China-based PV energy provider (PVEP) Panda Green Energy Group has issued a profit warning for the full year 2018.
According to provisional data from BloombergNEF (BNEF), global solar PV installations reached 109GW in 2018 cost of installing a megawatt of photovoltaic capacity fell 12%, which spurred markets outside China to increase installations.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Solar has reported a new solar cell world record conversion efficiency for monocrystalline silicon PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology of 24.06%, which has been verified by the National Center of Supervision and Inspection on Solar Photovoltaic Product Quality (CPVT) in China.
According to reports, Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP) and petrochemicals to manufacturing conglomerate SABIC have signed MOU’s with LONGi Group and OCI to bring fully integrated solar manufacturing to the country.
PV inverter manufacturer KACO new energy is changing its business focus to include only string inverters and energy storage products, after its acquisition of Energy Depot, selling its central inverter business subsidiary in South Korea to OCI Power. Financial details were not disclosed.
Italian utility Enel has launched a €1 billion (US$1.14 billion) green bond to finance new renewables, transmission and distribution networks and e-mobility projects.
Cepsa and Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, are to partner on setting up renewable energy projects in Spain and Portugal, where Cepsa is planning 500-600MW of capacity over the next five years.
Pakistan’s National Electric Power Authority (NEPRA) has received a tariff request from project developer Aasal Solar Power for a 49.5MW solar project at Luni, Kulachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).
Singapore-based developer Sunseap Group has acquired a minority stake in Australian commercial and industrial (C&I) solar EPC company Todae Solar.
Danish developer European Energy has signed a more than 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Swiss utility Axpo for the electricity generated by 300MW of future solar PV projects in Italy.
Indian state-run utility NTPC has issued a tender for 20MW of floating solar PV at its gas power station in Anta in the state of Rajasthan.
innogy plans 50MW of solar with Primus, Sudan plans solar and water harvesting in North Kordofan, TNB secures financing for 45MW solar project.
Lightsource BP has announced the appointment of Kevin Smith as CEO for the Americas, with the renewable-energy industry veteran tasked with helping lead Lightsource BP’s expansion across the region.
Silicon wafer furnace to downstream PV power plant owner, Beijing Jingyuntong Technology Co (JYT) has reported its PV power plant capacity in 2018 totalled 1,239.11MW, an 18% increase over the previous year.
UK firm Octopus Investments and Edify Energy have closed finance on a 333MW project in Australia.
JinkoPower has connected a 100MW solar plant to the grid in Mexico using 1500V smart solution from China-based firm Huawei integrating inverters and transformers.
Saudi Arabia plans to install 60GW of renewable energy by 2030, an official has said in an interview with the UAE state news agency WAM.
Invenergy bags financing for 160MW Georgia solar project, Juwi and Tri-State partner on 100MW solar project in Colorado, Encavis buys 15MW solar plant in the Netherlands.
A series of issues that initially centered on the US Section 201 case, the US v China trade, China’s 531 New Deal and India’s trade tariffs, combined to slice around US$3 billion from the total global corporate funding into the solar sector in 2018, according to Mercom Capital Group.
Chinese module manufacturer Astronergy will close its Frankfurt production facility with the loss of 200 jobs. The site will, however, be repurposed into a sales and service hub for the European market.
German renewable-energy company Luxcara has acquired the Guillena-Salteras PV project, which is located in southern Spain.
SolarEdge’s electric vehicle (EV) consumers now have the option of controlling the company’s EV-charging solar inverter through Google’s AI-powered virtual assistant, Google Assistant.
DSM North America held an opening ceremony for a new PV project in Belvidere, New Jersey. The 20.2MW PV project is located on 26.7 hectares of land and is comprised of over 62,000 solar panels.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has said it has shipped a total of 2.6GW of PV modules with its anti-LeTID (Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation) PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology to date.
Anesco and Shell’s New Energies division are to partner on a utility-scale battery storage project in Norfolk.
Independent Solar Power Producer (IPP) Sonnedix has bought a portfolio of 28 solar PV plants from Italian energy company Graziella Green Power S.p.A., with a combined capacity of 53MW. Financial details were not disclosed.
Integrated PV manufacturer REC Group has increased its product warranties across its portfolio of TwinPeak and N-Peak modules from 10 to 20 years as degradation rates have reduced and has started to offer an extra 5-year product warranty for installations carried out by REC-certified Solar Professionals, resulting in a 25-year coverage.
China’s top planning organisation has revealed new solar and wind policies for subsidy-free projects.
Duke Energy has completed its new 74.9MW Hamilton Solar Power Plant in Jasper, Florida, with the new installation already starting operations.
Huawei has been chosen as the sole inverter supplier for Saudi Arabia’s 300MW Sakaka plant, the first large-scale solar project in the country.
