A Japanese startup has started using solar energy to power agricultural farms to grow crops. Takeshi Magami's farm in Tokyo consists of 2,826 solar panels above the produce. The solar panels that cover most of a hectare are reportedly dual-use. First, it provides all the electricity the farm needs to run, and second, it generates additional revenue by selling excess renewable energy to the grid. The farm generates additional income of 24 million yen ($187,000) per year. "Our aim is to electrify and automate all steps of farming" and to create a model for the development of sustainable agriculture," Mr Magami was quoted in a report. He has been running the farm as his start-up Chiba Ecological part of Energy. It is reported that "the farm is part of the global solar energy sharing and agricultural photovoltaic movement, which can not only ensure the normal production of crops, but also can be used for photovoltaic power generation." It is important to note that in Japan, where space is limited and is heavily reliant on energy imports, solar sharing has been seen as the perfect alternative. Japan aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. Japan aims to source 36 to 38 percent of its energy mix from renewables by 2030, with solar accounting for 14 to 16 percent.

The European Commission wants half of the bloc's energy to come from renewables by 2030, more than double the current level, according to a copy of the plan called "RepowerEU" cited by the Financial Times. One of the proposals in the proposal is to "introduce an obligation to install rooftop solar panel installations on all new buildings and all existing buildings with solar performance class D and above (the most energy consuming)". The CEO of SolarPowerEurope said: “The EU needs to wean itself off Russian gas and oil as quickly as possible. By the end of 2022, more than 30GW of solar energy will be deployed, including 1.5 million new solar panel roofs, and by 2030, Europe will be able to achieve 1,000GW of solar energy. Install". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference on the REPowerEU program that the European Commission is taking its "mission to rid Russia of fossil fuels as quickly as possible" to "another level". Solar roof requirements are proposed for commercial and public buildings from 2027 and new residential buildings from 2029. "I know it's ambitious, but it's realistic and we can do it," von der Leyen said, saying renewable energy was the EU's "biggest task". The commission also said it would increase its 2030 renewable energy target from 40% to 45%. She said faster renewable energy permits would play a key role in achieving the higher targets. It also wants member states to set up "renewable energy entry zones" to get permits quickly. "The permitting process there is shortened to one year," says von der Leyen, which is a big improvement from the current average of six to nine years. The strategy also sets a target of 592 GWac (740 GWdc) for solar in the EU by 2030. "This target is higher than the SolarPower Europe Global Market Outlook's business-as-usual forecast of 672 GWdc by the end of the decade," trade body SolarPower Europe said in a statement released. "Today, the European Commission recognizes the enormous potential of rooftop solar and the need for a solar workforce to roll out rooftop and utility solar across Europe," said Dries Acke, policy director at SolarPower Europe. "We expect that by 2030, there will be as many as 110 10,000 solar jobs, the EU Solar Skills Partnership will help provide local workers.”

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Puerto Rico’s energy regulator PREB has released a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for a minimum of 500MW of renewable power capacity and 250MW of storage in the Caribbean Island. Issued on behalf of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), the document pertains to the second of six planned tranches. PREPA is planning to present six tranches of procurement in total over three years as part of its integrated resource plan (IRP), with a cumulative total capacity of 3,750MW of renewables and 1,500MW of energy storage sought.  Contract terms for bidders in Tranche 2 will run between 20-25 years, except for virtual solar panel (VPP), which will have terms of 10-25 years. “PREPA seeks energy resources that can achieve commercial operation in no more than 24 months from the date on which a selected proponent executes a contract, with preference given to those proposals that can achieve commercial operation within a shorter timeframe,” the RFP said.   In February, PREB approved 18 solar projects totalling 845MW in its first tranche of RFPs, launched early last year. It originally sought up to 1GW of renewable capacity and 500MW of storage. Coverage on the storage aspect of Tranche 1 can be found on our sister site Energy-storage.news. PREB will hold a webinar on April 22 to provide an overview of the process. Vendor contact and services information can be found here, with the list update as and when new vendors are available. Puerto Rico has pledged for renewables to meet 20% of its power generation this year, rising to 40% by 2025, 60% by 2040 and 100% by 2050.   The territory has been forced to rebuild its solar energy system over the past few years after a major hurricane in 2017. Consultants from industrial group Siemens urged Puerto Rico’s utility and power regulator to scale up its solar and storage ambitions in 2019 to fortify the island’s battered power grid, suggesting a rollout of 920MW of battery storage by 2023.

