Pivot Energy, Colorado’s largest community solar developer, today announced the completed transaction of a three-megawatt (MW) commercial and utility solar portfolio with Onyx Renewable Partners L.P. Completion of the portfolio represents the ongoing partnership and commitment between the two companies to provide nonprofits, school districts, government municipalities, and local utilities with clean and affordable solar energy. As part of the portfolio agreement, Pivot and Onyx will co-develop each project while Onyx will own and operate them. 

The portfolio announced today includes four projects in total, two in Illinois and two in Colorado. The projects located in Illinois total 779 kilowatts of solar energy awarded through the Adjustable Block Program that will serve a local municipality and a school district. The remaining two projects, located in Colorado, total 2.4 MWs of solar energy that will serve a university and a local utility partner. 

“Onyx has been an important strategic partner for us as we continue to expand our product offerings across the country,” said Garrett Peterson, vice president of project development for Pivot. “The geographic range and diversity of customers within this portfolio demonstrates the increasing demand for solar by all types of commercial and public entities. We look forward to continuing our valuable partnership with Onyx and delivering even more clean energy to commercial customers across the country in 2020.”

“We are delighted to be co-developing with Pivot on this portfolio that will help put resources back into communities and towards our clients’ academic missions. It has been a pleasure working with Pivot and we look forward to expanding the relationship with them this year,” said John Cannon of Onyx Renewable Partners.

One million solar panels and counting…

Duke Energy Florida today announced the installation of its one-millionth solar panel in the state at the company’s Columbia Solar Power Plant in Fort White, Fla.

Duke Energy Florida plans to install a significant amount of additional solar energy over the next 10 years across the state.

“This is an exciting announcement as we increasingly deliver cleaner, more reliable energy to our customers,” said Catherine Stempien, Duke Energy Florida state president. “By mid-year, our solar plants are expected to eliminate nearly 1.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year. That’s the equivalent of taking 130,000 passenger cars off Florida roads.”

Duke Energy Florida will have a total of almost 515 megawatts (MW) of solar under construction or operating by mid-2020.

The company is investing an estimated $1 billion to construct or acquire a total of 700 MW of solar power facilities from 2018 through 2022 in Florida.

Duke Energy Florida is projecting to more than double its solar investments

Boustead Projects is partnering Sunseap Group for the potential installation of rooftop industrial solar energy systems at its real estate projects.

The real estate player announced on Thursday in a regulatory filing that its wholly-owned subsidiary Boustead Funds Management had signed a framework agreement with Sunseap Leasing – a business unit of the regional solar energy provider – for the collaboration.

Through the partnership, Boustead Projects intends to better utilise rooftop space at its portfolio of leasehold properties and managed real estate projects.

Sunseap will be Boustead Projects’s exclusive solar energy partner and preferred electricity retailer in Singapore, the latter added. Sunseap will also be able to offer clean energy solutions and retail lower-cost energy to Boustead Project’s clients and tenants.

Thomas Chu, Boustead Projects managing director, said the company intends to partner Sunseap in Singapore and regionally.

“Sunseap is Singapore’s most established solar energy solutions provider and a growing regional clean energy solutions provider, which makes them an ideal clean energy partner for our ongoing portfolio and regional expansion,” he added.

Bifacial solar modules have attracted a lot of market attention in recent years. Installed capacity grew from only 97 megawatts globally in 2016 to over 5,400 megawatts in 2019. Furthermore, between 2019 and 2024, the size of the bifacial market is poised to increase tenfold.

The driving forces behind this phenomenal growth differ from region to region. But one unifying factor is the growing affordability of bifacial modules in addition to the new G/B (glass plus backsheet) that enables structure installation method and cost to be unchanged compared to mono facial modules.

For instance, unlike conventional glass-glass structured bifacial modules, JinkoSolar’s Swan bifacial with Dupont transparent backsheet can breathe out the heat and corrosion inside the panel. Thus lowering the NOCT, increasing the energy yield and performance in the real-world condition. In addition to the generation capability over 30 year life span, the initial BOS cost will be significantly saved because of 20-25% less weight compared with different thickness of rear side glass adopted. It makes Swan relatively easy to retool existing monofacial mounting method.

