The owners of private buildings will be eligible to borrow for measures including solar panels and insulation, with the funds to be distributed by the domestic Union Bank.

A day after signing a 300 MW production capacity deal with the building materials company, the German company has announced exactly the same order – with the same customer – for a facility elsewhere in China.

The first annual Battery Performance Scorecard has turned up interesting findings, including the fact high temperatures can help or hinder power output – depending on the product, and seemingly in equal measure.

The rise of batteries will attract that headline figure in investment up to 2040, say analysts, as exponential growth in EV ownership, falling stationery system costs and the needs of the world’s grid-poor regions combine to boost lithium-ion technology.

BYD’s electric bus business is growing at an healthy rate. Geely’s EVs lag their more traditional counterparts – but are gaining ground.

The polysilicon, PV wafer and module and inverter maker has arranged a second EGM of 2018 to seek permission for two bond issues, as its peers scramble to raise their manufacturing capacities.

Predictions of the imminent demise of Chinese solar demand due to the reining in of subsidies have not stopped manufacturers ramping up production capacities. German equipment maker Singulus is among the suppliers to benefit from a renewed confidence in the Far East.

The Hong Kong-listed unit has asked where its parent will find the cash and shares to complete a $7bn deal to take ownership back in house and then list it on the Chinese A-share index.

Parent company hopes to receive a $392m windfall – half of it upfront – by offering shares in its solar farm operations unit and then using the net profits to sell the newly-spun out business its six-project PV portfolio in China.

The developer will supply energy to India’s largest utility under a 25-year PPA and can build the project anywhere in the nation, with construction to finish in early 2021.