BP returns to PV with $200 million investment in Lightsource
British Petroleum makes first move in PV since 2012 with acquisition of 43% stake in British renewables firm Lightsource.
Wärtsilä to act as EPC for 52 MW PV plant in Jordan
Wärtsilä announced it has signed an agreement to supply EPC services to a 52 MW solar PV power plant in Jordan, owned by a joint venture between AES Jordan and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co.
IHS Markit: Global solar installations to pass 100 GW in 2018
Market analyst IHS Markit has issued its first forecast for 2018 installations. It expects the global market to surpass the 100 GW mark for the first time ever, hitting 108 GW.
Avancis/CNBM 300 MW CIGS facility comes online
China National Building Materials (CNBM), the parent company of German module manufacturer Avancis, announced that the first modules have rolled out of its 300 MW CIGS factory in Anhui Province, China.
MIT researchers observe effects of climate on solar cell performance
Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a tool to predict solar cell performance at any location worldwide. The tool utilizes a combination of global weather data gathered by satellite and cell performance data from two different locations.
Module cleaning firm Ecoppia raises $13m in funding
The Israeli robotic cleaning specialist for the solar industry has completed a new funding round that will support the firm’s global expansion, meet growing demand and boost R&D.
Chile launches tender to assign up to 2,456 hectares of public land for solar, RE
Interested developers will have time until February 7, 2018, to submit their projects proposals. All of the tendered areas are in Chile’s northern region of Atacama.
Leading corporations urge EU to back corporate renewable PPAs
Re-Source Platform, which is administered by SolarPower Europe and WindEurope, sees more than 50 multinational corporations including Facebook, Google and Amazon sign letter to European Energy Ministers calling for removal of regulatory barriers on corporate renewable PPAs.
Japanese scientists use organic ferroelectric to extract more current from solar cells
The new technology uses a quantum-mechanical process, which can extract current from solar cells in a much quicker, less wasteful way, the research team claims.
Brazil: Distributed solar generation reaches 150 MW
Overall, Brazil’s total distributed renewable energy generation has topped 200 MW.
