The sunny, dry summer has seen solar break several records and PV kept the lights on when a lack of coolant – caused by rising river water temperatures – led to the temporary shuttering of conventional power plants in France and Germany.

While installations up to 750 kW continue to grow, compared to June, overall capacity slightly decreased. This is due to the fact less utility-scale projects were commissioned in July, compared to the preceding month. Solar subsidies will decrease by another percentage point in September.

In a bombshell announcement at the start of the week, the PV company said it would construct a gigawatt solar module fab in Austria. Now, Rene Battistutti, CEO at Energetica Group tells pv magazine why he believes the company’s modules are competitive with Asian products.

According to the German solar trade association, BSW-Solar the number of energy storage systems in Germany is set to double in two years. Already, politicians recognize the increasing relevance storage has, in light of the progressing energy transition.

Production of high-efficiency solar PV modules in the Austrian region of Carinthia should commence as early as December 2018. Using a fully automated production line, Energetica Industries says it is well equipped for competition with Asian manufacturers.

In a meeting in Brussels, the majority of EU member states have decided not to re-apply the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for crystalline solar PV modules and cells. As such, the undertaking on the minimum import price (MIP) is likely to end on September 3.

The Stuttgart-based industrial group wants to work on technology development and production with the British fuel cell manufacturer. Bosch considers highly efficient fuel cells an important step forward in the energy transition.

With capital projects CIGSfab and CIGSlab – according to the PV equipment provider – on schedule, Manz expects big follow-up orders from its Chinese customers as solar provided the highlight of the parent company’s first-half figures.

The British wafer manufacturer has reached a settlement agreement on unfulfilled long-term wafer supply contracts with a customer. The unnamed manufacturer has to pay €28.8 million to PV Crystalox.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the 30% import duties on Chinese PV products do not comply with the World Trade Organisation’s rules. The Chinese government added that its solar industry could be seriously damaged.