Italian climate negotiator selected as head of IRENA
Italian COP negotiator and environmental public servant Francesco La Camera has been selected as the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) new director-general. He takes over from Adnan Z Amin, who stepped down from the role after eight years with an heartfelt parting address.
The weekend read: Tender reassurance
Many large-scale solar projects are underway, with more on the horizon throughout the Middle East, but it’s the oil-rich Gulf states that have some lofty goals. However, countries may be overlooking a key necessity for long-term, sustainable growth.
IRENA: Energy transition will see geopolitical “winners and losers”
The International Renewable Energy Agency has plotted the potentially dramatic impacts of a global transition to renewable energy from fossil fuels. Today’s A New World report notes the transition requires international cooperation to manage disruption, as it will leave behind countries and industries that fail to adapt.
Astronergy will halt module production in Germany
The German subsidiary of the Chinese Chint Group will be restructured. The German site will in future focus on marketing and sales as well as areas such as customer care, logistics, customs clearance and other business-related services for European and global customers. More than 200 of the 230 employees will lose their jobs when production stops.
Italy sets 2030 solar target of 50 GW
The Italian government has published a plan for climate and energy envisaging a central role for solar in the nation’s energy mix, with PV expected to represent more than the half the power generation capacity from renewables by the end of the next decade.
Hanergy tops list of top Chinese listed companies active in solar
The thin-film manufacturer, developer and maker of the Humbrella, HanTile and HanWall made 78th position in a ranking of China’s Top 500 companies, an improvement on last year’s 91st place, to lead the six solar-linked businesses on the list.
UK researchers say transport layers with low permittivity and doping make perovskite solar cells more stable
Scientists are seeking to push ion migration to areas of perovskite-based solar cells where more electric charge can be extracted.
Fraunhofer IKTS unveils alternative for PV home storage based on sodium-nickel-chloride
At a storage fair in Dusseldorf, researchers will present a ceramic high-temperature battery. Storage costs using sodium-nickel-chloride battery cells are said to be 50% lower than those of lithium-ion.
Acciona completes construction of 405 MW project in Mexico
The Puerto Libertad solar plant is located near the town of the same name, in the northwestern state of Sonora.
Clustering-based computation used to measure PV module degradation
The method could be an effective tool to measure the performance of solar modules, according to research, due to its ability to speed up the inspection process, preventing further damage and hastening repairs.
