The US solar industry added 17,212 jobs in 2021, up 5.4% on 2020 figures, with 40% of all US energy jobs now focused on the transition to a net zero economy, according to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) US Energy and Employment Report (USEER).
Solar and energy storage were described by Elon Musk as going together “like peanut butter and jelly”. Andy Colthorpe meets some of the players creating this winning combination in the US.
Solar developer Procon Solar GmbH has sold a 400MW PV project pipeline to German energy company EnBW, with the potential for this to double over the next year as EnBW targets 50% of renewables in its generation mix by 2025.
Sungrow was the world’s biggest PV inverter company in 2021, shipping 47.1GW of products and expanding its production facilities in Asia, according to research firm IHS Markit.
Investors Harith General Partners and African power provider Anergi Group have partnered to establish the Pan-African Renewable Energy Fund (PAREF) to accelerate renewable energy deployment across Africa and close the continent’s investment gap.
German laser engineering company 3D Micromac is to supply its laser cutting technology to Enel Green Power’s 3Sun gigafactory in Sicily, Italy as the company strives to expand its production capacity of high-efficiency modules to 3GW by 2024.
The world’s total solar capacity will reach 2,044GW by 2031, with China continuing to lead the way in deployment, making up nearly half (47%) of the world's 1,190GW net solar capacity additions through to 2031, according to research firm Fitch Solutions.
Brookfield Asset Management has raised US$15 billion as part of its Brookfield Global Transition Fund that will focus investments on the transition to a net zero carbon economy.
