Author: Jane Briones

               Clean energy solutions company Enviromena has secured unanimous approval from planners for a 30-acre solar farm near Aberdare, South Wales. The 9MW project was presented by Enviromena in partnership with RE Projects Development and will be built over four fields accommodating between 16 and 23 rows of south-facing photovoltaic panels. The site will keep all existing hedges and vegetation, and continued agriculture, with the lowest edge of the panels raised above the ground to enable sheep to continue grazing at the location. The Bryngolwg site will be capable of providing power to over 2,500 homes and will offset around 3,700 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum once operational.

               Bryngolwg is Enviromena’s first project in the principality, but the clean energy company is currently constructing other large sites across England, including a 24.2MW Horsey Levels project in Somerset and a 17.9MW project in Kiln Fields, Hampshire – the latter also received unanimous approval from Hart District Councillors back in July. Councillors on the Cynon Valley Council planning committee voted 8-0 in favour of the application at Bryngolwg Farm on Rhigos Road in Hirwan, Rhonnda Cynon Taf. Enviromena’s European Sales Director Lee Adamssaid: “This is our second site to receive unanimous planning approval in four months and we believe that local planners are reacting to the urgent need for renewable energy to tackle rising electricity bills together with the need to meet the UK Government’s new targets to double existing renewable generation capacity by 2030.

Credits: renews.biz[Image: Shutterstock]

               First Solar has entered into agreements to supply an additional 4900MW (DC) of its thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules to Intersect Power. When combined with a previously announced agreement for 2.4GW (DC) signed in July 2022, these transactions take Intersect Power’s total orders for First Solar modules this year to 7.3GW (DC). Of the 4.9GW, the agreement to supply 1GW was signed prior to First Solar’s third quarter 2022 earnings call in October, while the agreement to supply the remaining 3.9GW was signed subsequent to the October earnings call. The orders placed by Intersect Power this year will see a combination of First Solar’s Series 6 Plus and Series 7 modules deployed in its solar, storage, and green hydrogen projects coming online across the US from 2025 to 2029.

               “We have an unprecedented opportunity to decarbonize our economy while simultaneously bolstering our manufacturing sector and providing clean energy security,” said Sheldon Kimber, chief executive officer, Intersect Power. He added: “First Solar’s responsibly produced, high-performance modules are the cornerstone of our commitment to American technology and workers. “Our country’s energy transition must be American made.” Prior to 2022, Intersect Power had placed orders for a total of 4.1GW (DC) of modules in deals signed in 2019 and 2021. “Intersect Power was one of the early pioneers of long-term, multi-year procurement and has benefitted from the certainty of supply and stable pricing that this approach delivers,” said Georges Antoun, chief commercial officer, First Solar. “We’re proud of this enduring partnership and we’re thrilled that, as Intersect Power continues to scale, its growth will be underpinned by American solar technology produced by First Solar.”

Credits: renews.biz[Image: First Solar]

               Keppel Infrastructure Holdings (KI) has formed a JV company, Keppel MET Renewables, with Swiss-based integrated European energy company MET Holding (MET Group), to pursue renewable energy opportunities in Western Europe. The JV between KI and MET Group serves as the next phase of their strategic partnership since KI invested 20% in MET Group in 2020. The new JV, Keppel MET Renewables, will pursue and invest in both greenfield and brownfield solar and onshore wind assets across Western Europe, which will complement MET Group’s businesses across Europe. The JV has a target to scale up rapidly to at least 1GW of operating and ready-to-build renewable energy projects. As part of the strategic deal, KI divested a 10% stake, out of the 20% it owned, of MET Group to Benjamin Lakatos, the founder and chief executive of MET Group, and reinvested the proceeds, including gains, from the divestments into the JV. KI will invest approximately €30m as start-up equity into Keppel MET Renewables.

