Morning brief: Blackstone buys energy storage developer, Spruce solar acquisition spree continues, PV on schools
Also in the brief: Why has the number of K-12 schools powered by solar doubled in just three years? $89M energy storage pilot starts work in France, plus — a mighty wind.
Oil giant Total increases stake in solar efficiency leader SunPower
Total will be acquiring 676,000 shares worth about $31 million, according to SEC filings.
Job moves: Engie fires CEO, plus Enphase, Sunrun, Sol Systems, Nautilus, Sage Energy
Executive and boardroom moves in solar, storage, project development, cleantech, utilities and venture capital.
French solar institute and Enel announce 24.63% efficiency for heterojunction solar cell
The efficiency of the cell, made with a standard M2 wafer, was raised 0.7% by using an improved busbar-free screen printing metallization based on heterojunction processes developed with manufacturing equipment provided by Swiss specialist Meyer Burger.
Your guide to solar market growth in the global ‘gigawatt club’
Some 15 countries are able to lay claim to the status of being members of solar’s “gigawatt club” in 2019, according to projections from BloombergNEF. To kick off 2020, pv magazine’s global team of correspondents and editors have highlighted 10 fast-growing solar markets to evaluate where the opportunities, and potential risks, lie.
Saft breaks into microgrids with Go Electric acquisition
The Total-owned French battery maker has acquired Go Electric, a major player in military and C&I microgrids in North America.
Schneider Electric pulls out of the utility-scale PV business
The French inverter maker is pulling out of the utility-scale segment to strengthen its profile in the residential and C&I space.
Boom in EVs unlikely to cause lithium shortage
The French Environment & Energy Management Agency has published a report in which analyzes the dynamics of lithium supply and demand in different scenarios of global electrification by 2050. The agency experts are convinced that only with a 75% penetration of electric vehicles there is the real risk of a marked decrease in the safety margin of lithium supply.
Sunpower secures a $300 million bridge to pay off loan certificates
The financially troubled PV maker has secured a last-minute line of credit to repay Total and other lenders, as it burns through cash.
Solar and nukes
Can high levels of solar and wind coexist with nuclear generation on the grid? The answer is more complicated than you might think.
