Lithuania testing bifacial PV in noise barriers
Two pilot projects are integrating PV into noise barriers, one alongside a railway near Vilnius, and the other along the national E5 highway connecting the cities of Kaunas and Vilnius.
The Hydrogen Stream: Russian researchers propose hydrogen extraction from gas wells
While a team of Russian researchers proposed a novel approach to produce hydrogen directly in gas wells, Plug Power and CPH2 secure certification for the hydrogen systems.
55 MWh battery storage system goes live in Bulgaria
Billed as the largest operating battery energy storage system in Bulgaria to date, the 25 MW/55 MWh facility, developed by Austria’s Renalfa IPP, came online at the start of the month.
Croatia kicks off renewables tender
Croatian energy market operator HROTE is accepting submissions from developers until June 27 to secure market premium support for 607 MW of renewables projects, including 450 MW of solar.
Bulgaria backed by EIB for 1.6 GW of pumped storage
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will conduct economic and technological feasibility studies on two Bulgarian pumped storage hydropower plants due to be operational by 2032. The projects will each add generation capacity of around 800 MW and will both come with a price tag of around €900 ($964) million.
OMV Petrom acquires stake in 130 MW of solar in Romania
OMV Petrom, a majority-owned Romanian oil and gas supplier, has purchased a 50% stake in three solar projects in Romania.
Hive Energy secures grid connection permit for 215.6 MW of solar projects in Serbia
UK’s Hive Energy said the projects will feature battery energy storage systems that equate to 10% of the overall solar capacity.
Azerbaijan gives green light to 760 MW of solar
Azerbaijan has approved the construction of two new solar plants totaling 760 MW in the southeastern part of the country. Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. (Masdar) will oversee the development of the projects.
Romania turns on first floating PV plant
Romanian energy company TMK Hydroenergy Power has switched on the country’s first floating solar project. The facility, located on a pond in Caras Severin county, is connected to a hydropower plant.
Poland’s new capacity market auction could hamper storage deployment
The draft parameters for this year’s capacity market auction in Poland could make the rollout of battery energy storage systems (BESS) much more difficult. The document proposes a significant reduction to the BESS derating factor that could be particularly harmful for longer duration storage systems.