               Subsequently, KI and MET Group will each hold 49.9% in Keppel MET Renewables, with the remaining 0.2% to be held by Lakatos. Keppel MET Renewables will be seeded with an initial portfolio of 213MW of early-stage solar projects in Italy from MET Group. These assets are expected to achieve commercial operations, in phases, between end-2024 and mid-2025. Both Keppel Infrastructure and MET Group will leverage Keppel MET Renewables to accelerate the growth and transformation of their power generation portfolio towards more renewables and low carbon energy infrastructure assets. This further underscores the commitment towards achieving Keppel’s Vision 2030 goals and MET’s 2GW renewables target. Upon the completion of this investment, the Keppel Group will have approximately 2.6GW of renewable energy assets on a gross basis, including assets under development. Cindy Lim, chief executive of KI, said: “Solar and wind energy will be cornerstones for the EU to promote the uptake of renewables-based electrification in transport, heating and cooling, and facilitate the achievement of its energy transition aspirations. “The European Green Deal and the REpowerEU plan give rise to vast opportunities for renewable energy projects and sector coupling across the EU economy which aim to set a more resilient and sustainable energy system. “Keppel Infrastructure is pleased to leverage our existing strategic relationship with MET Group to expand our geographical presence in Europe and accelerate the growth of our renewable energy portfolio. “The initial portfolio of Italian solar assets offers an attractive platform for us to form a beachhead in the burgeoning renewables sector in Western Europe. “Keppel MET Renewables will continue to pursue such opportunities in other Western European countries, such as France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, and take our business to the next level.” Lakatos added: “I am excited that we are stepping up to the next level of strategic partnership with Keppel. “The renewables joint venture we have established is the right platform for our cooperation and fits perfectly within the long-term vision of both companies. “MET and Keppel are dedicated to support the energy transition in Europe.” After these transactions, MET Group remains a majority management-owned company operating under joint control, and Keppel Infrastructure will keep its representation on the board of directors of MET Group. The above transaction is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets per share or earnings per share of Keppel Corporation, the parent company of Keppel Infrastructure, for the current financial year.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: MET Group ]

               BayWa’s renewables business has signed a renewables power purchase agreement (PPA) with windows maker Velux Group. The dual-site PPA between BayWa r.e. and Velux will start supplying the roof window manufacturer’s European operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2024. The PPA will support the development of two new solar parks in southern Spain, one close to Seville and the other near Granada. The latter, called Alhendín solar park, includes BayWa r.e.’s first installation of agri-PV technology in Spain, which will allow for crops growing in-between the solar panels. The plants will be grid connected in 2023 and 2024, with 80% of the electricity generated by the plants supplied to Velux, with the remaining share to be exported to the grid.

               Commenting on the project, Lars Petersson, CEO of Velux Group, said: “Velux has always been about bringing daylight into people’s lives, and now we are very excited to apply the use of daylight, or more specifically solar power, to decarbonise our operations with renewable energy in the coming years. “In our company, we have committed ourselves to fight the climate crisis and show sustainable leadership. “And with this agreement, we are well on our way to achieving our aim for a 100% reduction of our emissions from operations by 2030.” The development of both solar plants will include a comprehensive plan and community and environmental measures that will enhance local biodiversity and foster community involvement. To ensure that the parks will always prioritise their local environment and communities, BayWa r.e. will be partnering with nearby universities – namely Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Universidad de Córdoba – to form an interdisciplinary research group whose findings will inform a comprehensive and bespoke site strategy. “This project is so exciting because it perfectly embodies the synergies between new solar generation, Agri-PV, community partnerships and biodiversity. “It also underlines our deep commitment to sustainability initiatives,” said Matthias Taft, BayWa r.e.’s CEO.

Credits: renews.biz[Image: BayWa r.e.]

               The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has signed a $10m grant agreement with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) to boost solar in developing countries. Under the agreement, ISA will strengthen its programmes, build capacities in the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDs), and bolster its analytics and advocacy efforts. The broad avenues of collaboration will also include encouraging the exchange of information and best practices, quality assurance of solar products, steps to advance training to strengthen capacities in technological and financial, deployment of solar building awareness for solar energy, and further deploying innovative technologies. Simon Harford, CEO of GEAPP, said: “Energy-poor countries represent about half of the global population. Yet only 6% of all solar PV and wind deployed in 2021 went to these countries. “In fact, only 1% of all wind and solar capacity ever deployed has been installed in Africa. “This is a trend GEAPP is determined to reverse. “We are proud to work with partners such as the ISA to deliver clean energy solutions in cooperation with government, helping tackle climate change and powering more equitable economic growth and sustainable livelihoods.” The ISA-GEAPP partnership will create awareness to “nudge an enabling policy and regulatory environment to support the shift to clean energy”.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Unsplash/Jeremy Bezange]

                  SolarDuck has been awarded the world´s largest hybrid offshore floating solar power plant at the offshore wind park Hollandse Kust West VII (Netherlands). The company will build a 5MW demonstrator with innovative integrated energy storage solutions with the project due to become operational in 2026. Delivering this project will enable SolarDuck to scale faster, reap the associated cost benefits and ultimately accelerate commercial projects at grid scale. Hybrid offshore wind and OFS projects promise to accelerate the adoption of OFS at scale.

