FOTOTHERM

Solar park in Ontario. Source: BluEarth  Renewables (www.bluearthrenewables.com) Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY-G), or RBC, has signed a renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) that backs the construction of a couple of solar plants in southeast Alberta. Under the terms of the contract, RBC and its partner Bullfrog Power, owned by Spark Power Group Inc, will each buy 31,500 MWh of solar power annually. Scott Foster, global head of corporate real estate at RBC, said in a statement quoted by Bloomberg that RBC is now the first Canadian lender to sign a long-term PPA for renewable energy. The two solar parks that will generate the electricity are expected to be finalised in April 2021, when they will have the combined capacity to produce 80,000 MWh per year. RBC aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 70% and rely solely on renewable and non-emitting electricity by 2025. ( http://www.fototherm.com/ ) Source:  https://renewablesnow.com/news/rbc-bu...

Sasol plans to power its operations in the municipalities of Secunda and Sasolburg with two 10 MW solar projects. The successful bidders with sell power to the factories under power purchase agreements. South Africa-based chemicals producer Sasol has kicked off a  request for proposals (RFP)  process to seek independent power producers for two PV plants that will power its operations in Secunda, Mpumalanga province, and Sasolburg, Free State province. Interested independent power producers have until Oct. 2 to submit their proposals. “We are excited to launch the RFP, which forms part of our broader greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction aspiration and moves us forward on our journey to achieving our target of a 10% GHG emission reduction by 2030,” said the company’s chief sustainability officer, Hermann Wenhold. The winning IPPs will own and operate the plants. They will sell power to Sasol under long-term PPAs. In May, Sasol began to seek partners to potentially deploy rene...

World's first net zero emission McDonald's opens at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, with solar arrays set to provide as much power as the site uses each year Credit: McDonalds McDonald's has completed construction of a first-of-its-kind restaurant designed to create enough renewable energy on-site to cover 100 per cent of its energy needs on a net annual basis. Hailed as a 'global flagship restaurant', the new site at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is set to act as a learning hub for McDonald's to test solutions for reducing energy and water use as it works to slash emissions from its operations around the world. Located on Buena Vista Drive near the All-Star Resorts, the recently remodeled restaurant is now open for carry-out, Drive Thru, and delivery service with social distancing measures in places.   The restaurant features a solar-paneled roof, with photovoltaic glass panels integrated throughout the building, and solar parki...

The Polish PV market is booming. Poland even turned out to be a solar surprise in 2019 and ranked 5th among the EU countries with the largest PV capacities that were connected to the grid in 2019 The positive development continues. According to PSE data and as of 1/05/2020, the installed capacity from solar farms was 1832.7 MW. This means that 137.35 MW arrived in April and 4.58 MW was installed daily. This is an increase of 181.42 percent year on year. However, throughout April 2020, the increase in photovoltaic plant capacity was 8.1 percent compared to March 2020. PSE data includes all PV installations reported to distribution companies, connected to both medium and low voltage networks. Hybrid thermo-Pvt leading Company The amendment For the development of photovoltaics in Poland in 2019, the entry into force of the amendment to the Act on renewable energy sources, which introduced a number of significant changes in the support system for electricity generated from P...

[...] 1) Don’t hesitate on quality projects [...]   Risks of project delays fueling uncertainty in the tax equity market, investors are looking to close on good deals while they can, which means prioritizing strong, in-progress projects. Beyond potential financing risks and higher costs, equipment supply shortages are expected to increase the costs of early stage projects. As the production of primary material declines and Chinese manufacturers operate with reduced factory utilization, market analysts expect prices for solar PV modules to climb as much as 10-20% throughout 2020. Projects with existing module and other solar hardware contracts in place will be largely shielded from these price increases, increasing the likelihood that near-term projects will offer better returns than those further down the pike. With less demand, lower financing costs, and lower materials costs, early moving corporate buyers should expect to see better pricing and hold more negotiating po...

Uzbekistan last week launched two Requests for Qualifications (RfQs) as part of tenders seeking to award at least 600 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The first competitive selection covers two projects, with a minimum capacity of 200 MW each, in the Kattakurgan district of Samarkand region and the Jizzakh region’s Gallaorol district, respectively. Through the tender rounds, the government seeks to contract private sector developers or consortia that will be tasked with the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of solar parks. Qualification applications are due by September 26, 2020. The two projects are part of a bigger initiative for the deployment of as much as 900 MW of solar PV capacity through public-private partnerships (PPPs). The tenders are being held with the assistance of the World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC). In March, 84 companies and consortia filed Expressions of Interest (EOI) to take part in the tender. The hy...

[...] Winners in the smart Projects category  1-Phaesun GmbH (Germany):  “REvivED Water” – Solar Powered Desalination, Somaliland Headquartered in the German city of Memmingen, Phaesun specializes in off-grid photovoltaic technology. As part of the REvivED Water Innovation and Development Project, Phaesun has developed the first small-scale solar-powered electrodialysis desalination system on the market for purification of brackish water. It has achieved this by working with a group of interdisciplinary partners, ranging from architects to universities and startups. The system provides up to 2,000 liters of clean drinking water per day for isolated villagers and nomads in Somaliland. Electrodialysis uses a membrane technology: An electric current pulls salt ions through an ion exchange membrane, thereby significantly reducing the salt content. It is very well suited for providing a solar-powered drinking water supply, especially in remote areas. The jury admired...