From ESS News

BYD Energy Storage has officially signed contracts with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to deliver 12.5 GWh in five BESS projects, marking the world’s largest grid-scale storage deployment to date.

In early January, media reports in China said that BYD had been awarded the series of contracts that make up the enormous headline figure of 12.5 GWh, but the official confirmation and announcement were waiting some final negotiation.

With this announcement, BYD systems will be installed across five sites in Saudi Arabia, utilizing BYD’s MC Cube-T energy storage system with Cell-to-System (CTS) technology, which achieves a volume ratio exceeding 33%, said BYD.

The project supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, which targets 50% renewable energy in the national power mix by 2030. The storage systems will integrate with the country’s transmission network to manage renewable energy integration and peak demand. This latest contract represents the third phase of SEC’s ongoing energy storage procurement.

BYD’s involvement in grid storage spans 17 years, starting with its first pilot lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery system. The company reports it has delivered 75 GWh of BESS equipment across 350 projects in more than 110 countries.

UK energy regulator Ofgem has unveiled new plans to overhaul Great Britain’s grid connections queue, to mixed response from the solar sector.

The announcement follows the National Electricity System Operator's (NESO) decision to pause new grid connection applications in Great Britain in January 2025. The connections queue for Great Britain exceeded 700 GW in 2024, almost three times the required capacity projected for 2050.

Ofgem has proposed introducing a new connections process that will fast track projects which can be commissioned quickly, a move which the regulator said is necessary to hit the UK government’s clean power targets for 2030. Under previous rules, grid connections in Great Britain were distributed on a first come, first serve basis.

A project’s location could also have greater influence on connection date, with Ofgem stating the grid connections queue should take “strategic need” into account.

In December 2024, the UK government committed to decarbonizing Great Britain’s energy grid by 2030 through a ramping up of renewables that would include around 30 GW more solar capacity. The ‘Clean Power 2030' plan included regional capacity projections for solar, onshore wind and battery storage, until 2035.

Solar Energy UK welcomed Ofgem taking an approach that prioritizes project readiness. However, the trade association warned that the regulator's decision to factor in system needs as set out in the Clean Power 2030 plan could result in slower deployment.

In a statement, Solar Energy UK Chief Executive Chris Hewett warned the industry could face a “potential cliff edge”.

“Ofgem says that projects will have to be perceived as ‘needed’ under the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which risks turning the plan’s regional projections for 2035 into de-facto caps, slowing down the pace of decarbonizing the grid just when it needs to accelerate,” said Hewett. “Doing so would place many solar and battery storage projects that are under active development into the same category as those that are least ready, putting £26 billion [$33 billion] of planned investment at risk.

“We must have a clearer steer from government on what their 2035 projections mean for our industry, and an uplift to those numbers if they wish to encourage continued investment in our fast-growing sector.”

Ofgem is currently consulting on its proposals for grid connections reform. Industry stakeholders have until Mar. 14, 2025 to respond. If plans go ahead, the regulator claims accelerated new offers could be made by the end of 2025, with the first connected and operational from 2026.

Oman‘s Nama Power and Water Procurement Co. (PWP) has announced the companies and consortia that submitted bids to develop its 500 MW Ibri III solar project.

A social media post shared by the company, which is the single buyer of power and water for all independent power projects in Oman, lists four bids in the running to develop the project.

A consortium of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO) and Al Khadra Partners makes up the first listed bid, while a partnership between ACWA Power and TotalEnergies Renewables forms the second bid.

The third bid comes from a partnership between EDF Renewables and Korean Western Power (KOWEPO), while the fourth bid is from Sembcorp Utilities.

PWP kicked off the tender in January 2024. It received twelve submissions from local and international developers, with nine applications qualifying to submit proposals in June last year.

The Ibri III solar project, with an estimated project cost of OMR 155 million ($402.6 million), has a scheduled completion date of the first quarter of 2027. It will be located alongside the existing 500 MW Ibri II solar project, which was inaugurated in January 2022 after a 13-month construction period.

PWP launched its fourth solar tender, for a 280 MW plant, last December.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Oman had installed 672 MW of solar by the end of 2023. Towards the end of last year, Sembcorp Utilities began commercial operations at a 588 MW solar plant in northeastern Oman more than four months ahead of schedule. A 20-year power purchase agreement is in place with PWP.

The Omani government has set a target of adding around 4 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.

Alphatracker, a global provider of tracking solutions and fixed structures for solar installations on agricultural land, has been awarded agrivoltaic projects totaling 100 MW of installed capacity in France and Germany. The company says this achievement reinforces its leadership in the sector and highlights its commitment to technological innovation and sustainability. Project locations include Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in France, as well as Saxony and Bavaria in Germany.

With over 3 GW of installed capacity and a global portfolio of more than 150 clients, Alphatracker continues to demonstrate its ability to combine renewable energy and agriculture in an efficient and sustainable manner. Unlike traditional approaches, Alphatracker designs tailor-made structures for each project. The company does not rely on standardized solutions, enabling it to adapt to the specific needs of each project, maximizing the efficiency and positive impact of every installation.

According to Alphatracker, its “High Capacity Agrivoltaic Tracker” system is specifically designed to integrate seamlessly into agricultural land with existing crops. This approach ensures that agricultural activities can continue uninterrupted while optimizing solar energy production. The advanced single-axis design guarantees ideal sunlight exposure for both crops and solar panels, maximizing land-use efficiency.

Projects in France and Germany

The newly awarded projects in France and Germany underscore Alphatracker's capability to lead large-scale agrivoltaic initiatives. These installations will not only meet the growing demand for clean energy but also support local agricultural practices, contributing to food security and biodiversity.

José Antonio Maldonado, CEO of Alphatracker, says, “We are proud to have been selected for these significant projects. Our approach demonstrates that renewable energy and agriculture can not only coexist but also create a significant positive impact on the environment and local communities.”

