Longer-duration BESS finds footing in Germany’s toll market
BlackRock‑backed developer Akaysha Energy says lenders require 60% to 80% contracted revenue before committing project debt to utility‑scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Germany – a threshold that structured offtake products borrowed from its home market can meet.
Inside PV Manufacturing: SoliTek’s new fully automated module line in Lithuania
In the latest article of a new series on solar manufacturing facilities around the world, pv magazine presents SoliTek’s solar manufacturing facility in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company recently commissioned an upgraded 200 MW production line, as it transitions from semi-automated to fully-automated processes for critical assembly stages.
Autonomous photovoltaic vehicle Infinite Apollo validates urban circulation performance
In late April, a 200 km urban road test was conducted in Belgium under real-world traffic conditions and varying levels of solar irradiance to evaluate system performance in complex operational environments. The test serves as the final validation of the vehicle’s systems.
Prototype of PVT-driven dual-source heat pump with borehole thermal energy storage achieves coefficient of performance of 4.07
An international research team has developed and tested a hybrid energy system combining photovoltaic-thermal collectors, borehole thermal energy storage, and a dual-source heat pump to supply low-carbon heating for livestock buildings. The full-scale prototype, demonstrated on an Italian swine farm, showed high efficiency, strong seasonal performance, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels while enabling partial self-supply of electricity and heat.
Iberdrola advances pumped-storage hydro station in Spain
The Valdecañas pumped-storage hydro plant in southwestern Spain has undergone a technical upgrade, increasing its operational capacity by 355 MW and adding a 15 MW/7.5 MWh hybrid battery system.
South Korean utility to install 95 MW of solar at substations by 2030
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) says it will install 95 MW of solar capacity across 500 substation sites nationwide by 2030, using surplus substation land to meet South Korea’s K-RE100 public-sector renewable energy target.
Argentine football turns to photovoltaics
Two of Argentine’s most popular football clubs – River Plate and Vélez Sarsfield – are advancing solar energy projects at their Buenos Aires stadiums to cut operating costs and expand on-site renewable generation.
Curtailment, negative prices push Greek small- and medium-sized PV asset owners toward bankruptcy
Continuous negative and zero wholesale electricity prices, weak demand, and Greece’s inadequate energy storage policy are leaving small- and medium-sized PV investors exposed, despite abundant solar resources.
German startup offers scalable AC system for bidirectional charging
Lade GmbH has unveiled an AC system that supports charging at up to 22 kW in both single-phase and three-phase configurations. The hardware is already designed to enable bidirectional charging in large-scale charging parks.
AlphaTracker launches hydraulic mechanism that locks trackers during strong wind gusts
The Portuguese manufacturer unveiled Maxi-Lock, an autonomous hydraulic mechanism that locks solar trackers during strong wind gusts or high-amplitude vibrations, and Smart-Slope, a universal joint-style system designed for uneven terrain. The company claims the technologies can reduce supply and maintenance costs, lower component counts, improve plant availability, and enable higher PV module integration in both conventional and agrivoltaic projects.
