Germany’s 1Komma5° says it will exclusively use polysilicon from Europe or the United States to make the TOPcon solar cells for its full-black modules. It is aiming for market launch in the second quarter of 2023.

Swiss utility Axpo has built a PV system inside the dish of a disused satellite run by data-center operator Leuk TDC. Satellite dishes can be used to produce solar power, as they can be flexibly aligned to the sun.

Germany’s TÜV Rheinland has defined safety and quality guidelines for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules to bring more transparency to the market.

The European Commission wants to bridge the time until the revised Renewable Energy Directive RED IV has been passed and translated into national law, partly by improving conditions for PV systems up to 50 KW in size.

RWE plans to build a storage facility to provide grid-balancing services for its power plants in Germany. The batteries will be installed at two RWE power plants in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The German government continues to respond to the energy crisis by implementing measures supporting small-sized PV. This time, the tax breaks are intended to support solar arrays below 30 kW in size.

A large majority of MEPs support the European Commission’s target of 45% renewables in the energy mix by 2030. Member states are all expected to develop several cross-border renewable projects.

The German authorities say that the country’s new 1.5 GW tender is a response to the current energy crisis. Selected PV projects will have to reach completion within nine months after securing feed-in premium tariffs.

Germany’s Liontron said it can prepare 300 cups of coffee per day from the PV modules and storage tech on its bicycles for beverage vendors. This means its mobile coffee shops can operate without grid connections.

TubeSolar and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg have achieved a power conversion efficiency of 14% for a photovoltaic film based on perovskite.