Together, the comparable cost and the ease of deployment are allowing Swan bifacial modules with transparent backsheet to compete with conventional modules and gain market share. According to the Company, since June 2019, the first time showcased at SNEC 2019, Swan bifacial has been ordered nearly 2 GW within 6 months.

Sunseap Group Pte Ltd, Singapore’s leading provider of renewable energy solutions, continues to attract strong investor following.

Sunseap reported that it has raised S$100 million in its fourth round of fund-raising from Banpu, a listed company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, as part of its commitment towards sustainability.

Sunseap Group is the leading solar energy system developer, owner and operator in Singapore. It operates through five key units: Sunseap Leasing, Sunseap International, Sunseap Energy, Sunseap Engineering and Sunseap Solutions. Sunseap Leasing is the first and largest solar leasing company in Singapore. Sunseap International targets markets in the Southeast Asian and Pacific regions.

The latest Series D4 round comes hard on the heels of a combined S$50 million investment from ABC World Asia and Temasek last month, and the funds raised will be used to support Sunseap’s projects and expansion across Asia.

Banpu is a leading integrated energy solutions company with three core groups of business – energy resources, energy generation and energy technology – and has expanded into 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Banpu’s commitment to sustainability while growing its business has led to the reorganisation of some of its operations to create Banpu NEXT, a move that is expected to be completed by the end of February.

As part of the investment, Banpu has appointed its Senior Vice President, Finance and Strategy, Mr Banchob Kitchpanich, as a representative to Sunseap’s board.

Sunseap’s President and Executive Director, Mr Lawrence Wu, said: “The additional investment by Banpu is another vote of confidence for Sunseap’s sustainable business model and our smart city technologies. Their commitment will help position us as the leader in smart city and sustainable clean energy solutions to a wider customer base and help fight climate change.

“Banpu is one of Asia-Pacific region’s leading and most experienced integrated energy solutions provider and we see synergies between our business and theirs. We welcome its representative to our board and look forward to having Banpu’s valuable perspective as we deliberate strategic plans for the Sunseap group of companies.”

In recognition of the Banpu’s sustainability efforts and commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, which support its business growth as well as generate benefits and returns for all stakeholders, Banpu was selected as a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) – Emerging Markets for a sixth consecutive year in 2019. It was also rated “A” under the MSCI ESG Ratings and was part of the Thailand Sustainability Investment list under the Stock Exchange of Thailand Sunseap is the largest clean energy solutions provider in the Singapore with almost 300 MegaWatt-peak (MWp) of solar energy projects contracted, of which 168 MWp have been completed on more than 1,500 buildings in Singapore including public housing estates, as well as commercial and industrial buildings.

Sunseap also provides residential customers in Singapore with access to certified solar energy generated in Singapore to reduce their carbon footprints. The group, which also supplies tech giant Apple and Microsoft with renewable energy for their entire local operations, won the tender for the Singapore government’s SolarNova 4 last year. Under the programme, Sunseap will install more than 70 MWp of solar panels on the rooftops of housing blocks and other government sites.

Outside Singapore, Sunseap has also commissioned one of the largest solar projects in Vietnam, a 168MWp solar farm in Ninh Thuan Province. It currently has a total and projected capacity of 1.7 GigaWatt-peak consisting projects that are in operation, under construction and in development in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as a strong pipeline of projects in China, Taiwan, Japan and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Indonesia to install rooftop solar panels on 800 public buildings

The Indonesian government plans to install rooftop solar panels on at least 800 public buildings across the country this year as it steps up its renewable energy push to lessen its reliance on fossil fuels. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has allocated 175 billion rupiah (12.76 million USD) to install the panels on boarding schools, clinics, orphanages, government offices and police stations in 17 provinces. The ministry’s Renewables Infrastructure Director Puspa Dewi said due to a tight budget, the project would focus first on public buildings as they have higher electricity demand during the day than residential areas. The programme is part of the Indonesian government’s efforts to increase the rate of renewable energy use to 23 percent by 2025 in line with its National Energy Plan.

