German-led group wins bid to set up 50 MW solar plant in Bangladesh
Developer ib vogt beat rival Scatec Solar to land the contract for a project which will sell solar electricity to the Bangladeshi government for $0.1094/kWh for 20 years.
All eyes on the Indian government
India’s total installed solar capacity touched 34.1 GW on June 30, 2019. The total was split between 27.9 GW of utility-scale PV, 4.6 GW of rooftop solar and 1.26 GW of off-grid solar. The nation’s total project pipeline – projects allocated to developers and those in various stages of development – stood at 19.69 GW as of June 30. Bridge to India’s Sai Nandamuri looks at the outlook for Indian solar in 2019 and 2020.
China to fund 450 MW of solar capacity in Bangladesh
The two nations have signed an MoU to set up the capacity in the north of Bangladesh along with 50 MW of wind power facilities in the south, near the port of Payra. China will supply an estimated $500m with the host nation freeing up land for the projects.
Australia shows the way forward for EVs in nations with vast distances
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will contribute $15 million towards a planned nationwide network of ultra-fast charging stations that could show the way ahead for electromobility in India.
Battery maker CATL ramps up investment in German gigafab to €1.8 billion
Previously, a mere €240 million (Rs1,870 crore) was set to flow into the giga-factory. The corporation’s management reasoned new demand for its battery cells made more investment necessary.
Bifacial beats Trump’s tariffs
Federal trade authorities in the U.S. have ruled bifacial solar modules will no longer be subject to the Section 201 ruling which applies a 25% tariff to solar panel imports.
India’s growth slows as developers add 1.7 GW in Q1
Solar installations fell 49% year-on-year in the first three months of 2019, with rooftop PV additions plunging as installers struggled to secure approval for projects immediately before the general election, according to new statistics from Mercom India Research.
Protectionist measures working as Chinese export destinations shift
While the world’s biggest solar manufacturers are confident there are plenty of alternative markets for a rising volume of panel exports, the message spelled out by first-quarter shipment figures is that protectionism works.
Australia considers how to profitably upcycle 80 million tons of PV waste
With concern rising about future solar waste in India, research by the University of New South Wales has examined the economic barriers, technologies and opportunities offered by recycling end-of-life silicon PV modules.
The long read: Bringing the quality narrative to India
As in many fast-growing solar marketplaces, some of the stories about PV quality to emerge from India have been the stuff of nightmares. But the industry is mobilizing in the form of a quality taskforce, writes Pranav R. Mehta, chairman of the National Solar Energy Federation of India.
