Storage and PAYG critical to deployment of African off-grid renewables
The former need not necessarily relate to conventional lithium-ion batteries, however, as a recent webinar staged by Solarpower Europe and EU body GET.invest discovered.
SunPower posts solid Q4 results as storage drives growth
SunPower’s distributed-generation services platform, as well as storage and digital solutions, will be key to its long-term growth, CEO Tom Werner said in an earnings call this week.
EU reveals how much each member state can expect from Covid-recovery pot
The European Parliament and Council of Ministers continued to tidy up the details of the bloc’s Covid-recovery package today by publishing the rules of how the money will be disbursed.
European Commission: Natural gas can be part of green transition
The EU today confirmed natural gas-fired power and heat generation facilities can qualify for Covid-recovery spending as long as they fulfil a maximum emission target or are accompanied by credible member-state plans to ramp up renewables usage.
Finance for 49 mini-grids in Sierra Leone and Uganda
Winch Energy has announced the project, which it hopes will be a significant bridgehead towards building $100 million worth of off-grid systems within two years, alongside Franco-Japanese partner Neot Offgrid Africa.
Peer-to-peer leased solar for African schools
Abe Cambridge, chief executive and founder of solar cell-level, crowdfunding-based PV leasing business The Sun Exchange has spoken to pv magazine about the company’s project pipeline and its focus on bringing affordable clean power to schools.
Solaredge records pandemic progress despite tough final quarter
Full-year revenues nudged up despite tough comparisons with the end of 2019 for the final quarter of last year. The inverter maker expects to log revenues of $385-405 million in the current three-month window.
UK makes Europe’s latest battery gigafab announcement
Coventry City Council, in the English West Midlands, wants to attract a £2 billion gigafab and is already in talks with nearby motor manufacturers, and with global battery suppliers, according to regional politician Andy Street.
EU allocates more cash to help small businesses join green transformation
The European Union agency responsible for providing finance to small and medium-sized businesses will have 64% more funds to disperse after the EIB, European Commission and its other shareholders voted to raise its share capitalization.
EU spot market module prices: A wrench in the works
Looking back at the past year, the renewables sector has seen two extremes. In Germany, disparities were triggered in part by the recently passed amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). For solar PV in particular, the pendulum will swing in favor of installers of small systems in the near term, writes Martin Schachinger of pvXchange. For installations up to 30 kWp, the new law has cleared market barriers.
