Blankenfelde, Germany (AFP) by Sophie MAKRIS Balancing on a sloping tiled roof, apprentice Pascal Ode installs a solar panel under the watchful eye of his trainer. Hopes are high that Ode may soon be able to install the systems on both homes and businesses. When he is trained, he will be a much-needed new pair of hands in the industry that is crucial to Germany’s energy transition — but is suffering from an acute worker […]
Tag: solar panel
Iraq, UAE sign deal on 5 solar electricity plants
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) – Power-short Iraq inked an agreement on Wednesday for the UAE to build five solar electricity plants with a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW). Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi presided over the signing in Baghdad with renewable energy company Masdar, which is based in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates capital. Iraq is rich in oil but its dilapidated grid battles daily blackouts. Iraqi authorities aim to sign several similar accords by 2023 […]
Sea of solar panels turns Mexican desert green
by Yussel GONZALEZ Agence France Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — From a distance, it looks like a deep-blue sea has formed in the middle of the Mexican desert. But this is no mirage — it’s the largest solar park in Latin America. With 2.3 million solar panels — covering the equivalent of 2,200 football fields in the arid northern state of Coahuila — the Villanueva power plant, built by Italian energy company Enel, is […]
Chinese solar boom sparks global renewables boon: study
PARIS, France (AFP) — A Chinese boom in solar panel installation last year helped drive global investment in renewable clean energy technology to record levels, a new study showed Tuesday. After a dip in 2016, overall global investment in the sector rose 3.0 percent to a total $333.5 billion, offsetting falls in Japan, Germany and Britain, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) study. That was the second best annual showing to date after […]





