Driven by steep cost declines in PV equipment, solar is now almost on a par with wind energy and will soon become the cheapest form of energy in developing nations, according to the Climatescope 2016 report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
To help reach its ambitious 100% by 2045 renewables target, the Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO) has issued a request for information (RFI) about land that could be available for future clean energy projects.
More than 16,000 Indian households across 800 remote villages will be given a solar panel, with an eight-hour battery storage backup, according to the Indian minister for power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines, Piyush Goyal.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and FMO, the Dutch development bank have invested a collective €14.62 million (US$15.52 million) in Mobisol, a German pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar service company, in order to deliver renewable energy solutions to off-grid communities in East Africa.
In an unprecedented move, the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has pushed through a rural electrification regulation. Andre Susanto, senior vice president and founder, PT Inovasi Dinamika Pratama, discusses how this regulation provides an opportunity for the private sector to engage in electrifying Indonesia's 12,000 villages currently without any access to electricity.
Major global food company Nestle Group has agreed to have a rooftop solar system installed at one of its facilities in China by Goldman Sachs-backed rooftop PV specialist Asia Clean Capital (ACC).
Two companies are constructing a 1MW solar PV plant in Thailand using various combinations of technologies in order to set up a learning centre and advisory board to help solar developers across the Southeast Asia region.
NLC tendering for 500MW(ac) in Tamil Nadu, Off-grid solar power for 1,000 villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu 500MW utility-scale tender avoided.
Indonesia’s multiple isolated grids represent opportunities for intrepid solar developers, according to Andre Susanto, Clean Energy Consultant at Bluejay Energy.
Choosing good quality solar equipment will be essential to keep the solar industry sustainable in Southeast Asia, according to Wandee Khunchornyakong Juljarern, chairwoman and chief executive, SPCG, the largest solar installer in Thailand.