Alphatracker and the future of agrivoltaics

Maldonado says the award of these projects solidifies Alphatracker’s position as a benchmark in the agrivoltaic sector, a field that combines technological innovation with deep respect for the environment. The company invites stakeholders from the agricultural and energy sectors to explore agrivoltaics as a sustainable solution for the future.

With a proven track record of success and a focus on developing advanced technologies, Alphatracker says it is poised to continue leading the transition to a more sustainable energy model in Europe and beyond.

Chinese perovskite cell maker MicroQuanta Semiconductor has supplied its solar modules for what it claims to be the world's largest building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) project based on perovskite solar panels.

The company said it tailored the system for the building’s structural and environmental conditions, ensuring reliable operation even in the harsh winter climate of northern China’s mountainous regions.

The rooftop system is located atop the main building of a university start-up hub in Shenchi county, in China's Shanxi province.

It has a capacity of 17.92 kW and utilizes custom-designed perovskite modules measuring 1,200 mm x 1,000 mm. These double-glazed modules achieve a light transmittance of around 40%, allowing ample daylight into the building interior while generating electricity.

Ensuring durability and waterproofing was a key challenge for the developers. The modules were installed using a standard glass skylight framework, incorporating aluminum alloy clamps along drainage slopes and reinforced with high-strength, weather-resistant sealants. This purportedly ensures long-term performance in varying weather conditions. The system was deployed at a cost of CNY 700,000 ($97,000).

MicroQuanta is among China’s frontrunners in perovskite PV manufacturing. In January 2025, its 810cm² perovskite module achieved a 21.86% efficiency certification from China’s National PV Industry Measurement and Testing Center. The company is currently constructing a gigawatt-scale perovskite production line in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, aiming for mass production in the first half of 2025.

MicroQuanta’s roadmap includes producing large-area 2.88m² perovskite modules with 20% efficiency and a 25-year lifespan – critical milestones for scaling up perovskite solar adoption in BIPV applications.

According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), China’s BIPV installations reached approximately 700 MW in 2024, with rapid year-on-year growth. As the government rolls out supportive policies and removes administrative barriers, the sector is expected to expand rapidly post-2025. Market research firms forecast that China’s BIPV sector could reach a valuation of CNY 300 billion ($41.5 billion) by 2030.

Researchers from Ukraine's Lviv Polytechnic National University have proposed a novel design for standalone solar PV water pumping systems (SPVWPSs) that reportedly achieve higher efficiencies.

While traditional SPVWPSs with direct drive are not very efficient due to fluctuations in solar radiation, the team has suggested a system that uses an intermediate supercapacitor module (SCM) buffer to temporarily store solar energy, later releasing it in high-power pulses to the pump, enabling the pump to operate at a better capacity.

“Taking into account that the water pumping process itself is an accumulation of energy, this work proposes applying a pulsating mode of pump operation with nominal power in each pulse enabled by the introduction of an SCM,” the team said. “It is permanently connected to the PV module and periodically connected to the brushless DC motor (BLDCM) with the centrifugal pump (CP) using an electronic switch. The on-off algorithm of this switch operation is designed in such a way as to ensure the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the PV module.”

To test the novel system, the scientists simulated three systems on the Matlab/Simulink environment. The first was of a traditional SPVWPS – that includes the PV module connected to a DC-DC converter that performs the function of MPPT, providing a voltage value for the corresponding angular velocity of the BLDCM with CP.

In contrast, two novel designs were also simulated. In the first, an SCM is installed between two DC-DC converters. At the same time, the first converter adjusts the operating point with MPPT, and the second manages the pulsating operation by connecting and disconnecting the pump when the SCM reaches specific charge levels. The other novel designs give up the DC-DC convertors altogether, connecting the SCM directly to the panel. Instead, the MPPT function is achieved by turning the pump on and off to maintain the PV panels near their maximum power point.

In all of the simulations, four PV panels with a power of 500 W each and an efficiency of 20.3% were used. The CP had a motor power of 1.5 kW and an angular speed of 2,800 rpm. The BLDCM had a rated voltage of 1.6 kW and an efficiency of 90%. The DC-DC converter is a step-down type, and its MPPT subsystem implements the perturb & observe (P&O) search algorithm.

“In the particular simulated studied case (July in Ukraine), the developed system showed the increase of daily water productivity of 64% compared to SPVWPS of traditional configuration with MPPT and the same components and operating conditions,” the results found. “We can hope for an even higher advantage of the proposed approach compared to the known ones in the case of estimating the annual performance of the SPVWPS, taking into account the decrease in solar intensity in other months compared to summer.”

In addition to the simulated results, the team has also constructed an experimental setup of the novel system. “Experimental studies conducted on the created SPVWPS sample confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed pulsating operation of the CP: in conditions of reduced insolation, the efficiency of the operation of the CP together with its electric drive was 25% higher than in the basic configuration,” they found.

The results were presented in “Efficiency improvement in standalone solar PV water pumping system by pulsating pump operation based on intermediate supercapacitor buffer,” published in e-Prime – Advances in Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Energy.

France's Ministry of Ecological Transition has outlined a proposal to slash the feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for all rooftop PV systems with a capacity of up to 500 kW.

The ministry attributed the decision to trim the FiTs to budgetary constraints. “The tariffs allowed to deploy many photovoltaic installations in France in recent years,” it said in a press release. “This enthusiasm shows the increasing economic maturity of the sector, and leads to adjusting the terms of support for the sector for each power segment.”

For the 1 kW to 9 kW segment the government plans to reduce the tariff for surplus power from €0.127 ($0.133)/kWh to just €0.04/kWh. Furthermore, it intends to halve the rebates covering part of the costs for buying the installations, which already dropped by 40% over the past year.

In the 9 kW to 100 kW segment, the tariffs will be maintained at their current levels but will be subject to a stronger degression mechanism, while the capacity eligible for the tariffs will be limited to 92 MW per quarter.

Finally, in the 100 kW to 500 kW segment, the tariff level will be lowered to €0.095/kWh for the period between February 1 and April 30. This tariff level will be subject to a stronger degression mechanism than currently, based solely on the deployment figures from the previous quarter. The degression rate will be 6% each time the volume exceeds 1.25 times the planned volume, which is calibrated on 359 MW per quarter.

