A round-up of the latest news from the floating PV market, including the US' "largest" floating PV plant, Akuo's floating project in France and Portugal's tender for FPV.
If Portugal wants to bring forward its target to have 9GW of installed capacity by 2026 rather than the end of the decade, it will need to solve one of its main barriers it faces at the moment: permitting issues.
A round-up of the latest PV project news from the US and Europe, including two announcements in Spain, the inauguration of a pair of Hungarian PV plants and operations beginning at an installation in Colorado from Lightsource bp.
Spanish utility Iberdrola has received environmental approval for the construction of Europe’s largest solar PV plant in Portugal, with a capacity of 1.2GW.
UK-based energy group Octopus Energy’s generation arm has invested in independent power producer (IPP) FF New Energy Ventures (FFNEV) to develop 1.6GW of solar and storage in Spain and Portugal.
Renewable energy producer Neoen has begun construction on what it is calling Portugal’s ‘largest’ solar park, a 272MWp facility comprising of two contiguous solar projects. The park is expected to be commissioned in early 2024.
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.
Winning bidders from Portugal’s solar auctions will have their tariffs increased in line with inflation as the government aims to ensure the projects remain economically viable.
The proliferation of solar requires PV projects to adapt to their grid surroundings, which increasingly entails connecting alongside adjacent technologies, be it energy storage, other renewables or green hydrogen. Amid the growing threat of curtailment, Jules Scully looks at the rise of the ‘solar-plus’ market and the financial models underpinning it.
