The lowest bid was a 1.35 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour
More than half of Europe’s energy demand (52%) was met by renewables in the previous fiscal
A world record has been established in Abu Dhabi with a record low tariff in the world’s largest solar power project. The winning bids were recently confirmed in the 2 GW (gigawatt) tender concluded recently. The venture will be the first ‘single-site’solar project in the world. This solar energy project will be commissioned by mid-2022, as per the current deadline.
Huge solar power tenders in the Middle East region have succeeded despite the coronavirus crisis that has hit the globe and not spared the oil rich region. The Abu Dhabi solar project at Al Dafra had five bidders. The lowest bid was a 1.35 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour. The projects division of Jinko Solar and French energy giant EDF are a part of the leading group of bidders.
The Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) will forge a power purchase agreement (PPA) for duration of 30 years with the winning bidder. Engie, Softbank and ACWA Power were a part of the final five bidders of the project.
Post-COVID
To start the process of recovery and restart their economies, fossil fuel rich countries are relaxing their environmental norms and allowing for coal based power to regain traction post the COVID debacle. Countries are backtracking on their commitment to adopt renewables but giving support to coal power plants where coal is a major source of energy or export revenue.
Before COVID, South Korea had committed to the reduction of coal power to 36% of total energy mix by 2030. The share of renewables was supposed to increase to 20% by the same period. A lot of countries have taken measures to support their robust fossil-fuel based energy industry in order to recover from the economic wreckage left over by the coronavirus outbreak.
Renewables Left in the Dark
There will be no tax break for the renewable energy industry. Some countries, Brazil and South Africa to name a few, have also taken an anti-renewables stance to revive their economies. The support for coal is drastic in countries like China and Australia. Australia is advocating the expansion of coal mines to mitigate job loss.
Europe, however, has seen a sharp increase in renewables in its overall energy mix. More than half of Europe’s energy demand (52%) was met by renewables in the previous fiscal.
DISCOMS owe Rs.92,693 crore to power producers in February 2020. In the meanwhile, Karnataka has retained the top position in RE capacity in India. Gujarat’s total renewable energy capacity crossed 10,000 MW in fiscal 2020, making it the third state after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to have more than 10 GW of installed power. Relative to total solar capacity addition in fiscal 2020, the top three states were Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and in terms of wind energy, top three were Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, making Tamil Nadu a front runner in RE in the country.
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