Brazil earmarks $0.5 billion for solar, wind
The new funds will come from Brazilian development bank, BNDES and will help small businesses, individuals and communities to implement commercial solar PV and wind power projects. Financing will be granted to projects using equipment that complies with local content requirements.
International research group develops solar cell with storage properties
Although the “solar flow battery” is currently considered too expensive by its own creators, a further improvement of its design and the use of emerging solar materials and new electrochemistry may open new opportunities for this kind of technology.
Acciona presents ‘world’s first’ blockchain renewable energy certification platform
The technology is said to use blockchain’s properties of providing secure real-time and fully transparent data. The company says that ensuring renewable energy certificates is becoming increasingly important. This is the first step towards a more comprehensive platform that seeks to cover renewable energy assets from other energy companies as well.
Scientists show hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite is ferroelastic, not ferroelectric
This means that this promising material, contrary to common belief, is able to form domains of polarized strain to minimize elastic energy. The research team made its discovery by using multimodal imaging.
Renewables account for 31% of UK electricity, installations remain flat
The U.K. government has cold-shouldered PV with a row of disfavourable policies, which have put at risk the financial viability of new arrays. In the past few last years, the market has remained almost flat, with installations sitting at around 200 MW per year.
Declining prices forces SMA to lower 2018 forecasts, announce structural changes
Citing the market downturn in China, which has resulted in “enormous excess capacity”, rapidly declining prices and postponed projects, SMA Technology AG has lowered its 2018 sales and earning guidance, and expects a break-even or negative EBITDA. It has also announced structural changes.
Innogy breaks ground on 349 MWp Australian Limondale solar farm
Germany’s innogy is all set to deliver its first utility-scale solar PV project in Australia. Preparation works and pre-pilling tests are currently underway, and main works are expected to commence this October.
Australia: Ensuring quality or ‘how to avoid the race-to-the-bottom’
What problems are being encountered and how to avoid them by learning from past mistakes? With booming installation rates across all segments of the Australian solar market, quality issues have been pushed to the fore, and quality assurance has become instrumental in shaping further uptake.
Ikea extends PV module offer to Germany
Starting from October, the Swedish furniture provider will start a test phase at five of its branches in Germany. A nationwide online sale of the “Solstrale” offer is planned to begin next February.
China to add 259 GW of coal capacity, satellite imagery shows
By analyzing satellite imagery, research group, Coalswarm has found that coal-fired power stations in China totaling 259 GW, which were supposed to have been scrapped, are being built. When fully commissioned, they will reportedly represent the equivalent of total coal-fired capacity in the United States. Not only does this news go against China’s current push into renewables, but also raises serious air pollution concerns at a time when levels should be decreasing.
