Markets & Policy

The Israel-headquartered power electronics supplier continues to diversify its business base as it closes its acquisition of UPS provider Gamatronic. Uninterruptible power supply is a multi-billion-dollar market expected to grow in the coming years.

With around 300 MW of installed PV power at the end of May, Poland still needs volume to become a major European PV market. More capacity is expected to come online over the next years, however, as a result of the auction mechanism for renewables. Around 360 MW was allocated by the two auctions held by the Polish government, although only 27 MW of this is currently online.

InnoEnergy has launched its energy management platforms with local partners in Sweden. The platform would help integrate renewable energy resources through battery storage management algorithms. An expansion into other markets is planned already.

The company reports that its IoT ABB Ability platform connects to existing GE Industrial Solutions’ installations. The company will supply its products to GE, with the GE brand name being retained. Access to the North-American market was named as one of the primary motivators for the acquisition. At the same time, the company inked a deal to support Be Power in the Italian market for dispatching services with its ABB Ability solution.

Spain’s Enel unit Endesa plans to invest €59 million in the construction of a 84.9 MW solar park in the town of Totana, in the southern region of Murcia. In other news, Catalonia is also seeking independence through energy. In this vein, Barcelona Energy, a public metropolitan electricity operator that will supply renewable electricity to the City Council and other municipal companies, as well as street lighting, began operations yesterday.

In particular, the rooftop PV segment continues to drive the market in Germany. For ground-mounted systems, newly registered PV capacity for May was approximately 37.5 MW.

REC Silicon ASA has announced that it will today lay off around 100 employees from its workforce based in Washington, the U.S., and reduce production, as a “direct result” of the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

The annual budget for solar rebates has been raised from SEK 390 million to SEK 915 million (US$102.5 million). Additional funds are intended to spur more growth and reduce waiting period for applicants.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and expects to begin trading on the OTC Pink on July 2, where there are no disclosure requirements.

More and more corporations are signing contracts with wind and solar projects, and as this happens the space is becoming broader and more complex.