Austria

Air Products has announced plans for Europe’s largest blue hydrogen production plant, while RAG Austria says it has commissioned “the world’s first 100% hydrogen storage facility in a porous underground reservoir.”

OeMAG, an Austrian government-run agency, has allocated incentives for solar and storage across 121,000 contracts this year. Their number was significantly lower in 2022.

Researchers in Germany have found that there is “no evidence” to support the notion that renewable energy generation fosters peace through prosperity. The trio of academics came to this conclusion after empirically testing the assumption that distributed renewable energies may reduce international conflicts and promote democratic values.

A group of scientists across the world have created a list of recommendations that can help create solar neighborhoods. In a recently published study they highlight the importance of legislative frameworks and advanced computing.

Austria has reduced the value-added tax (VAT) on residential PV systems. The new measures apply to all new PV systems up to 35 kW in size, and it will go into force in January.

Researchers in Switzerland have looked into three kinds of black ink coating for metallic ribbons used in PV modules. They have compared their visual stability and their effect on electrical performance.

pv magazine has learned that five solar-related fires in Germany and Austria occurred in late September. Photographs show that two of the blazes were likely caused by residential batteries manufactured by LG.

Italian researchers have compared the performance of hydrogen and electric buses in northern Italy, while DNV has released its guidelines to validate claims related to low-carbon renewable hydrogen and ammonia attributes.

Austria’s Ökofen has developed a residential heat pump that identifies cost-effective and eco-friendly electricity in real time, in order to optimize heat production. It is now seeking a patent for its proprietary control technology.

The Austrian government introduced the Electricity Industry and Organization Act (ElWOG) two years ago, leading to the creation of a map of locations with available grid capacity for solar. The ElWOG require grid operators to be transparent about grid-connection capacity.