Europe

According to the latest report published by the German Engineering Association (Verbandes Deutsches Maschinenbau Anlagen, or VDMA), solar equipment sales for German tool makers increased by 117% in Q4 2017, compared with the previous quarter.

British headquartered perovskite startup, Oxford PV has received an additional GBP 8.02 million (US$11.2 million) in funding from existing investors. The company states it will use the funds to continue its development of commercially viable perovskite-on-silicon tandem cells.

Scientists led by Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have demonstrated for the first time that, as well as electrons, light also releases charged particles in a perovskite solar cell material. The researchers state that this groundbreaking discovery could make possible new solar power applications, such as batteries directly charged by light.

The Terra High Power charger can charge an electric vehicle (EV) in just eight minutes, thus adding up to 200 km of range, says ABB, which launched the new model at this year’s Hannover Messe.

A team of scientists at Warwick University in the U.K. has discovered a method for altering the structure of a semiconductor at the nano level which, it says, could push cell efficiencies of several materials beyond their theoretical limits.

The alert came from the Dutch Social and Economic Council, which advised the government to invest in, among other things, training more workforce specializing in building and maintaining renewable energy power plants. On the other hand, is a fact that qualified installers are urgently needed to deploy the several GWs of of solar power allocated under the SDE+ incentive program.

Norway based project developer, Scatec Solar has posted consolidated revenue of NOK 289 million (US$37.1 milion) for the first quarter of 2018, and the company’s EBITDA increased to NOK 212 million ($27.1 million), over the previous quarter’s NOK 207 million. It attributes the improved financials to an increase in development and construction activity.

The 15 MW project was developed under the Netherlands’ SDE+ program for large-scale renewables.

The governments of the U.K. and India have announced a new green fund, managed by Lightsource BP and the Everstone Group, which will see up to £500 million invested in green energy in India. The U.K. has also joined the Indian-led International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The final average price of the awarded projects was €80.8/MWh, slightly below the previous tender of the same type, in which the average price was €85/MWh.