Europe

Masdar on Thursday announced that it has signed an agreement with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy to develop and finance a 200-megawatt utility scale solar photovoltaic (PV) project.

U.S.’s solar developer ReneSola is selling its 15-megawatt portfolio of Hungarian solar power projects under development to Danish investor Obton.

Lithuanian researchers claim to have dramatically improved the performance of a perovskite-based copper indium gallium selenide solar cell they developed with the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. The improved efficiency, they claim, was achieved thanks to one of the most recently developed monolayers used for experiments on the cell.

Danish renewables investor and developer Obton Energy has formed a joint venture with Irish solar developer Shannon Energy to develop 500MW of solar in Ireland over five years.

A solar project part of a landmark subsidy-free series in Spain has found a new owner, a major insurance group set to buy the plant as it nears commissioning.

UK solar developer Solarcentury has landed a €54.8 million finance facility to construct 500MW of solar farms in Spain.

The Italian manufacturer said the product is based on a technical solution previously used for power downgrading. The device is said to be ideal for projects at altitudes greater than 1,000m.

Development financiers are looking to lure in private players to deploy utility-scale solar in the world’s most densely populated country, hoping to combat land shortages for renewables.

‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member, First Solar has agreed to settle a 2012 class action lawsuit to the tune of US$350 million. The settlement is subject to approval by the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

A tiny spark in the UK’s hydrogen revolution has been lit – at a university campus near Stoke-on-Trent.

Unisun Energy has sold Zonepark Rilland together with its 11.75-megawatt photovoltaic station to Alternus Energy Inc. at the price of about $11.8mn.

OPDEnergy has announced the completion of construction work on its new solar PV plant Zafra, located in Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville), Spain

Energy suppliers in the UK have unveiled a mixed bag of tariffs for domestic solar exports, with O&G major Shell’s supply business unveiling a tariff of just 0.001p/kWh.

Sonnedix has acquired a 23MW portfolio in Italy from investment group, Ellomay Luxembourg Holdings.

The Volkswagen group has hinted that it is searching for a charging robot for EV. These are mobile charging robots that will make electric vehicles autonomous.