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A new report from GTM Research has concluded that the fast-growing community solar sector will reach 500 MW in five years time. On a cumulative basis, GTM sees the sector growing from 66 MW in 2014, up to 1.8 GW by decades end.

Landis+Gyr, a member of Japan’s Toshiba Group, will supply Finland with a BESS to be integrated into the Kalasatama district’s smart energy system. The goal is to test new opportunities presented by megawatt-scale storage facilities. Around €2 million is being invested in the storage facility, which should be commissioned next spring.

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) and Shell Energy North America have signed a memorandum of understanding under which up to 20 MW of battery storage will be installed across California, the U.S.

Solar will attract funding of around US$3.7 trillion of over the next 25 years, becoming the largest energy segment in terms of new investment. This is the key finding from Bloomberg New Energy Finance in its New Energy Outlook 2015 (NEO), published today, which estimates solar will generate 14% of the earth’s electricity by 2040.

U.S. polysilicon process developer Silicor Materials has signed a contract with MT Højgaard to construct a US$226.5 million dollar, 16,000 metric ton solar silicon plant in Iceland.

Oxis Energy is gearing up to sell its energy storage batteries in 2016. The lithium sulfur (Li-S) battery developer, which unveiled a solar storage technology demonstration project in early June with Proinso, predicts a battery price of $250/kWh in 2020.

The First Solar, SunPower joint yieldco began trading on June 19, with an initial share price of US$21/share. 20 million Class A shares will be issued, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Global Markets acting as lead book running managers for the IPO.

Kolibri Power Systems AG will continue operating under the name Colibri Energy GmbH. Despite ongoing insolvency proceedings, the energy storage company has been processing orders and developing new products.

At this year’s Intersolar Europe, BYD introduced a solar PV module without EVA, which promises an extended service life and improved efficiencies. Production is expected to reach up to 500 MW in 2016. It also unveiled a new battery and two energy storage systems.

Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank is partnering with Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn to develop USD$20 billion in solar projects in India. The venture will be called SBG Cleantech, with Softbank providing $10 billion of capital and leveraging its expertise acquired in the Japanese solar market.