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PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements for March, 2016 has revealed over 7.3GW of planned future expansions of solar cell and module production.
Solar capacity grew by 47GW (26%) during 2015 as a result of module prices dropping as much as 80% over the same period, according to the latest data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
The World Bank Group unveiled an ambitious new plan to aid developing countries fulfil their COP21 pledges by adding 30GW of renewable energy – doubling its current contributions to global energy capacity.
Accra-based developer Strategic Power Solutions (SPS) has launched a new PV module manufacturing plant for US$50 million in Kpone, a commercial hub just outside the country’s capital.
CT Cosmos, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Communication Towers Ltd, has established plans to build a 70MW solar farm worth US$150 million, according to several local reports.
Kenya’s Rural Electrification Authority (REA) has approved the construction of a 55MW solar power plant in the East Kenyan County of Garissa, requiring an investment of KES12.8 million (US$126 million).
The government of Sierra Leone has officially launched a 6MW solar project in the capital Freetown after securing financial backing from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has said he believes it will be impossible to keep fossil fuel resources “in the ground” even in the next 50 years but nonetheless sees his country as an ideal potential manufacturer-exporter of PV panels.
PV manufacturing capacity expansions planned this year are expected to push production levels beyond anticipated demand in 2016, creating further cost pressures for suppliers.
