Policy

Signs of a UK government that’s prepared to back solar have emerged within a fortnight of the Labour Party securing victory in the General Election. The government has already signed off on more than 1 GW of new solar capacity.

Greece’s energy storage market is hot with a number of new policies paving the way to new applications in the market. The government is now working a new plan, which will allow the colocation of batteries with existing solar plants as well as standalone, in front of the meter battery energy storage systems.

The German government has granted €4.6 billion ($5 billion) for 23 green hydrogen projects, while BP has revealed separate plans to develop a 100 MW green hydrogen installation in Germany.

Vietnam plans to introduce a net-metering scheme for rooftop PV. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed a tariff of VND 671 ($0.026)/kWh for surplus solar power.

PV analyst Wannes Demarcke tells pv magazine that solar deployment in the Belgian region of Flanders slowed in the first months of this year. Initial figures show a decline from 2023 levels following the expiration of subsidies and reduced value-added tax on buildings less than 10 years old.

New figures from Ireland’s ESB Networks reveal that the country has surpassed 1.2 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity, with the residential segment accounting for 20% of the total capacity installed over the past six months.

The IEA Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme’s (IEA-PVPS) latest report on solar panel recycling offers a comprehensive review of all existing technologies in this market segment, from pure mechanical recycling to innovative techniques such as as light pulse treatment, water-jet cleaning, pyrolysis, and chemical treatments.

Though it already hosts several of the world’s largest PV installations, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s solar industry is still young, with limited local infrastructure and expertise. Project developers are learning quickly that building PV in harsh desert environments requires a careful eye on quality. New testing laboratories are looking to meet demand.

The French authorities have concluded a commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop PV tender with an average price of €0.1016 ($0.11)/kWh. The government allocated 179.9 MW of PV capacity in total.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Mary Riccio-Kjærgaard, CEO and owner of Danish PV installer Risskov Teknik & Solar Aps. She explains how the idea of leadership is still being negatively influenced by cultural stereotypes and says women can accomplish more and go further by simply being “female leaders.”