New accountant to probe whether GCL project payment was between ‘related parties’
The near-$80 million handed over to a contractor in 2019, of which around $2.3 million was retained by the recipient, is now being investigated by an independent accountant. Meanwhile, GCL’s shares remain suspended because the payment issue is holding up its 2020 accounts.
Jolywood signs mega-deal to supply 7 GW of household solar
Based on the price agreed for the first year of the five-year contract, the total deal would be worth almost $4 billion to the $1 billion company. However, with input costs rising and the state-owned sponsor likely to expect to pay lower fees for subsequent years, the TOPCon manufacturer’s margins may not remain so fat.
South African bank secures continent’s ‘first green loan’
The private-sector arm of the World Bank says it will lend up to $150 million to Johannesburg-based Absa Bank for green project funding.
Polish solar developer bought by Norwegian state-owned energy company
Buyer Equinor could be in for a pleasant surprise – its assessment Wento boasts a 1 GW solar project pipeline in the nation significantly under-reports the 1.6 GW claimed by private equity fund seller Enterprise Investors.
Thai plans for 8 GWh lithium battery gigafab
A Florida-based e-mobility company and a business park operator have pledged to invest up to $1 billion into the planned factory, in Chonburi province, starting with a 1 GWh section likely to take shape in 2023.
New SunPower chief fronts tough set of quarterly figures
Peter Faricy was not at the helm during the opening quarter of 2021 but his first earnings call saw him explaining a quarter-on-quarter reverse from a $413 million profit to a near $50 million loss.
Botswana tops list of world’s ‘super abundant’ renewables nations
A Carbon Tracker report estimates 60% of the world’s technical solar potential – enough to produce 3.5 exawatt-hours of clean electricity per year – would already be cheaper than fossil fuel if installed. Of the remainder, most would be in sub-Saharan Africa, a region which has the potential to be a global solar and wind powerhouse.
Legal challenge to Ukraine’s retroactive FIT cuts
Lithuanian-owned solar developer Modus Energy International is reportedly seeking €11.5 million from the Ukrainian government after it retroactively reduced feed-in tariff payments from August. Modus claims Kiev breached the Energy Charter Treaty with its reduced-payment legislation.
EU approves Danish contracts-for-difference incentive program
The €400 million, three-year scheme will guarantee price stability for developers while limiting costs to the Danish treasury and applies to on and offshore wind, wave power and hydro, as well as solar.
India to finance 100 MW Bangladeshi solar plant
The federal government will provide $131 million of soft loans for a $177 million, 100 MW solar park near the Jamuna river in Bangladesh’s Jamalpur district, where a second park of a similar size is being planned by Dhaka and a Chinese partner.
