Policy

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Elina Kivelä, chief of staff at Sweden’s Turn Energy. She says companies should implement mandatory physical training, daily wellness hours, great parental leave benefits, health check-ups, and a hybrid work model. “This is crucial for balancing family life, something we know women often struggle with the most,” she states.

The European Commission (EC) has authorized a €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) Polish state aid scheme to support investment into electricity storage facilities.

Italy’s regional governments approved 5.1 GW of solar in the first nine months of this year, with Sicily leading by approving around one-third of the total new capacity.

Once electricity prices hit $0.25/kWh, disconnecting from the grid with residential solar-plus-storage starts to become financially viable, with sunny places making strong financial arguments. With recent drops in battery prices, the case for leaving the grid has grown even stronger.

Gavin Newson rejected a bill that would restore a level playing field for schools, farms, and multi-family homes to go solar

There’s a rejuvenated feeling in the UK solar market where a new government is making positive signals and considering key policy changes aimed at speeding up project commissioning. For storage, there’s still serious interest in utility-scale deployment with some significant projects in the pipeline.

The aid will be available to companies producing relevant equipment, such as solar panels, wind turbines, heat-pumps, electrolysers, and equipment for carbon capture usage and storage.

The European Heat Pump Association’s (EHPA) recent two-day event in Brussels came as heat pump sales across 13 European countries fell 47% year on year. Attendees discussed how policy and the industry can reverse the decline, stressing the need to better communicate the benefits of heat pumps to customers.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Deanna Greenhalgh, Director of Development at SAS Energy, EDF Renewables UK & Ireland C&I. She says that, earlier in her career, she sometimes felt that her knowledge and experience weren’t acknowledged, believed or expected by others. “I think this was a combination of being both young and female in what historically was a male-dominated industry, where clients, colleagues, and suppliers were more used to interacting with older men,” she states.

The European Commission says only one member state, Denmark, has transposed provisions covering permissions for renewable energy projects into national law. It has launched infringement procedures on 26 other countries and has given a two-month deadline.