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The International Solar Alliance (ISA), now registered under the United Nations, is organizing its first summit to be held this Sunday, March 11. It is also set to host a founding ceremony of the ISA in the presence of French President, Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi President, Abdul Hamid. Government dignitaries of member countries are joining, and 51 solar projects will be signed.

February rooftop solar installations exceeded 115 MW, well above the less-than 80 MW installed in the same month 2017 – itself a record-breaking solar year in Australia. Green Energy Markets’ latest STC figures reveal the “extraordinary” installation rates.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) made its solar investments in 13 European Union countries, as well as in India, Mexico and Peru in 2017. The bank’s total investment volume for solar projects since 2002 amounts to around €6.3 billion.

Tennessee’s relevant safety authorities have submitted their report on the hydrogen explosion at the polysilicon plant of the German manufacturer in Charleston. They demand US$25,400 in fines from Wacker Chemie for violations of various regulations. The manufacturer continues its efforts to resume production.

Overall, 24 exhibitors from the upcoming Energy Storage Europe event in Germany’s Düsseldorf submitted proposals to the pv magazine Storage Highlights’ jury. They were ranked in the following categories: Relevance to industry; USP; Market impact; Contribution to the energy transition; and Innovation. Read on to discover how they fared.

U.S. President Trump has exempt Canada and Mexico from 25% import duties on steel and 10% duties on aluminum, and has further left the door open to exempting any nations with which the United States has a “security relationship”.

The Chinese PV giant is now planning to employ only a quarter of the number of workers previously planned in one PV module factory, which will be online by the end of next year.

The Brazilian government is planning to resort to renewable energies to meet power demand in the non-interconnected areas in the north of the country. Meanwhile, another Brazilian state, Santa Catarina, has decided to introduce the ICMS exemption for solar DG.

French firm Neoen has begun development on a hydrogen electrolyser to be colocated alongside a 150 MW wind project and 150 MW solar farm. The project has been awarded a grant of AU$1 million by the South Australian Renewable Technology fund, with more funding yet to be approved.

Scientists at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have demonstrated the first working example of a “proton battery”, which utilizes a carbon electrode and a reversible hydrogen fuel cell for the storage of energy. The scientists say their small prototype has already demonstrated similar storage capacities to commercially available lithium-ion batteries, with plenty of potential for further optimization.