Markets

Austria has opened applications for its €60 million ($68.3 million) rooftop PV rebate program for 2025, with a second-round “Made in Europe” bonus offering 20% more funding for projects using European-made components, says OeMAG.

Dutch energy storage firm Return has started construction on the 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system in Waddinxveen, which will be the first project of the size to connect to the TenneT Netherlands high-voltage network in 2026. Vattenfall will manage and optimize half of the system’s capacity under an eight-year contract.

The Japanese government says it has opened applications for a subsidy initiative aimed at cutting costs for renewable heat and industrial waste heat systems. The program supports equipment upgrades that lower emissions and improve energy efficiency.

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s latest analysis finds most major European electricity markets recorded negative prices during the third week of April, particularly over the Easter weekend. The Portuguese and Spanish markets saw zero or negative prices across each day last week.

Wood Mackenzie warns that policy uncertainty could significantly alter its projections for US solar industry growth. The research firm says the US solar industry will add 502 GW (DC) of capacity over the next decade, with annual installations surpassing 40 GWdc through 2035.

GoodWe BIPV has identified new applications for its Vela residential solar carport. The modular unit is gaining traction in rural and small commercial settings in Australia as an alternative to ground-mounted and rooftop PV systems.

The Trump administration’s China tariffs have piled atop existing and developing trade barriers on battery energy storage systems, components, and materials – destabilizing the US energy storage industry. While existing inventories will allow project development to move forward in the short term, uncertainty extends across the supply chain, including to prospective manufacturers.

A team of researchers based in Japan and Sweden have found a correlation between higher feed-in tariffs and increased capital expenditures of solar projects in Japan. They suggest this may have led to a lack of incentive for developers to innovate or reduce costs, in turn inflating expenditure and hindering long-term market competitiveness.

UK Power Networks day-ahead flexibility market allows consumers with electric vehicles, heat pumps and batteries to participate in distribution, transmission and wholesale markets, according to the distribution system operator (DSO) for London, east and southeast England.

The three projects comprise a 160 MW solar plant, a separate 100 MW solar facility and a 100 MW floating solar array with 30 MWh of accompanying battery energy storage. They will be implemented by Chinese companies working in collaboration with Azerbaijan-based developers.