In January the South African government released an amendment to its energy action plan that lowered the local content requirements of solar modules deployed on government-backed schemes from 100% to 30%. The move was unsurprising to many, and may speak to the overwhelming rise of private projects in the country’s PV sector.
Saudi energy provider ACWA Power has signed agreements to develop 1.4GW of solar PV and 1.2GW of energy storage projects in Uzbekistan to be financed by the country’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade.
Australian rooftop solar installations have passed the 20GW threshold, with the sector set to overtake coal-fired generation in April to become the largest power generator in the country.
German research body Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST) to pursue developments in green hydrogen technology in the country.
Energy utility American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to a sale of its 1.3GW unregulated renewables portfolio for approximately US$1.5 billion including project debt, with a view to investing in its regulated wires and generation business.
The China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, has inaugurated a green hydrogen facility in the Erdos region of Inner Mongolia which will employ 270MW of solar PV generation.
Finnish renewables developer Taaleri Energia – the renewables arm of Taaleri Group – and Nordics-focused developer Landinfra Energy have entered a partnership to develop 1.9GW of hybrid solar, energy storage and wind projects in Sweden.
Renewable energy developer MPC Energy Solutions has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a subsidiary of Guatemalan sugar cane processor and exporter Ingenio Magdalena S.A (IMSA) for power produced at a 65MW solar PV plant in the country.
India needs to issue more renewable energy tenders if it is to meet the government’s target of 450GW of installed capacity by 2030, as the changing preferences of distribution companies have seen less uptake and states have been inconsistent in fulfilling purchase obligations.
