Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has awarded 85MW of solar capacity to be built in the Northeast Indian state via a reverse auction held last month.
Finland’s Fortum has signed an agreement to sell a 54% share of its solar power company that operates four solar plants in India, with an aggregate capacity of 185MW, to UK Climate Investments (UKCI) (40%) and Elite Alfred Berg (14%).
Sunseap International, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sunseap Group, has started construction of its 186MW, US$150 million solar farm in Vietnam – claimed to be the largest PV project in the ASEAN region.
Indian developer Acme Solar has won a 50MW solar PV project in the state of Uttar Pradesh with a tariff of INR3.38/kWh (US$0.05) via an auction held by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
Major Thailand-based financier TMB Bank has issued the country’s first green bond, with the World Bank's IFC as the sole investor of the US$60 million bond, the funds of which will be used exclusively to finance climate-smart projects, particularly renewable energy.
The World Bank and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands launched two climate change related projects that will boost investment in renewable energy and spur energy efficiency.
India has approved implementation of Phase-Ill of its ‘Off-grid and Decentralised Solar PV Application Programme’, which targets an additional 118MW off-grid solar PV capacity by 2020, in street lights, study lamps and home systems.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the global average selling price (ASP) of solar modules is expected to decline by 35% in 2018, compared to previous forecasts of a 20% to 27% decline, due to the Chinese government curtailing solar growth through new policies initiated last Friday.