The European Commission said on Monday that the EU competition regulator is considering amending the state aid law to allow EU countries to subsidize up to 100% of renewable energy projects, as the EU is seeking to achieve ambitious green goals. The proposed changes are part of the European Union’s executive agency’s revision of its Climate, Energy and Environment State Assistance Guidelines (EEAG), which is expected to be adopted by the end of this year. "Europe will need a lot of sustainable investment. Although a large part of it will come from the private sector, public support will play a role in ensuring that the green transition takes place quickly," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. The EU executive stated that the revised rules will allow EU countries to introduce new aid tools and projects in clean transportation, building energy efficiency and biodiversity, and they can also be fully funded by EU countries. EU countries will have to negotiate with all stakeholders on subsidy projects as one of several safeguards to ensure that state aid is effective and limited to what is needed. As long as it meets the EU's climate goals for 2030 and 2050, the revised rules will cover new investments in natural gas. Interested parties must provide feedback before August 2, and the European Commission will make a final decision based on the relevant feedback information and the actual situation.

Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. has selected the Philippines as the location for the company's first ultra-large-scale solar project in Southeast Asia. Mitsui & Co. and Philippine utility company Global Business Power established a renewable energy joint venture. This solar project in the northern province of Rizal is expected to cost about 7 billion yen ($64.4 million), and Mitsui & Co. will bear about 40% of the cost. This ultra-large-scale solar power station will be completed in March 2022, generating 115MW. The project’s power will be sold to the Philippines’ largest power distribution company, Manila Electric Power Company, within 20 years. Currently, the Global Business Power plant uses heavy oil, coal and other fossil fuels. Mitsui & Co. will use the company's expertise in the field of renewable energy to participate in ultra-large-scale projects in the United States and Mexico. The Philippines, with a population of more than 100 million, is expected to experience the most significant increase in electricity demand among Southeast Asian countries. However, coal-fired power stations still dominate the power structure of the Philippines, while renewable energy accounts for just over 20%. According to the plan, the proportion of renewable energy in 2030 will be expanded to 35%. Global Business Power and Mitsui & Co. expect demand for solar power in the Philippines. In response to the global transition to low carbon, Mitsui & Co. has participated in solar and offshore wind power projects in the United States and Taiwan. The Japanese company has also participated in coal power plant projects in Indonesia, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. However, the company said in November that it plans to sell equity in these projects. In terms of its overall power generation situation, Mitsui & Co. plans to increase the proportion of renewable energy from 15% in 2019 to 30% by the end of this decade.

According to the quarterly solar energy report of the Australian Energy Commission (AEC), the average solar system scale for residential and small projects in Australia has increased from 2.65 kW in January 2012 to a peak of 8.86 kW in December 2020. The average size of system installations peaks in December each year, and then decreases seasonally in January. Large-scale projects are also showing similar scale growth. From January to March 2021, the number of new installations per month may exceed 85,000. New South Wales continues to lead the states, adding more than 24,400 photovoltaic installations in the first quarter of 2021, with an additional installed capacity of 194MW. (Source: WeChat public account "Seraph Photovoltaic Energy" ID: seraphim-energy) Market Situation Australia's new photovoltaic installations exceeded 4GW in 2020, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year. Among them, rooftop photovoltaic installations below 100kW exceed 3GW, 100kW-5MW photovoltaic installations reach 117MW, and photovoltaic installations above 5MW reach 893MW. In 2020, the installed capacity of rooftop PV in Australia hit a record high, accounting for 75% of the total installed capacity in 2020. In the fourth quarter, rooftop photovoltaic installations reached 950MW, the highest installed capacity in the quarter since the beginning of SRES. The number of installations exceeded 110,000. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2019, the number of installations and installed capacity increased by 29% and 36%, respectively. Low technology costs and home office mode during the epidemic have greatly increased the installed capacity of rooftop photovoltaics. New South Wales' rooftop photovoltaic installed capacity ranked first, reaching 927MW, an increase of 55% year-on-year in 2019, accounting for 30% of the total rooftop photovoltaic installed capacity in 2020. In 2020, there will be 22 projects in Australia with a total capacity of 892MW above 5MW. Among them, there are 5 photovoltaic power plant projects with a capacity of more than 100MW. The largest capacity project is Bungala Solar Farm in South Australia, which accounts for 12% of the total capacity. Foreground prediction At the end of January 2021, Australia has achieved a large-scale renewable energy target of 33,000GWh power generation on the basis of 12 consecutive months. From the perspective of installed capacity in the fourth quarter of 2020 and early 2021, the installed capacity of rooftop solar in Australia is expected to continue to grow in 2021. According to CER's forecast, 3GW-4GW of rooftop photovoltaics will be installed in 2021. We predict that the total installed photovoltaic capacity in Australia will reach 4GW-5GW in 2021. While the Australian photovoltaic market is showing a prosperous situation, problems have also arisen-the grid is unable to carry the huge local power transmission. In order to relieve the pressure on the grid, we predict that Australia will further expand the use of energy storag...

