UK energy regulator slashes subsidies for small-scale energy generators
Power generators that have less than 100 MW of capacity on the U.K. grid will see the payments they receive for supplying backup power during peak hours slashed from £45/kw to between £3/kw and £7/kw as Ofgem seeks to get a grip on consumer electricity bills.
Nicaragua to introduce net metering scheme for distributed generation
While the grid operator Enatrel conducts a feasibility study for solar distributed generation projects, the president Daniel Ortega urges the Parliament to approve the reform of the energy system which will introduce net metering for PV.
Czech Republic expands options for rooftop PV under Green Savings Programme
The scheme, which provides investment support for residential and commercial PV systems, now includes the possibility of expanding projects developed under the program’s previous phases.
TTC to invest $1 billion on 1 GW in Vietnam — reports
Vietnamese conglomerate TTC Group is now seeking investors for 10 to 20 projects, with plans to connect them to the grid by next year, according to recent media reports.
Deloitte says millennials are driving solar expansion
According to Deloitte’s annual “Resources 2017 Study – Energy Management: Sustainability & Progress,” grid parity, driven by technological advances and plunging prices, has allowed consumers and businesses to choose clean energy over more traditional fossil-fuel options, with increasing solar use being most consumers’ top priority.
U.S. utility-scale solar falls below US$1 per watt (w/ charts)
A Q1 report by GTM Research and SEIA found PV system price declines across all sectors, following collapses in component pricing. Fixed-tilt utility-scale systems broke the US$1 per watt barrier for the first time during the quarter.
PV accounts for 12.3% of net generation in Germany in May
According to analysis from Fraunhofer ISE, PV was almost on par with nuclear power in Germany in the previous month. PV systems installed in Germany generated the record volume of 5.57 terawatt hours.
Queensland to auction off 400 MW of renewables under new $873 million energy strategy
The government of the Australian state has revealed plans to launch reverse auctions this year for as much as 400 MW of renewable energy capacity, in addition to 100 MW of energy storage systems, as part of a new A$1.16 billion ($873.2 million) investment.
Austria has strong potential for solar-plus-storage
Although the central European country has a solar market with a stable growth, the residential solar-plus-storage segment is still far behind its strong potential. In 2016, around 500 storage systems combined with PV installations were installed under the incentive scheme in the country.
pv magazine 5th Quality Roundtable: a holistic approach is needed to solve quality issues
At pv magazine’s 5th Quality Roundtable at Intersolar Europe 2017, experts from the solar industry looked into holistic approaches to quality management for the lifetime of projects looking at selection of components and legal and technical issues.
