Europe

Swiss-Germany company LUXRA Group and India’s Rayzon Solar have agreed to form a joint venture for PV module production in India. The partnership will combine LUXRA’s technology and Rayzon’s operational expertise in PV panel manufacturing.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) is urging the European Union to adopt legislation against forced labor in the PV industry, by explicitly calling for measures to prevent solar products produced with forced labor from entering the European market.

ABB has secured a complete power, propulsion, and automation systems order for Samskip Group’s hydrogen-powered container vessels. Built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India, these vessels are among the first in the world to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen fuel cells as a clean and renewable fuel source.

Adani Green Energy Ltd and French company TotalEnergies have agreed to create a new 50:50 joint venture (JV) with a 1,050 MW portfolio of solar and wind assets. TotalEnergies will make an equity investment of $300 million in the JV.

Surrey-based Gas Recovery and Recycle Ltd (GR2L) will supply its ArgonØ machinery that can recycle up to 95% of argon used in the fabrication of silicon wafers for solar panels.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in the 2023 State of the Union Address this week that European solar manufacturers face stiff competition from heavily subsidized Chinese rivals and noted that the bloc is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from the country.

The corporate solar solutions provider has raised an additional equity investment of INR 350 crore ($42.3 million) from Norfund after receiving $100 million in 2021. It is also tying up with IFC for INR 560 crore fund to execute projects in India.

C4V, a New York-headquartered lithium-ion cell technology company, has tied up with UAE-based Trot Solutions to develop green ports in India. The alliance has started to discuss with the port operators for its first green port project at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal in India. 

Pexapark says that prices for power purchase agreements (PPA) fell 11% in Europe in May. Germany and Spain were the largest markets for PPAs, with deals totaling 245 MW and 317 MW, respectively.

Germany installed more than 1 GW of new PV systems in June alone. Its cumulative installed PV capacity hit 73.8 GW at the end of the first half of this year.