Sonnen household battery owners offered revenue from grid balancing services
The German storage system provider intends to use its ‘Sonnen-Flat’ payment package to help customers benefit from the proceeds of its virtual power plant.
Solar and wind offer safest route to decarbonized electricity mix
The mature renewable energies are the most efficient power resources to slow down global warming and reduce human health impacts, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. The authors claim renewable energy generation capacity is also the best way to reduce land use, toxicity and drinking water depletion.
Solar parks help biodiversity by recreating pre-industrial soil conditions
Ground-mounted PV systems promote biodiversity according to a new study published in Germany. Scientists collected data from 75 MW of solar plants nationwide and found the areas they were located in showed greater diversity and more intact habitat structures and found panels provide a refuge for animals.
Module prices continue to slide
After China’s National Day holiday, demand started picking up at a slow pace, but the anticipated installation rush did not occur as expected, due to land and financing issues, as well as the return of winter. These factors will also delay the timing of more than 6 GW of capacity to the first half of next year. PV InfoLink has thus downwardly revised its estimates for installed capacity in the fourth quarter to 11.3 GW in China and 30 GW globally, bringing this year’s global demand forecast to below 120 GW.
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.
Polish 2.5 GW solar and wind auction on December 5
In this year’s tender, which is open to PV and wind projects with a generation capacity of more than 1 MW, solar may have better prospects after securing only 1 MW in last year’s exercise. The Energy Regulatory Office also announced the auction for sub-1 MW projects will be held on December 10.
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.
Hanergy hits 25.11% efficiency with HJT cell
The Chinese thin-film manufacturer has achieved 25.11% efficiency with a full size silicon heterojunction cell, beating its own record. The efficiency record has been confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin.
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.
Solar Power Mexico: rising to the challenge
Organizers of the Solar Power Mexico 2020 exhibition face a difficult task of replicating the success of the first edition of the event, which took place this year and had participation of 78 exhibitors and more than 5,000 visitors. Next year’s event will be held from March 24 to 26 at Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City.
