Solar technology powers Covid-19 hand washing inventions in Africa
As Africa reels from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, institutions and individuals across the continent are coming up with innovations to help check its spread. Solar-powered hand washing machines to serve communities are dominating the inventions.
South African renewables jobs should be in coal regions
A study into the potential pitfalls of the shift to clean power in the nation’s coal-dependent energy mix, pointed out almost all of South Africa’s solar farms are far to the south and west of the coal regions likely to bear the brunt of job losses in a country which already has 29% unemployment.
Auctions show Indian renewables still primed for growth
A report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says there is plenty of investment capital available for Indian renewables, despite pandemic disruption.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: 1 GW of distributed solar came online in August
More than 1 GW of subsidized small solar arrays were installed in China last month alone and manufacturer Suntech has announced the start of operations at its 500 MW Indonesian cell and module fab.
Xinte Energy warns of possible polysilicon and inverter glut
The poly manufacturer discussed the impact of Covid-19 on its solar and wind project development business and fleshed out details of global polysilicon oversupply during a pandemic-hit first half of the year.
Bangladesh set to embrace gas, rather than renewables
A national energy strategy which prioritizes coal is being ripped up just two years after its introduction, thanks to Covid-related slumps in demand, but legislators appear likely to look to gas, rather than solar and wind power as an alternative, due to land issues and energy storage costs.
Leclanché restructure delayed
Eneris Group has suspended its financial commitments for the time being and Leclanche shareholder Fefam has provided a bridge loan of CHF34 million to give the historic company more time to set up a joint venture for large scale battery cell production in Europe.
Divisions emerge ahead of EU Climate Law and Just Transition bill reading
The weeks ahead could prove decisive for the bloc’s decarbonization ambitions as the European Parliament prepares for several votes and legislative proposals from the commission. The European Climate Law and the Just Transition Fund are critical parts of the European Green Deal but remain points of contention at Brussels.
EU Green Recovery plan could support 2.3 GW of Spanish solar project capacity
Three big projects are candidates for support from the Covid recovery plan laid out by the bloc.
Covid-19 weekly round-up: Australian states target green recovery as France devotes €30bn to energy transition
Clean energy power plants will figure prominently as Queensland and Victoria bid to reset their economies for a post-coronavirus world. France suffered a hit to its new solar deployment figures in the first half of a Covid-hit year but its neighbor appears to have no such concerns.
