Strategic Alliances

Japan-based Marubeni and Sompo Japan have partnered to provide defect warranties for second-life PV modules. Marubeni will verify the traceability and authenticity of information on the panels using blockchain technology.

Australian independent power producer ReNu Energy has signed a deal with the developers of a proposed 3.5 GW solar-plus-storage facility in Indonesia to explore the potential large-scale production of green hydrogen for supply into Southeast Asia and beyond.

Germany’s BayWa r.e. and Denmark’s Velux have announced the first agrivoltaic corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) in Europe. BayWa will build two solar parks in Spain to power Velux’s operations, with capacities of 60 MWp and 56 MWp. One of them will partly be an agricultural PV project.

Argentina and Chile are reactivating the Andes Interconnection Line to facilitate the bidirectional exchange of energy. During the day, Argentina will receive 80 MW of solar from Chile, but it will export back 200 MW of natural gas at night.

Energy Dome has entered into a partnership with Ørsted to run a feasibility study on the deployment of at least one 20 MW/200 MWh energy storage facility featuring its carbon dioxide (CO2) battery technology. The first facility will have a 10-hour storage capacity and construction could begin in the second half of 2024.

The second day of the Intersolar South America tradeshow happening in Sao Paulo, Brazil, showed companies’ eagerness for a bigger share of this huge solar market. New certifications, growth of the utility-scale business via power purchase agreements (PPAs), and opportunities for storage were recurring topics.

The Community of Communes of Haute-Saintonge on the mid-Atlantic coast of France has picked BayWa r.e. to develop an innovative hybrid project on the site of the Pôle Mécanique de la Haute Saintonge.

Meyer Burger has announced that it has concluded a binding supply agreement with Norwegian Crystals for silicon wafers to use in heterojunction cell manufacturing. Hydro facilities primarily power the production of the wafers and their precursor materials in Norway. Combined with the shorter distance they’ll have to travel, this adds up to a low carbon footprint.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince traveled to the Greek capital of Athens this week, representing his first official trip to Europe since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. His visit was marked by the signing of several agreements between the two countries and some big statements issued by the Saudi leader regarding green energies and hydrogen.

German VIPV specialist Sono Motors has signed an agreement with French refrigerated vehicle supplier Chereau to develop refrigerated vehicles powered by an integrated solar array. The two companies will build and test a prototype vehicle, and begin to evaluate mass production. Sono estimates that the concept could save around 3,400 liters of fuel and avoid 9 tonnes of CO2 emissions per vehicle, per year.