The government has also decided that, from Jul. 1, 2025, PV systems from 200 kW to 500 kW will switch from FiTs to a tender mechanism, which the ministry said is much more practical for “managing and limiting” the volumes allocated and the prices. Around 4 GW of PV projects ranging from 100 kW to 500 kW were submitted under the FiT program, while the government had set the bar at 1.2 GW.

In order to support the development of domestic PV panel giga-factories, the entire 100 kW to 500 kW category will be reserved for projects using solar modules meeting NZIA requirements from mid-2026. Then in 2028, these requirements will also be applied to the solar cells, which will result in an increase in the tariff, or ceiling price, to €0.105 kWh.

The French PV sector has rejected the government plan and defined it as a “moratorium”, recalling the almost complete shutdown of the solar FiT scheme the French authorities applied in 2010, which disrupted the solar industry and destroyed 20,000 jobs in the photovoltaic sector. “The government plans to reduce support levels to such an extent that no project will be economically viable in 2025,” said French renewable energy associations SER and Enerplan in a joint statement.

“This will create a panic effect,” Xavier Daval, CEO of Kilowattsol, told pv magazine France. “With the proposed tariff levels, all projects will stop because there is no longer any economic viability. Companies that had structured themselves to meet demand no longer have anything to sell.”

Daval called the proposed provisions a “disguised” moratorium. “The new mechanism will take three quarters to return to a viable rate. In other words, 2025 will have only one active quarter. No company can survive nine consecutive months without a market. The social and industrial consequences will be catastrophic: 20,000 to 30,000 job losses in the short term; thousands of bankruptcies among SMEs and specialized subcontractors. And a fatal blow to farmers, the first beneficiaries of this model to support their activity or diversify their income.”

The German Parliament approved the so-called Solarspitzen (Solar Peak) scheme last week, which suspends the remuneration of new PV systems when electricity prices are negative.

The new provisions will apply to all PV systems exceeding 2 kW in size. Compensation for lost FiT is possible if the systems have a smart meter. In this case, the negative hours are added after the end of the 20-year subsidy period, which is thus extended.

The new regulations will come into force the day after the law is published in the Federal Law Gazette, which may happen in the coming days or weeks.

The law also stipulates that the feed-in power of new photovoltaic systems is limited to 60% unless they have a smart meter.

With the new law the cost rates for the mandatory installation of smart meters will be increased, which should accelerate the rollout. PV system owners that install a smart meter will benefit from a compensation scheme under the new rules.

German PV association BSW said the new measures will not not significantly affect the profitability of new photovoltaic systems. “This is due to the compensation mechanism,” the organization said. “The disadvantage can even be converted into an economic advantage, namely through intelligent use and intermediate storage of solar power in times of negative electricity prices on the spot market.”

It also pointed out that operators of existing photovoltaic systems can switch to the new regulation on a voluntary basis. As an incentive to switch, they will receive an increase in the feed-in tariff of €0.006 ($0.003)/kWh.

California-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) start-up Next Energy Technologies has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s largest fully transparent organic PV window.

The 101.6 cm x 152.4 cm laminated transparent power-generating window was produced with the company’s pilot production line.

The window is built with a substrate, a transparent OPV layer, an edge seal, a busbar, a junction box and cover glass.

Next Energy uses automated slot-die coating manufacturing techniques to apply its proprietary OPV directly onto glass. The company’s coatings are laid on the glass, and a laser is used to scribe the OPV layer before laminating it. “Our highly refined process is a versatile deposition technique in which a solution is delivered onto a substrate via a narrow slot positioned close to the surface,” the company explained. Glass fabricators can add the slot-die process to their existing manufacturing capabilities.

“This milestone is further evidence to an industry hungry for a solution that our combination of OPV coatings and advanced manufacturing processing is working, scaling, and can be rapidly deployed,” said Daniel Emmett, Co-Founder, Executive Chairman, and CEO of NEXT. “It’s a proof point that builds high confidence in our path to enabling 152 cm x 304 cm [for] commercial production.”

Last year, the company demonstrated 68 cm x 89 cm OPV windows that were claimed to offset between 20% and 25% of the energy load of a typical commercial building, “The windows also absorb and convert infrared light, reducing the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) demands,” the company said at the time.

Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and RWTH Aachen University in Germany have compared the electrical performance of high-energy sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) to that of a state-of-the-art high-energy lithium-ion battery (LIBs) with a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cathode and have found that the state-of-charge and temperature have a higher influence on the pulse resistance and the impedance of the SIBs than the LIBs.

“SIBs are generally seen as a drop-in replacement for LIBs,” the scientists stated. “Nevertheless, the differences in the electrochemical behavior of sodium and lithium require adaptions on both the anode and the cathode. While for LIBs usually graphite is used as anode material, for SIBs hard carbon is currently seen as the most promising material for SIBs.”

They also explained that their work was intended to fill a gap in the research, as there is still a lack of knowledge about the electrical behavior of SIBs in terms of varying temperatures and state-of-charges (SOCs).

The research team conducted, in particular, electrical performance measurements at temperatures ranging from 10 C to 45 C and open-circuit voltage measurements of the full-cell at different temperatures as well as half-cell measurements of the corresponding cells at 25 C.

“Furthermore, we investigated the influence of temperature and SOC on both direct current resistance (R DC) and galvanostatic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (GEIS),” it specified. “To examine the useable capacity, useable energy, and energy efficiency under dynamic conditions, we performed rate capability tests by applying different load rates at different temperatures.”

The measurements were taken on a LIB, a SIB based on a nickel-manganese-iron cathode, and a LIB with a LFP cathode, with all devices being found to show a hysteresis in the open-circuit voltage between charging and discharging.

