Europe

Solarpack has witnessed gains across several financial indicators so far this year, after progress across various construction contracts in Europe and South America.

Risen Energy has announced a 148 MW module order will be completed this month as the Ningbo-based company expects to ship almost 1 GW of product to the country this year.

The advent of permitting restrictions on wind power projects has opened the door for PV in the pending auction for renewable generation facilities with a capacity of more than 1 MW. Wind power dominates Polish clean energy and no solar projects were successful in last year’s exercise.

The French development agency and the environment ministry have a €1.6 million budget to finance novel off-grid projects from companies and NGOs operating with local partners in Africa.

Heineken is to fully power its Spanish operations via a new utility-scale solar plant, set to be developed by energy giant Iberdrola.

Top UK solar investor Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF) has hailed the advent of subsidy-free utility-scale solar in the UK, announcing a number of agreements to bring forward unsubsidised projects in the country.

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.

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.

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.

Hanwha Q CELLS has celebrated the grand opening of what it bills as the “largest” solar panel factory in the western hemisphere, a US$200 million facility in Dalton, Georgia, meant to supply 1.7GW to the US market every year.

The German government has acted to remove a key hurdle to solar growth, in a deal hammered out as pressure for bold climate policies builds in the country’s streets and legislative chambers.

U.K. nonprofit organization Together Housing is launching a solar-plus-storage demonstration project in a social housing complex. The $2.4 million pilot is designed to identify alternative commercial models for residential storage, following the abrupt reduction of feed-in tariff rates.

A new report in Sweden suggests that renewables are an ideal source of power for marine vessels, based on a case study in which solar PV and proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, combined with a diesel generator, were used to reduce the greenhouse gas and particulate emissions of cruise ships by almost 10%

As of 11.30 CEST, the global pv magazine team in Berlin will down tools to attend the global climate strike at Brandenburger Tor.

Tumbling solar costs have spurred Google on to a dramatic boost of its exposure to the technology, acting to line up supply from projects worldwide as part of a major clean energy push.