Europe

The German Energy Agency has drawn up a list of proposed measures which it says could help the world’s biggest solar market accelerate its clean energy plans through the adoption of subsidy-free – private – power purchase agreements.

Shanghai-headquartered ReneSola has inked the latest of a series of solar divestments in recent weeks, offloading a portfolio of distributed generation in Hungary.

The utility-scale solar momentum slowly coursing through Latin America looks set to extend to one of the region’s smallest countries, with a large project now progressing through construction.

Europe’s second largest solar market has marked a subsidy-free boost this week, with two players joining forces to deploy a pipeline in a country where PV growth was muted for years.

Scientists at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have developed a new class of electrolytes they say could bring calcium batteries – currently only a lab technology – a step closer to being a practical reality for energy storage.

The EU’s Joint Research Center has created a comprehensive dataset to characterize the solar energy potential in the bloc’s 28 member states. The data shows even a 100-fold increase from current solar capacity would require a very limited amount of land – a lot less than wind power.

The company launched a solid-state battery in August it claimed could recharge itself to some degree from electrons in the air. Now ConFlow is preparing to test its devices with the help of artificial intelligence-powered monitoring devices in the new year.

Selected schemes will be eligible for a feed-in premium – related to the wholesale electricity price – for 20 years. The ceiling price for the premium has been set at the equivalent of $0.0089/kWh.

Germany has long been a global leader in driving acceptance of clean technologies through its progressive energy policies and regulations. Its influence in addressing climate change extends well beyond its borders, and the country is taking an active role to support the global energy transition through international cooperation. Germany has bilateral energy partnerships with approximately 20 countries, and its strong partnership with California is focused on creating a route to the future – a carbon-neutral one. State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Andreas Feicht met with pv magazine to discuss the country’s partnership with California, and its journey toward decarbonization.

Colombia’s still-dormant solar scene is poised for a major boost under a new partnership, bringing together a European and a Latin American player.

Dutch system operator TenneT has announced that it will invest €215 million (US$237 million) to accommodate 2GW of solar and wind capacity towards the country's north.

Batteries that power our smartphones need lithium – an increasingly precious resource. Could Bolivia supply the world?

American John B. Goodenough, Brit Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino, from Japan, have received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing the lithium-ion battery. A statement from the Royal Academy of Sciences of Sweden said the invention “laid the foundations of a society without wires and fossil fuels, and [they] are of great benefit to humanity”.

The new. more ambitious target is part of a climate protection program Berlin is now defining. The solar sector believes, however, 98 GW will not be enough to ensure the country’s energy transition.

The sizeable rooftop array will feature latest-generation inverters. The project planners claim using 1500 V technology on a commercial rooftop allowed them to drive down costs 10-15%.