auction

After several years of stagnation, Spain has started to see a revival in its PV market, writes IHS Markit’s Maria Chea. The country’s newfound growth has been due to a combination of tender and private PPA projects, along with decreasing component costs.

The Colombian government has revealed more details of the renewable energy procurement exercise finalized on Monday. Chinese manufacturer Trina was the bidder behind all three successful solar projects in the auction.

Germany is crippling solar’s ability to produce large volumes of ever-cheaper electricity even as it retains too-large tenders for wind that end in undersubscription, the country’s Greens have said.

Selected schemes will be eligible for a feed-in premium – related to the wholesale electricity price – for 20 years. The ceiling price for the premium has been set at the equivalent of $0.0089/kWh.

Expert warnings that India will be falling short of its renewable deployment targets have sparked a strong-worded rebuke from the government, which has slammed them as “ill-founded”

Spanish developer Enerside will start construction of a 322.06MW solar park in northeastern Brazil early next year, government officials said over the weekend.

UAE developer Masdar Clean Energy has been awarded a 100MW project in Uzbekistan’s first competitive solar tender after submitting a bid of US$0.027/kWh.

Originally intended to commission 140 MW of storage, the tender drew three winning projects: a 50 MW system and two 30 MW facilities. Eirgrid has estimated the total value of the contracts at around €6 million per year.

Northern Europe’s clean energy scene has witnessed a flurry of policy moves in the space of a week, with at least four countries making announcements on various auctions and subsidy schemes.

The Spanish company plans to develop 66 solar and wind parks that will add 3 GW of renewable energy generation capacity in 50 municipalities near Teruel, Navarre over the next four years. Some 34 facilities will be solar plants that will add 1.3 GW as part of an investment of more than €2.4 billion.

The Swiss Federal Council intends to increase competition in the solar sector and set fixed tariffs for large PV projects using tenders. The electricity market will be fully opened up in a move industry association Swissolar says will discriminate against PV and threaten the rapid expansion of renewables.

Saudi Arabia is expanding the reach of its 105 billion riyal (US$28 billion) industrial fund to spur renewables through loans to component manufacturers, to independent power projects and to projects spearheaded by firms in other industries.

France has marked progress with its programme to roll out solar in an area hosting its oldest nuclear plant, selecting its first batch of PV project winners.

Seraphim Solar System Co has turned to an existing Italian partner to try and secure a slice of the country’s PV market, poised for a multi-gigawatt boost within a decade.

The advent of permitting restrictions on wind power projects has opened the door for PV in the pending auction for renewable generation facilities with a capacity of more than 1 MW. Wind power dominates Polish clean energy and no solar projects were successful in last year’s exercise.