Highlights

Electric vehicles, both fully electric and plug-in hybrid EVs, look set to become dominant in new car sales within years in many parts of the world, but overall changes to car fleets face significant inertia. What impact will this have on the future grid, and where’s the opportunity for solar? Tristan Rayner gets behind the wheel.

According to Swiss consultancy Pexapark, around 11 GW of power purchase agreements were closed in Europe last year. For 2022, the analyst expects shorter deals and the presence of more new entrants.

The retirement of coal baseload capacity, some regulatory adjustments and high energy prices volatility could bode well for the deployment of batteries in Italy, and especially in Sicily. Problems, mostly related to the timing and the structure of the auction, remain, however. We spoke about it with Michele Scolaro, Aurora Energy Research Associate.

Scientists in the United States developed a lithium-sulfur battery using a commercially available carbonate electrolyte, that retained more than 80% of its initial capacity after 4000 cycles. The group used a vapor deposition process which unexpectedly produced a form of sulfur that did not react with the electrolyte, overcoming one of the key challenges for this battery chemistry.

SunPower is selling its C&I operations so it can focus on expanding its residential business, while TotalEnergies will advance its distributed generation activities in the US market.

A White Paper written by Áurea Capital Partners analyzes the integration of the European energy market to conclude that Spain is “facing a leadership opportunity and a unique geopolitical advantage that must be taken advantage of and accelerated.” The creation of a National Energy Transition Fund, like that created by Norway for its oil industry, may help the country attract huge investment for clean energy.

Auxin Solar filed the anti-circumvention petition against Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia, said an industry note from Philip Shen, managing director at ROTH Capital Partners.

SJVN Limited, an Indian state-owned hydropower producer, has revealed plans to develop 10 GW of solar power projects over the next five years.

Fortescue Metals Group has unveiled plans for a massive 5.4 GW solar PV, wind and battery storage project at its iron ore mining operations in Western Australia.

The country’s Ministry of Defence has decided to ban large scale solar plants in some regions bordering Russia claiming that these facilities may affect radio system performance. State-owned utility Eesti Energia is opposing this measure, stating the interested regions are the most suitable for the construction of big solar plants.