Finance

The high-efficiency PV maker has closed on SolarWorld’s Oregon factory, which will transition from SolarWorld products to SunPower’s P-type shingled modules.

China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have each listed a €500 million bond. The bond issuance of the Chinese company was made on the newly created Luxembourg Green Exchange, a platform exclusively dedicated to sustainable finance.

A new report on the financing mechanisms in the European Union (EU) and the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions offers lessons that link financing to electricity market design. The report also acknowledges the increasing presence of PV manufacturers in the LAC region.

While revenues have doubled year on year, Leclanché says its EBITDA is suffering from high operational expenses and one-off payments. However, the goal to post a positive EBITDA by 2020 is on track, it adds.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged that Musk’s tweets were false and misleading, and is pushing to have him barred from serving on the board of Tesla or any other public company.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) received a significant boost at the New York One Planet Summit, with European Investment Bank (EIB) President, Werner Hoyer announcing a commitment to back the ISA in its expansion of India’s solar industry and the exchange of technology.

The U.K. government has cold-shouldered PV with a row of disfavourable policies, which have put at risk the financial viability of new arrays. In the past few last years, the market has remained almost flat, with installations sitting at around 200 MW per year.

Citing the market downturn in China, which has resulted in “enormous excess capacity”, rapidly declining prices and postponed projects, SMA Technology AG has lowered its 2018 sales and earning guidance, and expects a break-even or negative EBITDA. It has also announced structural changes.

DNV GL has issued its annual Energy Transition Outlook. It reports that global electricity demand is set to grow by a factor of 2.5. Over half of this demand is expected to be met with renewable energy by 2050, while storage will play a key role. It adds that grid infrastructure expenditures are less related to variable renewable energy assets than to increasing energy demand. In the current scenario, meanwhile, global warming is likely to reach 2.6°C.

While global coal mining companies are enjoying the highest prices in years on the back of boosted Asian demand, banks and financiers are increasingly ending their support for coal power. London-based Standard Chartered the latest to stop financing new coal-fired stations.