News

Solaria Corporation is to work towards a doubling of its panel manufacturing capabilities this year, a push financed by a new capital raise.

US solar players have scored a victory in Michigan this week after regulators ratified a deal to unblock a 584MW PV pipeline, held up by years of standoff with a utility.

174 Power Global has wrapped up construction financing for the US$210 million, 150MW first phase of its solar farm in Ector County, northwest Texas, clinching funding from a group of global banks.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is debating plans to shift its multi-billion energy funding firepower to back energy storage and free-market renewables more decisively.

Global solar PV capacity must increase ten-fold to 5TW by 2030 in order to meet the Paris climate targets, research body DNV GL has claimed.

UBS Singapore has signed a 10-year agreement with Singapore-headquartered energy, marine and utility company Sembcorp Industries to provide solar power for the bank’s offices.

The Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RRECL) has issued a competitive tender for 113.5MW of small grid-connected solar projects in the desert state.

Enertis has stepped up its involvement with a solar project in the Middle East, said to be the world’s first utility-scale scheme to be wholly sponsored by an oil and gas major.

The inverter businesses have responded to the letter published by the UK Solar Trade Association which was critical of the former’s products and customer service record.

Emilio J Garcia Rodriguez, from tracker manufacturer PV Hardware, spoke to pv magazine about the company’s activity in the Middle East and North Africa market. Dust, heat and heavy storms complicate the installation and operation of trackers.

Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin research institute this morning presented a new world record efficiency for a tandem cell combining CIGS and perovskite technology at the EU PVSEC conference in Marseille. The development of an organic coating layer between the two semiconductors was key.

Quality control and problem detection and classification was brought into focus at the conference in Marseille. A packed house at a session focused on the latest fault detection techniques indicated the high level of interest in the field.

Renewables investment may by hit by rising interest rates despite the falling cost of clean energy tech just as fossil fuels avoid the impact of rising base rates.

On the first day of this year’s EU PVSEC conference, veteran solar researcher Pierre J Verlinden won the Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics. The award recognized more than 40 years as a leading PV researcher in academia and at leading companies including Sunpower and Trina Solar. Its recipient spoke to pv magazine about what is needed from solar to stave off catastrophic climate change.

The nation’s cabinet has approved new contracts for solar projects under net metering rules across several regions. Investments include solar micro-grids for disconnected areas, grid-tied installations and hybrid projects.