The Chinese solar module manufacturer will supply 167 MW worth of modules to what is on track to becoming Spain’s, and Europe’s, largest PV plant when completed.

As U.S. President Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran, many solar companies – predominantly from Europe – were in the process of developing massive project pipelines in the country. These are now in jeopardy, even with blocking statute imposed by the EU. Those seeking to pursue plans demand safe financial channels from the EU in order to continue developing PV projects, and to signal a clear commitment to the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Mini-grid solutions are becoming more popular to deliver electricity to rural areas. There are 1 billion people worldwide without access to electricity and off-grid solutions could be the cheapest and easiest solution for about 70% of them. It is estimated the market in the segment will be worth $64 billion by 2030.

Odyssey connects stakeholders along the mini-grid value chain to streamline development and financing processes. Reportedly over 275,000 connections would be achieved if the full pipeline is realized, and recently, it experienced a significant boost in a very dynamic mini-grid market.

Enel Green Power North America and Raptor Maps will develop AI-based drones to reduce O&M costs. Kicking off this month, the project will see its first batch of 30 field workers trained by the end of the year. Both companies already have the relevant technology in their portfolios.

New developments in inverter architecture suggest that string inverters have charged forwards again to take on the challenge and kick central inverters off the throne in the utility-scale market. Hardware design innovations allowing to cut down BoS capex and improve efficiency of the plants might push string inverters further to take more space in the utility-scale market place.

Circular Energy Storage, a London-based research and consulting group, reports a strong business case for reconstituted electric vehicle batteries for energy storage applications. As the EV and static storage system markets grow rapidly, synergies could be a useful tool for continued cost optimization.

The company has experienced continued growth and after the acquisition of a UPS supplier – as well the potential for Chinese power electronics manufacturers to suffer under proposed new inverter tariffs – SolarEdge feels confident of continued growth.

EV charging infrastructure is set to become a major market, and actors from different sectors like municipal utilities, inverter companies and storage system providers are getting creative, and collaborative, in order to secure a slice of the cake.

A BloombergNEF analysis states that global wind and solar PV installations have reached a trillion watts, for the first time. While this milestone took the industry 40 years, the second trillion watts are expected to be installed in five years, in 2023, with the help of storage. The investment costs required to install one trillion watts are also expected to half.