Southeast Asia

Laos-based Sunlabob Renewable Energy has been awarded a contract to provide training to PV engineers in the Pacific island state of Kiribati.

SGI-Mitabu, a company formed by two Australian firms The Solar Guys International and Mitabu Australia, has entered into a partnership with the government of South Sumatra, Indonesia to develop megawatt-scale solar power projects.

Thailand's government has announced plans to support a major expansion of the country's solar rooftop sector on both domestic and commercial buildings.

Solar system supplier SunPower is to construct two solar power projects for Yolo County in California.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund a 57MW solar power project in central Thailand by providing a financing package worth US$85 million.

PV capacity in the Emerging Asia Pacific and Central Asia (EAPCA) region is forecast to exceed 3GW by 2017, according to a new report from market analyst company NPD Solarbuzz.

The government of Indonesia is reportedly planning to issue a tender next month seeking bids to install 150MW worth of PV plants in the country.

Indonesia is planning a new feed-in tariff (FiT) for solar as high as US$0.25 per kilowatt hour applicable for 20 years, the country's Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo has announced.

The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is forecast to grow to 13.5GW in 2013, representing a 50% year-on-year growth rate, according to the latest NPD Solarbuzz Q1’13 Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly report.

Investment director Edward Douglas from Singapore-based Armstrong Asset Management is the latest leading solar energy expert to confirm he will be speaking at the inaugural Solar Business Expo Southeast Asia in Thailand this March.