Global Photovoltaic News Briefing:202402226-20240303

Asia

Malaysia

1. Kuala Lumpur-based utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad said it plans to install floating solar farms on its hydropower facilities. The company aims to achieve 2.5 gigawatts of generation capacity to support Malaysia’s national energy transformation path.

2. Asian data center operator GDS signed a 21-year virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) with local solar producer Cenergi SEA Berhad (Cenergi) to purchase solar power for a data center facility in Malaysia. The two companies said that the 30MW photovoltaic power station to be built in Kedah is expected to generate 22.5MW of electricity. The solar farm is expected to be put into use in the second half of 2025, and its operations will benefit GDS's Nusajaya Technology Park data center campus in Johor, southern Malaysia. The agreement will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 38,000 tons per year.

India

1. Solar company CleanMax signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Bangalore Airport (BIAL) in Karnataka, India, to provide the airport with power from a 45.9 MW solar and wind power project. The hybrid power plant will be installed in Jagaruru, Karnataka, and will be owned and operated by CleanMax. The power plant consists of 36 MW of solar photovoltaic modules and a 9.9 MW wind farm and is part of a larger 290 MW hybrid power plant.

2. India's Gensol Engineering Co., Ltd. has been awarded contracts to install two solar parks in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, with a total installed capacity of 300 MW/422.5 MW DC.

3. Indian power producer SJVN Ltd has launched a 100 MW solar farm in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The project is worth INR 6.42 billion (USD 77.4 million / EUR 71.5 million) and is expected to generate 252.3 million kWh of clean energy per year. electricity. The facility has a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) at a tariff of INR 2.64 per kWh.

North America

(Guatemala) Low-carbon energy infrastructure developer MPC Energy Solutions (MPCES) has announced the start of construction work on a 65 MWp solar project in Guatemala, the largest project to date in its portfolio. The power plant, named San Patricio Renovables, will cost $42 million (€38.7 million) and is expected to be completed by mid-2025. Once operational, it is expected to produce approximately 141 gigawatt hours of clean electricity per year, with annual revenue exceeding $8 million and an EBITDA margin of over 80%.

(Canada) German solar developer and installer Goldbeck Solar announced the sale of the 61-MW Joffre Solar Park in Alberta, Canada, to Concord Green Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian community builder Concord Pacific.

US

1. Renewable energy company EDF announced it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement to offtake power from the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) as part of its 300-MW Bonanza solar and battery storage project in Nevada. The agreement covers electricity from 125 MW of photovoltaic generation and 65 MW of battery storage capacity.

2. US electrical balancing system supplier Shoals Technologies Group Inc will invest US$80 million (€73.7 million) to expand its production base in Portland, Tennessee, to meet the growing demand for its products in the solar field. Under the plan, Shoals will move one of its factories in Tennessee to a new, larger site in Summer County to expand its production and distribution operations. The scheme will create around 550 jobs, increasing Shoals' total workforce in the region to around 1,400.

3. French chemicals company Arkema SA has signed a 152GWh annual renewable energy generation agreement in the United States with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), energy company Entergy and climate solutions provider 3Degrees to meet local needs. About 40% of electricity demand. TVA and Entergy are expected to provide approximately 35GWh and 60GWh of solar electricity per year respectively, while 3Degrees will provide green electronically certified renewable energy electricity certificates for approximately 57GWh of decarbonization.

South America

(Chile) The latest data released by the Chilean National Energy Commission (CNE) shows that Chile’s renewable energy power generation accounted for 43.4% of total power generation in January, up from 41.8% last month.

Oceania

Australia

1. French renewable energy company Neoen SA has completed a debt financing agreement covering a 1.5 GW portfolio of wind and solar farms operated in Australia and a new battery storage project underway in the country. Operating assets that will benefit from the transaction include the Numurkah, Western Downs and Coleambally solar farms in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales respectively, as well as the Bulgana wind farm in Victoria and the Hornsdale wind complex in South Australia. stage. The funding will also be used to support the construction of the first phase of the 219 MW/877 MWh Collie Battery in Western Australia. The facility is expected to be operational in the last quarter of 2024.