Five new solar farms to be connected to the national grid

In its annual report, the ministry stated five solar parks are having their construction works accelerated so they can be connected to the national grid as soon as possible. Together, the solar projects will boost Cambodia’s power supply by a total of 160 megawatts (mW) a year. With each province accounting for; Svay Reign (20mW), Pursat (30mW), Kampong Speu (20mW), Battambang (60mW) and Banteay Meanchey (30 mW). Next year, according to the ministry, the country will launch another 60 mW in Kampong Chnang and 60 mW solar farm in Pursat provinces, generating 120 mW when combined. Actions taken by the government have aimed to diversify power sources within the country because power demands have notably increased in recent years from investment activities, especially in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

Myanmar to increase renewable energy sources

Myanmar is trying to increase the content of renewable energy sources in tapping all available energy sources to generate electricity, said Union Minister for Electricity and Energy Win Khaing. As the country is blessed with solar energy, wind power and other renewable energy sources, a 40-megawatt solar power plant has been built in Minbu and the plant is distributing electricity through the national grid. The minister stressed the need to increase employing energy sources that have little impact on the environment. The government is trying to generate electricity covering the whole country by 2030. In a three-year period from 2016-2017 fiscal year to 2018-2019 FY, over 11,000 kilowatt hours of hydropower electricity and around 9,000 kilowatt hours of electricity from natural gas were produced on a yearly basis, the Central Statistics Organization quoted the statement issued by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy.

Firm completes purchase of solar project in Banteay Meanchey

Thailand-based energy company B Grimm Power Plc’s wholly-owned subsidiary, B Grimm Solar Power 1, has completed its acquisition of Cambodia’s Ray Power Supply Co Ltd. “[Ray Power] would like to update the progress [of the transaction]. The share transfer has officially completed and approval from relevant authorities has been granted,” it said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The company announced late last year that B Grimm Solar Power 1 entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all the shares of Ray Power for a total consideration of $300,000. Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman and director-general of the ministry’s General Department of Energy Victor Jona previously told The Post that the ground-mounted solar power system will cover about 40ha of land in Banteay Meanchey province’s Sisophon town.

Thailand’s PTT to set up AIoT smart grid

Singapore-based Envision Digital International has been tapped to develop the first smart grid for Thailand’s major energy company, PTT Public Company (PTT), which contributes to approximately 16% of the country’s GDP. The contract involves developing an AIoT smart grid at Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), powered by Envision Digital’s AIoT operating system EnOS. By integrating floating solar panels, rooftop solar panels, energy storage system, and electric charging stations in the campus with Envision’s Enlight and Ensight digital analytics software, the smart grid project will help PTT to achieve its 2020 strategic objective: Zero increase of absolute emission growth rate. The contract follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two companies in April 2019 to work together on multiple initiatives around new energy and digital transformation.

Vietnam Expands its Solar Energy Capabilities

Solar energy in Vietnam is showing highly after periods of shuttling from an extreme to another, with the state often looking as if it was reverting to coal and on other occasions as if it was to make investments on renewable energy. Vietnam had exceeded Malaysia and Thailand by the close of last year by hitting Southeast Asia’s most significant installed solar electricity capacity of 44 percent, according to statistics by the energy consulting service seller firm WoodMackenzie. The statistics show Vietnam’s seriousness concerning solar energy, a subject that has brought discussion for years. The advocates of solar power were motivated to see the state offer high tariff feed (FIT), a German pioneered fee to let solar panel users sell electricity to the grid. The FIT contributed to pushing Vietnam to a solar power capacity of 5.5 gigawatts last year.

The Delhi DISCOMs (BRPL, BYPL and TPDDL) are implementing a Rooftop Solar Tender (30 MW) in the residential sector under MNRE Phase II Program with the tender facilitation assistance from IPGCL and Technical Assistance (TA) from the SUPRABHA Program (MNRE SBI The World Bank Initiative). The NIT was published by IPGCL on 22^nd Feb 2020 and a pre-bid meeting has been scheduled on 28^th Feb at Radisson Blu, Mahipalpur, New Delhi from 11 AM.

In this regard, on behalf of Delhi DISCOMs, IPGCL is inviting Expression of Interest (EOI) for Empanelment of Vendors.

Bartlett’s Farm is widely known as the oldest and largest family-owned farm on Nantucket Island. As part of Bartlett’s Farm’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and grid reliability on the island, Dynamic Energy recently completed a 1.4 MW ground-mounted solar installation. This project is adjacent to a 595 kW system that Dynamic Energy designed and constructed for Bartlett’s Farm in 2016.

