Strategic Alliances

Scatec wants to expand in Southeast Asia and Vietnam is poised to become a hot market thanks to a generous feed-in tariff and a government that has set tight carbon emission targets.

The fossil fuel company will partner with Slovakia’s InoBat to develop hydrogen-related projects in central and eastern Europe. Sourcing and supply of hydrogen will be the main focus of the cooperation.

The grouping, which includes UAE-based Masdar and Moroccan independent power producer Green of Africa, is planning to begin construction this year. The project is among those realized by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, as part of the Noor Solar Plan to develop a minimum 2 GW of capacity by next year.

Europe’s most important scientific research institutes have joined forces to make perovskite solar applications more than just a dream. The European Perovskite Initiative consortium is planning to draw up a perovskite white paper.

The Kazakh state-owned national atomic energy company has sold its three manufacturing units to an international consortium. The sale of its solar business has been planned since May 2017.

The companies have invested €17 million in the project. The energy stored, in the Brandenburg project, will be used to stabilize the grid and minimize the curtailment of wind farms.

The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority is seeking public input on the massive Asian Renewable Energy Hub proposed for the country’s Pilbara region.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has acquired a $100 million stake in a Turkish renewable energy company as part of its ongoing efforts to diversify clean energy in the country away from hydro power.

The Japanese multinational will transfer its Panasonic Energy Malaysia unit to Chinese heterojunction module provider GS-Solar as part of a broader cooperation agreement. Panasonic’s solar R&D business will form part of a JV in Japan to be 90% owned by GS-Solar.

Ministers have reaffirmed plans for a Franco-German battery industry. The project is being supported in principle by the European Commission, which could give its approval by October. Meanwhile, German storage specialist Tesvolt is building a commercial storage system factory in Germany.