GlobalData pointed out in a new report that Australia's solar installed capacity may increase to four times its current capacity by 2030. According to estimates, the country’s photovoltaic capacity will increase from 17.99 GW in 2020 to 80.22 GW in 2030. The report also predicts that the dominance of thermal power in Australia's energy structure will drop significantly, from 58.6% during 2000-20 to 27.8% in 2030. GlobalData Power Analyst Aditya Sharma said, “Australia plans to use the growth of renewable energy power generation to compensate for the decline in thermal and hydropower capacity. By 2030, the share of renewable energy power generation capacity will reach 69.9%, mainly by solar photovoltaics. The composition of installed capacity." GlobalData pointed out that Australia's numerous regulatory systems at the federal, state and local levels constitute a major driving force for the country's leading global solar deployment. The national rooftop solar penetration rate far exceeds the global average. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the world's new renewable energy capacity will exceed 260GW in 2020, which is nearly 50% higher than the net growth record before 2019. Australia's growth rate is almost twice the global average, reaching 18.4%. Sharma continued, “The growth of the Australian solar photovoltaic industry is driven by frequent renewable energy auctions and long-term protective electricity pricing schemes. In addition to federal initiatives, all eight states have their own metering schemes to support the growth of solar photovoltaics. For example, in the Australian Capital Territory, in addition to solar photovoltaic auctions, the government also provides interest-free loans for rooftop solar."

Algeria’s Energy Transition and Renewable Energy Minister Chems Eddine Chitour announced this week that it will soon launch a tender for 1GW of renewable energy capacity. On April 29, the Algerian government issued a decree in the country’s official magazine authorizing Chitour ministries and commissions to manage and supervise procurement. The Algerian President expressed his thanks to Mouloud Bakli of Club Energia, who told Photovoltaic Magazine: “The tender will be launched between June and July. It will be divided into ten batches of 100MW each and will allow projects planned with foreign funds.” He also explained that at present, the government is formulating a purchaseable power purchase agreement for selected projects, and some domestic content requirements for cables, modules and installation structures should be included in the bidding. Bakli said: "PPA may be pegged to the U.S. dollar." It is expected that three more tender documents of the same scale will be issued every year between 2022 and 2024. The Algerian government held a tender for off-grid, hybrid solar diesel and photovoltaic projects in 2019. Both procurement rounds are part of the country’s plan to deploy 22 gigawatts of clean energy power generation capacity by 2030, including 13.6 gigawatts of solar power. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, as of the end of last year, Algeria’s solar power generation capacity was approximately 423 megawatts.

According to foreign media sources, the Brazilian power company EDP (Energias do Brasil) aims to achieve 1 GW of installed solar capacity by 2025. The company's financial director Henrique Freire revealed in an online meeting with investors that the company will cooperate with its sister company EDP Renovaveis and achieve growth in solar installed capacity through acquisitions and participation in tenders. Brazilian power company EDP is the power company of Energias de Portugal, the Brazilian branch of Portuguese utility company EDP. In addition to the auction of large-scale solar projects designed by the Brazilian government to regulate the market, it will also develop solar projects through EDP Renovaveis. According to Reuters, the company's new investment financing strategy also involves the sale of operating factories or transmission lines. Overall, the company plans to invest a total of 10 billion reals (1.84 billion US dollars) in the country between 2021 and 2025, of which 3 billion reals are planned for solar projects. According to its latest power report, by the end of the first quarter of 2021, EDP Group has 436 MW of renewable energy in Brazil through EDP Renovaveis.

