Felix Krause, co-founder the Vireo Ventures, tells pv magazine that the Berlin-based company plans to make pre-seed and seed-phase investments in startups that are developing innovations for the energy transition.

Germany deployed around 350 MW of new PV capacity in December alone. Its cumulative solar capacity reached 66.5 GW last year.

In a podcast, former Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess noted the importance of reducing reliance on China in the solar industry. But he said plans to set up production in Europe require state support and the right conditions.

The Chinese government is considering the introduction of export restrictions on solar wafers, black silicon, and silicon casting equipment. It has launched a public consultation process on the proposed measures.

Starting this year, ground-mounted solar modules in Germany can be replaced before the end of their service life, unlocking gigawatt-scale potential for new generation capacity without lengthy permitting processes or the need for new sites. Opinions differ as to what should happen with the decommissioned but still functioning modules, as pv magazine Deutschland’s Sandra Enkhardt reports.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has opened the first round of a 5,850 MW tender for ground-mounted solar. The ceiling price has been raised to €0.0737 ($0.080)/kWh.

The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board has issued a favorable decision for Hanwha Q Cells over REC Solar’s patent claims. The court has ruled that the contested claims of REC’s US patent were not patentable. The decision is similar to those in courts in China and Europe, according to Q Cells.

Swiss startup Sun-Ways has developed a patented solution under which it directly rolls out solar modules between railway tracks like a carpet. The panels can be removed at any time for maintenance work.

Austria is ramping up its budget to support solar, on top of new measures aimed at simplifying approval processes for the deployment of PV systems.

BloombergNEF Analyst Jenny Chase says the world installed 268 GW of new solar capacity in 2022, with annual installations expected to hit 315 GW in 2023. In a recent interview with pv magazine, Chase pointed to a large backlog of delivered PV modules in Europe that still have yet to be installed.