Polysilicon and wafer suppliers are still struggling with oversupply and low demand. Tier 1 raw material manufacturers have signed their October orders, but further down the food chain, companies are still waiting for bites. Overall, prices on the cell and module level are in slight decline, although prices for ultra-high efficiency modules have climbed by a small margin, on the back of increased demand.

Following the launch of Greensmith Energy’s new Gridsolv standardized storage solution, which integrates software helpers and standardized architecture for easy installation, pv magazine caught up with CEO John Jung to discuss the state of the storage market and the role of digital services.

The smart battery storage supplier has launched a 35 MWh cluster in Japan. This could grow to over 100 MWh within a year, says Moixa.

Despite political hurdles in key markets including China, India and Japan, Asia remains highly active. This year, 59 GW of solar is expected to be installed and due to further system price declines, a phase-out of subsidy schemes can be offset.

Dubai’s ENOC announced it has completed the construction of a rooftop solar array on its lubricants manufacturing plant in Dubai. The array can cover the complete power demand of the factory. This is not the first time the oil company has turned its head towards solar PV to power its facilities. Already nine petrol stations are equipped with solar canopies for 100% green energy supply, with the company vowing to equip all future petrol stations with such canopies.

Analysts have released a report which examines multiple carbon pricing scenarios, and their effect on UK power bills, renewables and the carbon budget. The UK’s Carbon Price Support could be lowered in the autumn budget next week, putting the nation further off course on its carbon budget. A high CPS would foster renewables, without driving electricity bills up.

If plans are realized, the private-public investment vehicle will start investing in companies with green-tech innovations. The fund would be used to pursue technologies which could help the decarbonization of the economy but which have not received enough attention.

Lead, sulphuric-acid, nickel, cobalt and rare earth metals are highly toxic and have adverse impacts on the environment and the societies in which they are mined. As the EU is looking to become a world leader in battery production, a report considers new battery technologies – such as sodium-ion – which would have less negative impacts.

The inverter maker will buy 75% of Kokam’s shares for $88 million, with an intent to acquire the remainder shortly after, on the open market. Strategic company acquisitions and close partnerships are characterizing this year’s inverter market, as companies seek to diversify and integrate storage systems and other technologies.

Inorganic electrolytes will do the trick the company says. For multi-MW grid-scale applications the company says its technology can boost battery life to 50,000 cycles and is non-flammable. It adds that the costs of the product are competitive with conventional battery systems. Innolith is taking over the baton from Alevo, including chief executive and engineers. Alevo, however, went bankrupt last year, making the same promises.