News

When Sony first commercially introduced lithium-ion batteries in 1991, the industry recognized their potential to revolutionize portable electronics. Ever since, there have been countless efforts to improve the technology, with many researchers focusing on energy density and longevity, in line with demand from emerging applications such as electric vehicles (EVs) and on-grid energy storage. Julian Jansen and Youmin Rong of IHS Markit discuss the effect of safety concerns on this rapidly growing global market.

According to Korean government, around 18,000 unlicensed projects up to 1 MW in size are being developed in the area. Restrictions on such projects, which are driving this year’s strong solar growth in the country, are being introduced to reduce their environmental impact.

With the region of Styria considering making PV mandatory on all new buildings, the nation’s Climate Fund will support PV and storage projects in agriculture and forestry. Applications can be submitted by November 2020 – or until the pot is empty.

NextEra Energy Partners has announced a private offering of US$500 million in senior unsecured notes due 2026 by its subsidiary company NextEra Energy Operating Partners (NEP OpCo).

UK solar developer Solarcentury and Dutch counterpart PowerField have unveiled plans to build the “largest” solar project in the Netherlands on behalf of Impax, the British asset manager that owns the site.

Baltimore-based power provider Constellation has inked a deal to sell power from a 175MW solar facility in Virginia to Johns Hopkins University, spice and seasoning mix company McCormick & Company and department store corporation TJX Companies.

Integrated solar power producer, Scatec Solar has raised its growth targets in its key markets, due to strong demand.

Energy companies are lacking any kind of certainty over Brexit and how it will affect the sector, but cannot allow it to have any impact on the “fundamental issue” of climate change and the energy transition, some of Europe’s leading utilities have said.

India’s state utility plotting 5GW solar plant, according to reports

Politicians’ failure to form government pacts condemns Spain’s clean energy shift to further delays and uncertainty, the industry has warned as the country heads to fresh polls.

Australia’s Northern Territory has unveiled a new target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in a policy document that touts solar and backs a proposed 10GW/20-30GWh solar-plus-storage plant earmarked to provide energy to the region and Singapore.

Mexico’s state-run utility and fossil fuel infrastructure need more time before the country can re-arrange the renewable auction it cancelled this year, a top official has said.

Solar Integrated Roofing Corporation (SIRC) has completed the acquisition of The Montross Companies, an establishing roofing company in San Diego.

Solar Frontier Americas has acquired a 50.5MW PV project purchased from CS Solar, a JV company of Samsung Solar Energy. The installation is located in Stanislaus County, California, just a few hours southeast of San Jose.

Enel Green Power has switched on a utility-scale solar project it developed in Spain’s southeast with support from the country’s renewable auction of 2017.