Monday, 28 September 2026

Construction is underway on the 15 MW Te Aho o te Rā Solar Farm in Kuratau, near Tūrangi, Event Registry reported. Lightyears is developing the project with eight local Māori investment entities.

A site blessing and sod-turning ceremony marked the start of construction on September 24, according to Event Registry.

The project is planned to install about 24,000 solar modules across 32 hectares and generate around 23.5 GWh annually. Event Registry said that output would be enough for approximately 3,300 homes each year.

The solar farm is expected to be completed by July 2027.

Ireland plans to extend its solar panel grant scheme to houses built and occupied before 2025, Event Registry reported.

The scheme currently covers houses built before 2021, according to Event Registry.

The maximum grant will remain unchanged at EUR 1,800 under the extension.

The department said homes built from 2020 through 2025 are less likely to have solar PV than those built from 2015 through 2020, according to Event Registry.

Low Carbon has announced early-stage proposals for the 500 MW West Oxfordshire Energy Park, combining solar generation, battery storage and related infrastructure.

The proposed project could supply 145,000 homes with clean electricity, according to Event Registry.

The site would be north-west of Lechlade and south-west of Carterton, near Langford and Little Faringdon.

Turkey’s installed electricity capacity reached 126,944 MW by the end of August, with renewables accounting for 62.9%, according to Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.

Solar capacity rose to 27,914 MW, equal to 22% of installed capacity, while wind reached 15,434 MW, or 12.2%, the ministry said.

The Federal Government commissioned a 581kWp interconnected solar mini-grid with a 1.4MW battery energy storage system at Oke-Oyi in Kwara State, according to Event Registry.

The project is expected to serve about 1,800 households and businesses, Event Registry reported.

Power Minister Joseph Tegbe said the battery storage system would allow the mini-grid to continue supplying electricity after sunset.

Saudi Arabia's tracked renewable energy pipeline spans 53 projects with 63.8 GW of capacity, Event Registry reported.

Solar represents 81% of the tracked capacity, while wind accounts for 19%, according to Event Registry.

About 30% of capacity is installed, 37% is under development and 32% is tendered, Event Registry said.

Saudi Arabia aims to produce 100-130 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, according to Event Registry.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities awarded 16 agrivoltaic projects with combined solar generating capability of 52.06 MW, according to Event Registry.

Agrivoltaics allows crops or livestock to share land with renewable energy infrastructure, Event Registry reported.

Research in Ames found that crops grown between solar panels generally produced yields comparable to those in comparison plots, according to Event Registry.

Worldwide agrivoltaics capacity stood at 18.4 GW as of mid-2025, accounting for less than 1% of global solar capacity, Event Registry reported.

Fervo Energy’s Cape Station project in Utah is selling power to the grid, making it the first utility-scale, next-generation geothermal facility worldwide to do so, according to Canary Media.

Canary Media said Fervo Energy turned on an initial 33 MW unit at Cape Station late last week.

Vietnam's offshore wind sector continues to face regulatory hurdles despite its potential, Event Registry reported.

Insiders cited by Event Registry called for a comprehensive policy framework to remove legal and procedural bottlenecks and give offshore wind projects access to long-term capital.

Dr Nguyen Hung Dung identified an incomplete and inconsistent legal framework as a key obstacle to offshore wind development.

Electricity prices, power purchase agreements, risk-sharing arrangements and payment guarantees remain unclear, according to Event Registry.

Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) approved Tk7,245 crore in financing to support cottage and microenterprise entrepreneurship and expand renewable energy use in Bangladesh, according to Event Registry.

Event Registry reported that PKSF will allocate Tk500 crore to a specialised rooftop solar financing programme.

Customers will receive loans through PKSF partner organisations at a 6% interest rate.

The PKSF board also approved Tk5,000 crore in Bangladesh Bank-financed loans to support new cottage and microenterprise entrepreneurs.

Dhamra Port in Odisha has shifted all its electricity consumption to renewable power, becoming India's first large-scale private multi-cargo port to operate fully on renewable electricity, according to APSEZ.

The change took effect in August 2026 under APSEZ's Net-Zero strategy and is expected to reduce emissions associated with purchased electricity.

APSEZ said the transition combines captive renewable generation, third-party access arrangements and green-power procurement under Odisha's regulatory framework.