Covid-19

Volatility in the oil markets has played out in the news recently, driven by the Covid-driven collapse in demand and a war for market share between Saudi Arabia and Russia. A G20 meeting is to be held to try and find a way to cut production. As states and the oil majors look to shore up the price though, it’s possible that the coronavirus crisis might be what topples the fundamental driver of the current economic order.

Hanoi has set new feed-in tariff rates for utility-scale, rooftop and floating PV projects, ending a long period of policy uncertainty. The government has announced the new rates, which are broadly in line with industry expectations, roughly 10 months after the expiration of its old tariffs.

The unforeseen arrival of COVID-19 has brought many negotiations for corporate power purchase agreements to an abrupt halt in Europe, but this may not be all bad news for the sector write Daniel Marhewka, Lis Blunsdon and David Haverbeke, energy specialists at European law firm, Fieldfisher.

Sunrun laid off about 100 employees last week, according to Business Insider, which reported that furloughed staff will continue to receive benefits for three months.

pv magazine rounds up the latest Covid-19-related stories likely to affect the world of solar and energy storage.

The clarification came after states across the country reacted to the power ministry’s recent call for a moratorium on conventional power payments by stopping payments and curtailing renewable power.

Greece held its last round of renewable energy tenders in Athens on Thursday, resulting in the lowest tariff ever awarded to a renewable energy project in the country.

The German manufacturer has started to produce its first commercial storage systems at its new plant under strict safety precautions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The facility’s current annual capacity is set at 255 MWh, but the company aims to eventually expand that to 1 GWh.

The Chinese group’s loss widened significantly from the preceding 12-month period, despite posting a 5.4% year-on-year jump in revenue to RMB1.7 billion ($242.2 million).

The Swiss equipment supplier already needed to shore up its bottom line and is now taking measures to help combat the spread of an epidemic which has also claimed November’s planned climate summit in Glasgow and an estimated 19% of this year’s demand for energy storage.