What's happening in renewables

Neoen has raised AU$1.8 billion of debt from a group of 13 lenders to finance a 1.2GW portfolio of renewable energy and storage projects in Australia. The portfolio combines wind, solar and energy storage. The size of the lending group and of the portfolio make it a large financing for the Australian market, and it gives Neoen the capital to build out a significant share of its pipeline there.

Wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy posted revenue of ₹48.69 billion (about $511.25 million) in the second quarter of its 2027 financial year, up 26% from ₹38.66 billion a year earlier. Higher deliveries drove the increase.

Writing in Utility Dive, experts from the Environmental Defense Fund and Minnesota's CURE argue that state regulators should take a critical look at gas plants proposed in place of clean energy. They say the key question for regulators is no longer whether utilities can find a reason to install another gas turbine.

South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment is launching competitive bidding for fixed-price contracts for offshore wind power, its second offshore wind tender of 2026.

Offshore wind contributed to a $3.3bn 'low carbon' hit at BP, according to Windpower Monthly. The item gives no detail beyond its headline.

Enova, the Norwegian state enterprise owned by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, has awarded funding to Fortius Offshore Wind AS and Fram Wind Solutions for floating offshore wind projects that will feature 18.5MW turbines.

Enova, Norway's state-owned energy agency, has provisionally awarded NOK 3.94 billion (€382 million) to two floating offshore wind demonstration projects that are set to feature 18.5MW turbines, a step up in turbine size for floating pilots.

UAE developer Masdar has signed an agreement with Invest New Zealand to explore up to NZ$1 billion (US$585 million) of solar, wind and battery storage investment in New Zealand.

The Wind Power podcast interviews Ibrahim Oezarslan, chief commercial officer at Nordex, about how the turbine maker achieved its recent financial turnaround. The conversation covers the company's return to profit, how it intends to keep that momentum and the new markets it is looking to enter. It gives the company's own account of its recovery and of where it plans to grow next.

A pv magazine India commentary argues that the quality of rooftop solar design will count for as much as headline capacity in the coming years. It says a system that is correctly sized, faces the right way, avoids shading, sits on a structurally sound roof and uses modules suited to high temperatures will deliver more for its owner than a larger system chosen on capacity alone. The piece is aimed at buyers and installers in India's rooftop market.

Advait Energy Transitions reported an 88.5% rise in profit for the September quarter of its 2027 financial year, with consolidated revenue up 40.8% year on year to INR 221 crore. Its order book reached INR 1,574.83 crore at 30 September 2026, 47% higher than a year before. Power transmission solutions make up 68% of the orders and new and renewable energy the remaining 32%, showing where the Indian company's growth is coming from.

A pv magazine feature looks at what happens to solar modules once they are decommissioned, noting that a used panel can follow hundreds of different routes. Differences in policy, technology and recycling capability mean each process is distinct, and the best route can vary widely with regional conditions and other factors. The piece highlights how fragmented end-of-life handling remains as the volume of retired panels grows.

Polysilicon prices in China held steady over the past week, according to the weekly market update that OPIS, a Dow Jones company, prepares for pv magazine. The update describes a standoff in the market and a gap between spot and futures prices. Polysilicon is the main raw material for most solar modules, so its price is closely watched across the global PV supply chain.

US thin-film manufacturer First Solar reported third-quarter net sales of $1.23 billion and net income of $571 million, but lowered its sales forecast. The company said customers had become uncertain about Section 232 tariffs, which slowed orders during the quarter. The cut shows how trade policy uncertainty is feeding through to demand even for a domestic US module maker.

RenewEconomy's Solar Insiders podcast speaks to the developers of one of Australia's largest privately owned microgrids outside the mining sector. The renewable microgrid will supply a large almond farm and is expected to cut its diesel use by 90%. The episode, which involves a utility as well as the farm, also covers the week's other solar news, and shows how renewable microgrids are spreading to large agricultural sites.

Pacific Partnerships has finalised a 10-year offtake agreement for a 102MW, four-hour battery to be built next to its 102MW Glenrowan Solar Farm in north-east Victoria, Australia. The contract lets the company press ahead with the battery retrofit. Adding storage to an operating solar farm lets its output be shifted to other times of day, and the deal shows offtakers are willing to back such upgrades.

