Belgium: Flemish government pushes for more community solar
Through the platform Zonnegids, the Flemish Ministry of Energy seeks to connect developers of commercial and industrial PV projects with private citizens that want to invest in solar, but have no surface available.
Australia: record 1.07 GW small-scale solar installed in 2017
It’s official: 2017 was a record year for rooftop PV in Australia. The Clean Energy Regulator announced today that over 1070 MW of small-scale solar was installed by Australian homeowners and businesses in 2017 – representing 41% growth over 2016.
Berkeley Lab scientists confirm century-old theory of high performance batteries
Researchers in the U.S. have confirmed the existence of a novel state of the element manganese, first proposed in a journal dating from 1928, which could allow for the development of low-cost, high performance batteries for grid level and other energy storage applications.
Kness Group secures financing for 33.9 MW of solar in Ukraine
The Ukraine-based developer has been granted two different loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The three solar plants will be located in the Vinnitsa region of western Ukraine.
Brazil’s BNDES reduces interest rate for loans for large-scale solar from 1.7% to 0.9%
After improving financing conditions for solar and renewable energy projects in upcoming auctions in November, the Brazilian Development Bank has now agreed to considerably reduce the interest rate for loans devoted to projects in the areas of public safety, innovation, environment, solar energy, sanitation, solid waste treatment and professional qualification.
Recent trade conflicts to reduce India’s total solar installed capacity to 6 GW in 2018
According to Bridge to India’s ‘India Solar Compass’ report, new capacity additions in 2017 totaled 9,255 MW, up 94% on 2016. However, Q4 2017 was slow in terms of project commissioning with just 1,503 MW of utility-scale projects commissioned. Moreover, execution costs have increased by around 18% in just six months.
US researchers develop new organic solar cell architecture
A team of scientists based at New York University (NYU)’s Tandon School of Engineering has developed a method of improving the performance of non-fullerene organic solar cells, by introducing a crystallizing agent.
1366 abandons plans for US factory
The innovative wafer maker will be building its first commercial-scale factory overseas.
US energy storage begins to take off
Despite a lackluster Q4, GTM Research predicts that the U.S. energy storage market is going to boom in 2018, driven by both policy support and falling prices.
France: Engie, Suez plan 1 GW of solar at waste recycling, treatment facilities
The French energy giant and the water and waste management solutions provider will initially focus on a 12 MW solar PV project at a storage facility in eastern France.
