The US installed 4.6GW of solar capacity during Q3 2022, a 17% decrease from the same period last year, as trade barriers continue to hamper deployment, according to research from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.
The fifth bidding round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme has signed power purchase agreements with 13 solar PV projects.
A 600MW electricity transmission line between Italy and Tunisia has received €307 million (US$324 million) in funding as part of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) financing programme aimed at developing energy infrastructure across the continent.
In a push to accelerate the growth of renewables in Portugal, the government has introduced a package that will reduce environmental assessments for solar projects.
On 15 December, the California Public Utilities Commission will vote on the latest net energy meeting (NEM) proposal regarding the state’s rooftop solar market. Ahead of the vote, activists have taken to the streets in a series of demonstrations against the legislation, and the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA) and other representative groups have been vocal in their criticism of the proposal.
The intense wildfires that ravaged California in the US in 2020 have been responsible for substantial solar energy forecasts errors, according to a study led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
With the US Department of Commerce finding that solar manufacturers in Southeast Asia are circumventing duties on Chinese PV cells, questions have been raised over potential legal challenges that lie ahead and whether American project developers will be able to secure enough modules to meet soaring demand.
As of today, less than 10% of the necessary solar and wind power needed for a 2050 global net zero scenario exists, whilst global electricity generation will need to more than triple to 80,000TWh, according to the 2022 BloombergNEF (BNEF) New Energy Outlook.
Solar PV capacity is expected to almost treble over the 2022-2027 period, growing by 1.5TW and will surpass coal as the largest source of power capacity worldwide, according to a report from the IEA.
