News & Articles on Solar Energy

While I have primarily worked with wind energy, I have long been a proponent of renewable energy in the broadest sense. This includes solar energy. My work in Canada, especially Ontario, stressed inclusion of solar energy because it had been previously overlooked. At one time Ontario was one of the leading jurisdictions in North America developing solar photovoltaics due in part to the programs I and others pushed. The political winds changed and these policies were abandoned and with it Ontario’s progress toward a renewable energy future.

New community solar farm powered up in Devon

By

Priyanka Shrestha

Construction of the 7.3MW Creacombe community solar farm started in September last year and was energised in two stages.

Vietnam confirms 20-year FIT for rooftop PV will be maintained at $0.0935/kWh

By

Emiliano Bellini

Vietnam’s state-owned utility EVN has confirmed that it will maintain the 20-year feed-in tariff for rooftop PV installations not exceeding 100 kW in size at the rate of $0.0935/kWh until 2021.

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Beating swords into plowshares or wind turbines & solar panels: We could have done it

By

Paul Gipe

Yes, the United States could be generating 100% of its electricity from renewable energy if we had used the money spent on our ill-advised wars in the Middle East to build wind and solar systems, as well as battery storage, here at home. That’s the startling conclusion of a simple calculation my colleague Robert Freehling and I made after the latest reports on the economic cost of our wars in the Middle East.

Taiwanese government proposes solar tariffs of US$0.13-0.19/kWh

By

Emiliano Bellini

The draft feed-in tariff scheme should be approved by the end of the month. Payments for residential solar systems are expected to fall only 0.34% but those for utility scale solar may be reduced by 2.2%. An increase is set to be granted to projects in remote areas and also to those which rely on high-efficiency modules.

Investors Still Waging War With Spain Over Retroactive Cuts

By

Jason Deign

Spain has offered an olive branch in its long-running legal battle with renewables developers. But the fight isn’t over yet.

Vietnam leading ASEAN’s solar PV market

By

Jason Thomas

Vietnamese state-owned utility company, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) stated that as many as 82 plants with a combined capacity of 4.45 GW were connected to the national grid as of 30 June, allowing them to qualify for the feed-in tariff (FIT) programme.

UK solar industry welcomes Labour’s ambitious and inclusive solar homes policy

By

Robin Whitlock

The Solar Trade Association (STA) has welcomed the Labour Party’s announcement this week that it will support over a million new domestic PV installations across the UK, through a mixture of fair export tariff payments, grant funding and by driving large economies of scale.

China Installs 5.2 Gigawatts Of Solar As Government Unveils 2019 Feed-in Tariffs

By

Joshua S Hill

hina’s National Energy Administration announced Monday that a total of 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar was installed during the first quarter while, at the same time, the Price Bureau of China’s National Development and Reform Commission finally published its solar Feed-in Tariff policy for 2019 on Tuesday.

Japan Sets FIT Tariff for Less-than-500kW Solar Plants for FY 2019

By

Kenji Kaneko

According to the plan, the FIT tariff for 10kW-500kW commercial solar power plants will be ¥14/kWh, which has been finalized in effect.

Why Minnesota’s Community Solar Program is the Best

By

John Farrell

Minnesota’s community solar program hit a record 460 megawatts of operational capacity in November 2018. The chart above shows the progress of projects through the program since August 2015, and the nearly two-year lag between the program launch in December 2014 and the successful ignition of multiple megawatts of capacity in January 2017.