Significant increases of utility tariffs in Nigeria and Ghana are improving the business case for solar by providing money to utilities and bringing competition to the power market, according to energy developers.
Difficulties in financing Indian solar projects with extremely low tariffs and the wobbling of major solar player SunEdison will not impact the long-term prospects of India’s PV market, according to two senior banking and finance representatives.
Midway across southern Ghana, near the historic port fishing town of Winneba, lies East and West Africa’s largest solar PV plant. Ghana suffers a severe energy deficit with only around 70% of the population having access to electricity, so it was welcome news that the project was connected to the grid at the end of last week. PV Tech visited the new project, built by China-based power firm BXC Ghana, just ahead of the Solar and Off-grid Renewables West Africa 2016 conference in Accra, Ghana.
OCI Solar Power and energy professionals group Buenavista Renewables (BVR) joined with the local Mexican government to commemorate what is claimed to be Mexico’s first private solar park.
SMA’s US$20 million investment in ‘smart module’ maker Tigo Energy could help the string inverter maker to meet much-debated fire safety standards that are likely to be introduced in the US, according to one industry analyst.
A trial project using 1.1MWh of lithium-ion battery storage to harness power from rooftop solar systems has been installed in the Western Australia suburb of Alkimos.
The results of Mexico’s first clean energy auction were even better than expected, with an exponential increase in solar in the country forecasted this year as a result. The awarded capacity is scheduled to be put to good use, with big winners releasing details of projects earlier this week.
German-based trade association VDMA Photovoltaic Equipment said that manufacturing equipment orders received by around 100 members increased by 86% in the fourth quarter of 2015, marking a major rebound in purchase orders.
Indian state-owned power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has been advised to step up its activities in solar energy by minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Anant Geete.
