BlackRock raises $1bn for clean power as wind, solar boom
Here’s the latest indicator of how hungry investors are to profit from clean energy: BlackRock just raised $1 billion for wind, solar and battery-storage projects.
solar
Solar panel scammers ordered to pay victims back over £400,000
Two men who scammed millions of pounds from 760 vulnerable victims in a fraudulent solar panel scheme were yesterday ordered to pay confiscation totalling more than £400,00.
Australia billionaires plan to export solar power to Singapore
Two of Australia’s richest people, Atlassian Corp. co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and Fortescue Metals Group Chairman Andrew Forrest, are investing in an ambitious project to export solar power from a giant plant in Australia to Singapore via a 4,500 kilometer (2,800 miles) transmission cable.
Answer to renewable energy’s big problem emerging in Australian outback
The answer to the renewable energy industry’s biggest challenge is emerging in the Australian outback.
Tesla posts first gain in solar panel installations since 2018
In a quarter where Tesla Inc. blew past profit expectations, even its foundering rooftop-solar business managed to stage a bit of a turnaround.
Retrofitting to improve asset performance – the opportunities and challenges
With the Feed-in Tariff now closed to new applicants (from 1 April 2019), the Smart Export Guarantee currently under consultation with a government busy with the Brexit agenda, stubbornly high costs of entry to new entrants (such as high grid upgrade costs), the required rates of return for investors have not been reached and as a result there has been a noticeable slowdown in the roll-out of new renewables projects.
Shell takes 20% stake in Indian solar firm Orb Energy
Shell has taken a 20% stake in Indian solar firm Orb Energy as part of a drive to deliver a reliable source of electricity to 100 million people in the developing world by 2030.
Government must not change VAT on solar panels, campaigners urge
One of the UK's largest renewable energy suppliers has written to the Chancellor to warn that plans to change VAT from 5% to 20% for families buying solar panels and renewable technology could harm the country's push for a net zero carbon economy by 2050.
Solar Wars Part XI: The EC Strikes Back
Solar Wars Part X considered the continued willingness of arbitral tribunals to accept jurisdiction to hear claims under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) by EU investors against EU Member States, despite the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Slovak Republic v Achmea (Case C-284/16), which held that an arbitration clause in bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between two EU states contravened EU law. As a result, Spain was on the receiving end of five awards made May – August 2019. However, not all Member States which reformed their renewable incentive schemes are in the same situation; and the European Commission (EC) is taking steps to reduce the prospect of future claims by demanding the reform the ECT itself.
Solar Wars Part X: The force is strong with investors
Previous Solar Wars articles explained how arbitral tribunals considering intra-EU claims under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) have consistently rejected the application of judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Slovak Republic v Achmea (Case C-284/16), which held that an arbitration clause in bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between two EU states contravened EU law.
PG&E cuts deals to trim prices it pays for solar and storage
PG&E Corp., the California utility giant that went bankrupt in January amid crippling wildfire liabilities, has reached a deal with some of its power suppliers that would cut the prices it pays for their electricity.
Creaking grid jams up Australia’s switch to green energy
Australia’s financing of cleaner power is slowing because the country’s aging grid isn’t being upgraded quick enough to accept new, intermittent generation and transport it efficiently to demand centers.
ABB to provide control system for China solar gig
Swiss technology firm ABB is supporting the Chinese government in its efforts to produce emissions-free electricity.
AES Solar has bright future after new funding
A solar energy manufacturer in Moray is set to expand and create jobs, thanks to almost £200,000 of funding.
GE sells stake in solar business to BlackRock
General Electric Co. agreed to sell a majority stake in a solar-energy business to BlackRock Inc., giving the investment giant footing in a growing market as the ailing manufacturer shifts its focus elsewhere.
Plans for huge solar farm in Buchan
Plans have been lodged to create one of the biggest solar farms in Scotland in the Buchan countryside.
‘Just Transition’: what does that mean for the European energy market?
With Europe’s energy strategy being one of electrification and clean energy, what impact will that have in Europe and how can the downside be managed?
Zero-carbon electricity to outstrip fossil fuels for first time, National Grid says
More British electricity is set to come from zero-carbon sources than fossil fuels this year for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, National Grid has said.
World will get half its power from wind, solar by 2050
Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet.
Solar Wars IX: The saga continues
Previous Solar Wars articles reported on the numerous claims for breach of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) by EU investors against EU states such as Spain following the curtailment of those states' renewable incentive schemes.
Power-hungry Texas oil drillers get a little help from solar
Texas, home to the world’s largest oil reserve and America’s biggest source of coal-fired power, is on the verge of a clean-energy boom.
Mackie’s Ice Cream and Aberdeenshire Council win £4m grant to reduce emissions
Mackie’s ice cream and Aberdeenshire Council have shared £4million of a £13.4m Scottish Government grant to reduce greenhouse gases.
Race is on to build the world’s biggest solar-storage plant
Last year, a company won a contract to build a 65-megawatt solar and battery farm in Arizona. A month later, the Saudis came out with a $200 billion plan to build the world’s biggest battery-backed solar farm by 2030. Then a firm proposed a nearly 500-megawatt solar-storage site in Texas’s oil patch.
The ethics of energy distribution
The energy market is in a state of change.
Peers condemn ministers over ditching of solar payment scheme
The Government has been accused of throwing the renewables industry "off a cliff" by scrapping an energy payment scheme for householders.