Sweden and Norway extend joint electricity certificate system for renewables to 2030
The governments of Sweden and Norway have come to an agreement on how the electricity certificate system for renewable energies will be further implemented. The joint market-based support system of the two Scandinavian countries is open to power plants utilizing biofuels, wind, solar, hydro and tidal energy.
Slovenia launches solar rebate scheme
The Slovenian government has earmarked €3 million to finance solar rebates in 2017. The funds will cover 20% of the costs for buying and installing a PV system under net metering.
Imec claims 22.8% efficiency for bifacial n-type PERT solar cell
The Belgian research institute has developed a bifacial n-PERT solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 22.8%. Imec researchers claim this cell has the potential for a cost-of-ownership at module level of less than $0.30/W.
Netherlands’ Gasunie launches 1 MW power-to-gas pilot project powered by solar
The Dutch gas provider is building Netherlands’ first MW-sized power-to-gas installation. The plant will be powered by 5,000 solar modules.
Photon Energy plans to deploy 50 MW of PV capacity in Hungary
The Dutch project developer plans to build PV plants for its own portfolio in the European country.
Albania preps to host first utility-scale PV projects
Albania’s Ministry of Energy and Industry has received an application for a 1.7 MW PV project last week. This is one of several large-scale PV project proposals that were submitted to local authorities over the past few months.
Armenia sets up commission to support large-scale PV projects
The Armenian government said the new commission will supervise the development of six solar projects totaling 110 MW.
Malta makes room for more PV
Malta’s water supplier has signed an agreement with Malta Developers Association and with Malta Chamber of SMEs to build MW-sized solar plants on the roofs of all its reservoirs.
German PV sector reports increasing solar demand
According to the business climate index of German solar association BSW, the order intake of PV developers is significantly increasing thanks to improved financing conditions and more attractive yields.
Spain’s 3 GW renewable energy auction to be held on May 17
The Spanish government has published the auction timeline and the amount of capacity it intends to allocate. Several renewable energy technologies will compete in the tender.
