Commercial mini-grids: To provide electricity access for all by 2030, the International Energy Agency estimates mini-grids will provide power to one-third of the 1.1 billion people without electricity. Powering equipment that can generate income for rural villagers is hailed as one of the most important ways of enhancing rural mini-grid bankability. Rural mini-grid companies today are working with communities to understand what income-generating equipment, called productive uses of electricity, can make viable businesses.

In this op-ed for pv magazine, Clean Coalition’s Frank Wasco explores how microgrid projects by Solar Saves Lives and other organizations show that communities can build back right and prepare for natural disasters.

PV in India: The seemingly serene solar journey that India was on has hit stormy waters in recent months as issues regarding tariff duties, domestic content and financial backing have served to shake confidence in the industry. But there still exists fantastic potential across the nation for PV to really embed itself as India’s favored power source, provided it can address these three key questions.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has announced a slew of Requests for Selection (RfS) for the installation of various PV projects totaling 3.37 GW across the country.

There is no denying that 2017 proved to be the most remarkable year yet for China’s PV industry. From whichever way one looks at it – be it installation figures, exports, manufacturing capacity growth, or innovation – the 12 months that shaped China’s solar industry were equally impressive and somewhat surprising, with even the national government perhaps shocked by the progress made.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has announced a tender for the development of a 150 MW grid connected floating solar PV power project in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Terra High Power charger can charge an electric vehicle (EV) in just eight minutes, thus adding up to 200 km of range, says ABB, which launched the new model at this year’s Hannover Messe.

Financing is the main bottleneck in the African solar industry, while private sector support is key for the deployment of PV projects. High quality products and solutions are also a focus. This is what came out of the recent Solar Show Africa event, held last week in Johannesburg.

Germany-based distributed battery storage provider, Senec has been acquired by a major German utility.

Generation from U.S. solar increased 41% last year to 1.9% of all electricity, with solar making up more than 10% of generation in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Vermont.