Together, Phase 1 and 2 total nearly 2 MWs of solar capacity, producing approximately 2.6 million kWhs of electricity annually, and avoiding the emission of 2,100 tons of carbon dioxide per year (equivalent to providing enough clean, renewable energy for more than 7% of the island’s households). The project offsets 100% of the farm’s energy needs, while also serving as a reliable and cost-effective source of clean energy for Massachusetts.

“Given the success of our first project with Dynamic Energy, we were confident that they would be the right partner for our second. Dynamic has been a strong partner for us, in support of our efforts to generate clean and sustainable sources of energy for the farm. Now this includes the island’s electric grid and will help reduce the need for a third undersea cable,” said John Bartlett, President of Bartlett’s Farm.

“It is extremely rewarding to see a follow-on project like this come to fruition,” said John Conley, Chief Commercial Officer at Dynamic Energy. “To work together again on a larger, second phase highlights Bartlett’s Farm’s dedication to its sustainable mission, to the local community, and to its confidence in Dynamic Energy’s ability to provide outstanding results for our customers.”

Goldi Solar, one of the leading Indian solar panel manufacturers, EPC provider and independent power producer (IPP), bags the title of “Bankable Tier 1” solar panel manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) for Q1, 2020.

BNEF developed its tiering system for PV module makers to create a transparent differentiation between the hundreds of manufacturers of solar modules in the market. The classification is based on bankability, specifically whether projects using a particular brand of solar modules are likely to be offered non-recourse debt financing by non-development banks. Tier 1 module manufacturers are those that have provided products to six different projects, which have received non-recourse financing by six different banks in the past two years. Nevertheless, Goldi Solar has met all the criteria’s to be on this list of Tier 1 and it is the fourth Indian company listed.

Mr. Ishver Dholakiya, Managing Director – Goldi Solar, said, “This is a big win for us and we worked diligently to reach this milestone. We recognize that major PV project developers, EPCs and financers rely on the BNEF report and we believe this announcement will open up a broader section of the market for our high-quality solar modules”.

Mr. Bharat Bhut, Director – Goldi Solar, said, “We are delighted today to be included in this list of Tier 1 manufacturers, our panels which have been supplied to the projects have fulfilled BNEF standards. This “Tier 1” title is important to us which will not only attract new opportunities but it will also help us to complete few pending International orders and to penetrate more easily in markets like Europe and US as a major bankable supplier of the solar PV industry and allow us to further contribute more towards sustainability and greener future”.

The project is being built on a sandpit lake in Zwolle in the Netherlands. Once complete it will be the world’s largest floating PV installation outside of China, consisting of nearly 73,000 PV modules, 13 floating transformers and 192 inverter boats.

Dr. Benedikt Ortmann, Global Director of Solar Projects at BayWa r.e., stated “In the past one and a half year we have delivered over 25MWp of floating solar, making us Europe’s leading floating solar developer. Thanks to the wealth of experience we are now constructing this solar farm at an incredible rate, not seen before.”

“In only two weeks we have built 8MW of the project, peaking at constructing 1MW a day. That’s quite a significant increase in speed of delivery, enabling more green energy to be produced quicker.”

The project is not only breaking boundaries in its delivery time, it is also being constructed to new best practice standards, with the entire construction of the Bomhofsplas solar farm almost completely carbon free. The project is highly self-sufficient with electric vehicles, tools and boats charged through the first part of the solar farm and an onsite 600kW battery.

In addition to utilising underused space and creating opportunity for owners of artificial lakes, floating solar has some benefits over ground mounted solar. These include easier installation, higher potential yields thanks to the water-cooling effect and lower O&M costs.

Benedikt added: “Our ability to deliver floating solar farms in such a short space of time is an exciting new opportunity for Europe and its bid to be carbon free by 2050. However, when it comes to floating solar you have to use the right long-lasting technology.”

“Thanks to our expertise and innovation we have developed a bespoke floating solar system that is creating renewable energy opportunities for under used lakes such as disused quarries, mineral extraction pits and reservoirs.”

In partnership with Zimmermann PV-Stahlbau GmbH, BayWa r.e. has designed its own specialist and highly engineered floating system. The patented ‘Zim Float’ system is capable of withstanding high wind, waves and snow and creates a safe structure for ongoing operations and maintenance.

