UK investor Downing, working with its investment partner Armstrong Energy Global, has developed and constructed 20MW of ‘open access’ solar projects in the South Indian states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Edify Energy and Wirsol Energy have connected the 60MW Gannawarra Solar Farm in northwest Victoria to the grid, with a storage retrofit expected before the summer.
Finland’s state-run power giant Fortum has won a competitive bid held by Helsinki-headquartered retailing cooperative S Group to set up around 10MW of solar PV capacity across 40 of its commercial buildings in Finland.
According to GTM Research, global solar PV installations are expected to surpass 104GW in 2018, despite the top four markets, including China, forecasted to decline collectively by 7%.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has teamed with PV manufacturing equipment specialist, SCHMID Group on lower cost BIPV modules that could reduce production costs by as much as 35%.
India-based EPC firm Sterling and Wilson has forayed into hybrid power plants and energy storage solutions and is already in advanced discussions for its first such projects in Africa and Europe.
Leading PV inverter manufacturer Huawei is supplying its string inverters to a 75MW fully-digitalized utility-scale PV project in Brazil, said to be the first of its kind in the country.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will visit the UK on 18 April during which he will welcome the European country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) as its newest member.
UPDATE: Major Indian solar EPC firm Mahindra Susten has put in the lowest bid for a solar and energy storage tender in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the second time, having seen its victory in the original auction torn away by authorities as they explored other sources of power generation.
The World Bank will provide a US$50 million grant for off-grid solar systems in Yemen to improve access to electricity and vital basic services in rural and outlying urban areas.