A new report released by the CarbonTracker Initiative shows that photovoltaic and wind energy can meet global energy demand more than 100 times. Australia, as one of the few developed countries with huge renewable energy potential and a small population, has a unique and detached position in the process of energy change. Australia, like Africa and South America, "has huge technical potential." “In terms of per capita renewable energy potential, Australia’s per capita annual power generation has exceeded 10,000 MWh,” which is capable of becoming the “battery capital of the world,” Carbon Tracker wrote in the report.

The UAE launches the "Dh300 billion Action" energy strategy, increasing the installed capacity of renewable energy to 30GW in the next ten years According to reports, the UAE recently launched a new energy strategy called "AED 300 billion", which plans to increase its industrial output value contribution from the current AED 133 billion to AED 300 billion in the next 10 years (approximately AED 300 billion). US$81 billion). Relevant parties in the UAE stated that this goal will be largely achieved by creating 13,500 industrial companies, covering electricity, natural gas, mining, and manufacturing. As part of the UAE's "Circular Economy Policy 2021-2031", the "AED 300 billion Action" is also an aid to the sustainable development of the country's energy sector. Among them, the development goal of renewable energy is to increase its proportion from the current 5% to 30% by 2030, and to increase the installed capacity from the current 18 GW to 30 GW. Some media reports pointed out that at the end of March, the UAE officially launched the Murban crude oil futures contract transaction to lead the "Dh300 billion operation" to attract more oil trade contracts and strengthen the UAE as an oil export hub in the Gulf region. Status. As part of the UAE's "Circular Economy Policy 2021-2031", the "AED 300 billion Action" is actually an aid to the sustainable development of the country's energy sector. According to the "Circular Economy Policy 2021-2031", ADNOC will further increase oil production by 2030 from the current 4 million barrels per day to at least 5 million barrels per day. Based on the aforementioned energy strategy, ADNOC stated that it is considering listing its drilling subsidiary ADNOC Drilling in the UAE. According to data, ADNOC Drilling is the largest drilling company in the Gulf region, operating 63 onshore drilling platforms, 20 offshore jack-up drilling platforms, and providing drilling rigs and other related services. According to Reuters, ADNOC hopes to complete ADNOC Drilling's initial public offering this year, and the fundraising scale is expected to exceed $1 billion. In recent years, ADNOC has gradually begun to decentralize its business, including the sale of equity in the pipeline business, the establishment of joint ventures in the upstream and downstream, etc. Last year, it also reached the largest energy infrastructure investment in the Gulf region, and its core business is gradually being "monetized" to attract Foreign capital and maximize the value of assets. TAQA, which is responsible for the development of the UAE's renewable energy industry, said that it has introduced new sustainable development goals, which will further strengthen the position of solar energy in the field of renewable energy. TAQA's goal is to increase the proportion of UAE's renewable energy in the energy business from the current 5% to 30% by 2030, and to increase the installed power generation capacity from the current 18 GW to 30 GW. TAQA also stat...

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has launched a bidding process and will develop a 1.2 GW wind-solar hybrid power generation project in accordance with the build-own-operate model. The selected projects will sell electricity to SECI under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). SECI stipulates in the bidding documents: "Projects under construction, projects that have not yet been commissioned, and projects that have been commissioned but have not signed a long-term power purchase agreement with any agency and sell electricity on a short-term or commercial factory basis will also be considered, as long as these The project has not been accepted under any other central or state plan and has no obligations to existing buyers." The rated project installed capacity of any one of these energy sources should account for at least 33% of the contractual capacity. Developers need to connect to the transmission grid at their own expense, and the minimum voltage level is 220 kV. The photovoltaic generator set of a project can be subdivided into several'modules', and these modules can be installed in multiple locations if necessary. The minimum voltage level of a single module is 33 kV. The scale of the project is not less than 50MW.

Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores worldwide, has agreed to acquire 49% of Russia’s eight solar parks from Solar Systems LLC, marking the company’s first renewable energy investment in the country. According to Ingka Investments, the investment arm of the world's largest furniture retailer, the total book value of the eight solar parks exceeds 21 billion rubles ($272.16 million). IKEA’s goal is to achieve a positive climate by 2030, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than the entire IKEA value chain through the production of raw materials to the disposal of furniture by customers. To help achieve this goal, Ingka Group hopes to accelerate investment in renewable energy, with particular attention to Russia and China. Since 2009, the Ingka Group has invested 2.5 billion euros in renewable energy and recently exceeded its goal of producing the same amount of energy consumed by its own business.