2021

Mining giant BHP is poised to finalize a “bespoke” renewable energy agreement with the Australian arm of Spanish energy group Iberdrola for the 317 MW Port August Renewable Energy Park in South Australia. The deal will supply up to 50% of the miner’s electricity needs for its Olympic Dam mining operation.

If a U.S. customs enforcement action were to take place, importers would need to prove that no forced labor was used at any stage of production, including all the way back to the mine.

The Vietnamese solar manufacturer presented its new half-cut monocrystalline PERC PV module at last week’s Intersolar Europe. It features an efficiency of 21.38% efficiency and maximum power output of 605 W.

The financing round will be used to drive the Spanish PV software specialist’s international growth in markets such as the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, accelerate product development and improve customer experience.

Reliance New Energy Solar, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, which is planning a huge manufacturing venture in Gujarat, India, has led a series C financing round in German wafer manufacturer NexWafe with an investment of EUR 25 million ($29 million). This marks the third major investment in renewables announced by the Indian multinational this week.

Manufacturing giant JinkoSolar has set another world record for n-type solar cell efficiencies with its TOPCon technology, this time pushing to 25.4%. The new world record was confirmed by JET laboratories in Japan, and surpasses JinkoSolar’s previous record of 25.25% set back in May.

The French energy group has invested an undisclosed sum in Vietnam’s SkyX Energy. The goal is to install 200 MWp of C&I PV rooftop capacity in the country.

Reliance New Energy Solar has signed an agreement with Danish firm Stiesdal A/S to develop and manufacture Stiesdal HydroGen electrolyzers for green hydrogen production in India.

Ahead of the COP26 conference beginning in Glasgow later this month, the International Energy Agency this week published its World Energy Outlook report for 2021. While it expects rapid growth in renewable energy, the report finds that, on top of currently stated policies, annual energy transition-related investments would need to reach US$4 trillion annually by 2030.

Sungrow’s new utility-scale string inverter can supply a maximum of 352 kW, just a year after it launched a 250 kW string inverter that was billed as the world’s most powerful. The new inverter arrives mid-2022.