“Interestingly, for SIBs, the hysteresis is primarily occurring at low SOCs, which is, according to half-cell measurements, likely due to the hard carbon anode,” the academics emphasized. “The R DC and impedance of the LIB show very little dependence on the SOC. In contrast, for SIBs, the R DC and impedance significantly increase at SOCs below 30%, while higher SOCs have the opposite effect and lead to lower R DC and impedance values.”

Moreover, they ascertained that the temperature dependence of R DC and impedance is higher for SIBs than LIBs. “The LIB tests do not show a significant influence of the SOC on the round-trip efficiency. In contrast, cycling the SIBs from 50% to 100% SOC can reduce efficiency losses by more than half compared to cycling from 0% to 50%,” they further explained, noting that the efficiency of SIBs grows drastically when cycling the cells in a higher SOC range compared to a lower SOC range.

Their findings are available in the study “Comparing the electrical performance of commercial sodium-ion and lithium-iron-phosphate batteries,” published in the Journal of Power Sources. “Our findings indicate that the state-of-charge during cycling significantly affects the efficiency of sodium-ion batteries and should therefore be taken into account,” they concluded.

Global PV inverter and energy storage system provider Sungrow is currently expanding its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

“We entered this market seven years ago, when we won the largest scale utility-based project, at least at that time. Since then, we enhanced our localization strategy and built up offices in Saudi Arabia and of course in Dubai,” Lei Wu, COO of Sungrow MEA region, told pv magazine at the World Future Energy Summit, which was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in mid-January.

“This market is growing very fast and, as growth continues, competition increases,” he added. “I believe this growth trajectory will continue for both solar and storage in 2025 and 2026, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are now two established markets. I expect great potential for the C&I business there, where we already see an increasing amount of projects being built, but large-scale plants will still dominate these markets in the future.”

The company is expecting solid, organic growth of solar deployment in the C&I space over the coming years, as “sustainability targets are being widely imposed by government and corporate stakeholders.”

“The primary drivers for this growth are increasing electricity prices, energy security, energy self-sufficiency, and corporate sustainability targets that today became more relevant than ever,” said Wu. “Reflecting this momentum, Sungrow’s total C&I installations in the MENA region have surpassed 2 GW and are projected to reach an impressive 3 GW within the next one to two years.”

Despite this progress, Wu emphasized the need for policy support to ensure the profitability of the rooftop PV segment in the short term. He also believes that Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq offer new opportunities. “It is important we build stable bases in all of these countries, with local people,” he added. “We are planning to build more service warehouses in some of these, where we already operate different facilities.”

According to Wu, Sungrow secured a 7.8 GWh battery storage deal from Saudi Arabia last year. “We continue to scale operations in the MENA region, as we want to shape the next phase of solar and energy storage development in the area,” Wu concluded.

In late 2024, US authorities alleged that Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, along with other senior staff, was involved in a scheme to pay bribes to secure power supply contracts in India, misleading investors in the United States as a result.

Adani and some other colleagues remain under indictment in the United States and it is not clear how the situation will develop in 2025. Near term, the indictments could hinder Adani Group’s attempts to raise capital, particularly internationally. Despite this, India’s leading integrated energy and infrastructure conglomerate, which reported a strong year in 2024, said it expects that performance to continue.

“Capital is no longer a constraint. Our true challenge lies in deploying capital effectively,” said the chairman at the center of the allegations in his New Year message to staff. “To overcome this, we must prioritize technology and talent.”

Adani said the business shattered financial records in 2024 – a year in which it also faced extraordinary challenges. The chairman added that the group’s financial position has never been more robust.

His message appeared to be aimed at allaying concern about Adani Group’s project-funding challenges, following the US indictment of Adani and others in the alleged bribery case.

The US indictment accuses the Adani chairman and others of leading a scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure solar power contracts and of concealing those actions while seeking capital from US-based and global investors.

Adani Group has termed the bribery allegations “baseless” and vowed to pursue “all possible legal recourse.” However, there has already been fallout from the allegations. French energy giant TotalEnergies – which is a 19.75% shareholder of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) and a 50% joint-venture partner in project companies with AGEL – announced that it would not make any new financial contributions as part of its investment in the Adani Group of companies until the accusations against the Adani individuals and their consequences had been clarified.

AGEL said that it is not in discussion with TotalEnergies for any fresh investment. Hence, TotalEnergies’ statement would not have any material impact on the company’s operations or its growth plan, it claimed.

Adani Group is among the most ambitious players in India’s renewable energy industry, with plans for solar manufacturing that will be vertically integrated all the way from polysilicon to module assembly and PV project development. With the plans it has already announced, Adani alone could meet around 10% of India’s 2030 target of 500 GW of power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources. The group currently has an operational renewable energy capacity portfolio of more than 11 GW, which it aims to increase to 50 GW by 2030.

It is developing what it calls the world’s largest renewable energy project, with a capacity of 30 GW, at Khavda in Kutch, Gujarat. Built across 538 km², the project footprint is almost as large as Mumbai. AGEL recently announced the commissioning of 2.4 GW of mixed solar and wind generation capacity at the location. Once complete, AGEL said the site will be the world’s largest power plant.

Financial clout

Adani Group has pledged to invest $100 billion through 2035 in the energy transition and to further expand its integrated renewable energy value chain.

Adani New Industries Ltd., the green hydrogen unit of Adani Enterprises, is building a massive, integrated manufacturing ecosystem for the generation of low-cost green hydrogen. That plan will encompass 10 GW per year of metallurgical grade silicon, polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells, and modules, as well as wind turbines, electrolyzers, and ancillary components. Economies of scale are meant to facilitate the lowest cost green hydrogen.

Of the announced annual manufacturing capacity, 2 GW of ingot and wafer production lines have been operational since March 2024. Adani also has 2 GW of annual tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell and module production capacity and another 2 GW of older, passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) cell and module capacity. The group’s solar module sales in April through September 2024 hit 2.38 GW, of which 1,082 MW were domestic and 1,298 MW were exported. That marked 91% year-on-year growth.

