News

One of Spain’s prominent subsidy-free solar players has witnessed a bullish start in 2019 after becoming the offtaker for some of the largest deals seen in the country so far this year.

Japanese carmaker Honda has clinched the car industry’s supposedly “largest” renewable energy deal, signing a duo of virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for 320MW of wind and solar to power its US operations.

Ahead of Solar Power International 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has set a roadmap to achieving several key goals for the PV industry over the next 10 years.

Leading CdTe thin-film PV module manufacturer and ‘Solar Module Super League (SMSL), First Solar expects to start volume production at its second US manufacturing plant in early 2020, restoring its bragging rights as the largest PV module manufacturer in US and western hemisphere.

The nation’s political parties have found agreement on a green electricity package which is expected to create stable conditions for the next three years. From next year, €36 million will be made available annually for the further support of PV systems and energy storage.

Scientists at South Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology have set a new efficiency record of 11.4% for a cell based on a copper zinc tin sulfide thin film applied to a flexible substrate.

The global expansion of PV, wind power and other clean energies will see double-digit growth this year as solar continues to lead the pack.

Utility SaskPower is set to close the net metering open to systems up to 100 kW in size once a 16 MW cumulative generation capacity limit is reached in the province.

Research has found even short-lived, 10 to 15-year solar panels could provide enough return for bankable projects. The researchers believe panel costs, coupled with an industry mindset now fixed on the final solar energy price rather than costs per kilowatt installed, may open opportunities for PV products currently snubbed because of a short lifecycle.

The facility is set to open this year and will offer battery suppliers digitalization research and manufacturing consulting. Smaller manufacturers will be able to use shared laboratories for research.

A planned 10 MW solar project will be coupled with a storage system with a minimum capacity of 8 MWh. The facility will be near Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.

The project, planned for Khovd in the west of the country, is being developed with the support of the World Bank.

Utah Municipal Power Agency (UMPA) has signed off on an agreement with sPower to provide renewable energy to six cities within the state by way of an 80MW PV installation.

A handful of European states have moved to bankroll various World Bank clean energy initiatives, with US$100 million of French and Dutch money set to back PV in Sub-Saharan Africa.

174 Power Global has acquired OnForce Solar, a New York-based commercial solar development firm and community solar business. With this acquisition, 174 Power will boost its profile in both the retail energy sector and C&I project development market.