Australian developer MPower has secured a $250 million commitment from industry superannuation fund Rest Super. The money will let it speed up the rollout of its pipeline of mid-scale solar and battery storage projects. The investment shows large pension funds are prepared to back the mid-scale segment of the Australian market, not only utility-scale projects.

An Australian industry superannuation fund has increased its investment in a small-scale solar and battery platform that Wollemi Energy Group recently acquired. The fund says the money supports the platform's next phase of growth. The deal points to continuing appetite among large institutional investors for smaller distributed solar and storage businesses in Australia.

A state utility in Australia has underwritten plans to add a four-hour battery to a solar farm that is already operating, extending its existing offtake agreement so that it also covers the storage upgrade. The updated contract runs for 10 years and is described as a first hybridisation of this kind. It offers a model for adding batteries to operating solar farms without negotiating an entirely new contract.

Indian solar module manufacturers are asking for more time to comply with local sourcing requirements. The Renewable Energy Manufacturers Association says there is a large gap between the country's module production capacity and the supply of domestically made cells. The request suggests cell manufacturing has not kept pace with module assembly, which could make it hard for producers to meet the rules on schedule.

Clutch has received backing from ARENA, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, to support a battery manufacturing project. Its modular solid-state battery system, developed in Australia, is designed for use at home, in vehicles on the road and off-grid. The funding is intended to move the product towards scalable local manufacturing, adding to efforts to build a domestic battery industry.

Neoen has raised AU$1.8 billion of debt from a group of 13 lenders to finance a 1.2GW portfolio of renewable energy and storage projects in Australia. The portfolio combines wind, solar and energy storage. The size of the lending group and of the portfolio make it a large financing for the Australian market, and it gives Neoen the capital to build out a significant share of its pipeline there.

An opinion piece in pv magazine Australia argues that Australia, having spent years planning the infrastructure needed for the energy transition, must now focus as hard on the workforce and skills required to build it. It calls for a pipeline of trained workers to deliver the rollout. Without such a pipeline, the piece suggests, planned projects risk being held back by labour shortages.

Sungrow has launched an all-in-one residential system that combines an inverter and a battery stack and includes a built-in electric vehicle charger. The system supports up to 120kWh of storage. Bringing solar inversion, storage and EV charging into one unit is aimed at homeowners who want a single integrated product, and the large capacity is notable for a home system.

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that the first month of spring brought sharply different solar conditions across Australia. Irradiance was above average in the east of the country, while much of the west saw shortfalls. The data matter for solar generators' output and revenue, which depend directly on the amount of sunlight reaching their panels.

UAE developer Masdar has signed an agreement with Invest New Zealand to explore up to NZ$1 billion (US$585 million) of solar, wind and battery storage investment in New Zealand.

Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines is preparing new processes to attract private capital to hydroelectric projects and is evaluating guaranteed tariffs for up to 20 years. The initiative aims to strengthen electricity supply and avoid an 800MW deficit in efficient reserve capacity by 2029.

Voith Hydro has appointed Sunil Pandiri as chief operating officer. He will oversee global project execution across the company's new-build and service businesses.

India's biogas and compressed biogas sector attracted investment commitments of more than ₹3,200 crore at the Renewable Energy India Expo 2026 in Greater Noida, according to the Indian Biogas Association. The commitments point to strong investor interest in turning organic waste into gas in India, and the figure is a useful signal of the pipeline for new biogas plants.

ThinkGeoEnergy is hosting a webinar on 6 November 2026 on the use of steel shot drilling to build a cluster of borehole heat exchangers in the Netherlands.

The Government of the Basque Country in Spain has launched a subsidy programme for heating and cooling systems that draw on renewable energy sources.

BEW has officially launched a deep geothermal exploration campaign in Berlin, Germany, with exploratory drilling expected to start by early 2028.

KenGen has completed the rehabilitation of the Olkaria I geothermal power station, increasing its capacity from 45MW to 63MW.

The Güroymak Municipality's geothermal greenhouse project in Türkiye has been awarded support by the Eastern Anatolia Development Agency.