Markets

Turnkey solar construction specialist Habdank has bought half of the utility-scale PV solutions provider for an undisclosed sum.

The ComRes poll commissioned by climate change charity 10:10 shows solar PV is favored renewable technology of 83% of the population, but only 10% of those polled believe more than half of population is supports it.

The solar PV manufacturing equipment will be sold to China Finance in two separate transactions, and will then be leased back to two separate subsidiaries of the GCL New Energy group, as the company looks to raise capital to reduce its debts and stimulate business development.

The California-based solar developer is looking to take advantage of a growing U.S. PV market, by raising capital on its near shovel-ready projects, which the company believes have a value in excess of USD 1 billion.

A Deutsche Bank report has predicted “sharp declines” in US solar module and inverter prices that it says could drive payback periods down to less than five years and spark a “final ‘gold rush'” in the American residential, commercial and industrial markets, starting in 2017.

Globalization is a fact of life in the solar PV industry as much of the production of modules and other key PV system components takes place in China, only to then be shipped across the seas to customers in other continents.

The drop of solar module prices has been key to the competitiveness of solar energy in international electricity auctions over the last year.

Expectations for solar PV in Ethiopia have increased significantly over the last few months, with formal discussions taking place over a PV tender. However, the government’s recent declaration of a state of emergency, which is set to last for six months, might scare already weary investors. 

The large array has been installed at the Airport Weeze in Germany, using Trina Solar’s record-breaking Honey series of modules, which are now feeding the local grid and supplying electricity to the airport.

The country has built 513 MW of additional rooftop capacity over the past 12 months, bringing cumulative installations to 1.02GW, according to research firm Bridge to India.