When complete, this will be the fourth floating solar farm BayWa r.e. has built in one and a half year. The company has already constructed and realised the nearby 14.5MWp Sekdoorn project, the 8.4MWp Tynaarlo project as well as the 2.1MWp Weperpolder installation.

JinkoSolar’s Tiger 465 Wp TR process, which began volume production in the first quarter of 2020, and will match yields similar to the original Cheetah process, is widening the technology lead over its rivals. According to JinkoSolar, the volume production of the TR and TR+ process is one of the fastest on record and the process is one of the best the industry’s commercially available and economic sensible technologies up to 20.71%.

To date, Tiger module has been sold over 1GW in the past three months. Looking ahead, JinkoSolar sees strong demand and expects the next few quarters to outperform their typical seasonal patterns. To support this rising demand, JinkoSolar is ramping up its advanced Tiger process technologies.

From a full-year perspective, JinkoSolar is expected to enjoy solid revenue growth in key products such as Swan TB bifacial, high performance Tiger and Tiger Plus using N-Type process specially designed for home and business market. Tiger series capacity aims to reach 10 GW in the fourth quarter 2020 and will account for about one third full year sales.

“I am tired of being out and about when I can not charge my cell phone or other electronic devices,” said an inventor from Vancouver, Washington. “This inspired me to develop a cell phone charger that would employ solar energy.”

She developed the SOLAR CHARGE as an efficient and easy to use device that would not require electrical power or the use of a cord. This invention could help to extend the operating cycle of a cell phone. It would feature a compact size that would allow it to be easily carried. Additionally, it could be compatable with most common makes and models of cell phones. 

The original design was submitted to the Portland sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. 

Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced it has commenced construction on two solar photovoltaic (PV) power projects in Japan.

The first is a 13.6 MWp project in the Ibaraki Prefecture. The project will be powered by 33,098 pieces of Canadian Solar’s high-efficiency MaxPower modules. Once in operation, the plant is expected to generate approximately 15,901 MWh of clean, reliable solar electricity each year, which will be purchased by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20-year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of ¥32.0 ($0.29) per kWh. The Company expects the project to reach commercial operation by mid-2021.

The second project is a 13.0 MWp project in the Fukuoka Prefecture. The plant is expected to generate approximately 15,250 MWh of solar energy each year, which will be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20-year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of ¥36.0 ($0.33) per kWh. The project is also expected to reach commercial operation by mid-2021.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, “Canadian Solar continues to develop and construct high quality projects in Japan with remarkably attractive feed-in-tariffs. We entered the Japanese market in 2009, and since 2014, we have established ourselves as one of the leading foreign developers in the market, having cumulatively developed and connected over 290 MWp in utility-scale power plants. While new subsidized programs are set to expire by 2021, we have a robust pipeline of high feed-in-tariff projects and continue to see opportunities given the Japanese government’s continued efforts to increase the penetration of renewable energy.”

Today at market’s open, Solis Stock (300763.SZ) opened at 67.63 yuan, a significant increase from the previous day’s close of 63.81 yuan and continued its climb. A few minutes later, the daily limit of 10% was realized and there were no sell orders at the price of 70.19 yuan per share.

According to the SZSE, a total of 18300 transactions totaling 128 million yuan were exchanged today. This is the second time a daily limit had been reached for the company since February 12 of this year. Last year, the company had triggered the daily limit twice on March 22 and 26 respectively.

Since the Spring Festival, Solis’ stock price has increased from 45.23 yuan to today’s closing price of 70.19 yuan, a 55% increase in just 12 trading days. Year to date, the stock has increased 69%, earning the top spot within the new energy A-share market.

In October of 2019, Solis’ financial statements revealed Q3 of 2019 to be the company’s best quarter in 14 years of operation, with revenue from this quarter alone exceeding annual revenues from 2014 to 2016 combined. Solis has announced that the annual report for 2019 will be released on March 31. According to the company’s performance forecast, net profit is anticipated to increase by 14.46% to 135 million yuan.

During the reporting period, Solis focused on growing market share and profits through developing new domestic and international clients while maintaining its existing business, comprehensively strengthening marketing and aftersales service channels, increasing research and development investments, and improving brand influence.

Solis also estimates that net profit in 2019 will be negatively impacted by nonrecurring gains and losses of 4.0848 million yuan, mainly due to government of subsidies and forward gains and losses on foreign exchange settlements.