Community

Interview: Soventix has been focusing on PV projects in developing countries for years. The German solar company is now building 11 hybrid plants for a Nigerian bank. Soventix CEO, Thorsten Preugschas explains in an interview with pv magazine what the particular challenges of such projects are and why investments are planned in Nigeria.

Global solar installations could reach about 106 GW this year, largely on the back of high deployment in China and an anticipated demand recovery in Europe, according to a recent report.

Distributed solar can arrive in many forms, from the typical small array installed on a family home, to vast, multi-megawatt installations atop large warehouses and factories. Each market sector faces its own challenges and opportunities, and pv magazine has identified five key questions that could well shape these various rooftop sectors throughout 2018 and beyond.

According to China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), the country installed a total of 52.83 GW of solar PV in 2017, with cumulative capacity now sitting at 130.25 GW. Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co. Ltd (AECEA) forecasts this to reach 250 GW by 2020.

Myanmar market overview: There is vast solar potential in the country, primarily in off-grid, which is the number one driver of electrification, and proving a lifeline for many. C&I presents an interesting business case, but as with utility-scale projects there is still a lot to be done.

BNEF has released its top 10 clean energy predictions for 2018, including at least 107 GW of solar PV installs. China will lead, but Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East will notably up the ante. India will install less RE than in 2017, but will see fossils outpace RE for the last time; and China will see distributed grid connected solar leading the market. Li-ion prices are also declining, while EV sales grow.

Despite approximate 25% fall in solar costs per MWh against 2015, last year saw more than $333 billion invested in clean energy, with global solar deployment figures topping 53 GW, finds new Bloomberg New Energy Finance report.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, and EDF SA, the parent company of the EDF Group, to develop off-grid projects in sub-Saharan African countries.

The solar kits will be installed in rural areas with no connection to the country’s power grid.

Pakistan has updated its 2015 net metering scheme to make it more user friendly. The Government of Punjab, meanwhile, has unveiled a new Access to Clean Energy Investment Program, aimed at installing over 20,000 solar PV rooftop systems.