From Rwanda to Riverside, California: How the US solar industry gave opportunities to an immigrant entrepreneur
When Covid-19 hit his small solar engineering business, chief executive Methode Maniraguha said: ‘No furloughs or layoffs – we’ll pivot.’
IEA report appears to acknowledge 2050 net zero may be beyond us
A study into the clean energy tech innovation rate required to keep global heating under control may suggest concepts such as lithium-air could yet keep us to the mid-century ambition, but it is also starting to contemplate the temperature rise to be expected if we only achieve net-zero by 2070.
Tesla now claims ‘lowest price for home solar’ – but process is ‘full of pitfalls’
Tesla has decimated its solar business from installation peaks of years past and its market share lead has long been surrendered to Sunrun and others. In December, it claimed it would install 1,000 building-integrated solar roofs per week – a figure it has not come close to achieving in six months. Is this any way to run a solar business?
Catching up on the Musk-Tesla-SolarCity acquisition case
Tesla CEO Elon Musk finds himself in the news quite often, from groundbreaking SpaceX launches to contentious tweets. Yet one story that has flown under the radar by the brash businessman’s standards has been going on for four years now.
Covid-19 weekly round-up: Predatory takeover fears, Ieefa takes aim at the IEA and diverse perspectives on e-mobility
Analysts appear divided on the effects the public health crisis will have on the EV market even as sales of petrol-engined SUVs soar in China. And Portugal is plowing on with its Covid-delayed national solar tender, an exercise which may help establish whether clean energy thinktank Ieefa is right to predict PV prices will continue to fall.
SMA to supply Australia’s biggest solar farm
The Western Downs solar farm will deploy German power electronics made in Australia, with SMA announcing that it has picked up a contract to supply the 400 MW (AC) project.
University of Queensland’s Tesla battery paying for itself
The University of Queensland has released a performance report on the Tesla Powerpack it installed in December 2019. Across a range of revenue streams, the Powerpack is already earning the university some serious cash.
Battery electric vehicle sales in UK were outpacing hybrids – before Covid-19 struck
Pure EVs had begun to claim a rising market share before coronavirus containment measures decimated sales last month. Even in the face of an 88% monthly fall in EV sales from March to April, however, clean energy models fared better than petrol and diesel sales.
Covid-19 weekly briefing: Evidence abounds of renewable energy gains at the expense of fossil fuels as the clamor for a green recovery rises
Portugal set a new coal-free record because of the pandemic as Belgium and Israel moved to help the renewables industry. But there was grim news in Mexico and Turkey, and Bangladeshi clean energy firms have appealed for more assistance.
Despite solar woes, Tesla recorded its first profitable Q1
Tesla finished the first quarter of 2020 with a positive GAAP net income, driven by the profitability of the Model Y. However, the story was not so bright for solar, storage or corporate governance.
