• May 08, 2023

Brazil's distributed solar power generation has exceeded 20 GW. As of the end of March this year, the country has exceeded the 19 GW mark. According to data from the Brazilian National Electricity Regulatory Agency (Aneel), as of April 20, 2023, over 1.8 million distributed photovoltaic power generation systems have been connected to the grid in 5526 cities across Brazil, providing power to 2.4 million consumer units. Of the country's 20.444 GW of distributed generation, 20.186 GW comes from solar power. Sao Paulo (2.741 GW), Minas Gerais (2.653 GW), Rio Grande do Sul (2.131 GW), Parana (1.901 GW) and Santa Catalina (1.392 GW) have the largest installed capacity in Brazil. Most of Brazil's distributed solar power generation systems are installed on consumer sites. Among them, over 15.6 GW are installed in 1.5 million systems, providing energy for consumer units in the installation location. The remote spontaneous self use system ranks second with a total capacity of 4.4 GW, distributed among 325000 solar devices. The installed capacity of the energy community is only 109 MW, distributed in 4431 systems. The power generation capacity of residential roof system is 10.2 GW, accounting for a little more than half of the installed capacity of distributed generation, and distributed in 1476000 systems.

• April 25, 2023

The Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security has unveiled a new incentive program to support innovative agricultural photovoltaic solutions. The Italian government has submitted these new regulations to the European Commission and is now awaiting EU approval. The plan is part of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Program (PNRR), which has a budget of 1.1 billion euros and should be sufficient to deploy around 1.04GW of installed PV capacity by June 2026. Only agricultural PV projects with vertical installation structures or high-efficiency innovative PV modules are eligible to participate in the program. Selected developers will receive subsidies up to 40% of the initial cost of procurement and installation of photovoltaic systems. These developers will receive feed-in tariff payments based on the energy they deliver to the grid. The new decree also defines "advanced agricultural photovoltaic systems". These systems must incorporate innovative installation solutions – that is, installing solar modules on the ground without disrupting the continuity of agricultural production. In summary, the new regulations define "advanced agricultural photovoltaic systems" as complex systems that both increase production potential and ensure continuity of agricultural activities.

• April 21, 2023

In the first three months of this year, Germany installed 2.65 GW of new photovoltaic capacity, up from around 1.97 GW in the same period last year. In March alone, the country's newly installed photovoltaic capacity reached 944 MW. Some 598 MW of PV capacity deployed in the first quarter of this year was installed in the southern state of Bavaria. North Rhine-Westphalia came in second with 397.6 MW, followed by Baden-Wurttemberg with 380.8 MW. As of the end of March, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaics in Germany had reached 70.1 GW. To meet the 2030 solar target of 215 GW, the country needs to add at least 1.55 GW of solar every month.

• April 17, 2023

British renewable energy developer Island Green Power, known as the Rangiriri Solar Farm Project and Waerenga Solar Farm Project, has announced plans to develop two new solar projects on New Zealand's North Island. The proposed 180 MWp Waerenga Solar Farm and 130 MWp Rangiriri Solar Farm are expected to generate approximately 220 GWh and 300 GWh of clean electricity per annum respectively. State-owned utility Transpower, the owner and operator of National Grid, has been named as a joint applicant as it deals with the related infrastructure. The projects have been submitted to an independent fast-track consent panel, which provides an accelerated consent process for projects that have the potential to boost economic activity and help New Zealand accelerate the rollout of renewable energy as it works towards net zero emissions by 2050.

• April 11, 2023

Serbia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has announced that the country's largest photovoltaic facility has been put into commercial operation in the city of Lapovo in the Šumadija district of central Serbia. Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović said: "The DeLasol solar power plant is the largest photovoltaic installation in Serbia and an example of how we can use solar energy while improving the security and environmental protection of power supply." The 12.5-hectare plant has an installed capacity of 9.9 MW and uses about 18,000 bifacial modules from an undisclosed manufacturer. The project developer is MT-Komet in Belgrade.

• April 07, 2023

The South Korean government said its tax rebate for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems had risen from 13.4% to 15%, but its rebate for traditional rooftop PV systems had dropped from 50% to 47%. South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has allocated 244.7 billion won ($185.5 million) for its tax rebate program for rooftop photovoltaic systems and other small-scale renewable energy systems. The department began accepting applications from homeowners and businesses on April 3. MOTIE said its rebate for the BIPV system has increased from 13.4% to 15%. However, it has reduced rebates on traditional rooftop PV systems from 50% to 47%. About 48.9 billion won of the total budget will go to detached houses and multi-unit homes, while 61.1 billion won will go to commercial buildings. Another 140 billion won will be allocated to projects that combine two different renewable energy technologies.

• April 03, 2023

Both houses of Australia's parliament have approved plans to create a A$15 billion ($10 billion) national reconstruction fund to support domestic manufacturing in industries of the future and reduce the country's reliance on imports. The Australian Federal Government's A$15 billion National Renewal Fund (NRF) - aims to boost investment in onshore manufacturing, including the production of solar panels, batteries and hydrogen electrolyzers. Federal Industry Minister Ed Husic said the fund was "one of the largest peacetime investments in Australia's manufacturing capacity". He claimed the legislation paved the way for increased high-value manufacturing and employment in Australia. NRF will co-invest in projects in a range of strategic industries, including renewable energy and low-emission technologies, resource addition, agriculture, transportation, defense capabilities, and key technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

• March 27, 2023

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global renewable energy installed capacity increased by 295 GW last year, bringing the global total to 3,372 GW. Last year, 191 GW of solar was installed, with growth still largely concentrated in a handful of countries and regions in Asia, the US and Europe, the group said. Asia accounted for 60% of the total additions, with 1.63 TW of renewable energy currently installed. China accounts for nearly half of the world's new renewable energy capacity additions in 2022, at 141 GW. According to IRENA, new additions in North America and Europe in 2022 will be 57.3 GW and 29.1 GW, respectively, and Africa will continue to grow steadily, reaching 2.7 GW, slightly higher than the previous year's value.

• March 20, 2023

The Government of Kenya, in partnership with the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), is developing 137 solar microgrids in 12 of the country's 14 counties. The project is being funded by the World Bank, which in 2017 approved a $150 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA ) to finance the project. The solar microgrid will power 567 public facilities, including secondary schools, health facilities and administrative offices. They will also power the 380 drilled water pumps. The project will provide electricity to approximately 277,000 homes or 1.5 million people. "Kenya has deployed microgrids to serve communities that are not connected to the main grid," said Davis Chichir, Kenya's cabinet secretary for energy. “Currently, we have approximately 62 microgrids fully operational and 28 more under construction. We hope to deploy many more to close the energy access gap and ensure universal access to electricity by 2030.” The locations of the 137 microgrids will be published in the Official Gazette in April 2022. According to reports, land acquisition is underway under the direction of the National Land Council.