Covid-19

Another big solar event has joined the list of those canceled because of Covid-19. The next edition of The Smarter E event will take place next year.

The economic fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak is yet to be determined but as legislators scramble to establish fiscal support for the EU it is becoming clear the suits in Brussels are not prepared to scrap their hard-won Green Deal plan. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The company has warned shareholders about the potential affect of the virus on its operations in the first half of the year but said Chinese operations had almost returned to normal.

The Asian Development Bank says developing countries in Asia and the Pacific should consider developing their own solar industry supply chains as the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed their over-reliance on China to carry through the energy transition.

The module giant today announced it will donate a million items of personal protective equipment to the European and Asian countries currently battling the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Spanish clean energy company Grenergy has donated 55,000 pieces of Chinese-made personal protective equipment to the authorities in Madrid and electronics and e-mobility company BYD this month opened the ‘world’s largest mass-produced face masks plant,’ in Shenzhen.

The Covid-19 crisis has far-reaching effects – including on the PV industry and solar installation market. The results of a survey conducted in a recent pv magazine webinar painted a picture of businesses unsettled by the pandemic but still taking orders at present.

Brazilian consultancy Greener has conducted a survey of more than 500 solar companies in Brazil to assess the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The results show that demand has already started to slow down, and that PV system prices are on the rise.

Sliding electricity demand and declining commercial and industrial activity in India could prompt distribution companies to block or delay payments to solar power producers.

SunPower CEO: “We remain on track to complete our planned company split into two independently focused pure-play solar companies by the end of the second quarter.”