REC reaches production milestone

Norwegian solar energy company REC announced that they had reached the production milestone of 5 million solar modules during the 13th Solar Expo held on May 9-11 in Verona, Italy. REC, which produces polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules, has had a strong industry presence in Italy since 2009, having installed more than 50 megawatts of capacity in the country.

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Smart Energy Collective to develop smart grid projects in the Netherlands

The members of the Smart Energy Collective have approved the second phase of its smart grid initiative, which involves the development of five large-scale smart grid demonstration projects in the Netherlands. The projects will be implemented at Schiphol airport, some offices of ABB and Siemens, and in residential districts in Gorinchem, Heerhugowaard, and Goes.

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E.U. wind industry expected to create half a million jobs by 2020

The European Wind Energy Association forecasts that more than half a million people will be working for the wind power industry in Europe by 2020, according to its latest report "Green Growth – The Impact of Wind Energy on Jobs and The Economy." The association also predicted the sector’s contribution to the European Union’s economic growth increasing almost threefold in the same time period.

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Bosch Solar expands in France through country’s largest factory

Bosch Solar Energy has begun operations in the French town of Vénissieux, France for the manufacture of crystalline solar modules. The factory, which was completed in only eight months, has a peak capacity of 150 megawatts – said to be the largest of its kind in the country. Bosch is expecting to churn out 2,000 units daily by July, when already at full work. This corresponds to an annual volume of 600,000 units per year, equaling the energy demand from 51,000 French households.

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Britain settles location of first ever Green Investment Bank

Britain’s first ever Green Investment Bank will be based in Edinburgh and London, following an assessment of 32 locations across the country for the bank’s siting. The Green Investment Bank, introduced two years ago (see EcoSeed story here), is designed to accelerate private sector investment in Britain’s transition to a “green economy.”

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Gamesa’s technological diversification continues toward EV charging

Gamesa is branching out into another low-carbon technology market with the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Spanish tech startup N2S for ventures into green mobility and energy efficiency. N2S, founded in 2006, is into electric vehicle charging and real-time energy management.

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E.I.B. lends $228 million euros for EV’s from Renault

French automaker Renault Group was granted a 180-million euro loan from the European Investment Bank for research and development efforts in creating the next generation of batteries and motors for electric vehicles. The loan will be deployed in France to developing products and processes for lithium-ion batteriesand engine technologies for electric powertrains. The main objective would be to make EV’s more competitive and speed up their development and acceptance in the mass market.

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Vattenfall sells Belgian concerns to ENI for $200 million

Stockholm-based Vattenfall, the largest utility in the Nordic region, has completed the sale of its utilities and other operations in Belgium. Nuon Belgium and Nuon Power Generation Walloon were sold to Italian multinational oil and gas company ENI for 157 million euros ($200 million).

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Landis+Gyr acquires Ecologic Analytics

Landis+Gyr A.G. has acquired Ecologic Analytics after buying all of the remaining stocks of the smart meter data management company for an undisclosed sum. Ecologic has been operating for 10 years in Minnesota making meter data management or MDM systems. It acts as the smart grid's nervous system - collecting data from two-way meters, and then sending them to utilities.

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Europe’s largest EV charging network to be installed in Estonia

Swiss power and automation conglomerate ABB could be building Europe’s largest electric car charging network in the country of Estonia. Scheduled to be operational by December 2012, ABB plans to start installing 200 of its “Terra” fast chargers in the second quarter of this year.

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