Solar Floating PV Plants News

Individuals can now bankroll the deployment of a large-scale floating solar plant in France, a project by Paris-headquartered Akuo Energy.

Vietnamese firm Da Nhim–Ham Thuan–Da Mi (DHD), a subsidiary of national utility EVN, has bagged a US$37 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a 47.5MW floating solar project that is claimed to be the first and largest such project in the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnam plans to reduce feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for ground-mount and floating PV after solar capacity deployment exceeded expectations under the original subsidy by a factor of five.

Ciel & Terre recently announced the launching of a new utility-scale 750 kWp floating solar array in Renchen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Utilizing more than 2,300 solar panels, it is predicted the solar power plant will generate 736 MWh per year.

The government was forced to hold a tender for the 200 MW Cirata Dam scheme after originally awarding the deal to UAE developer Masdar. With August 19 named as the date to announce the auction results, nobody is any the wiser as yet.

India has now chosen a developer for one of the largest floating PV projects ever seen in the country, with plans to take the plant to the finish line within two years.

The tariff for rooftop PV will be maintained at $0.0935/kWh but payments for ground-mounted and floating solar could be cut to $0.0709/kWh and $0.0769, respectively. The previous FIT scheme, according to government figures, has driven the deployment of around 5 GW of solar generation capacity.

With India’s power minister hinting that a new renewable energy tariff policy could be in the works, the federal agency responsible for solar has started boasting about the volume of clean power it has in the pipeline.

The new generation facility was financed by the Asian Development Bank and built by Chinese company ZTE Corp. The project will sell power to the grid for $0.065/kWh, a record low for solar in the country.

Kyocera’s 13.7 MW floating project at the Yamakura Dam was damaged by 120mph winds the typhoon brought to the coastal city of Chiba. Firefighters said the blaze may have been generated by the strong heat produced by panels stacking up.

New Zealand looks set to join the countries tapping into floating solar worldwide via a new, city-based scheme, sponsored by a utility duo.

South Korea’s largest PV project is scheduled for commissioning by next year. The project developer – Korean floating PV specialist Scotra – is also planning a 2.5 MW offshore solar project with the support of the government.

An EU funded solar-plus-storage project has been tendered in the Philippines. The United Nations is seeking bids for the system, to support the for the seaweed industry on the island of Tawi-Tawi. Combining PV with aquaculture brings many advantages for both, including water conservation, a more controlled aquatic environment, and ecosystem restoration.

This new development has brought the country’s cumulative installed solar capacity to more than 9.5 GW. Around 91.5% of the newly installed capacity is represented by PV systems below 1 MW in size.

Pestech, a Malaysia-based electrical power technology company, has entered into a partnership with Chinese inverter maker Sungrow to jointly develop new floating solar solutions.