Essent expands into renewables with acquisition of Vandebron
Dutch gas and power provider Essent has agreed to buy the Amsterdam-based renewables marketplace for an undisclosed sum. Vandebron sells electricity aggregated from wind, solar and biomass projects.
Panda Green shareholders to vote on latest $225m state bail-out plan
It is back to the meeting room for beleaguered shareholders in the debt-saddled solar project developer, ahead of a proposed shares purchase by a Chinese coal and real estate company.
China walks away from state bail-out of GCL solar project business
The proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in the heavily-indebted PV project business of solar manufacturer GCL-Poly has fallen through, with state-owned China Hua Neng now proposing to cherry-pick the more attractive assets from the unit’s 7 GW portfolio.
Fossil fuel dependence and poor governance? Fasten your seatbelts
A study of the after-effects of the energy transition has considered 156 nations and ranked a surprising winner. Here, energy expert Indra Overland discusses the findings of the GeGaLo Index as part of our series examining renewables and geopolitics.
European Utility Week: ‘The confidence is coming back’
The energy transition is becoming ever more apparent among power companies, as was evident at the European Utility Week event last week in Paris, which showcased the hopes and fears of energy companies. Rebranding next year to ‘Enlit’, the organizers aim to reach the whole energy industry.
Angola’s solar plans boosted by Italian oil giant Eni
The Italian oil and gas provider has signed a concession agreement with the government of the African oil country to build a 50 MW solar plant. The project is expected to be in the province of Namibe and will be part of the nation’s plan to deploy 600 MW of solar by 2022.
Chinese trade visit presages big investment in Greece’s energy infrastructure
Beijing already owns 24% of Greece’s electricity transmission system operator and has pledged to back a new Greece-EU funded interconnector to Crete which is set to open up more possibilities for solar on the island. The arrival of two of China’s biggest lenders also offers the prospect of new investment in renewables.
Volvo to join blockchain-powered ethical auditing of cobalt supply chain
Corporations in the auto industry, battery manufacturing and mining have joined forces to establish reliable due diligence reporting on raw minerals. Volvo will be among the first to move on the issue by putting its cobalt supply chain under scrutiny early next year.
Industry waits in anticipation of a Green Deal for Europe
Amid high hopes for the European Commission presidency that is about to start, attendees at a recent event in Berlin tempered optimism by renewing calls for an industrial policy for the bloc.
ABB touts AI-supported industrial energy consumption management tool
A new application for ABB’s ‘Ability’ digital platform enables industrial customers to avoid peak charges without using of battery storage. The Swiss corporation has developed two apps for its energy management software with the help of an artificial intelligence specialist.
