Grids

South Africa’s government will issue a request for proposals in the coming weeks for 2.6GW of additional solar and wind capacity, it has been announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Renewables could make up 30% of the US’ energy capacity mix within the next four years, according to new analysis by the non-profit Sun Day Campaign.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has welcomed an amendment to California utilities' grid mapping requirements that will support the "efficient electrification" of the state's infrastructure.

The rapid scale-up of solar capacity in the European Union drove the growth of renewable electricity generation, which overtook that of fossil fuels for the first time last year.

A round-up of solar stories from the US this week, including President Joe Biden's decision to re-join the Paris Agreement, and Dominion Energy's purchase of a solar project backed by Facebook.

Solar is now cheapest form of new electricity in a host of international markets, driven by cost reductions and growth of bifaciality, large-area solar modules and trackers.

US utility Hawaiian Electric will turn to thousands of home solar-plus-storage systems for capacity and grid services under a new contract with a virtual power plant provider.

New York state will this year contract for 23 large-scale solar farms and one hydroelectric facility with a combined capacity of more than 2.2GW, as Governor Andrew Cuomo outlines efforts to spur on private investment in clean energy and drive job creation.

As the proliferation of grid-scale renewables accelerates, capacity on national grids is diminishing just as quickly, leading to harder to find and ever-costlier connection agreements. Liam Stoker assesses some of the alternative options grid operators are exploring to extortionate grid upgrades.

The proliferation of renewables and other distributed energy resources is pushing existing grid infrastructure to the limit, prompting renewed efforts to modernise. But with new hardware coming at such a high price, it’s imperative these investments get the biggest bang for their buck. Here, the US Interstate Renewable Energy Council establishes its five key principles for grid modernisation.