Policy

The latest contender to challenge for the title of world’s largest merchant PV plant will be an 80MW project in the Antifagasto region of Chile to be built by Greenwood Energy.

The Italian government has confirmed a raft of new charges for PV system owners.

Pakistan has approved net metering as part of a raft of new policies that could boost the development of solar in the country.

California governor, Jerry Brown, has made an ambitious pledge for the state to be 50% powered by renewable energy within 15 years, in a speech given on Monday as he was sworn into office for a record fourth term.

The Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF) has criticised a freshly issued set of rules in Japan that will allow utility companies to limit renewable energy output and lower feed-in tariff (FiT) payments in some cases.

South Africa’s government has confirmed that successful bidders under the fourth round of its renewable energy programme will not be announced until the New Year.

The Australian government’s renewable energy division will trial the capabilities of on-grid energy storage to maximise the value of rooftop solar, announcing yesterday that it will provide funding for a trial by energy storage specialist Reposit Power.

France’s minister for ecology, sustainable development and energy, Ségolène Royal, has announced the award of 40.7MWp worth of feed-in tariffs (FiTs) across 217 PV projects, in the third phase of a national tender process.

Japan’s renewable energy policy could see a drastic overhaul next year, with a possibility the Asian country could choose a scheme similar to the UK’s contracts for difference (CfDs), according to one advocacy group.

There is to be a two stage reduction in solar FiT payments with the single payment offered for systems under 30kW to also be reduced.