Strategic Alliances

NESF and Zestec have joined forces for the development of a commercial portfolio in the U.K. NESF provides the capital, which will be refinanced through the proprietary PPA model by Zestec.

Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how the world’s future energy landscape may include pan-regional super-grids. However, prosumer states seeking energy independence could also be in the mix. According to Overland, the two developments will go hand in hand and the balance between them will be determined by the competitiveness of storage technologies.

U.S. fund KKR and Spanish group Gestamp have reportedly begun X-Elio’s sale process. Oil business Repsol and power company Iberdrola are said to be among the interested buyers circling the PV project developer.

Switzerland-based Edisun Power has acquired a 49 MW solar project in northeastern Portugal which is expected to be completed in the second half of next year. Cubico has secured financing for three operational PV facilities with a 29.6 MW capacity in the south of the country.

The joint venture with agro business Anand Group would see the project installed at the northern fringe of the nation’s grid network and would represent a sizable leap forward in a country where the largest PV scheme has a 20 MW capacity.

The acquisition of a 4.8 MW solar plant in the Kyoto prefecture and creation of a joint venture with Japanese storage specialist Exergy are part of the group’s 2020 plan to diversify its business into renewables and acquire 1 GW of capacity in them.

The thin-film manufacturer this week signed an agreement with a clothing brand to develop a $1 billion solar thin film industrial park. No details have emerged yet as to how it will be funded or where exactly it will be based.

United Renewable Energy was the result of a troublesome year for Taiwan’s solar manufacturing market. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Asia’s largest independent power producer – Vena Energy – for the supply of modules for projects in Taiwan’s strong development sector.

The deal foresees 3,500 employees from both companies joining the unit, as well as equipment and production facilities to be used to improve battery technologies and develop next-generation solutions.

The Smart Grid Station wind-PV facility also incorporates a 500 kWh lithium-ion battery storage system, around 2,000 internet of things-derived sensors and smart meters. The plant was installed by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Korean utility KEPCO.