Finance

First Solar has reported a decline in first-quarter revenue, citing investments in US facilities as a priority, with 25% of its full-year guidance expected in the first half.

With speculation rife UK prime minister Rishi Sunak could call a general election next year, Robert Cathcart, a blogger for English installer Solar Fast, takes a look at just how green the current government is.

Carrier, a US-based heating specialist, is set to acquire Germany’s Viessmann Climate Solutions in a €12 billion ($13.27 billion) deal. The acquisition will see Viessmann’s heat pump business fall into the hands of one of the leading market players in the United States, as Carrier looks to expand its reach in the rapidly growing European heat pump market.

Promising to replace fossil fuel jobs with an identical number of clean energy roles in coal-dependent communities is overly simplistic and ignores the fact that communities need to be brought onside with credible expectations of better-quality employment.

The Croatian government has allocated €60 million ($65.6 million) in subsidies for businesses to install 80 MW of renewables and 20 MWh of batteries.

Cannabis prohibition drove a culture of clandestine production in the past and solar helped growers to cultivate it at remote, off-grid sites. Now, as a global commercial cannabis market emerges, solar has an even bigger role to play.

UK-based Ideal Heating has announced plans for a new GBP 10 million ($12.5 million) heat pump R&D research center in Hull, England. Heat Transformers, meanwhile, said it has raised €15 million ($16.4 million) to accelerate heat pump deployment in the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Much has been said about the benefits installing solar and batteries can offer to businesses but, as companies face mounting input cost inflation, is the upfront investment too much to bear or have volatile electricity costs made the decision a no-brainer?

A $12.5 billion (AUD 18.7 billion) takeover deal for Origin Energy has been struck with a consortium led by Canadian giant Brookfield. Brookfield’s vision for Origin Energy involves spending “at least” AUD 20 billion to build new renewables and storage.

While it initially had a chilling effect on the Polish residential solar market, the transition from net metering to net billing has also resulted in positive changes, such as better sizing of rooftop PV systems and a higher rate of self-consumption, says Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO), a Polish research body.