Markets

Almost 5% of the Chinese solar glass manufacturer’s stock will be issued in a bid to generate $167 million towards the cost of two fabs planned in Guangxi next year. Xinyi also wants to expand its successful project development business.

The Chinese panel maker is already producing bifacial half cut modules at its new Anhui fab after the completion of an initial 2.5 GW phase of operations. And the company president confirmed Longi is on track for 45 GW of mono wafer and ingot production capacity next year.

Despite the small figure, last year saw the nascent Norwegian PV market expand 29% from the previous year. The country’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached approximately 68 MW at the end of December.

The electric carmaker has signed 12-month credit agreements with three of China’s ‘Big Four’ lenders as well as the development bank for Shanghai as it aims to get its lower-priced Model 3s rolling off the production line by the end of the year.

Multilateral lender hopes to leverage $212 million more from the private sector as falling solar development costs make renewables more attractive. A solar plant with a 50 MW capacity in Feni will be one of the first to benefit from the new funds.

At the Solar Power Summit in Brussels today, the industry group said it is preparing to launch a supply-side oriented industrial policy for the PV sector in Europe. The manufacturing sector on the continent has been hard hit since 2012, and has been buffeted by a range of unfavorable policy decisions.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines is planning nine energy auctions up to 2021. The plan includes two “new energy” procurements per year – A-4 and A-6 auctions – and one per year for existing power plants. It is unclear whether solar will be eligible and, if so, which auctions it would compete in, but Brazilian solar association ABSOLAR is confident PV will admitted to both.

Developers turned their back on a procurement exercise linked to projects at the Dholera Solar Park, after insisting the challenging terrain meant the electricity price ceiling stipulated by the state would make projects unviable.

Insurance is seldom sexy but climate change campaigners will raise a glass to Munich Re if the industry emulates its policy to cap the financial risk related to battery warranties and helps lift global investment in energy storage as a result.

As the business case grows for corporates to sign renewable energy power deals, and Australia’s renewable project pipeline expands, the country’s first marketplace has opened for buyers and developers to form perfect power couples.