United Kingdom

The nation maintained the highest score of 62.7 for solar in the latest edition of Ernst & Young’s renewables attractiveness index. It ranked third for overall renewable energy investment. 

British scientists have reported significant restoration of the panel performance with the experimental compressed air system developed by them for the simultaneous cleaning and cooling of PV modules. The system was built with a compressed-air unit which was made of a compressor, an air tank, and an airflow regulation valve, and a series of nozzles. The technique was tested on a PV system located in northwestern India.

The UK-based flexible solar film developer is expanding into the Indian market with Thermax as its market development and manufacturing partner. 

The new devices feature efficiencies ranging from 20.7-21%. The panels are said to be compatible with a wide range of slates and tiles, include special fixings for different batten thicknesses, and achieve the highest fire rating and wind resistance without modifications to the roof.

The Indian renewables platform’s promoters have committed additional equity funding of $390 million, taking the total to $721 million. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), accounting for $284 million of the new injection, becomes the majority shareholder now. U.K. government-owned development finance institution CDC Group and UK-India Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) have committed $70 million and $36 million, respectively.

The nation has earned the highest score of 62.7 in terms of attractiveness for solar PV investment and deployment in the latest ranking of top 40 countries by Ernst & Young.

WiseEnergy will provide asset management services for the four solar plants in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh that UK-based equity investor Actis acquired from Indian developer Acme Solar recently.

The fossil fuel company will become a partner in the fund, which invests in clean energy projects.

The plant—constructed and operated by Germany-headquartered IBC Solar Energy—is NextEnergy’s first investment in India as part of its strategy to acquire ready-to-build or operational solar projects across high-growth international markets.