Europe

PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has finally secured the largest equipment order in the history of the company after securing orders for two turnkey CIGS production lines totalling 350MW nameplate capacity with China-based Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group.

A Dutch port has opened what is claimed to be the largest solar farm in The Netherlands.

Global grid-connected solar PV additions reached 75GW in 2016, a 50% year-on-year growth from 50GW in 2015, according to the PV Market Alliance (PVMA).

Global energy management firm Schneider Electric has acquired US clean energy product provider Renewable Choice Energy in a deal announced on Wednesday.

Renewable energy management platform QOS Energy has raised €3 million from two independent equity investors.

According to the ongoing analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansions by PV Tech, high-efficiency solar cell migrations, whether monocrystalline or multicrystalline with PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) and N-type mono heterojunction (HJ) have been gaining strong momentum since 2015.

SPONSORED: Electrical contact manufacturer Multi-Contact is to re-brand as Stäubli Electrical Connectors effective immediately.

Furniture retailer IKEA is to improve on its solar PV product range later this year after seeing its sales of sustainability products surge in 2016.

Germany’s Astroenergy has received an import licence from the Turkish Ministry of Economics to import 100MW of modules for use in Turkish PV projects.

German solar company BayWa r.e. has acquired Green Hedge’s UK O&M portfolio, taking its standing in the UK renewables O&M market to 620MW.