AGEL posted a consolidated net profit of INR 5.1 billion ($58.9 million) in the July-September 2024 quarter, a 39% increase year on year. Consolidated revenue from operations increased 16.33%, year on year to INR 23.1 billion.

The US indictment came soon after Gautam Adani, in November 2024, announced his group’s plans to invest $10 billion in US energy security and infrastructure projects, creating up to 15,000 jobs in America. As a result of the indictment, Adani Group may face increased scrutiny overseas as it looks to raise funds for its projects, raising questions about whether that will delay the group’s expansion ambitions, domestic and abroad.

The company’s recent announcement that it intends to raise INR 71.4 billion from the sale of up to 20% of food and beverage business Adani Wilmar was seen as a green energy and infrastructure fundraising exercise based on exiting other, non-core sectors. The group generated around INR 48.5 billion from the initial, 13.5% sell-off of the food business.

Regarding its debts, Adani Group announced on Nov. 25, 2024, that each of its portfolio companies had sufficient liquidity to cover all debt-servicing requirements for at least the following 12 months.

“The group’s cash reserves now stand at INR 53,024 crore [INR 530.24 billion] – 20.53% of gross debt,” said the business. “This amount is sufficient to cover [the] next 28 months of debt servicing requirements.”

The group has also found support from American investor GQG Partners, which has stakes in Adani Group companies. GQG said it doesn’t see the US indictment as having a material impact on Adani Group operations. It claimed the businesses were well-positioned for the future, as their fundamentals remained sound.

Notwithstanding the indictment, green energy will likely remain central to Adani Group’s growth plans. To fund its ambitious renewable energy projects, the group has adopted the strategy of diversifying its funding sources. That means it should be able to bank on the domestic debt route and investment from non-US markets in the short term.

“The group has tended to seek debt funding for most of their projects through international banks and capital markets, which are both likely to be a bit cautious until we see a clear resolution of the SEC [US Securities and Exchange Commission] case,” said independent consultant Vinay Rustagi. “In the interim period, the company may use the domestic debt route, which still remains open and has sufficient appetite for the sector.”

Given the limited scale of solar in the Philippines, it is perhaps surprising that there are plans to develop one of the world’s biggest combined PV and energy storage projects in the country.

Solar Philippines New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) will build the 3.5 GW solar and 4.5 GWh battery Terra Solar project in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan on the Philippine island of Luzon.

Some 2.5 GW of solar and a 3.3 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) will arrive in phase one before April 2026, with the balance due a year later.

In September 2024, UK-based infrastructure investor Actis agreed to take a 40% stake in Terra Solar for $600 million, with the deal set to close by April 2025. Local media have referred to a $4 billion construction cost, which is most likely for phase one alone.

The project will connect to the grid via an existing 550 kV transmission line, with another line to be added. Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the Philippines’ largest electric utility and owner of 50.5% of SPNEC, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) covering 850 MW of the site’s generation capacity for 12 hours per day.

The nation’s Board of Investments (BOI) gave the site a green lane certificate in August 2024, speeding up permitting processes for strategically important infrastructure.

The 3,500-hectare site will power around 2.4 million households, based on typical monthly demand for 200 kWh. Luzon, the country’s largest island, counted 64 million residents in 2021, and hosts just over half of the Philippines’ population, the capital city of Manila, and most of the nation’s industrial capacity. Terra Solar’s developers say the project will supplant coal-fired power.

Rahul Agrawal, head of energy for Southeast Asia at infrastructure investor Actis, explained that Southeast Asia is home to some of the most dynamic economies globally, and the region’s energy transition is picking up speed. “The Philippines is showing real purpose on the energy transition and no project represents this more than the Terra Solar project,” he said, revealing it will co-locate solar with battery storage on a scale the region hasn’t seen before, backed by a “sizable PPA”, to deliver a stable renewable power supply to Luzon’s main grid.

Contractors have been appointed. Huawei will supply the BESS and US-based Jacobs will provide engineering and technical guidance. State-owned China Energy Investment Corp. landed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract in November 2024 that includes local training.

However, a spokesperson for S&P Global Commodity Insights warned pv magazine that it is not uncommon for projects of this size to run into delays. “These may arise if the company encounters challenges related to rights-of-way or grid constraints,” they said.

Shabrina Nadhila, electricity policy analyst for Southeast Asia at energy think tank Ember, agreed that developing such large projects can be challenging.

“Delays usually arise from challenges such as complex administrative and bureaucratic processes, including securing land permits and navigating procurement procedures,” she said.

Project delays

The Philippines government had predicted the nation’s total electricity generating capacity would hit around 32.3 GW by the end of 2024, but the actual figure was at least 1 GW lower. Installed PV capacity reached 2.3 GW, with 820 MW of solar added in 2024, breaking the previous record of 320 MW of newly installed capacity in 2021. Even so, this was far below the 2 GW of new solar the government has forecast for 2024. Manila’s ambitions were frustrated by project delays.

In October 2024, the Department of Energy warned that licenses for 53 solar projects could be canceled because of slow progress, with some of those contracts awarded in 2017. The contracts stipulated that feasibility, grid, and other surveys must be completed within two years, but many have failed to complete grid connection studies on time. If contracts are withdrawn, they could be reallocated to other developers.

Completed projects include the SPNEC-developed 150 MW Concepcion project on Luzon, commissioned in 2019, and in 2016, the 63 MW Calatagan solar farm in Batangas, Luzon – the first utility-scale PV project developed and constructed by a Philippine company. The company is also developing the 500 MW Nueva Ecija Solar Farm, also on Luzon.

Vena Energy, another big developer, completed the 132 MW Cadiz project in Western Visayas in 2016, and the 83 MW Ilocos Norte Solar PV project in Ilocos in 2023.

In August 2024, Vena announced that it would build the 550 MW Bugallon solar project with an unspecified amount of battery energy storage in Bugallon, on Luzon, by the end of 2025. That will be the country’s second-biggest PV project behind Terra Solar.

Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has 285 MW of generation capacity across 10 solar projects in the Philippines. The company hopes to expand following a successful initial public offering in 2024 that attracted investment from the UK government, among other sources. CREC is currently completing a 69 MW solar plant on Negros. Prime Solar Solutions completed the first 64 MW phase of a 128 MW solar plant in Maragondon, 100 km south of Manila, in July 2024. That project is backed by a 50 MW, 20-year PPA with Meralco.

Ambitious target

The Philippines government has set a target of increasing the proportion of renewables in its power generation mix from 22% in 2023 to 35% by 2030, and 50% by 2040. While hydro and geothermal power currently account for most of the country’s clean energy capacity, most new sites will feature solar and wind generation.

To drive investment, the government lifted restrictions on foreign ownership and introduced the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), under which developers are awarded long-term PPAs with state-owned National Transmission Corp. Although the “GEA-4,” which was due to have a heavy focus on energy storage, did not take place in 2024 as planned, the program is continuing. PPAs backing 5 GW of renewables have been awarded, with 12 GW planned for the next two rounds, both of which could be held in 2025.

Duties have been lifted on the import of components and permitting processes for PV projects have been simplified, such as through the Green Lane Certification program, “as well as initiatives to shorten approval timelines from the grid operator for grid studies,” Agrawal said. Developers can make use of National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ (NGCP) Transmission Development Plan, which provides a roadmap to guide project location.

The Philippines has become an attractive market. The power sector attracted a record PHP 1.35 trillion ($23 billion) of investment in the first eight months of 2023, some 95% of which was directed at renewables, according to the BOI. The Department of Energy sanctioned the construction of 29 utility-scale solar projects, each with capacities of at least 180 MW, over the same period. The biggest were the 516 MW Baao project planned by Suncastle Energy Resources in Camarines Sur, and Tera Renewables’ 532 MW Villasis-Malasiqui 1 Solar Power Project in Pangasinan.

Investment is being made in a wide range of zones, with 760 MW of solar and 310 MW of BESS projects planned in the Visayas group of islands alone. In March 2024, Philippines company ACEN and US-based business BrightNight announced plans for 1 GW of solar and other renewables across the country, at a cost of $1.2 billion.

NKS Solar One has submitted plans to build the country’s first two big floating solar projects: a 162 MW floating array on Lake Caliraya and an 88 MW project on Lake Lumot, both southeast of Manila. If the required permits are secured, the projects should be completed by April 2026.

Key challenges

Although not all of the projects may be completed due to grid and finance constraints, the number and scale of planned projects does highlight the level of interest in the industry. “Enhancements to grid capacity, including transmission line upgrades and energy storage integration, must be prioritized to accommodate the rising share of solar power,” the S&P Global Commodity Insights spokesperson said.

Although National Grid Corp. of the Philippines is working to provide more connections, the grid is constrained by the country’s archipelagic geography. Limited inter-island transmission capacity increases the likelihood of congestion and curtailment. Renewable energy investment “must be matched by enhanced grid infrastructure and improved inter-island connections, where needed, to support rising renewable supply and electricity demand,” said Nadhila.

The Ember analyst added that a tariff structure to back solar-plus-storage BESS sites could stimulate the market into further competition and make batteries affordable. S&P Global Commodity Insights’ spokesperson said battery-backed solar-plus-storage costs should be at parity with coal-fired power in the Philippines between 2025 and 2030.

Philippine power prices are among the highest in Southeast Asia, partly due to a decentralized market structure, which is, counterintuitively, another challenge for solar.

PV operators can sell power through the wholesale electricity spot market, but price fluctuations there can create revenue and finance risks. Such prospects may prompt investors to demand higher returns, eroding the competitive nature of solar projects.

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, have developed a novel biomass-derived polymer for hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells (HPSC). It reportedly improved both efficiency and stability compared to reference devices.

The PBDF-DFC material is also claimed to enable potentially simpler fabrication processes.

“The research was inspired by two key challenges in current perovskite solar cells: environmental concerns about petroleum-derived polymers currently used as photoactive layers, and complex fabrication processes due to polymer solubility limitations of existing conjugated polymers,” corresponding author, Leonard Ng Wei Tat, told pv magazine.

The scientists sought an alternative to conjugated polymers based on petroleum-based thiophene, which require precursor solvents and are reportedly more complicated to fabricate.

Furan is extracted from agricultural waste and contains chalcogen aromatic compounds, noted the team. The PBDF-DFC polymers based on it are highly soluble in perovskite precursor solvents, enabling a simplified direct precursor integration fabrication method.

“The PBDF-DFC exhibits high solubility compared to incumbent precursor solvents, allowing direct incorporation into the precursor solution,” said the researchers. This “significantly” streamlines the fabrication process, reducing steps and potentially lowering production costs.

“The biggest challenge was working with furan-based polymers, which had been underexplored in perovskite solar cells despite their potential benefits,” said Ng Wei Tat, explaining that the team had to develop new furan synthesis approaches to overcome lower yields of 15% versus 70% compared to traditional thiophene-based synthesis. “We also had to explore new ways of integrating the furan-based polymers directly into the device stack.”

To test their new material, the researchers examined a hexane-soluble fraction that they labeled FP1-H and a chloroform-soluble fraction, labeled FP1-C. The FP1-H was used by the team in an HPSC based on a stack as follows: indium tin oxide (ITO) glass, tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) electron transport layer (ETL), perovskite-FP1-H, Spiro-OMeTAD layer and silver (Au) electrode contacts.

The experiment’s control device had a maximum efficiency of 19.84% with a short circuit current density of 22.81 mA cm−2, an open circuit voltage of 1.10 V, and a fill factor of 75.88%. The champion HPSC had a maximum efficiency of 21.39% with a short-circuit current density of 24.17 mA cm−2, an open circuit voltage of 1.08 V, and a fill factor of 76.60%.

Using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy to analyze samples, the team noted that “the PBDF-DFC accumulates at grain boundaries, improving film crystallization and reducing defects.” It stressed that the “dual innovation of a new polymer and simplified fabrication process” offers a chance to make HPSCs more efficient, stable, and potentially more sustainable.

