Europe

The energy regulator has set a 15-year payment of $0.10/kWh for PV projects with a generation capacity of 10 kW-1 MW. The first auctions for large renewables projects are planned for early next year and will grant a fixed rate rather than a variable premium.

This week pv magazine was in Amsterdam for the sixth edition of the BifiPV workshop, where the discussion focused on the impressive achievements made by bifacial solar modules and the challenges the technology faces as it moves toward mainstream adoption.

With the region of Styria considering making PV mandatory on all new buildings, the nation’s Climate Fund will support PV and storage projects in agriculture and forestry. Applications can be submitted by November 2020 – or until the pot is empty.

UK solar developer Solarcentury and Dutch counterpart PowerField have unveiled plans to build the “largest” solar project in the Netherlands on behalf of Impax, the British asset manager that owns the site.

Energy companies are lacking any kind of certainty over Brexit and how it will affect the sector, but cannot allow it to have any impact on the “fundamental issue” of climate change and the energy transition, some of Europe’s leading utilities have said.

Politicians’ failure to form government pacts condemns Spain’s clean energy shift to further delays and uncertainty, the industry has warned as the country heads to fresh polls.

Enel Green Power has switched on a utility-scale solar project it developed in Spain’s southeast with support from the country’s renewable auction of 2017.

AleaSoft analyses fuel market prices, carbon emission rights, European electricity markets and renewable energy production. Last week most prices rose on the previous reporting period as solar and wind power production varied by country.

The €7.5 million project, built by Dutch energy provider Eneco, is intended to power operations at the Ghent factory of the Indian steel manufacturer. Arcelor’s employees were invited to participate through crowdfunding.

The La Poste Group wants one or more green corporate PPAs, to be procured through a tender. The postal service wants to hedge against volatile energy prices.

The Polish parliament has adopted new environmental provisions which also include a tax reduction for micro PV. The measure comes on top of the Mój Prąd rebate scheme for residential rooftop projects ranging in size from 2 kW to 10 kW which was launched in July.

A Swedish-Chinese research team has developed an organic cell said to be ideal for wide use in daily life to power internet of things-enabled devices. The cell could be used to power sensors that detect and measure moisture, particle concentrations, temperature and other parameters indoors.

An African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative that wants to install 10GW of solar energy across the Sahel by 2025 was endorsed by G5 Sahel heads of state at a summit held last week in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Spain’s subsidy-free solar scene has marked another boost after a power purchase agreement (PPA) was secured for a major project in the country’s centre-west.

German power major RWE has reiterated its commitment to becoming one of the world’s largest developers of solar, wind and energy storage after the European Commission green-lit its proposed asset swap with E.On.