Solar developer ib vogt has secured up to €270 million in financing to help it continue to pivot towards a build-own-operate strategy for a gigawatt-scale portfolio of solar assets.
With the year drawing to a close, the Solar Media editorial team reflect on what’s proven to be a frenetic 12 months for the global solar PV and energy storage industries, featuring tales of surging growth, supply chain volatility and policy machinations.
Renewables developer BayWa r.e. has signed a ten-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki for two new solar plants in southern Spain.
Elkem has been given NOK16 million (US$1.78 million) from the Research Council of Norway to develop a silicon manufacturing process that eliminates all direct CO2 emissions associated with its production.
Elevion, the renewables arm of Czech conglomerate ČEZ Group, is targeting growth within Europe’s PV market after closing the acquisition of Belectric’s European assets.
Fuel distribution company Rubis has entered the PV sector with the acquisition of a majority stake in Photosol, a France-based solar developer and independent power producer.
Operations and maintenance will face huge changes as automation and predictive analytics transform the way projects are managed, writes Sean Rai-Roche.
Trade association SolarPower Europe has welcomed a proposal from the European Union’s executive branch that would see all new buildings in the bloc be powered by renewables “as far as possible” and emit no on-site carbon emissions from fossil fuels from 2030.
With subsidies now a distant memory in most markets, solar is increasingly finding itself deployed via government tenders and corporate PPAs. But what are the prospects for those to mature, and to what extent will merchant revenue models emerge this decade? Jules Scully reports.
