The cost of grid connections should not be an obstacle to large-scale expansion of solar energy in Europe, according to a new report developed by Imperial College London.
Self-consumption and other new business models for PV “can reduce and ultimately suppress the reliance on dedicated financial support”, according to Marie Latour, senior national policy advisor at the European Photovoltaic Industry Association.
Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI), has requested an increase in the nation’s clean energy budget of 62%, partly to help relieve bottlenecks of solar power projects.
The global market for energy storage in PV is forecast to grow to US$19 billion by 2017 from just $200 million last year, according to research by IHS.
Renewable energy feed-in tariffs in Africa could boost its economy whilst combating climate change, finds a new study developed for the World Future Council.
Terna responsible for developing the national electricity transmission grid has received authorization to shut off distributed generation systems in case of emergency.
Specialist PV system monitoring firm, Solare Datensysteme said that sales had reached almost €7 million in the first quarter of 2012, a 118% increase over the same quarter in 2011. The company guided sales in the second quarter of 2012 would be inline with the first quarter. The increase in sales was said to be due to sales success in a wider number of countries, including Canada and the US.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has revealed that it has commissioned a total of 13MW of grid-connected solar power plants throughout India for the current financial year. All of the projects that make up this 13MW total have been commissioned on an EPC basis, and include a 3MW plant in Raichur, Karnataka; a 5MW plant in Rajasthan; two 2MW plants in Maharashtra and over 1MW in the Lakshadweep Islands.
