Eon secures €5 billion to finance innogy acquisition
Eon has now secured funding required the acquisition of RWE’s renewable energy subsidiary innogy, a move that was announced in March. German regulators, and the companies’ respective boards, have not yet give the green light for the acquisition.
India to launch its own battery cell production
India’s PV sector is expanding at a serious pace, creating jobs and further securing energy supply for many businesses. Yet, sourcing battery cell technology at the current rate resulted in annual foreign exchange of $150 million creating deficits, that hopefully can be averted in the future.
Fortum selling 54% shares of its 185 MW PV portfolio in India
The company was adamant that it will not exit the Indian PV market, after rumors last October suggested that the company will sell its PV assets in India. Now, the company reiterates its commitment and stresses that additional funding will be used to develop new assets.
Solarcentury take charge of 44 MW Dutch solar farm
The project is being developed by Solarcentury and Encavis, who are working on what they claim is the “largest [PV] farm” in the Netherlands, near the city of Eindhoven.
Residential PV demand spikes as Vietnam eyes new installation targets
Residential solar installations have almost trebled in Ho Chi Minh City in the past nine months, in line with the Vietnamese government’s recently announced aim for solar arrays to be installed on 26% of the country’s homes by 2030.
African development bank launches ‘Desert to Power’ program, targeting 10 GW of solar
At the African Development Bank’s annual meeting, held in Busan, Korea, the bank’s president Akinwumi Adesina announced that, alongside the Green Climate Fund and the Africa 50 investment fund, it plans to support the development of up to 10 GW of solar across the Sahel region.
More solar in Algeria – but petrochem will dominate for 100 years
Announcement of intent to deploy solar will not supplant the importance of fossil fuels to Algerian economy, states Sonatrach chief
Panasonic to use Meyer Burger’s SWCT in HIT module research
Panasonic has been improving the cost and durability of heterojunction cells for years. Meyer Burger’s smartwire connections could replace three-busbar technology and drive further advances
Super fast EV charging solution secures BP Venture investment
British oil giant BP has announced a $20 million investment into battery developer Storedot, whose batteries use chemically synthesized organic molecules to build an organic polymer, in addition to lithium. Storedot says the astonishing properties of the new material enable electric vehicle charging times of just five minutes
Open letter: German government must protect its solar industry
In an open letter, more than 30 German PV companies and research institutes demand an industrial strategy to retain a domestic solar industry. According to the signatories, that means increased co-operation with France and the consideration of sustainability criteria for PV tenders
