News

Eastern Europe’s largest utility has decided to acquire a minority stake in Zolar – a German provider of digital solutions for rooftop PV – alongside BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures.

A 200 MW storage project is being developed by Hanwha Energy Corporation and Lumcloon Energy. The €300 million facility is intended to stabilize the grid to host more renewable energy capacity.

The Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe has issued a request for proposal to seek partners for the development and construction of seven solar parks, with a combined generation capacity of 235 MW, plus two mini-hydro power projects.

The GCL System chief executive made comments that fly in the face of an expected solar gold rush in China that analysts predict will start this month. Though rising overseas demand will address overcapacity fears, according to Luo, the soundbite is sure to chill PV boardrooms across the world’s biggest solar market.

Solarpack has strengthened its foothold on the Peruvian solar market by closing on the full acquisition of two up-and-running plants it deployed seven years ago.

Deal documents have been signed for the Philippines to add a utility-scale solar project towards the southwest, a plant set be deployed by a foreign construction player.

A Republican senator from Maine and a Democratic senator from New Mexico have introduced legislation that aims to slash costs and red tape currently complicating local permitting for distributed renewable energy, energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging systems.

Dutch rooftop solar mounting provider Esdec has acquired US mounting specialists IronRidge and Quick Mount PV, claiming the double acquisition gives it a dominant share of the US residential mounting market.

The colossal solar boom Italy wants to drive in a decade could lie beyond reach if developers do not act to embrace energy storage more decisively, industry players have argued at a recent event.

Major PV materials supplier, Heraeus Photovoltaics has collaborated with German company, Cell Engineering to develop metallisation pastes for its ‘LECO’ (Laser Enhanced Contact Optimization) technology that can increase multiple solar cell architectures conversion efficiencies by up to 0.15%.

United States Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the American Energy Opportunity Act, which will provide voluntary assistance and tools for local governments to simplify, standardize and automate clean energy permitting for residents and businesses while enhancing safety.

SunPower has launched a web application that can design rooftop solar projects in seconds. SunPower’s Design Studio combines SunPowers’s Instant Design technology, Google Cloud and Google Sunroof to deliver customizable residential solar designs that take into account roof size, shading and energy potential. Homeowners can modify their design based on their energy needs, resulting in more accurate predictions of electricity bill and energy savings.

Consulting firm ArcVera Renewables, measurement and assessment company NRG Systems (NRG), and measurement service provider Harness Energy have joined forces to provide solar project developers with the design, manufacture, shipping, installation and operation of their solar measurement systems, including the delivery of independent campaign monitoring and finance-grade resource assessment reports.

RP Construction Services (RPCS) announced earlier this week the launch of a campaign to bring e-readers to the Secondary Education for Girls’ Advancement (SEGA) school in Morogoro, Tanzania, with the help of Nurturing Minds, a U.S.-based non-profit organization.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law last week financial protections for consumer investments in rooftop solar energy. The law, AB 1208 authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), extends a prohibition on cities and counties taxing the energy generated by rooftop solar panels for use by homeowners and businesses.