Ford makes $500 million equity investment in EV company Rivian
While Ford is known in the United States for its gas-guzzling pickup trucks, the vehicle manufacturer cannot circumvent the global trend towards e-mobility. The market for large electric pickup trucks could be there as Canada dashed ahead with a federal EV sales target, that aspires 100% EV sales in 2040.
Bringing battery knowhow in house
Back in October 2018, SolarEdge announced its acquisition of Korean battery maker Kokam. Executives from both companies will be featuring as a part of discussions at pv magazine’s Future PV Roundtable during Intersolar 2019 and Lior Handelsman, Founder and VP for marketing and product strategy for SolarEdge spoke to pv magazine about the acquisition and strategy.
Wacker blames low poly prices for Q1 profit slump
Lower prices for polysilicon, combined with higher energy costs, pushed Wacker Chemie’s operating result for the first quarter of 2019 more than expected. However, the German company remains committed to its original annual forecast for 2019.
Kyocera reports decline in solar sales for 2019
The drop in sales of solar energy products was mainly responsible for a 28% year-on-year turnover drop of the Life&Environment Group division, which includes the Japanese company’s activities within solar.
Tesla’s solar business shrinks as Musk focuses on Model 3
The EV, energy storage and solar company deployed only 47 MW of solar during Q1, as Tesla moves away from traditional sales methods towards web-based sales for its products.
Axpo wants to buy French PV developer Urbasolar
The Swiss energy company said it was chosen by Urbasolar’s owners as the preferred buyer among a list of high-ranking bidders.
Greece plans to tender extra 300 MW of solar in July
The energy ministry has published a plan for renewables auctions for this year and next. Under the program, Greece’s energy regulator has announced the next PV tender will take place in the summer.
Chile may change payment scheme for small solar parks
The government is planning to replace the price offered to PV projects that have a capacity of 3-9 MW with hourly tariffs. Solar association Acesol agrees with some of the suggestions but rejects the proposed tariff change. The current system has been the main market driver for Chilean PV for the last two years.
Ailing Singyes forced to delay annual report again
Loan defaults have brought business at the solar goods maker and EPC to a halt and a lack of progress reports on its formerly lucrative project contracts means there is no immediate prospect of seeing the company’s 2018 figures.
Solar offers rare cheer in China Power figures
Despite outperforming rivals in terms of revenue and curtailment levels, solar apparently didn’t do enough to deflect the board away from plans to focus on energy-from-waste.
