Max Hall
Consultant plays down Chinese solar fever
The nation is set to have added 40 GW of solar in 2020 and that figure will rise again this year, to 45-50 GW, according to one of the year’s first industry predictions.
Asian Development Bank provides more than $1bn finance for renewables power lines
The development lender has followed up a $600 million loan for distribution infrastructure in eastern Indonesia with a $430 million credit line for installations in India.
UK assembles experimental hydrogen network from decommissioned gas infrastructure
The £12.7 million project will explore how to transport pure and blended hydrogen for use in heating and industrial purposes. Construction will start next year.
Canadian Solar flags up polysilicon, glass and EVA shortages
The solar manufacturer’s impressive third-quarter gross margin is set to fall back in the current three-month window because global shortages have seen some material costs double since the world came out of Covid-19 shock.
‘China must put EV battery reuse at heart of net-zero ambition’
The centralised nature of policymaking in Beijing would enable component standardisation to ease the transition from EV to stationary energy storage use, according to Greenpeace East Asia.
Major economies should divert fossil fuel Covid-recovery cash to clean energy before it’s too late
A report by Finnish company Wärtsilä has estimated the potential impact if every dollar committed to a non-renewables energy sector recovery was instead funnelled to clean power.
South Korea follows Japan with net-zero 2050 pledge
Re-elected South Korean president Moon Jae-in today declared he will follow-up on a campaign trail promise to eliminate carbon emissions by mid century. The announcement comes just two days after Japan’s new prime minister said he would accelerate his nation’s emissions target.
Fiji plans ‘Pacific’s largest solar project’
The island nation has agreed a deal with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to develop at least 15 MW of generation capacity in a US$15 million project.
Vietnam opens 450 MW solar plant as utility-scale solar era dawns in SE Asia
Ho Chi Minh City-based construction company Trungnam Group said its army of labourers took just 45 days to perform site clearance for a project which took shape within 102 days. The 450 MW solar plant signals a new era in utility-scale solar for Vietnam, which is already seeing significant growth in its rooftop solar markets.
‘Solar is the new king of energy markets’
The advance of PV has been lauded by the International Energy Agency as it launched the latest edition of a flagship World Energy Outlook 2020 report overshadowed by the Covid-19 crisis and uncertainty over how long the economic recovery could take.