“The successful integration of PBDF-DFC and the direct precursor integration method opens new avenues for streamlined production of high-performance perovskite solar cells, addressing key challenges in scalability and environmental impact,” the academics concluded.

Their work is described in “Direct Integration of Biomass-Derived Furan Polymers for Enhanced Stability and Efficiency in Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells,” published in Advanced Functional Materials.

With an eye on the potential for HPSC performance enhancement, Ng said, “Future work will focus on optimizing device stability through innovative modifications to the device architecture, while exploring scalable manufacturing processes.”

It involves work on novel device stack configurations, interface engineering approaches, and alternative electron and hole transport layers.

“A key priority is adapting their direct precursor integration method for industrial-scale production, particularly exploring printable photovoltaic systems using inkjet, screen, and roll-to-roll printing techniques,” said Ng Wei Tat, adding that real-world testing in a variety of environmental conditions is also planned.

Other biomass-derived materials could further enhance performance and sustainability, according to Ng Wei Tat. “The solution-processability of the furan-based polymer also opens possibilities for developing flexible and lightweight perovskite solar cells, potentially enabling new device architectures that weren't feasible with traditional petroleum-based polymers,” he concluded.

Edify Energy said the 185 MW / 370 MWh Koorangie battery energy storage system in northwest Victoria has started exporting to the grid with hold point testing now underway as it works towards full generation.

Designed and developed by Edify but owned by Italian energy infrastructure investor Sostoneo Infrastructure Partners, the Koorangie battery features Tesla Megapacks equipped with grid-forming inverter technology that enables it to play a dual role, providing both energy storage and system strength services, boosting the amount of inverter-based resources, such as solar and wind power, that can be hosted in the Murray River region by up to 300 MW.

The Victorian government said the grid-forming technology will help the state achieve its energy storage targets and support the transition to renewable energy by providing stability to the grid.

“The grid-forming inverters will allow the battery to replace the type of system strength services that were once only provided by fossil-fuel generators,” it said. “This game-changing technology is a significant advancement in the transition to renewables as it further reduces the reliance on aging coal-fired generators.”

The Koorangie battery has secured a 20-year System Support Agreement with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to provide 125 MW of system strength services to improve the network stability in the region.

The battery is also supported by a 15-year term offtake agreement with Shell Energy Australia.

The Victorian government has legislated storage targets of at least 2.6 GW by 2030 and at least 6.3 GW by 2035 – enough renewable energy to power about half of Victoria’s current homes at their peak energy use.

The Koorangie battery project is the first investment in Australia for Sosteneo, which is backed by Italian-based Generali Investments, one of the world’s largest asset managers and insurance conglomerates.

Sosteneo launched in September 2023 with a focus on equity investments in greenfield infrastructure projects related to the energy transition. Since then, its global portfolio has grown to more than 4 GWh of battery storage capacity under construction or in operations across three countries.

From ESS News

A state-led consortium is developing a 300 MW/1200 MWh compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Xinyang, Henan province, featuring an entirely artificial underground cavern—China’s first of its kind.

The CNY 2.15 billion ($300 million) project, backed by local state-owned enterprise Xinyang Construction Investment Group, CAES technology specialist China Energy Storage National Engineering Research Center (China Energy Storage), and two other state investment firms, is set for completion by the end of 2026.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in a video that he seeks to instantly terminate roughly $20 billion in clean energy grant programs. The funds are allocated by the Biden Administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

“The financial agent agreement with the bank needs to be instantly terminated,” said Zeldin.

“We will review every penny that has gone out the door,” said Zeldin. “The days of irresponsibly shoveling boat loads of cash to far-left, activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over.”

The funds under review are part of the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), designed to “mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis, ensure our country’s economic competitiveness and promote energy independence while delivering lower energy costs and economic revitalization to communities that have historically been left behind.”

GGRF, created under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, includes the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), designed to extend financing for clean technology projects. Recipient organizations are partnering with private-sector investors, developers, community organizations and others to deploy projects, mobilize private capital at scale.

It also includes the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), which establishes hubs that provide funding and technical assistance to community lenders working in low-income and disadvantaged communities, providing an immediate pathway to deploy projects in those communities while also building capacity of hundreds of community lenders to finance projects for years.

The third bucket of grants is the $7 billion Solar For All program, which awarded funds to 60 grant recipients, including states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities and eligible nonprofit recipients to expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities primed for distributed solar investment. The funds are expected to enable millions of low-income households to access affordable, resilient and clean solar energy.

pv magazine USA attended the RE+ Northeast solar and energy storage conference in Boston the day before Zeldin’s announcement. In a panel discussion of the Solar For All program, Vero Bourg-Meyer, deputy director of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) expressed a business-as-usual stance from the industry. Bourg-Meyer said the funds have been committed, and the federal funding freeze onset by President Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” executive order was in violation of U.S. law.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island said the White House has disobeyed his order to restore announced federal funds. The federal judge suggested that the White House is now acting in contempt of court.

Administrator Zeldin said the funding was “purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rushed job with reduced oversight. How do these organizations decide how to allocate funding? How much money have they given out so far?”

Zeldin questioned the transparency of the programs, suggesting there was uncertainty of how much money was disbursed and to whom. However, the Solar For All program, for example, was distributed via a competitive grant program. Each grant recipient has publicly released detailed action plans on where the funding will go, including economic and environmental benefit analysis. Read more about your state or jurisdiction’s action plan here.

At the RE+ Northeast conference panel, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority provided comprehensive, transparent overviews of the funding programs, explaining exactly how private solar businesses can access funds to spur economic growth in their state. Both organizations are allocating roughly 80% to 85% of the funds to direct financial assistance for low-income solar project access, ensuring a minimum of 20% bill savings for residential electric bills. The remaining 15% to 20% is allocated to community outreach and program administration, said the panel.

