Finance

Last year, the Chinese polysilicon maker saw robust demand for wafers and polysilicon, paticularly between the second and third quarters. Furthermore, the company said it achieved all its technological upgrade goals, and started construction on its new 20,000 MT polysilicon factory in Xinjiang in December.

U.K.-based off-grid developer, BBOXX and online renewable energy investment platform, Trine have raised €1 million from crowdfunded investments in less than one month. The financing will be disbursed at the beginning of April, to enable BBOXX to scale up its operations in Kenya.

The turnover of the Munich-based chemical company increased by 6%. The polysilicon business of Wacker Chemie also continued to increase last year; however, the production halt in the U.S. prevented even stronger growth.

U.K. Chancellor, Phillip Hammond’s Spring Statement was delivered to the House of Commons earlier this afternoon. While the announcement did include provisions for greener products and services, and support for cleaner vehicles, solar and renewable energy were not mentioned specifically.

Private equity firm, Gore Street Capital is planning an IPO for an investment fund focused entirely on utility-scale energy storage projects, to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The fund already owns three storage projects in the U.K., and is seeking to raise GBP 100 million in initial investment.

Shareholders have agreed to the proposed merger of JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd with JASO Holdings and its wholly owned units, JASO Parent and JASO Acquisition, thus taking the manufacturer one step closer to privatization.

The ISA founding ceremony, held on Sunday March 11 in New Delhi, India, was a highlight in the 2018 solar calendar. French President, Emmanuel Macron announced €700 million in support through loans and donations by 2022, while several other financial deals and MoUs were also signed. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi further outlined 10 action points to help the spread of solar energy.

Eon has announced plans to take over a 76.8% stake in the German utility, RWE’s renewable energy spin-off, Innogy. The acquisition is part of a far-reaching agreement between the two, which envisages redistributing operations so that RWE focuses on the renewable energy business, while energy networks and customer solutions would be the responsibility of Eon.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) made its solar investments in 13 European Union countries, as well as in India, Mexico and Peru in 2017. The bank’s total investment volume for solar projects since 2002 amounts to around €6.3 billion.

Thanks to a one-off effect in the solar segment, the company was able to achieve a record turnover of €325 million in 2017.