A panel of development finance institutions and project developers at the annual Africa Energy Forum on Friday discussed how they are shaping the continent’s emerging energy sector; in taking on the risk that commercial capital typically will not.
Capacity for a solar park in the Indian state of Gujarat has been awarded to four companies in the latest National Solar Mission (NSM) auction after changes to VGF funding garnered more interest from developers.
The US is leading the charge for solar in North America, but its next-door neighbours, Canada and Mexico, are also pressing ahead with plans to boost deployment. Danielle Ola reports on the policy developments expected to underpin the growth of solar in the two countries.
Stringent energy efficiency rules for buildings would make it “almost a no-brainer” to integrate PV at time of construction and would “change the whole cost equation”, solar analyst Finlay Colville has said.
The Delhi government approved its first solar policy this month with a particular focus on the rooftop segment. Jyoti Gulia, senior manager, market intelligence, at consultancy firm Bridge to India, explains how the policy brings some innovative firsts to India especially in net metering.
Tata Power agreed to buy Welspun Renewable Energy earlier this month for INR92.49 billion (US$1.42 billion). Against the backdrop of fiercely competitive bidding, Mercom Capital Group chief executive and co-founder Raj Prabhu, explains the scene of potential mergers and acquisitions in the Indian solar market.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) will likely surpass its cap on the number of rooftop solar systems that can sell electricity back to the utility under the net metering scheme – and will be the first utility in the state to do so.
Solar PV installations are expected to surpass 60GW worldwide in 2016, up from the 50.6GW deployed last year, according to the latest figures from SolarPower Europe.
