Chinese module maker and project developer Canadian Solar has acquired a 51% stake in project pipeline of five utility scale solar farms in New South Wales. The projects, which are at an early stage, were initiated by Netherlands-based Photon Energy NV.

Two weeks ago, the 8th World Future Energy Summit opened its doors in Abu Dhabi. The conference and trade show comprised six co-located events across the cleantech spectrum, and attracted over 33,000 visitors across four days. The rapid increase in the scale of activity within the solar sector in the region was on display throughout the show. Here are three key takeaways from WFES 2018.

All forms of renewable energy will be cost competitive with traditional generation sources by 2020. This was one of the key findings in the latest report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). It was delivered yesterday at IRENA’s 8th annual Assembly in Abu Dhabi.

The rapid build out of a large pipeline of utility scale PV projects around Australia could stretch the experienced installation labour force, threatening quality. Solar industry veteran and the Managing Director of PI Berlin Lars Podlowski made the warning as the company expands into Australia through its acquisition of quality assurance provider SolarBuyer.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is continuing to foster utility scale PV growth in Queensland, providing $55 million in non-recourse project finance to the Oakey 2 Solar Farm. Canadian Solar will supply modules for the project and will also serve as EPC.

The 8th Quality Roundtable brought into sharp focus the challenges that Taiwan’s fast-growing solar market faces as it attempts to ramp up towards its 20 GW by 2025 PV goal. Typhoons, humidity and sea spray are just the beginning.

A major milestone was surpassed in the Australian PV market last month, indicating that the rooftop solar sector is in robust health. However, not tracked in the figures underlying the record are large commercial rooftops and distributed battery storage, and reports are that here too strong growth is being achieved.

SMA is set to supply its central inverters and power plant controllers to more than 20 PV power plant projects in Australia. Today the inverter giant revealed that it has signed contracts to supply its Medium Voltage Power Station (MVPS) and the SMA Power Plant Controller to around 1.2 GW in projects.

UK-based asset manager Foresight Group claims to have assembled the largest asset fleet of utility scale solar in Australia. After having acquired four solar projects in Queensland and initiated one Victorian project in less than two years, the fund noted that it had moved quickly to “capitalise on the opportunities.”

Spanish inverter supplier Ingeteam is taking part in a research program deploying drones to inspect existing PV power plants, to spot the causes of underperformance. The SCARAB project is headed by the company and has been provided with almost €650,000 (AU$980,000) in funding from the Spanish government.