Utility-scale BESS to drive Czechia’s storage market
Aurora Energy Research says regulatory shifts in Czechia are creating strong short-term revenue prospects for utility-scale battery storage, with a two-hour system commissioned next year projected to earn an internal rate of return above 15%.
The Hydrogen Stream EU funds eight hydrogen projects under NetZero call
The EU Innovation Fund has awarded €2.9 billion ($3.4 billion) to 61 projects, including eight advancing hydrogen technologies across aviation, shipping, and heavy transport.
Czechia expands rules for agrivoltaics, permits vertical installations
Amendments to rules governing agrivoltaics in Czechia mean it will now be possible to deploy vertical agrivoltaics, or have installations on arable land if vegetables with high or very high labor intensity are grown at least once every three years.
Czechia amends electricity generation licence threshold
An amendment to Czechia’s Energy Act has increased the limit for mandatory electricity generation licences from 50 kW to 100 kW. The change applies to solar installations that produce electricity for direct consumption.
Optimum tilt angle for PV systems ranging from 0° to 90°
A Slovak research team has developed a mathematical model for determining the optimum tilt angle of a solar system ranging from 0° to 90°. Their framework was tested on an experimental setup in Czechia and attained 93.9% accuracy in predicting the system’s energy balance.
Czech electricity distributor connects 253 MW of solar in H1
Czechia’s largest electricity distributor, ČEZ Distribuce, says 9,084 solar power plants were connected across its network during the first half of the year, 86% of which were equipped with an energy storage system.
Solar output up sixfold in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia’s cumulative solar generation increased sixfold between 2019 and 2024, while each country made efforts to reduce its coal dependency. However, energy think tank Ember says a lack of battery storage uptake and solar targets below the EU average risk derailing progress.
Czech cybersecurity agency warns against Chinese solar inverters
Czechia’s cybersecurity office said Chinese solar inverters in small power plants are a potential security threat. The Czech solar association told pv magazine work needs to be done on incentivizing European manufacturing to resolve the reliance on imports.
Panasonic expands air-to-water heat pump factory in Czechia
Production has begun at an expanded air-to-water heat pump facility belonging to Panasonic Heating & Ventilation Air-Conditioning Czech, s.r.o.. The company says the site will respond to growing demand in the European market.
Germany offers best European policy for agrivoltaics, claim researchers
Scientists in Canada studied romaine lettuce growth under cadmium telluride thin-film solar modules with varying transparency and photosynthetically active radiation, and found Germany’s regulatory framework most effective for maximizing agrivoltaic benefits.
