Rick Perry, the US Secretary of Energy, announced Tuesday that the US Department of Energy (DOE)will provide US$105.5 million in funding to support efforts to innovate solar energy technology.
Global alternative asset manager Ares Management has acquired a majority ownership stake in Conti Solar, a renewable energy development, engineering, procurement, and construction company.
US-headquartered High-efficiency solar module manufacturer SunPower Corp has officially announced that it has acquired Hillsboro, Oregon-based PV manufacturer, SolarWorld Americas. Financial details were not disclosed.
Australia-headquartered engineering and professional services company WorleyParsons said its first engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a battery storage project in the US shows how the energy sector is moving from “mega projects” to “portfolios of smaller projects”.
US-based PV installer RGS Energy (RGSE), which acquired exclusive rights to Dow Chemical’s third generation (3.0) solar shingles under the ‘POWERHOUSE’ brand, but using conventional crystalline silicon solar cells rather than the original CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) thin-film substrates, has included China-based PV manufacturer, Risen Energy as a key supplier.
According to GTM Research, global solar PV installations are expected to surpass 104GW in 2018, despite the top four markets, including China, forecasted to decline collectively by 7%.
India-based EPC firm Sterling and Wilson has forayed into hybrid power plants and energy storage solutions and is already in advanced discussions for its first such projects in Africa and Europe.
Leading PV inverter manufacturer Huawei is supplying its string inverters to a 75MW fully-digitalized utility-scale PV project in Brazil, said to be the first of its kind in the country.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) has lauded the early performance of the solar assets it rates, ultimately concluding that operational risk in solar is “more benign” than other renewable technologies.
