Eastern Europe

Scientists in Russia introduce a promising new material for battery energy storage, the product of more than three years of research. Incorporating a nickel-salen polymer into the cathode, the group demonstrated a battery that can charge and discharge ten times faster than today’s lithium-ion batteries. And though the battery still lags in terms of overall capacity, the group is confident that its discovery will lead to big improvements for lithium batteries.

Scientists in Russia have designed a whole series of new compounds that could serve as catholytes and anolytes in organic redox flow batteries. The materials promise to open up new pathways for further research, and overcome some of the challenges for organic redox flow batteries in commercial, large-scale energy storage projects.

The latest set of clean energy statistics compiled by the International Renewable Energy Agency signal a changing of the guard when it comes to clean power, with legacy hydropower facilities overtaken by new intermittent renewables.

The solar park is being planned by UAE-based Phanes Group, in Nurata, in the Navoi region. It will sell electricity at a fixed rate over a 25-year period.

The lightweight and flexible cell was built by Estonian researchers with microcrystalline powders. The device is claimed to be the most efficient solar cell fabricated with a semiconductor compound known as Cu2CdGe(SxSe1−x)4.

That was just one of the revelations of the latest Dentons’ Guide to renewables investment in Europe, which also noted solar plants could be switched off in Slovakia, Ireland could go either way on clean power pricing, and Luxembourg is struggling with a surprising headache.

Photovoltaics could offer peak generation at times of the year when the nation needs it most, says IRENA, but plenty will have to be done, including upgrading an aging grid and training an army of installers and building energy auditors.

The French developer will sell 70% of the power generated by the facility to Albanian power utility Operatori i Shpërndarjes së Energjisë Elektrike SH.A. (OSHEE) under a 15-year PPA and the remaining portion will be sold on the spot market.

Romanian manufacturer Karpat Solar has acquired a 100 MW panel production line from Spanish provider Mondragon. The manufacturing facility will be located in Transylvania.

The new panel was conceived for applications in the rooftop segment. It features an efficiency of up to 20.5% and a power rating of 360/455 W. The Slovenian module manufacturer used 166×166 mm wafers for the new product, as it claims they currently provide the best power and size ratio.