India’s solar rooftop progress still dismal
India’s solar rooftop sector continues to disappoint, with the first quarter of FY 2018-2019 achieving just 155.77 MW against the 1,000 MW EoY target.
Off-grid solar boosts income by 50% of household GDP in Africa – study
Gogla has released a report showing the positive economic effects of deploying small-scale pay-as-you-go solar systems in off-grid regions. More than half of the survey’srespondents reported having increased economic activity, with many of those starting new businesses or significantly increasing their household income.
Veolia Foundation supporting a nano-grid project in Madagascar
The project connects four to six households, and lets dwellers pre-purchase daily access to electricity using a mobile app. A successful trial phase has just been finished and the executing association, Nanoé Développement has set new goals to reach in the near future.
Swiss scientists develop machine learning algorithm to optimize home solar-plus-storage
The research team used real-world energy consumption data from 4,190 Swiss households to analyze how different cost scenarios may influence optimal photovoltaic-battery (PVB) system deployment.
Solar corporate funding rises 15% YoY with $5.3 billion in H1 2018 – Mercom
Despite the uncertainty caused by U.S. solar panel import tariffs, deteriorating trade relations between the U.S. and China, and the looming consequences of China’s PV policy change, the solar industry saw a 15% YoY increase in corporate funding in the first half of 2018, on the back of a Q2 rebound, finds the latest Mercom Capital report.
Mexican utility CFE retires protection measures against solar net metering
Without the threat of a hostile attitude from the state-owned power provider, the Mexican distributed generation (DG) market may now continue to be a strong driver of growth in the northern American country.
Engie Brasil takes full control of unit specializing in solar DG
Through the operation, the Brazilian unit of the French energy giant strengthens its position in the local distributed generation segment.
Two strategic M&A transactions announced in the French PV sector
French solar project developer, Solstyce and rooftop PV specialist, Enerpur are merging into a single company; while France-based building materials provider, Terreal has become the largest shareholder of mounting system provider, GSE Integration.
Sweden increases 2018 solar budget, again
The annual budget for solar rebates has been raised from SEK 390 million to SEK 915 million (US$102.5 million). Additional funds are intended to spur more growth and reduce waiting period for applicants.
Inverters get smart at the 2018 Smarter E
Inverter manufacturers tapped into the major theme of digitization in their product presentations at this year’s Smarter E event in Munich – of which Intersolar Europe is a part of. The solutions deploy smart software solutions for maximizing self-consumption, O&M provision and enable hybrid architectures across all three market segments.
