operations and maintenance

Australia’s Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded A$41.5 million (US$28.51 million) in funding to 13 research projects aimed at reducing solar costs.

US engineering, procurement, and construction contractor SOLV Energy has invested in autonomous robotics company Swap Robotics.

French electrical equipment group Schneider Electric has launched a new digital twin tool for renewable energy installations.

NovaSource Power Services has acquired First Solar’s Australian operations and maintenance (O&M) business, adding approximately 500MW of PV projects to its fleet in the process.

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has acquired a 79.4% stake in US PV software developer SenseHawk via a US$32 million investment.

OMERS Private Equity has acquired a minority stake in the Arizona-headquartered solar operations & maintenance (O&M) provider NovaSource Power Services.

US O&M provider Borrego has signed its first two utility-scale PV O&M contracts since finalising the sale of its development business unit.

Independent power producer (IPP) AMPYR Solar Europe (ASE) and German developer Belectric have agreed to install a pipeline of more than 200MW of solar PV capacity in Germany within the next two years.

A steep decline in solar irradiance in Spain earlier this year highlights the need for an interconnected European grid and increased investments in forecasting, according to PV data firm Solargis.