Watch Administrator Zeldin’s announcement here:

The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) said that while China’s push to lower electrolyzer costs could follow its success in solar, it will not necessarily secure dominance in global supply chains. Expanding manufacturing capacity alone will not drive major cost reductions or global market leadership, said the institute. OIES noted that the complexity of electrolysis systems prevents cost declines from relying solely on scaling up production, as green hydrogen costs also depend on electricity prices. It added that this complexity limits technology transfer in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. While manufacturing innovation and government support have helped China cut costs for alkaline electrolyzers and compete in the PEM segment, OIES argued that rising trade protectionism is further restricting its role in global electrolysis markets.

Toyota has developed a new fuel cell system, its third-generation fuel cell system, designed to have the same durability as conventional diesel-powered engines. “In addition to passenger vehicles, the 3rd Gen FC System will be expanded for use in heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and is planned for introduction in markets mainly in Japan, Europe, North America, and China after 2026 at the earliest,” said the Japanese manufacturer. It claimed that the new system will allow for a 120% improvement in fuel efficiency with respect to the prior generation, and 20% more cruising range.

The PtX Development Fund has approved its second grant, awarding HydroJeel a €30 million ($31.5 million) non-refundable grant for a project in Morocco’s coastal regions. The German fund, which supports hydrogen projects in developing and emerging economies, said HydroJeel developed the Jorf Hydrogen Platform for the OCP Group and plans to produce 100,000 tons of green ammonia per year at its Jorf Industrial Park facility by the end of 2026. HydroJeel operates as an Innovx business. The fund, launched by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, added that its second call for expressions of interest, opened in January, will close on March 5, 2025.

Enertrag has launched a public auction for 500 tons of green hydrogen per year as it builds an electrolyzer plant in Osterweddingen, near Magdeburg, Germany. The developer said the 10 MW facility will produce about 900 tons of green hydrogen per year when it begins operations by the end of 2025. Enertrag is also constructing two additional hydrogen plants in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with a combined 185 MW of electrolysis capacity. The company said it expects these facilities to generate up to 17,000 tons of hydrogen annually starting in 2028.

The solar industry and the renewable energy sector as a whole are significantly more welcoming to women than other industries. I believe that our sectors are well-positioned to achieve gender equality, and they are growing rapidly. I remember my first industry event, where I was one of the few women present, but now I notice that events are becoming more balanced. This is the beauty of this industry: it is dynamic and has many open-minded individuals who embrace gender equality.

Nevertheless, we need to address gender biases in the workplace. When we meet someone, our immediate thoughts often reflect stereotypes about their gender and role. This issue is complex to change and will take time and effort. Women, in particular, are sometimes not taken seriously in technical fields because of the stereotype that these areas are for men. Additionally, some women face inappropriate behavior from men in professional settings, as those men do not view them as equal professionals.

When I was younger, one of the main challenges I encountered was having my ideas and knowledge overlooked often due to the presence of more senior colleagues. While this is still something I occasionally face today, I’ve noticed it has improved over time. I've learned that having an ally in these conversations can be incredibly beneficial, and I've come to appreciate the importance of supportive mentors in overcoming such challenges.

Societal progress is often a slow process that requires a strong commitment to change. Deep-rooted cultural biases can impact our choices, sometimes leading individuals to avoid entering male-dominated careers. Overcoming these biases involves stepping outside our comfort zones and embracing new learning experiences, which can be challenging and time-consuming. Despite these obstacles, the industry still presents opportunities. Because of the gender disparity, many are willing to support women, making it often easier to find help and guidance.

To increase women's participation in the renewable energy industry, we should introduce more mentorship programs to guide them in their careers. Although I have never had a designated mentor, I was fortunate to have supportive managers who always viewed me as a professional rather than focusing on my gender. They played a key role in helping me grow toward my goals.

We should also keep promoting and amplifying the success stories of influential women in leadership positions. Highlighting these achievements can demonstrate that success is possible and encourage more women to pursue their aspirations. Each year, I meet more women in the industry, and watching them thrive—whether in leadership roles or engineering—fills me with confidence and inspires me to move forward.

Additionally, implementing long-term measures such as community engagement and increased funding for educational programs can be beneficial. By making renewable energy an accessible and intriguing subject to study, we can attract more talent to the industry, which will ultimately drive innovation.

Kristi has been working in the renewable energy industry for over five years. She started her career in research focused on wind policies in various markets, moving to the non-profit sector. Currently, Kristi is taking the role of a Clean Energy Associate at an energy advisory Trio, where her team is responsible for supporting large energy consumers on renewable energy procurement. Kristi is also a co-founder of a volunteering organization, Feminist Climate Action, based in Amsterdam. The organization aims to explore the intersection of gender inequity and the climate crisis through events and community action.

Interested in joining Kristi Ghosh and other women industry leaders and experts at Women in Solar Europe? Find out more: www.wiseu.network

Average prices across the main European electricity markets increased during the first week of February, according to analysis by AleaSoft Energy Forecasting.

When compared to the week prior, the consultancy found average price increases in the Belgian, British, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Nordic, Portuguese and Spanish markets.

All markets, bar the Nordic market, had an average in excess of €120 ($125.54)/MWh, with the Italian market reaching the highest figure, at €153.81/MWh.

AleaSoft attributed the price hike to an increase in TTF gas futures, which on February 7 reached a weekly maximum settlement price of €55.72/MWh, representing the highest price recorded by the consultancy since Feb. 7, 2023.

A decline in wind energy production and low temperatures led to an increase in gas demand during the first week of February, AleaSoft added, while an increase in electricity demand across most markets also had an influence on the higher electricity prices.

During the second week of February, AleaSoft is expecting prices to fall across most major markets, driven by an increase in solar and wind energy production.

Solar energy production increased across Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain last week but fell in Italy.

The French, Portuguese and Spanish markets all broke their record for photovoltaic production during a day in February. France reached 68 GWh on the third day of the month, Portugal hit 17 GWh on the fifth day of the month and Spain recorded 129 GWh the day after.

For the week commencing February 10, AleaSoft is predicting further increases in solar energy production in the German market, but decreases in the Italian and Spanish markets.