International Renewable Energy Agency

Sri Lanka has launched a tender for 165 MW (AC) of ground-mounted solar, accepting applicants to develop solar plants up to 5 MW ins size, connected to one of 20 selected substations across the country. The winners will sign 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board.

Guatemala’s latest energy auction has attracted 48 bidders for 235 MW of capacity. The auction has been oversubscribed, with more than 1 GW of project proposals submitted. The national regulator will announce the final results on Aug. 2.

Doubling down on renewable energy investment and energy transition spending is required to ensure a truly green global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and its economic aftershock, claims the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The Climate Investment Platform launched by three multilateral bodies in September is now open for business and renewables companies in developing nations across 14 regions including south Asia could qualify for help with clean energy facilities, renewables-related grid improvements and energy efficiency schemes.

The Internet of Things, cloud analytics and artificial intelligence will find their way into battery management too, enabling OEMs to precisely measure and improve the life of their deployed assets. Lower battery costs and increased adoption in high-power commercial electric vehicles and grid support are the other trends shaping the market.

Opinion is divided over the urgency of addressing the issue. While some developers feel the 25-year lifetime of modules offers plenty of time to prepare an action plan, other industry voices claim Indian-made products don’t last half that long and one recent report pointed out waste is already piling up thanks to defects and faulty installation.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the institutions was not solar specific but the use of PV modules for shading, especially in agriculture, can reduce water consumption and help halt the expansion of deserts.

With the International Renewable Energy Agency’s number-crunchers predicting almost 5.4 GW of new solar across the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations today, Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazroui said his nation alone would install 6-7 GW of new renewables capacity by 2024, as pv magazine editor-in-chief Jonathan Gifford reports.

IRENA says technologies for 3D rooftop footprint generation and solar irradiation modelling are becoming increasingly cheap, making them suitable for deployment anywhere in the world. Developing cities could access such technical resources to plan rooftop PV development.

The Indian Ocean state has received $10m in concessional loan funding from the development agency of Abu Dhabi, in a program co-financed by the International Renewable Energy Agency.