Thin film manufacturer First Solar is to supply Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) with 200MW of solar panel to power its activities in the state, as mining companies the world over increasingly look to clean up their operations. Barrick Gold Corporation owned NGM has started engineering works and expects to begin construction in Q3, with First Solar’s thin film modules expected to be delivered in the beginning of Q2 2023. The 200MW solar panel will power 20% of NGM’s operations by 2025, with the company also looking to convert its coal fired power station to natural gas. “The solar power plant will complement the transition of NGM’s coal power plant to a dual fuel process, which will enable it to generate electricity from natural gas, reducing carbon emissions by as much as 50%,” said Barrick group sustainability executive Grant Beringer. With mounting pressure on companies in every sector to clean up their operations following national climate targets, there has been a flurry of activity from mining companies looking to invest in renewable power and shift away from fossil fuels. For example, Australian metals company Fortescue has unveiled plans for a vast renewables hub including up to 3,333MW of solar to power its mining operations in Western Australia, while the South African mining industry is planning to build 3.9GW of renewable projects and storage and mining giant Rio Tinto is looking to deploy an additional 6GW of solar and wind in Australia. NGM said it chose First Solar due to its fair labour practices, investment in American manufacturing and jobs and delivery of “high performance solar panels with the lowest carbon footprint”. PV Tech Premium has recently explored low-carbon US solar manufacturing and how it is increasingly becoming an attractive option for developers and more competitive with China. Also announced today, First Solar will be supplying 750MW of its thin film modules to Origis Energy to use throughout its US operations. 

The Philippines looks set to significantly ramp up its solar deployment, according to Fitch Solutions, which has revised up its forecasts for the country’s non-hydro renewables sector in line with a rapidly-expanding project pipeline and growing regulatory support. Fitch Solutions, which has also revised down its coal forecast for the Philippines amid domestic opposition, said the market’s project pipeline for large-scale solar has grown significantly over the past year, with total solar capacity in the country’s pipeline growing more than ten fold from March 2021. As of March this year, the Philippines had around 13GW of solar system in its project pipeline, up from a paltry 1.3GW in March 2021, with wind power also growing substantially. “We believe the growing investor interests in the renewables sector is largely underpinned by the improving regulatory environment for the sector,” said Fitch Solutions. Indeed, the Philippines’ Department of Energy (DoE) has been developing two important renewable policies –  the Renewable Portfolio Standard and the Green Energy Option –  to encourage market development and is also launching a Green Energy Pricing Programme that will set a ceiling price for renewable energy, helping generators secure favourable power supply agreements. Moreover, it has also set new renewable energy targets in its latest version of the National Renewable Energy Program, with renewables expected to account for 35% of the country’s power mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040. Fitch Solutions now forecasts non-hydro renewables capacity to total 10.2GW by 2031, from an estimated 4GW at the end of 2021, driven largely by wind and solar projects. “This is subject to further upside risks, although we will await the establishment of concrete policy and incentives to achieve growth first,” said Fitch Solutions. Meanwhile, it has also revised down its coal generation forecasts somewhat amid strong opposition and ongoing efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on coal for power generation. Coal generation will continue to grow strongly over the coming years in absolute terms, however, as projects in the current pipeline continue to progress, Fitch Solutions noted.

Major polysilicon and merchant cell producer Tongwei Group is to invest in an additional 32GW of solar cell capacity through a RMB12 billion (US$1.9 billion) investment in partnership with the government of Meishan City, in Sichuan Province, China. The capacity expansion will be conducted in two 16GW phases, Tongwei said, with the company aiming to bring the first phase of the project online by the end of 2023, after which work on the second phase will begin. Tongwei said in a stock statement that the new facility will be built on Qinglong Street, Tianfu New District, Meishan in cooperation with the local government. Tongwei has long held plans to ramp up its cell capacity and at the end of last month, it signed a two-year polysilicon deal with LONGi to supply the module maker with more than 200,000 metric tonnes (MT) of polysilicon. Last year, it also consolidated an agreement with ‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JinkoSolar that saw Tongwei secure extra gigawatts of mono wafers through a supply agreement. Last month, Tongwei, which has forecasted for a six-fold increase in net profit in Q1 2022, reported that its revenue had increased by more than 50% in 2021 whilst suggesting that tight material supply meant that high prices were here to stay in the short term. Elsewhere, PV Tech’s head of market research Finlay Colville has mused that Tongwei could become the industry’s leading PV module supplier by 2025 if it pursues a vertically-integrated product strategy that would see it become the sector’s first polysilicon-to-module manufacturing entity.