Here are some important cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:

The Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh urged all union ministers, ministers of state, and chief ministers of all Indian states and union territories, to convert their fleet of official vehicles from petrol or diesel vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) for all official purposes. The initiative is part of the ongoing ‘Go Electric Campaign’ launched by the Indian Government to promote EVs to reduce emissions and increase energy security and efficiency.

Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity signed a contract with Power Construction Corporation of China to build 2 GW solar power projects. The first project will have a capacity of 750 MW, and the country will add more plants until it hits the 2 GW target. It is also one of the first pilot projects in Iraq.

Octopus Hydrogen, Octopus Energy Group’s newly established hydrogen arm, and hydrogen aviation pioneer ZeroAvia have announced a partnership agreement. Octopus Hydrogen will provide 100% green hydrogen to ZeroAvia’s R&D center at Cotswold Airport in Kemble, UK, during the testing, certification, and first commercial operations of its zero-emission hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain technology. ZeroAvia will supplement on-site electrolysis hydrogen production with supply from Octopus Hydrogen to power its HyFlyer II project.

German renewables developer ABO Wind AG has bagged two solar projects coupled with energy storage in the latest innovation tender issued by the Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur. Together, the two projects in Weichenried, Bavaria, and Weilerswist, North Rhine-Westphalia, have 9.7MW capacity and are scheduled to be connected to the grid by summer 2023.

Sungrow signed a pact with juwi to supply equipment to the 36 MW off-grid solar farm and a 7.5MW battery energy storage system at Sukari gold mine in Egypt. The project is scheduled to be commissioned in the first half of 2022. It will cut the mine’s diesel consumption by approximately 20 to 22 million liters per year and offset between 53,000 and 60,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

RWE Renewables has started commercial operation of its 125 MW onshore Cassadaga Wind Farm. The project, located in Chautauqua County, is powered by 27 Nordex and 10 Siemens Gamesa turbines and can provide clean energy for more than 37,000 households. The facility represents more than $200 million in investment.