PV systems have helped farmers in the Philippines become less dependent on rain. Projects in Camarines Sur have shown pumping water with solar is not only cheap but can also raise rice yield.

Brazil’s biggest lender wants to secure solar power through a leasing arrangement. The central bank expects to buy around 8 GWh of electricity per year for its agencies in the state of Bahia and another 2 GWh in Ceará.

The raised renewable energy ambition has been dismissed by the domestic solar association, which accuses president Miloš Zeman of wanting to destroy the Czech PV sector. In 2019, the country added only 7 MW of new PV installations.

European satellite operator Eutelsat has revealed one of the two solar arrays on its recently launched 5 West B satellite has been lost. Only 45% of the craft’s generation capacity can be operated, hitting the company’s bottom line to the tune of $5-10 million.

The Chinese government will extend duties on U.S. and South Korean polysilicon for another five years from today despite committing to buy $200 billion more American goods and services in the trade deal signed on Wednesday. Poly manufacturer REC Silicon says it expects polysilicon to form part of that trade agreement.

A study from Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology has predicted solar and other renewables can provide a global energy jobs revolution – just as four European operations revealed recent struggles.

The resulting project will sell power to Qatar General Electricity and Water Corp under a 25-year power supply deal. French oil and gas giant Total and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni will hold a combined 40% stake in the power plant, which will be built near Doha, the Qatari capital.

The Chinese manufacturer said the result was confirmed by Germany’s TÜV Rheinland. The achievement beats the company’s previous record of 21.65%, set last month.

The nation deployed around 923 MW of new solar last year. Around 350 MW came in the form of unlicensed projects given an extension to their grid-connection deadlines.

The Italian developer has announced most of its 37-strong Italian workforce will be laid off without spelling out why.