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Which FDI sectors could benefit from the coronavirus crisis?

Wavteq's Henry Loewendahl discusses which sectors retain potential for foreign investment amid the current global crisis 




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Free zones will be key to post-virus world

Covid-19 crisis has laid bare the weaknesses of global value chains around the world




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fDi's Virus Diaries: “We’re still receiving new investor attention”

Philomène Dias, director of inward investment at Portuguese investment promotion agency Aicep, on how staff and organisation are working through lockdown.




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Coronavirus set to shock Middle East's most fragile economies

The pandemic is likely to hit the Middle East’s more fragile countries hardest.




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Latin America prepares for sharp drop in FDI amid coronavirus pandemic

The fallout from the pandemic looks set to stall trade and investment to Latin America.




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View from Asia: the crippling effect of coronavirus

China's coronavirus outbreak is having a seismic effect in Asia and beyond, writes Lawrence Yeo.




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Madeira vice-president eyes fiscal independence from Lisbon

Pedro Calado, vice-president of Madeira’s regional government, tells Sebastian Shehadi about the island's capacity for more upmarket tourism and its ongoing struggle to gain financial independence from Portugal. 




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Madeira looks to keep tax advantage

On top of EU access, an impressive quality of life, talented labour and a thriving tourism sector, Madeira offers a white-listed preferential tax regime that is conducive to long-term, productive investments. Sebastian Shehadi reports.




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Belarus foreign affairs minister looks to strengthen trade with East and West

The minister of foreign affairs for Belarus tells fDi why the country is keen to join the WTO and strengthen economic relations with the CIS.




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Thirst for innovation drives Antwerp's digital development

With a multilingual population, Antwerp enjoys a diverse talent pool that has made it a popular testbed for digital innovation and entrepreneurship.




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EBRD makes climate resilience bond first

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has attracted praise for launching a climate-resilience bond to help finance environmental projects.




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Cairo standout African destination for foreign business services in 2018

The Egyptian capital Cairo led Africa in 2018, attracting 10 foreign business services investment projects, in its strongest performance since 2012. Joshua Crawford reports.





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California Energy Commission gives $3M grant to pair energy storage and fast EV charging

Natron Energy said that the California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded it a $3 million grant for “Advanced Energy Storage for Electric Vehicle Charging Support.” Natron will use the money to manufacture and install a high powered, long cycle life energy storage system at an EV Fast Charging station.




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Renewable energy market employs 11 million in 2018 – IRENA

Eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018 according to the latest analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).




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EWF launches world’s first open source blockchain for the energy industry

The Energy Web Foundation (EWF) this week announced that it has launched the world’s first public, open-source, enterprise-grade blockchain tailored to the energy sector: the Energy Web Chain (EW Chain). As a refresher, blockchain allows for peer-to-peer energy market transactions.





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San Diego Airport installs 2 MW/4 MWh storage system to complement existing PV array

Yesterday, ENGIE Storage announced that San Diego International Airport (SAN) installed a 2 MW/4 MWh GridSynergy energy storage system. Paired with the airport’s existing 5.5 MW of solar capacity, the new energy storage system will reduce energy charges during peak demand, which according to ENGIE equate to approximately 40 percent of the airport’s monthly electricity costs. The system is expected to begin operation in early 2020.




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PNM plans early retirement of coal plant with massive addition of solar + storage

On July 1, Public Service of New Mexico filed a plan with regulators in the state for how it plans to get to a 100 percent emission-free power by 2040. The utility reviewed four scenarios, all of which involved the early retirement of the San Juan Coal Plant, to arrive at its recommended path forward.




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Air conditioning is the world's next big threat

The vast majority of Americans have air conditioning but in Germany almost nobody does. At least not yet.




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Dominion Energy begins construction on Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project

Dominion Energy has begun construction on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, which will feature two 6-MW wind turbines and power about 3,000 homes.




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Fantasy Energy League Draft follow-up: breaking down the first round

In late 2018, I put out the call to see how many fellow energy nerds I could gather to indulge me in combining my passion for energy analysis and clean power policy with my love of fantasy sports. By the end of January 2019, I had my cast of characters who somehow thought this idea was as fun as I did (isn’t the Internet the greatest tool for finding people who share your interests?) and I released my Draft Preview. Coordinating this draft among 14 different teams with different time zones and schedules chock-full of actually helping to save the planet proved no easy task, but by the end of March we had conducted 5 rounds of picks for a total of 70 selections in this Inaugural Fantasy Energy League!




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Farmers Irrigation District hydropower facility offers sustainable solution to a growing challenge

On Monday, July 22, about 30 HydroVision attendees visited the beautiful Hood River Valley outside of Portland, Oregon to tour in-conduit hydropower projects and learn how modernizing irrigation districts is a sustainable solution to help combat a changing climate.




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Saudi Arabia set to build first wind farm

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is poised to start generating wind power within three years as part of an effort to harness renewable energy to cut local demand for fossil fuels.




