Markets

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.

Following New Delhi-based Urja Global, Singapore’s Ojovati and another Delhi company – Avanze Inventive – have signed memoranda of understanding to manufactue lithium-ion cells and batteries, respectively, in the state.

SB Energy Corp, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational Softbank, has announced a strategic partnership with Swedish company Exeger, which produces dye sensitized solar cells designed for integration into consumer electronic devices. Under the terms of the agreement, Softbank Group will invest $10 million in Exeger, with SB Energy Corp set to assist global rollout of the technology.

According to new figures released by SolarPower Europe, last year saw 1.4 GW more new solar generation capacity than trade body had expected. Lower demand in China was compensated for by stronger developments in emerging markets.