Mind the gap
Fire safety engineering researchers have demonstrated increasing the gap between the modules of commercial PV arrays and flat roof surfaces is a decisive factor in reducing fire risks. Experiments have identified a critical gap height below which flame spread rate increases significantly.
SolarPower Europe repeats call for solar strategy as part of European Commission’s €1tn Green Deal
Lobby group CEO Walburga Hemetsberger says the plans announced by commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week should place the European solar industry front and center.
BlackRock vows to exit coal as part of new climate-focused investment strategy
The U.S. asset management fund’s plan to cut future investment in coal is reportedly part of a climate-focused initiative to establish sustainability at the center of its business approach. The announcement comes weeks after the investor closed $1 billion of a record $2.5 billion fund focused on PV, wind and energy storage projects.
A new era of sustained growth
After several years of weak solar demand growth in Europe, compared to the historical highs of 2011, installations are expected to surge by 88% to reach a new installation record of 23 GW in 2019, writes Cormac Gilligan, research manager at IHS Markit. A range of favorable macro conditions have coalesced this year to reignite the market.
Masdar to install 145 MW of floating PV in Indonesia
Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy group Masdar is sailing into the Southeast Asian solar market with Indonesia’s first floating solar project. The petro-state owned developer says the facility will be the largest in the region.
US government expects 24 GW of new solar this year
A Department of Energy agency expects 17.4 GW (DC) of utility scale solar power generation capacity plus 6.6 GW of small scale PV will be installed in 2020. That volume would be 60% higher than the record, set in 2016.
European Commission announces €1tn Green Deal ambition
President Ursula von der Leyen has outlined plans to fund her Green Deal with a mix of EU, member state and private sector contributions. Now it is over to individual nations and the European Parliament.
Another corporate PPA signed in Italy
Italian steelmaker Acciaierie Venete will buy solar power procured by Swiss energy trader DXT Commodities from a third-party unsubsidized PV plant in Italy under a five-year power purchase agreement.
Jolywood says 105 MW Oman project demonstrates value of n-type
As it moves towards grid connection this month, the solar project in the south of Oman demonstrates the value proposition of n-type PV cell technology, Chinese solar manufacturer Jolywood has argued at the World Future Energy Summit. The project is said to be the largest n-type bifacial array in the world.
Panda Green’s hopes of postponing debt are dashed
The heavily-indebted, Chinese state-owned solar project developer now has ten days to rustle up $242 million after a debt restructuring proposal was accepted by less than a third of its creditors.
