopia. Ethiopia has all the potential to become a key market for Enel’s strategy in Africa due to its plentiful renewable resources, stable regulatory framework and electrification needs. In addition, the Ethiopian Government’s ‘Growth Transformation Plan 2’ is expected to collect nearly 12,000 MW of new hydro, wind, geothermal and solar capacity in partnership with the private sector, with the aim of meeting the country’s electrification needs while diversifying its generation mix in line with the government’s energy plan for the years up to 2020.

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Dubai’s Transformation Into Smart City Under Way, Using New Technolgy From ABB

Europe/Middle East/Africa, Solar, Technology

ABB technology is supporting the development of new smart solar power systems for the city of Dubai, UAE. Dubai Electric & Water Authority (DEWA) is using the ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System to help develop data-driven strategies that maximize year-round solar energy production as part of the Smart Dubai initiative. “We seek to promote Dubai as a smart, sustainable, and integrated city with a high-tech infrastructure to support social and economic development, as well as promote sustainable use of resources by ensuring best practices in consumption, efficiency and governance,” said his Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

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Small Island States Drive To Scale-Up Clean Energy And Address Climate Change

Asia Pacific, Carbon, Policy, Solar

Ministers and officials representing 30 countries and organizations met in Malé, Maldives, signalling the determination of small island developing states (SIDS) to strengthen global efforts to address climate change and accelerate renewable energy deployment. “In the wake of a deadly hurricane season in the Caribbean and at a time when the resolve to tackle the climate crisis has been called into question, small islands are sending the world a clear message: we are seizing the promise of renewable energy to grow our economies today and build a better future for tomorrow,” said Thoriq Ibrahim, Energy and Environment Minister for the Maldives and Chair of Alliance of Small Island States.

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Enel Starts Construction Of Australia’s Largest Solar PV Project

Asia Pacific, Deals & Finance, Head Lines, Solar

The Bungala Solar One facility is part of the Bungala Solar PV Project and will have an installed capacity of 137.7 MW out of a total of more than 275 MW for the whole project, that will be able to produce 570 GWh per year. The facility will cover an area of approximately 300 hectares and will consist of about 420,000 polycrystalline PV modules mounted on single-axis tracker structures which will follow the Sun’s path from east to west; increasing the amount of energy produced by the plant, compared to PV modules with fixed structures. The overall Bungala Solar PV project is expected to become fully operational in early 2019.

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Renovate America Applauds Landmark Protection Framework For PACE Financing

Americas, Efficiency, Solar

California Governor Jerry Brown signs into law two bills that significantly strengthen Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing for homeowners and communities. Renovate America, the nation’s largest PACE provider, has hailed Governor Jerry Brown’s signing into law of two bills that provide a landmark regulatory and consumer protection framework for PACE. “Across 150,000 California homes, PACE has already saved enough energy to power the United States for over a day – and this legislation provides the regulatory and underwriting framework to ensure it’s a responsible choice for hundreds of thousands more homes and families,” said Ari Matusiak, Chief Strategy Officer at Renovate America.

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DEWA Awards World’s Largest CSP Project To ACWA, Shanghai Elec. Led Consortium

Deals & Finance, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Solar

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded the 700MW AED14.2 billion-fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Shanghai Electric. This is the largest single-site Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world and will have the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260 metres. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world and will generate 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030.

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IDFC Alternatives Fund Acquires Solar Projects Totaling 190MW From First Solar

Asia Pacific, Deals & Finance, Solar

India Infrastructure Fund II (IIF II), represented by its investment manager, IDFC Alternatives Limited, one of India’s largest alternatives fund managers, is to acquire seven operating solar projects owned and operated by the First Solar Group in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana aggregating to a capacity of 190 MW. All the projects utilise First Solar’s advanced CdTe (Cadmium Telluride) based thin film modules, one of the most environmentally friendly PV technologies, and sell the power generated to state utilities, under long term power purchase agreements. Aditya Aggarwal, Partner, IDFC Alternatives stated that “consistent with its stated strategy of aggregating operating renewable assets, IIF II is well on its way to achieving an installed base of 400-450 MW of operating renewable assets by the end of the current financial year.”

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35% Of German Electricity Consumption Now From Renewables: Grid Challenges Ahead

Head Lines, Hydro, Policy, Solar, Wind

The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) have stated in an initial assessment that electricity generated from clean energy accounted for 35% of Germany’s consumption in 1H 2017. It’s the first time that this mark has been reached. The total share of electricity generated from renewables was up 2% from last year. The growth from onshore wind was 13.6%; offshore wind saw the steepest growth at 47.5%; growth from biomass increased by 2.2%, whilst the growth from PV systems was 13.5%, compared with the 1H 2016.

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