Europe

Germany’s cumulative PV capacity hit 68.2 GW at the end of January.

An international group of researchers has designed a new hybrid photovoltaic-liquid air energy storage (PV-LAES) system. Their economic evaluation for the proposed 2 MW PV-LAES project showed that the investment payback period can be within 10 years, and the accumulated net profit can reach up to $2.2 million from a life-cycle perspective.

Turkmenistan’s new procurement exercise could bring some solar capacity to a country that has thus far only deployed 2 MW of renewable energy – all from hydropower.

Viessmann has developed a heat pump for residential applications that can produce between 5.8 kW to 10.4 kW of heat. It has the capacity to heat 220 liters of domestic water, with a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 4.8 for space heating and 3.14 for water heating.

Battery energy storage saw a major increase in contracted capacity in British auctions this year, with many utility-scale projects securing long-term deals. The business case, however, is not as strong for all storage durations.

The German authorities reviewed 213 MW of bids and selected 195 MW of projects in the nation’s fifth tender. The final prices ranged between €0.0900 ($0.0959)/kWh and €0.1125/kWh. The final average price was €0.1087.

BayWa AG is strategically realigning BayWa re so it can sell its solar trade business. In the future, the subsidiary will focus on international projects as an independent power producer (IPP).

A UK-Australian research group has built an intermediate band solar cell with a quantum ratchet semiconductor nanostructure that reportedly increases the ratchet band state lifetime of the device. Their new design builds on a cell structure known as the Vaquero–Stainer Device (VSD).

Adolf Goetzberger, the founder of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and an early proponent of photovoltaics, passed away on Feb. 24 at the age of 94.

Italy’s FuturaSun has developed new bifacial double-glass PV modules based on n-type heterojunction (HJT) half-cut multi-busbar solar cells. The Velvet Pro line features M6 cells with power ratings ranging from 380 W to 480 W for rooftop applications. The Velvet Premium line features M12 cells, with power ratings from 615 W to 700 W for large-scale applications.