Here are some noteworthy cleantech news and announcements from the around the world week:

Meyer Burger, a Switzerland-based engineering company, announced that it had secured new locations to set up its manufacturing facilities for the production of solar modules and solar cells. Meyer Burger said that it would pay €12 million (~$14.12 million) to purchase the facility from Solarworld Industries GmBH. The purchase includes the new manufacturing facility with a total area of 33,000 square meters, trademark rights, and patents situated at Solarworld’s former production site in Freiberg. The company added that it would start the production of 400 MW solar cells and 400 MW solar modules in the first half of 2021.

Spain-based Mondragon Assembly announced that it completed the construction of a 100 MW solar panel manufacturing facility for Teriak Industrial Group in Cairo. It is the second solar panel manufacturing plant built by Mondragon Assembly in Egypt. The first turnkey facility was built for Arab International Optronics, with a manufacturing capacity of 50 MW of solar panels. Specializing in the manufacture of automotive spare parts for Egypt and the Middle East, Teriak Industrial Group has now diversified by acquiring a solar manufacturing unit.

United Kingdom-based oil giant bp announced that it has set out a plan to achieve its net-zero ambition. In its press statement, the company said that in ten years, bp aims to increase its annual low carbon investment tenfold to around $5 billion a year, build out an integrated portfolio of low carbon technologies, including renewables, bioenergy, and early positions in hydrogen. It also plans to increase its renewable energy capacity to 50 GW.

RWE, a Germany-based electricity utility company, announced that it would acquire a European onshore wind and solar development platform from wind turbine manufacturer Nordex SE. According to the company, the total value for acquiring the wind and solar platform with a total pipeline of 2.7 GW in France, Spain, Poland, and Sweden would be around €400 million (~$460.74 million). According to RWE, the company has a firm focus in France, with a total pipeline of 1.9 GW in different phases. According to RWE, the planned acquisition would help enhance its existing 22 GW development pipeline.

Banpu Public Company Limited (Banpu), a Thailand-based energy company, announced that it had acquired an operational wind project to strengthen its renewable energy portfolio in Vietnam. According to the press release, the wind project has an operational capacity of 37.6 MW, and the purchase was valued at $66 million. The investment was made through BRE Singapore, an associate company, in which the company holds 50% of share through Banpu. The project was designed and maintained by Enercon GmbH, a wind power company, and turbine manufacturer.

Bosch, a Germany-based engineering and technology firm, announced that it had signed three long-term purchasing agreement with RWE, Statkraft, and Vattenfall to procure solar power. According to the company’s press statement, energy from these three parks will be consumed at Bosch locations in Germany. From 2021 onward, this will cover a total annual volume of more than 100 GW – equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of up to 30,000 private households.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, a wind turbine maker, has recorded a revenue of €3.41 billion (~$4.04 billion) with an 8% decline year-over-year in the third quarter of FY 2020. It has also recorded a 9% YoY fall in revenue to €6.61 billion (~$7.83 billion) in the first nine months of FY 2020, which reflected the impact of COVID-19 and other challenges in its onshore business.

Here is the news wrap-up from last week.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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