solar PV

  • Low carbon generation

    Germinating: The growth of onshore wind and solar PV pipeline capacity since March 2020

    The application window for Contract For Difference (CfD) Allocation Round Four (AR4) closed on 14 January. While we await news on the timetable and next steps for the auction, this 'Chart of the week' takes stock of how the pipeline for onshore wind and solar PV has developed since the...

  • Low carbon generation

    CfD Allocation Round 4: how much capacity might we expect?

    On 13 September, BEIS published the draft budget notice and draft Allocation Framework for Allocation Round 4 (AR4) of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, scheduled to open in December 2021. BEIS set out a total draft budget of £265mn (in 2011-12 money) for AR4, meaning that total spend in...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Australian Chart of the week | Two roller coaster rides for the price of one? Preliminary vs final MLFs

    In recent years, movements in marginal loss factors (MLFs) have received significant attention in the National Electricity Market (NEM). Many renewable projects in remote areas have experienced material MLF reductions as more supply connects nearby. For example, the MLF for Broken Hill Solar Farm saw a whopping 50 ppt drop...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | VRE pays more as PFR helps reduce coal FCAS costs

    In our previous ‘Chart of the week’ in November 2020, we reviewed the increasing percentage of causer pays cost that solar generators bear due to their generation profiles and how this results in them paying significantly more of the causer pays cost as a ratio of the generation they provide. More than...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | 3 2 1… fight: VRE and price cannibalisation in NEM

    In the last decade, the rapid decline in deployment cost of variable renewable energy (VRE) generation capacity has given renewables an advantage over fossil fuels for new builds as highlighted in ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2020’ report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In the report, Australia has...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Is the market putting the brakes on distributed solar exports?

    In most states, electricity retailers determine and set their own rooftop solar feed-in tariffs (FITS). A major driver is the wholesale energy prices, which continue to decline midday. For more information, please refer to our previous Chart of the Week issue 76. As the solar weighted wholesale energy prices reduce or become...

  • Low carbon generation

    Pixie Chart of the week | New Italian renewable subsidies awarded

    Results of the first auction under the new Italian renewables subsidy were announced on 28 January by GSE, the country’s energy agency. The format of the auction provides top-up premia for generators, with developers bidding reductions of between 2% to 70% against a reference price of €70/MWh (£59.40/MWh). This was...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Early coal closure signalled: a sign of things to come?

    The news from Alinta this week that one of Victoria’s largest coal plants - Loy Yang B - is unlikely to see out the full length of its licence should not be a major surprise to the market. The 1.1GW Loy Yang B station has a licence to run until...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Turning on the tap: the renewables pipeline

    This week's Chart of the Week looks at the updated Renewable energy Planning Database (REPD) which tracks the progress of new renewables projects through the planning system. The data is often used to quantify the pipeline of new renewables capacity that could come forward. Our chart gives the capacity of onshore wind...

  • Low carbon generation

    Pixie Chart of the week | New US solar on par with extant coal: Lazard

    Lazard published its annual update to the costs of electricity generation and storage in the USA on 8 November. The reports, Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis (v12.0) and Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Storage Analysis (v4.0) show a continued decline in the costs of alternative energy technologies. Significantly, the costs...