WEEKLY REVIEW

PV Market News This Week:

1. Masdar enters the Philippines eyeing 1GW of renewable energy projects by 2030

Emirati state-owned renewable energy project developer Masdar has entered the Philippines market with plans to develop 1GW of solar PV, wind and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The move, revealed yesterday (16 January), has been formalised with the signing of an implementation agreement with the Philippines' Department of Energy and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Board of Investments of the Republic of the Philippines.

?

2. Leeward, Google sign 724MW solar PV PPA in Oklahoma

Solar developer Leeward Renewable Energy has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with tech giant Google, which will support over 700MW of solar PV in the US state of Oklahoma.

The agreement will support the construction of six PV plants, with a combined capacity of 724MW, which will be sited to support Google's data centre operations.

?

3. US Department of Agriculture to invest US$6 billion in clean energy across rural US

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested over US$6 billion through several of its programmes for the development of renewable energy in rural US.

These programmes are Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) with investments in rural communities across 30 US states which will benefit from clean and affordable energy – including solar PV and energy storage, while also creating jobs.

?

4. Africa's PV capacity nears 20GW as energy storage 'booms'

Africa's cumulative PV installations reached 19.2GW in 2024, increasing by 2.5GW on 2023 levels.

The Africa Solar Africa Solar Outlook 2025, published by trade body AFSIA Solar, said the continent recorded steady growth in 2024, notching up the third consecutive year of more than 2GW of capacity additions.

?

5. Mexico to add 27GW of new generation capacity by 2030, mainly from renewables

Mexico aims to add 27GW of new electricity generation between 2025 and 2030 with "a large percentage of renewable energy".

This was announced by the recently elected Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who gave a speech overviewing her 100 days in power and covered several topics, including energy.

?

6. Aurora: Negative prices, grids and market saturation remain challenges for European renewable power

Europe is on pace to more than triple its installed renewable power capacity by 2050, but the rate of new capacity additions will not be enough to meet climate goals.

This is the primary conclusion drawn from Aurora Energy Research's inaugural 'European Renewables Market Overview Report', which covers growth in the European clean power space in the past decade, and forecasts growth over the next 25 years.

?

7. Floating solar on US reservoirs could add up to 1TW PV capacity

The potential of floating solar (FPV) generation capacity on US reservoirs is estimated at up to 1TW, according to a study from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Published in the Solar Energy publication, the study estimates that the US could add between 861GW to 1,042GWdc of FPV capacity on reservoirs across the country. In total, reservoirs could host floating panels that would generate up to 1,476TWh of electricity.

?

8. Ukrainian businesses drove 850MW of new PV capacity in 2024

Ukraine installed between 800MW and 850MW of solar PV capacity in 2024, according to estimates from the national solar energy trade association.

The Solar Energy Association of Ukraine (SEAU) said that the "vast majority" of these installations were by private businesses and households for self-consumption.

?

9. Tunisia launches 200 MW solar tender

Tunisia's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy has released a tender for the construction of two solar plants.

The Tunisian authorities said the projects will each have a capacity of up to 100 MW, but did not disclose the selected locations. Developers have until April 20 to submit their proposals.

The energy ministry recently approved four solar projects under the first phase of another 1.7 GW solar tender, with the lowest price awarded at TND 98.8 ($0.03076)/kWh.

?

10. Led by PV, renewables in Chile account for 50% of installed capacity

The Energy Report for the month of December 2024 issued by the National Electric Coordinator of Chile shows, among other data, that the installed capacity of electricity generation from non-conventional renewable sources reached 50.2%, with 18,411.3 MW.

?

11. PV capacity reaches 52 GW in Brazil

Solar power has reached the 52 GW mark of operational installed capacity in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (ABSolar). Since 2012 the sector has brought more than BRL 238.3 billion ($39 billion) in new investments to the country, generated more than 1.5 million green jobs and contributed more than BRL 73.8 billion in revenue to the public coffers.

?

12. South Korea's new solar installations hit 2.5 GW in 2024

South Korea installed approximately 2.5 GW of new PV in 2024, according to preliminary figures from the Korean Energy Agency's monthly bulletin.

The 2024 total compares to 3.31 GW in 2023, 3.28 GW in 2022, 3.92 GW in 2021, and 5.5 GW in 2020. It marks the lowest annual deployment since 2018 when 2.59 GW were installed.

The agency initially forecasted installations of 2.7 GW to 2.8 GW for the year. South Korea's cumulative PV capacity stood at about 29.5 GW at the end of 2024.

?

13. Solar accounts for 11.9% of Belgium's 2024 electricity mix

Solar accounted for 11.9% of Belgium's electricity generation mix in 2024, according to data released by Elia, the country's transmission system operator.

The share of solar in the electricity mix was up from 9.5% in 2023. It was the largest source of renewable electricity generation last year, overtaking offshore wind.