Australian steel company Bluescope has signed a 7-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with ESCO Pacific and Schneider Electric for 88MW of generation from a 133MW solar project in the state of New South Wales (NSW).

The UK government has confirmed it will close the small-scale feed-in tariff (FiT) on 31 March 2019 as planned and, crucially, close the export tariff to new installations at the same time.

Mexican asset manager Prana Power has acquired a 108MW Mexican solar project from Madrid-based Dhamma Energy and US-headquarted firm Sunpower, who partnered on developing the project since 2015.

Cleantech to build 4.5MW rooftop solar project for Singaporean semiconductor manufacturer, Voltalia opens Cairo office, AfDB providing €18 million funding for Burkina Faso energy sector reform

Polysilicon producer REC Silicon expects its FBR (Fluidized bed reactor) polysilicon production to decline 42% in the third quarter of 2018, after recently announcing further cuts in workforce and production at its Moses Lake facility that would operate at only 25% utilisation rates. The company noted that it was evaluating the possible suspension of all of its solar related materials business in the US.

More than 8.6 million households have been electrified through India’s ‘Saubhagya' scheme, which seeks to provide solar, storage, LED lighting and other amenities to every willing household across the country, according to a release from the Prime Minister’s office.

Australia-based renewable energy company Renew Estate has been granted planning approval to build the 300MW Rodds Bay Solar Farm, located roughly 50 kilometres south of Gladstone, near the town of Bororen.

Major China-based PV module manufacturer Risen Energy, which entered PV Tech’s Top 10 module manufacturer’s rankings for the first time in 2017, has recently held a ground-breaking ceremony for its planned 5GW solar module manufacturing base in the Yiwu Information Optoelectronics High-tech Industrial Park, Zhejiang, China.

Africa-focused independent power producer Globeleq is to acquire Brookfield Asset Management’s interests in a South African renewable energy portfolio, involving six projects with a cumulative capacity of 178MW.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has tendered 200MW(AC) of grid-connected solar PV projects to be developed across four locations in the country.

UL (Underwriters Laboratories) has launched a new global service, offering a PV Power Plant Certificate to verify the performance of PV systems at several key stages, such as commissioning or during operation. The delivered certificate is also made publicly available in UL’s online database, providing greater transparency for all stake holders.

Major PV metallization paste producer Heraeus Photovoltaics has announced that its President, Andreas Liebheit has already stepped down from his position, due to personal reasons.

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) expects to report a small profit for the first half of 2018, due to late positive developments after previously guiding a small loss in the reporting period.

NOS Microsystems has developed an electronic software delivery (ESD) ecosystem called 'getPlus' that bridges the gap between automation provider and end user by seamlessly integrating into the industrial automation providers’ licensing structures and databases—SAP, Oracle etc…to monitor the status of machines so exact updates, and incompatibility issues are identified. The user-friendly tool helps factories make the transition to industry 4.0.

China-based integrated monocrystalline PV manufacturer Solargiga Energy Holdings has reported a small increase in external shipments in the first half of 2018, while revenue declined by less than 10%.

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JA Solar has said that its previously planned acquisition by an investor consortium via an all-cash transaction led by its founder, chairman and CEO, Baofang Jin had been completed, resulting in de-listing from the NASDAQ stock exchange.

UPDATED: The aim is to "prevent complete erosion" of India's solar manufacturing base, said Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The majority of households with PV systems in East Africa have reported an increase in economic activity in the first three months of using the solar power, according to a new report from GOGLA, the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry.

India hit 23,866MW of solar power deployment as of 30 June this year, according to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) figures.

China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy is feeling the significant impact from the recent change in the Chinese government’s solar deployment policies as multicrystalline wafer shipments have been slashed by as much as 50% for the second quarter of 2018.

UAE-based developer Enviromena is pushing its project pipeline towards 1GW.

Indian firm Acme Solar has matched its record – the lowest ever solar bid in India – once again during Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) 3GW Interstate Transmission System (ISTS) solar auction.

German firm Belectric will imminently start construction on 460MW of solar in Australia.

Apple is establishing a US$300 million fund with ten of its suppliers to deploy around 1GW of renewable energy capacity in the country.

UK development finance institution CDC and its Africa-focused independent power producer Globeleq are providing US$66 million in debt financing for Malindi Solar Group to build a 52MW solar PV plant in Southeast Kenya.

German firm Siemens has won a US$17.5 million contract to supply inverter systems and other equipment to investment and construction corporation Trungnam Group’s 258MW solar farm in the southern Vietnamese province of Ninh Tuan.

The US threat of 10% tariffs on solar inverters has been met with a mixture of disdain and composure by authorities and the Chinese solar industry itself.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved US$50 million of framework financing for small-scale renewable energy projects in Zambia, after recent droughts caused a serious electricity supply deficit due to the country’s heavy reliance on hydropower.

After successful trials, the Veolia Foundation, an arm of French waste management giant Veolia that financially backs non-profit, community-oriented projects, has decided to expand its decentralised solar electrification plans in northern Madagascar to create 1,000 nano-grids and 100 nano-entrepreneurs by the end of the year.

The first two phases of California’s Mount Signal 3 (MS3) project are now online, according to developer 8minutenergy renewables.