Mitsui & Co., a major Japanese industrial conglomerate, has formed a Joint Venture (JV) with leading India mini-grid developer OMC Power to expand their mini-grid business into Africa. The new JV is part of a ¥1 billion (US$9 million) equity investment by Mitsui in OMC Power.
Goldman Sachs-backed clean energy firm ReNew Power Ventures has launched a new renewable energy R&D centre at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India.
The downstream solar PV market continues to evolve and as such so does the inverter. At Solar Power International 2017 in Las Vegas the continued roll-out of new products continues as the markets expand for energy storage and larger capacity commercial and residential rooftop systems.
With several MENA region countries expected to become gigawatt solar markets in 2018 and beyond, global certification organization UL has teamed with Saudi Arabian-based government body, GCC Laboratories to provide a suite of services to the downstream PV project sector.
Renewable energy developers SkyPower and Renew Power are involved in legal disputes with the distribution company (Discom) of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh over solar project deadlines and PPAs, while SkyPower has also claimed to have successfully brought into operation its first ever project in the state.
DNV GL has launched the first control hardware in loop (CHIL) test facility for renewable energy generation plants. The facility connects physical power plant controllers to a real-time simulator, allowing the controller to be fully tested and validated without the need for an actual generation facility or power grid. This enables cost-effective, low-risk testing under realistic conditions for all forms of renewable energy control systems.
Zimbabwe state-owned power company Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) has applied to develop three solar PV plants with the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA).
The Philippines Department of Energy (DoE) has invited comments on the final draft of a new scheme that allows end-users the option to choose renewables as their source of energy.
