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Panels will be installed at waste sites in five mining towns as part of the latest, €2.4 billion ($2.57 million) round of investment from a fund set up to help coal-dependent European member states with the energy transition.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest annual report on the progress towards UN sustainable development goal seven estimates 670 million people will still lack electricity in 2030, and more than 2 billion will be reliant on unhealthy, polluting cooking methods.

Hanwha Group has marked World Bee Day by unveiling the country’s first solar beehive. The PV modules on the beehive generate electricity to automatically monitor and control internal conditions.

Solar panels accompany heat pumps on a significant number of the projects being funded by the UK government to reduce carbon emissions from public buildings – but not in Scotland.

India-based Inficold has developed a multi-chamber, solar-powered cold storage solution that facilitates the storage of multiple perishable commodities in different temperature-controlled chambers, all under their respective ideal storage conditions.

The clean power numbers published annually by the International Renewable Energy Agency provide a snapshot of the global solar market and, this year, a lot of figures were unchanged from the previous dataset, especially in the off-grid segment.

Researchers in Mexico have looked at integrating hydrogen-based power-to-gas-to-power into an existing rural microgrid. They said this solution could become competitive if electrolyzer, fuel cell and hydrogen tank costs are halved, or if diesel prices keep rising.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s latest global outlook has spelled out just how ‘woefully’ far the world is from capping temperature rises at 1.5C, and lamented: ‘The stimulus and recovery efforts associated with the pandemic have also proved a missed opportunity.’

A lack of trained personnel, slow overhaul of PV rules, and a weak electricity grid could slow the emergence of solar as a solution to diminish Romanian dependence on Russian gas. The next two winters will be critical.

The international development entity has already invested $1 billion in local, off-grid electricity networks over the last decade – and attracted a further $1.1 billion in matched funding – and has predicted mini-grids could supply electricity to 490 million people by 2030.