THE FRIDAY NOTE: Scotland to limit wind farms with wildland label and the rest of the week's top picks

(SeeNews) – Apr 5, 2013 – In the past week Scotland unveils plans to limit wind farm projects on wildlands, Qatar is rumoured to pour a three-digit million sum in Germany's Solarworld AG and a new study says Emerging Asia Pacific and Central Asia will account for 5% of global solar demand in 2017.

Under Scotland's wildland plan, nature conservation agency Scottish Natural Heritage will draw new maps, while the Scottish government is to release planning guidelines instructing local authorities to approve wind projects in wildland areas only in exceptional circumstance, the Herald Scotland reported Thursday. The paper said on its website it was understood that wildlands would be concentrated in the northern and western Highlands, a region where several wind power proposals are yet to be considered.

More details on: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/new-label-to-limit-wind-farms-in-scottish-wildlands-344927

QATAR SAID TO PLAN THREE-DIGIT MILLION INVESTMENT IN SOLARWORLD

The state of Qatar is allegedly planning to make a three-digit million investment in German solar photovoltaics (PV) maker Solarworld AG (ETR:SWV), which is currently struggling to stay afloat under the burden of a mountain of debts, various media reported on Tuesday.

The rumour gave a boost to Solarworld's share which temporarily gained 8% to EUR 0.923 in Tuesday trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. At 1323 CET on Wednesday the share traded at EUR 0.900 which was still above the level from last Friday.

More details on: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/qatar-said-to-plan-three-digit-million-investment-in-solarworld-344620

EMERGING ASIA PACIFIC, CENTRAL ASIA PV MARKETS TO FETCH 5% OF GLOBAL DEMAND IN 2017

The EAPCA region will bring 5% of worldwide solar PV demand in 2017, with Thailand playing a major role, market researcher NPD Solarbuzz projects. In its latest market study, the company says the region would install over 3 GW of PV in 2017. This would represent a compound annual growth rate of 28% on 2012’s 723 MW of PV capacity installations. According to Solarbuzz, EAPCA PV installations could go as high as 5 GW in 2017.

More details on: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/emerging-asia-pacific-central-asia-pv-markets-to-fetch-5-of-global-demand-in-2017-344114

STANDARD BANK, ICBC TO BACK S AFRICAN RENEWABLES WITH USD 2.2 BILLION

South Africa's Standard Bank has teamed up with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (HKG:1398), or ICBC, to provide as much as ZAR 20 billion (USD 2.2bn/EUR 1.7bn) to renewables projects in South Africa.

More details on: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/standard-bank-icbc-to-back-s-african-renewables-with-usd-2-2bn-344351

JAPAN SAYS YES TO 400-MW SOLAR PROJECT ON KYUSHU

Japan has given its nod to the construction of a 400-MW solar park on the island of Kyushu, the Nagasaki newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The PV facility, to be situated on idled land areas, will be constructed by a joint venture of Berlin-based solar plants developer Photovolt Development Partners GmbH and other partners. The parties plan to establish the joint entity next month to develop the project, the value of which is estimated at JPY 100 billion (USD 1.1bn/EUR 837.7m).

More details on: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/japan-says-yes-to-400-mw-solar-project-on-kyushu-report-344221

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