Markets & Finance

Yingli has netted RMB588.2 million (US$94.9 million) from the sale of land earmarked for the expansion of its in-house polysilicon operations.

Germany has received more than 170 submissions for its first competitive large-scale solar PV tender, leaving the round significantly oversubscribed.

Ghana has put the brakes on its utility-scale solar market with the West African country establishing a temporary cap of 150MW.

Folsom Labs, the California-based developer of PV sales and design software HelioScope, has raised US$1 million in a round of funding from other major software players.

Surprised by the official figures for solar PV installations in China in the first quarter of 2015, Deutsche Bank analyst, Vishal Shah cited renewed momentum in the Chinese market that could result in the 17.8GW government target for the year being surpassed.

According to figures released by China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), a combined total of 5.04GW of new solar capacity was grid connected in the first quarter of 2015.

Australian utility company AGL has called on the country’s regional and local government to “set both binding and aspirational medium and long-term emission reduction targets”, while outlining its own commitments to carbon reduction.

SunEdison’s rural electrification business, which aims to give 20 million people access to electricity, will be headed up by Cathy Zoi.

Solar developer Solairedirect has been valued at €386 million (US$414 million) after it announced its indicative share price range ahead of its forthcoming IPO.

Bundling a number of solar power generation assets into one investment fund through so-called ‘yieldcos’ is lowering the cost of renewables, while the yieldco market itself is expected to experience substantial growth in the next few years, an investment banker has said.