Europe

Perpetum to build world’s largest solar carport in Belgium
The 20 MW plant will feature 62,750 solar panels. Installer Perpetum Energy plans to commission the project in the spring of 2020.
Aug 20, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, France, Solar Panels, Europe, neoen, installer, Perpetum Energy, Paira Daiza, Corbas
How Electric Cars and Renewables Could Beat Oil
This week on The Energy Gang: The economics of oil are beginning to be challenged by EVs paired with wind and solar.
Aug 17, 2019 // Transport, USA, electric cars, Europe, Oil, BNP Paribas, Trump administration
Dear European solar industry: Let’s lead the interconnected platform before it is too late
While China is single-handedly reducing CAPEX for modules and inverters, Europe understands that hardware won’t be the holy grail – generally speaking. But what is? Perhaps it is time for a new strategy to surf in front of the digital wave.
Aug 14, 2019 // Opinions, ABB, Sungrow, China, Amazon, Europe, SMA, Schneider Electric, CAPEX, Solarworld, Kaco, Shunfeng International Clean Energy
German industry body calls for 5 GW cell manufacturing fab in Europe
The VDMA says Europe can restart a solar production sector that can compete on price with Chinese imports by reducing transport costs – provided a Euro supply chain can be established.
Aug 14, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Germany, China, Europe, VDMA, Jutta Trube, Von Der Leyen
Cameroon to improve power supply with 25 MW solar projects
Energy of Cameroon wants to build two solar parks to improve power supply in the country’s northern regions. The projects will be developed by a consortium led by Norwegian solar company Scatec.
Aug 14, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Scatec, Europe, Cameroon
Webinar Q&A: Simulating the gains of bifacial and tracking installations, where’s the rub?
Following up on the webinar held with Trina Solar about the new algorithms needed for bifacial and tracking installations, the word is that gains of 20-30% are not unlikely. To attain that, however, the sweet spot of front and rear side yield has to be reached. Trina has showcased a new algorithm alongside its bifacial n-type modules and claims it can do just that.
Aug 13, 2019 // Opinions, bifacial, Europe, tracking, Trina Solar, Kyumin Lee, Klaus Hofmeister
Asian battery manufacturers eye European riches on offer
A report produced by an AI and automation market research company says an anticipated boom in the European storage market – driven by a desire to reduce carbon emissions – will attract producers as demand outside China tails away.
Aug 13, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Storage, storage, China, Europe, Maya Xiao
China holds key to corporate solar take-up but lags way behind Texas at present
The Lone Star State accounted for almost half of the activity witnessed in the world’s biggest corporate clean energy marketplace but analysts are excited about the prospect of Beijing mandating companies to purchase minimum levels of green electricity.
Aug 13, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, Policy, USA, PPAs, Texas, China, Europe, Africa, Lone Star State, green electricity, RPS, Nordic nations
Vattenfall joins solar-plus-wind-plus-storage advocates with Dutch project
Vattenfall has added its name to the swelling list of proponents of solar-plus-wind-plus-storage, unveiling plans for its first ever triple hybrid.
Aug 13, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, hybrid, Europe, solar-plus-storage, Netherlands, Vattenfall, solar-plus-wind
Neoen touts 50MW victory in Portugal’s momentous PV auction
Neoen has shed light on its winning project in Portugal’s head-turning solar auction this summer, a tender consultants now say illustrates a new, bolder attitude towards merchant risks.
Aug 13, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, Markets & Finance News, Tariffs, Portugal, solar pv, plants, Europe, neoen, auction prices, auction ppas, largescale2020
A close look at nature could lead to cheaper hydrogen
Scientists at the Australia National University have observed a key stage in the process of photosynthesis which could be copied to greatly increase the efficiency of sunlight-powered water splitting processes used to produce hydrogen.
Aug 12, 2019 // Technology, Solar to Fuel, USA, Germany, Australia, Europe, hydrogen, Switzerland, Oceania, Australia National University, sunlight-powered water, Max Planck Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Maria Chrysina, North America, Solar to Fuel, Solar to Hydrogen, Producing Hydrogen, Hydrogen from renewable, Renewable fuels
Flanders provides incentives for residential storage
Since the beginning of August the Flemish government has granted a €250/kWh rebate for the purchase of domestic batteries. The program is set to run until the end of next year.
Aug 12, 2019 // Markets & Finance News, Storage, Europe, domestic batteries, Flanders, Belgium, Engie-Electrabel, Lydia Peeters
UK post-subsidy solar pipeline swells to 5GW
The UK’s post-subsidy large-scale solar pipeline has swelled to more than 5GW after a flurry of activity in the first half of 2019.
Aug 12, 2019 // Plants, Large-Scale, Commercial, UK, Europe, post-subsidy solar, ground-mount, PERC panels, multi panels
SMA releases upgraded, SunSpec-compliant Sunny Boy-US inverters
SMA has unveiled a new and improved version of its Sunny Boy-US line of inverters, part of the company’s Power+ residential solar offering. The new Sunny Boy will offer the latest technology and include enhanced safety features to comply with current industry regulations.
Aug 9, 2019 // Manufacturing News, Inverters, Germany, Inverters, Europe, SMA, Sunny Boy-US, Nick Morbach
Residential storage in Europe to grow 500% by 2024
A new report from analysts at Wood Mackenzie forecasts 6.6 GWh of residential energy storage to be installed across Europe by 2024. The economics of the technology are at a tipping point, increasingly reaching grid parity in European markets. With rising electricity demand and falling battery system costs, the trend will further spread across the continent and fuel an uptick in demand.
Aug 9, 2019 // Residential, Storage, Grids, storage, Spain, Germany, Italy, Wood Mackenzie, Europe, Rory McCarthy