PV plant

With 95.67 MW already installed on railway buildings, a further 248.46 MW, awarded by the Railway Energy Management Company Limited, is under development.

The African Development Bank is seeking consultants to explore how two hydropower projects and an associated grid planned in Burundi can incorporate solar power. The addition of photovoltaics is intended to reduce the country’s dependency on hydro, level out generation during dry and wet seasons and mitigate the effect of droughts.

Two projects have been deployed by Canopy Power on private islands in Indonesia. The two 52.5 kW/77 kWh mini-grids were the only alternative to diesel generators due to the lack of a connection with the grid on the island of Batam. The projects – which rely on REC Solar modules, SMA inverters and a storage system from Tesvolt – provide around half of the energy required on their respective islands.

The German storage system provider intends to use its ‘Sonnen-Flat’ payment package to help customers benefit from the proceeds of its virtual power plant.

The mature renewable energies are the most efficient power resources to slow down global warming and reduce human health impacts, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. The authors claim renewable energy generation capacity is also the best way to reduce land use, toxicity and drinking water depletion.

Ground-mounted PV systems promote biodiversity according to a new study published in Germany. Scientists collected data from 75 MW of solar plants nationwide and found the areas they were located in showed greater diversity and more intact habitat structures and found panels provide a refuge for animals.

Dutch gas and power provider Essent has agreed to buy the Amsterdam-based renewables marketplace for an undisclosed sum. Vandebron sells electricity aggregated from wind, solar and biomass projects.

Organizers of the Solar Power Mexico 2020 exhibition face a difficult task of replicating the success of the first edition of the event, which took place this year and had participation of 78 exhibitors and more than 5,000 visitors. Next year’s event will be held from March 24 to 26 at Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City.

A study of the after-effects of the energy transition has assessed 156 nations and ranked a surprising winner. Here, energy expert Indra Overland discusses the findings of the GeGaLo Index as part of our interview examining renewables and geopolitics.

The government has unveiled a plan to help the PV industry reduce the cost of solar panels from around $0.23/W to $0.10/W by 2030. The plan also aims to reach module efficiencies of around 24% – up to 35% for multi-junction cells – by the end of the next decade.