2. German cleantech unicorn 1Komma5 has acquired Australian solar installer and electricity retailer Arkana Energy Group, a move that strengthens its foothold in the local market.

Europe

(Spain)

1. German wind and solar park operator Encavis AG has acquired two solar projects totaling 139 MW in Spain’s Andalusia region, a move that will further increase its green power output. The first regional solar project is the Lirios solar park acquired from fellow company BayWare, which is expected to come online in the last quarter of 2025 and whose future power generation capacity is expected to be approximately 220 GWh per year. The solar project in the second area was acquired from developer Hive Energy. The power plant will be connected to the grid in the second half of 2025 and is expected to generate approximately 60 GWh per year.

2. X-Elio, a subsidiary of global renewable energy developer Brookfield Company, announced that the company has broken ground on its 50-MW solar photovoltaic power generation project in the Extremadura region of Spain. The Madrid-based developer said the solar farm project, called Arco I, represents an investment of 41 million euros ($44.4 million). X-Elio said that once the Arco I power plant is put into operation, the annual power generation will be enough to meet the electricity needs of approximately 20,525 households.

Denmark

1. Danish solar company Nordic Solar A/S announced the acquisition of a 40-MW solar power plant project in Gotland, Sweden, from Swedish renewable energy developer Helios Nordic Energy AB. The project is ready for construction. The project is part of a 270MW pipeline project being developed in Sweden by the two companies. Among them, about 150 MWp of projects are already under construction or preparing for construction.

2. Danish renewable energy company Better Energy has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies to provide the pharmaceutical manufacturer with 40GWh of renewable energy per year. The electricity purchased by Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies will meet the entire power needs of its biopharmaceutical production site in Hillerod, Denmark, including new operations that will start production this year.

Italy

1. German solar racking system manufacturer Schletter Group said it is expanding its operations in Italy, working with German general contractor EnValue to install two ground-mounted systems with a total installed capacity of 48 MWp. The two solar farms are located in the cities of Remanzacco and Manzano, near Udine in northeastern Italy. The Manzano site has a generating capacity of 17 MW and the Remanzacco array has a generating capacity of 31 MW. They have installed a total of approximately 87,000 photovoltaic modules, all mounted on the Schletter Group's FS Duo system.

2. Dutch-Norwegian offshore floating solar company SolarDuck, Italian investment fund Arrow Capital and Italian developer New Developments have signed an agreement to develop a 540 MW floating wind-solar project off the coast of Italy. The offshore hybrid power plant will be located in the Bay of Taranto, off the coast of Corigliano-Rosano, Calabria. It will be equipped with 28 floating wind turbines with a cumulative power generation capacity of 420 MW and a floating photovoltaic power generation capacity of 120 MW.

3. U.S.-based renewable energy specialist Enfinity Global Inc said it has secured 25 million euros ($27.1 million) in debt financing to fund the construction of a 134-megawatt solar project in the Lazio region of Italy. Pan-European asset manager Sienna Investment Managers provided the seven-year asset company financing through its flagship fund Predirec ENR 2, managed by Sienna AM France.

(Poland) Lithuanian investment company UAB Atsinaujinancios Energetikos Investicijos (AEI) has secured the deployment of 114.7 MW of new solar power capacity in Poland with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and French asset manager Eiffel Investment Group funds.

(UK) British renewable energy company Innova said it has acquired a 21.6 MW solar project from British developer Industria Brand Energy (IBE). The project, called Bedworth Solar, is not far from Innova's solar project at Tolldish Hall Farm, northeast of Coventry, England. Toldish Hall Solar Farm received planning permission in 2023 and will have an initial capacity of 25MW.