Europe

Balcony solar modules are becoming increasingly popular. TÜV, a technical inspection association in Germany, has come up with tips to safely install and operate them.

An international research team has fabricated a quasi-2D perovskite solar cell with a special kind of phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI) salt to enhance hole extraction. The result is a 23.08%-efficient device that is also able to retain 95% of its initial efficiency after 900 hours.

The authorities in French Guiana plan to allocate 550 hectares of public land for agrivoltaics and large solar-plus-storage projects.

Stiebel Eltron says it will quadruple its heat pump manufacturing capacity at its factory in Holzminden, Germany. It also plans to triple the number of industrial jobs it provides to 1,200 positions by 2027.

Spanish researchers compared two software programs that are used to analyze bifacial PV systems. They found that PVsyst outperformed Comsol in calculating solar production in nearly all cases.

UK researchers have assessed the cost of a 24V soluble lead flow battery optimized for PV applications. They have found that a total component cost of GBP 50 ($62)/kWh could be achieved, which is half that of current nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion cells.

Pexapark reported the signing of 23 new power purchase agreements (PPAs) in March, with a combined capacity of approximately 2 GW. In the first quarter, developers announced nearly 70 PPAs, totaling 6 GW.

According to Aurora Energy Research, Europe is on track to install at least 95 GW of grid-scale battery energy storage systems by 2050, up from 5 GW of installed capacity today, and representing more than €70 billion ($76.9 billion) of investment.

Bosch has announced plans to build its first heat pump factory in Dobromierz, Poland. The German heating manufacturer will invest €225 million ($247.3 million) in the new facility, which is expected to start operations in early 2026.

Non-synchronous renewable energy affects grid stability but storage-as-transmission (SAT) assets offer grid companies a trump card. Whether it’s “virtual transmission” in Australia, Germany’s “Grid Booster” program, or the giga-scale pipeline of projects emerging in the United Kingdom, energy storage is finding a way.