Renewable energy is indeed the future, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s latest report, which forecasts technologies such as wind and solar to “dominate” the future of electricity by 2040, making up 48% of the world’s installed capacity and 34% of electricity generation.
India’s energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal has challenged Germany and the city of Munich to a race with the ancient holy city of Varanasi to become the first large city in the world to be 100% powered by clean energy.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has received a further €64.3 million pre-payment on CIGS thin-film equipment from Chinese JV partners Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group.
Consultancy firm Bridge to India explains how southern India represents a test case for grid integration of variable renewable energy, accounting for 45% of the country’s total wind and solar power capacity.
News in Brief: CleanMax and Hitachi partner for rooftop solar in India for Japanese companies, Tyler Technologies installs a solar-plus-storage system at its Texas headquarters, Germany's Redavia expands into West Africa with solar for the country's Maritime University, more community solar is completed in Massachusetts and Surana wins a bid for 5MW of rooftop solar in Andhra Pradesh.
SolarWorld Americas the US manufacturing subsidiary of bankrupt SolarWorld AG, expects to undertake a major restructuring to attempt to survive after telling its workforce of over 800 that they could receive notices of being laid-off at an undetermined time as part of the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act.
PV module manufacturer Astronergy said it was undertaking a transition away from 4BB (busbar) technology to 5BB to boost overall conversion efficiencies at its production plant in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has received €50 million from Chinese JV partners Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group for turnkey CIGS thin-film production lines with a further €79 million also expected in May to start work on its largest ever equipment order.
Ecoligo is a Berlin-based crowdfunding start-up for solar projects in Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) market. Even though it is a company still very much in its infancy, it is already making waves by providing competitive alternatives to traditional bank loan products and connecting German private investors to tailored off-takers.
The theme of this week's Movers & Shakers is international expansion. PAYG off-grid solar provider Azuri Technologies is strengthening its leadership team to target West Africa, while Vancouver, Canada-based Solar Alliance Energy targets US assets and expands its sales team to accommodate for this. ABB appoints new regional heads to ensure direct market contact with Europe and the AMEA region.
Global clean energy investment in the first quarter of 2017 was down 17% compared to Q1 2016, as market leaders China and the US scaled back support for wind and solar farms.
This week's Movers & Shakers features new CEOs and the inauguration of new international offices. Sunworks and the Australian CEFC both welcome new CEOs and Enel Green Power North America opens its new office in Massachusetts, with Array Technologies expanding Down Under.