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Energy CEOs extol virtues of hydropower while bemoaning its lack of public support

Last week at the HydroVision International plenary session, a panel of three CEOs — Darrel T. Anderson, President and CEO IDACORP and Idaho Power, Mitch Davidson, CEO and Managing Partner, Brookfield Renewable Power, and Paul Jacob, President and CEO, Rye Development — along with moderator Elizabeth Ingram, Content Director, Clarion Energy, discussed both the merits and the challenges of hydropower development in the United States and Canada.




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Foreign firms look to make India a global wind turbine export hub

Global wind turbine makers are expanding manufacturing capacity in India to boost exports from the South Asian nation even as the country’s domestic industry faces headwinds.




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A deluge of batteries is about to rewire the power grid

A pale orange-and-gold sunset bathes the macadamia plantations and avocado orchards that sweep down to Australia’s Byron Bay. The coming dusk is a cue for two sleek Tesla battery packs in the garage at Amileka, a secluded holiday villa nearby. They stir silently into action—powering the appliances in the five-bedroom home’s twin kitchens, recharging a $100,000-plus Model X SUV, driving a filter pump for an 18-meter swimming pool sparkling in the shade of a century-old native black bean tree.





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First major US offshore wind farm delayed by government

The Trump administration cast the fate of the nation’s first major offshore wind farm into doubt by extending an environmental review for the $2.8 billion Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts.




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ARENA to provide $40 million funding for South Australia’s first pumped hydro plant

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), on behalf of the Australian government, has announced up to $40 million in funding towards the deployment of a pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project in South Australia.




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Virginia looks to New York green bank for possible clean energy financing

Virginia’s energy office is exploring whether to align the state with a billion-dollar New York clean energy financing program.




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Walmart sues Tesla over fires linked to rooftop solar systems

Walmart Inc. sued Tesla Inc., claiming it failed to live up to industry standards in the installation of solar panels on top of hundreds of stores, resulting in multiple fires across the U.S.





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SolarEdge founder and co-chairman dies at 54

In a statement, SolarEdge Technologies announced that the company's founder and co-chairman, Guy Sella has passed away.




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More Tesla solar-panel fire incidents emerge in wake of Walmart suit

One evening last year, David Burek noticed charred wood and a burning smell in his attic, near his young sons’ bedroom. He climbed a ladder and saw a melted connector wire from the solar panels installed on the roof of his North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, home. Firefighters rushed over and discovered that flames had burned through the shingles, the roof and a support beam. Luckily, a recent rain had doused it.




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New Zealand to receive first ever floating solar

It will be used to supplement electricity from the grid, as well as cogeneration from biogas, which is already generated on-site from wastewater treatment




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New POWERGEN award program seeks inspirational women of excellent character

In recognition of the widely acknowledged studies that show that organizations with gender equality perform better financially, this year POWERGEN International, along with partner UL, is launching a new awards program that seeks out women of good character.




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UK closes in on first geothermal power after successful drilling outcome

The U.K. could be producing electricity from a geothermal plant for the first time early next decade after drilling at a site in southwest England showed it could become a viable part of the renewable energy mix.




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Direct Energy signs PPA for 75-MW solar array in California

California-based solar developer Sunpin Solar said that Direct Energy Business, a subsidiary of Centrica PLC, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the full output of the recently completed 96.75-MW DC / 74.8-MW AC ColGreen North Shore Power Plant.




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FERC takes a firm stand in PG&E bankruptcy filing

The California-based utility requested that a federal bankruptcy court prevent FERC from enforcing the conditions of the more than 380 power purchase agreements (PPAs) that the utility may want to exit under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.




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First Chinese-owned solar PV manufacturing plant opens in the US

This week JinkoSolar held an opening ceremony at its new manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The facility made headlines when it was announced due to the fact that the Chinese company decided to set up manufacturing in the U.S. in response to solar tariffs that are put on solar cells and modules imported from China. To date, Jinko is the only Chinese-owned solar manufacturer to set up a facility in the U.S.




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Solar EPCs ranked by Wiki-Solar puts First Solar on top

The list of the world’s top solar EPC contractors was released in late February by Wiki-Solar.org. The list ranks the solar developers by number of projects and total installed capacity and reflects about the 30 percent of the market. Wiki-Solar.org says the list shows how the less volatile markets have favored domestic power plant builders. In particular, contractors from India and the US are rising up the ranking. Europeans have, with a few notable exceptions, found it harder to hold their position.




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Thailand planning massive floating solar power plants on hydropower dam reservoirs

Thailand plans to build the world’s largest floating solar farms to power Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy and to boost the country’s share of clean energy.




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New Hampshire considers options for buying renewable energy for state

New Hampshire is preparing to follow the lead of other New England states and create a system for procuring renewable energy on behalf of residents.




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Wind-solar pairing cuts equipment costs while ramping up output

A trailblazing wind-solar hybrid project in western Minnesota could be a preview of what’s to come as renewable developers look for new ways to bolster projects.




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Solar and wind take the lead in FERC first infrastructure report of 2019

According to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), new solar and wind generating capacity has taken the lead over natural gas and all other energy sources for the first month of 2019.




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Wind generated more than one-third of electricity last week in the UK

RenewableUK highlighted last week that Great Britain’s onshore and offshore wind farms generated more electricity than any other source of power last week.