               The complementarities between wind and solar resources as well as making better use of existing infrastructure and the ocean space will drive the growth of hybrid OFS projects. In this way, SolarDuck can have a deeper impact in decarbonising the world, particularly in sunny regions of the world where land is scarce. SolarDuck CEO Koen Burgers said: “This is a flagship project for SolarDuck and an important milestone for the wider OFS industry. SolarDuck, being the first to build a hybrid project at this scale, will demonstrate the robustness of our solution, prove the important role of system integration in building future-fit energy systems, and enable the scaling of the technology to accelerate its adoption.”

Credits: renews,biz [Image: SolarDuck]

               R Power has announced tenders for projects with a capacity of 270MWp for the supply of photovoltaic panels and inverters. The proceedings are open to both Polish and foreign producers and the tenders concern projects located in Poland and Italy. They include the delivery of 530-570Wp bifacial modules, produced by leading manufacturers. At the same time, the company plans to contract the delivery of inverters for the aforementioned projects. R Power plans to conclude contracts for the last quarter of this year. R Power is a leading integrated independent solar power producer in Poland, with a growing presence in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Romania. Its activities cover the entire value chain of the solar energy sector, including the development of photovoltaic power plant projects, photovoltaic power plants engineering, procurement and construction, operations and maintenance and production of green energy (as an Independent Power Producer). The company is currently developing a portfolio of more than 7GWp of PV assets and has a portfolio of limited-risk projects (built, under construction or ready for construction) of approximately 0.8GWp. 

Credits: renews.biz [Image: R Power ]

               Sonnedix has officially expanded into Portugal with the acquisition of a 262MWp solar PV portfolio. The portfolio consists of seven ground-mounted projects under construction or late-stage development with a cumulative capacity of 262MWp throughout the country. During its first year of operation, these projects are expected to produce approximately 415,00MWh a year of clean electricity, capable of powering over 137,000 homes, avoiding over 76,000 tons of CO2.

               This acquisition is its entry-to-market in Portugal, adding diversification to the Sonnedix portfolio and strengthening its position in Europe. Sonnedix chief executive Axel Thiemann said: “This feat demonstrates our long-term commitment to the Iberian Peninsula which is currently being seen as an energy powerhouse in Europe. “It’s a very exciting moment in the industry, and we have all intentions to become a true leader in the energy transition by expanding our presence in Portugal.” Sonnedix currently has a total capacity of close to 8GW worldwide, including a development pipeline of more than 5GW. The company operates more than 180 projects totaling almost 600MW in the Iberic market and has almost 770MW under construction or various stages of development.

Credits: renews.biz[Image: Sonnedix Group ]

               UK developer Harmony Energy has received unanimous approval from Richmondshire District Council for its 40MW solar farm at Skeeby, East of Richmond in North Yorkshire. “We are thrilled this important renewable development can proceed,” said director of Harmony Energy, James Ritchie, adding “as with all our developments there will be an annual community fund to benefit local projects. This is in addition to the significant business rates that will be paid and benefit the wider community.” Ritchie also addressed the cost benefits of using solar power: “One of the great advantages of solar power is that we can build it without taxpayer support thereby helping reduce energy costs and increase energy security in the UK.”

               Harmony Energy is also in the final development stages of a major battery energy storage facility at Pillswood, Yorkshire. Due to be finished this month, the new facility is predicted to have a store capacity of up to 198MWh,which will be fed directly back into the network. This would make Pillswood the largest battery energy storage facility in the UK, according to the company. The development comes soon after Harmony Energy announced plans to place new C shares to fund its pipeline of two-hour duration battery energy storage systems projects.

Credits: solarpowerportal.co.uk (Image: Harmony Energy)

               Iberdrola has completed construction of the Conde plant located in the municipality of Palmela in Portugal. With an installed capacity of 13.5MW, the plant will prevent the emission into the atmosphere of 6,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The installation has 25,000 solar modules that will produce enough clean, cheap and indigenous energy to cover the annual consumption of 5,000 households. The project, which has involved an investment of close to €11m, has generated up to 100 jobs, mostly local. This is the company’s second photovoltaic installation in Portugal, after the 27MW Algeruz II plant, which is already in operation following its commissioning last August in the district of Setubal.

Credits renews.biz[Image: Iberdrola]