150 MW PV project in the Philippines: ACCIONA Energía’s 150 MW solar power plant in the Philippines has secured the Green Lane status. This means it is now considered a strategic project by the country’s Board of Investments (BOI). This will expedite permitting process, accelerate and streamline its development and construction. The 150 MW Daanbantayan Solar Power Project is located in the Municipality of Daanbantayan at the northern tip of the Island of Cebu. It is expected to cost around $130 million. Initial power generated will be distributed through private power purchase agreements (PPA) with the electricity cooperative of Cebu, CEBECO II. Excess electricity will be sold at the annual green auction hosted by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Corporate solar PPAs in Malaysia: Malaysian clean energy company Solarvest Holdings Berhad has signed 5 corporate green power agreements (CGPA) through 2 joint ventures (JV). One of the JVs is with Savelight Engineering Sdn. Bhd. and TNB Renewables Sdn. Bhd., and another one with TNB Renewables Sdn. Bhd. Under the CGPAs, Solarvest and partners will develop and own 2 solar power plants in Lumut, Perak and Kulim, Kedah. The corporate customers have committed to offtaking a combined electricity capacity of 59.98 MW AC for 21 years with a contract for difference (CfD) mechanisms at an agreed pricing. Micron Technology and Bursa Malaysia are among the offtakers.
SunDrive to cut down jobs: Australian solar PV technology company SunDrive is reportedly cutting down jobs as it takes up restructuring efforts. According to a company statement, reported by local media, it wants to sharpen its focus on solar innovation. Under the exercise, SunDrive’s Co-Founder and CEO Vince Allen will take over the role of the CTO. Its COO Natalie Malligan will then take up the role of the CEO. A solar cell metallization company, SunDrive works on replacing silver with copper. Earlier this year, SunDrive signed an MoU with AGL Energy to build a solar module manufacturing plant in New South Wales (see AGL & SunDrive Partner For Solar PV Manufacturing Factory).
1 GW PV in Laos: The China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) has secured a the development agreement for phase II of the wind and solar project of the Laos Northern Interconnection Clean Energy base in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Under this agreement, the duo will work together for phase II of the 580 MW PV project in Luang Namtha province and the 420 MW PV project in Oudomxay province, based on phase I of the 1 GW PV project. At present, according to CGN, phase I of the 1 GW PV project in Oudomxay has entered the engineering preparation stage. For CGN, this is a key project of CGN to implement the Belt and Road initiative. Power generated from the project will contribute to the low-carbon transformation in Laos, and also improve the level of power interconnection between Northern Laos and Southern China.
600 MW module project in the Philippines: LONGi has announced a cooperation agreement for a 600 MW ground-mounted solar PV power station in the Philippines calling it the largest single PV project in the country. It has secured the contract from local independent power producer ABOITIZ Power. It will deliver Hi-MO 7 series of modules for this project. Based on High Performance and Hybrid Passivated Dual-Junction Cell (HPDC) cell technology, these modules offer better conversion efficiency, power temperature coefficient and higher reliability, stated the manufacturer. Recently, LONGi discussed its pure black series module with TaiyangNews at SNEC 2024 (see LONGi Solar’s Pure Black Series Module At SNEC 2024).
AIKO expands to Pakistan: China-headquartered global solar module supplier AIKO has entered the solar PV market of Pakistan. At a recent launch conference of its products in Lahore city of Pakistan, the company unveiled its n-type all back contact (ABC) modules for this South Asian market. It will market several of its products here, including the Comet series for commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, Star series for utility scale, Black Hole series for residential, and Nebula series for low-bearing roofs. The company reportedly signed multiple contracts at the conference that was attended by Punjab government officials, EPC companies, distributors, and importers.
One among these was a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Investment Development of the Punjab province. The duo plan to build a PV power station in an industrial and commercial park to alleviate the pressure of industrial electricity consumption. Additionally, AIKO will also cooperate with the local government to build a poverty alleviation power station system with its n-type ABC modules for use by the low-income groups. It will also explore the local market under a framework cooperation agreement with 5 local core channel partners.
Trina Solar in Malaysia: Recently commissioned 100 MW AC hybrid solar farm in Merchang, Malaysia uses Trina Solar’s Vertex modules. Owned and developed by Malaysia’s Cypark Resources Berhad, the project in Terengganu is made up of 35 MW floating solar and 65 MW ground-mounted PV capacity. The Chinese manufacturer said this project’s successful operation since its commissioning on June 9, 2024 enables it to explore more such opportunities in Southeast Asia for large-scale hybrid solar projects.