Europe

The cash injection will itself help provide affordable financing for solar and other renewables projects in the power hungry south Asian nation. The national railways operator is doing its bit for solar too.

With a 300 MW pipeline in the country that could potentially double in the near future, the Milanese business says Chile’s carbon-neutral ambition will maintain a strong market for solar.

The stunning low tariff is a third world record in five weeks. Solar prices continue to tumble and with a Saudi auction concluding tomorrow, the Iberian benchmark could be short-lived. The official result of the Portuguese tender will be announced August 10.

When the minister of environment and energy announced a ceiling tariff of €45/MWh, analysts speculated the price would be too low as it undercut average bidding prices in the region. Preliminary, unconfirmed results of the exercise show, however, companies are happy to bid for two-cent solar in Europe.

A report by Greenpeace has found in the five years since China announced the continent spanning ‘One Belt, One Road’ infrastructure plan, investment in Belt & Road countries has supported 12.6 GW of wind and solar power generation capacity. That compares with just 450 MW which came online in the territories before 2014. The initiative has also supported 68 GW of new coal capacity.

Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard announces order for a dozen units as part of the European Commission’s JIVE initiative for hydrogen-powered public transport across the EU.

The U.K. is leaping ahead in its deployment of EV charging infrastructure. Box Energi has chosen Australia’s Tritium Veefil-RT technology to ramp up the number of refill sites around the U.K. in a move which will boost not only accessibility and driving range but confidence in emissions-free driving.

In Germany, the Korean PV manufacturer increased output to 760 MW last year. Despite a highly competitive environment and persistently high pressure on margins, Hanwha says it is looking to the future with optimism. The company has further diversified away from solar module production in recent months.

Batteries of the type have traditionally been used for long-duration storage applications. Now though, it seems vanadium is making an entry into the fast-paced world of ancillary grid services.

Quasi-governmental body the CPIA has released first-half figures for the world’s biggest solar marketplace which show production volumes for export markets continuing to expand and the domestic picture set to rebound after public solar subsidy levels were published.