According to provisional data from BloombergNEF (BNEF), global solar PV installations reached 109GW in 2018 as the 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.
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is planning to develop its own renewable energy projects at the Indian archipelago of Lakshadweep, with an eye on coupling the projects with battery energy storage.
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).
