Europe

If Europe is to come up with its own Inflation Reduction Act moment, and incentivize a return of EU solar manufacturing leadership, it must lift state-aid related restrictions on the PV manufacturers who have announced a willingness to build 30 GW of production lines.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy and a group of heat pump manufacturers have started a project to replace gas and oil heating systems in multi-family homes with propane heat pumps featuring low-charge propane (R290) as the refrigerant.

A German court has issued a preliminary injunction ordering Trina Solar to stop selling its Honey and Vertex X solar modules in Germany, as they allegedly infringe upon the patented passivation technologies of Hanwha Q Cells.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales have been chosen to work with Airbus Defence and Space on a strategic research program to fast-track the development of high-efficiency solar cells for space applications.

BloombergNEF Analyst Jenny Chase says the world installed 268 GW of new solar capacity in 2022, with annual installations expected to hit 315 GW in 2023. In a recent interview with pv magazine, Chase pointed to a large backlog of delivered PV modules in Europe that still have yet to be installed.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has sharpened its focus on long-duration storage in Australia with the acquisition of the proposed Bowen Renewable Energy Hub project, which is expected to combine 1.4 GW of pumped hydro storage with huge solar and wind generation.

Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office has awarded 486 MW of solar in its latest renewables auction, which was largely unsubscribed. It allocated 150 MW for installations smaller than 1 MW, with a lowest bid of PLN 0.24477 ($0.056)/kWh, and 336 MW for larger installations, with a lowest bid of PLN 0.23677/kWh.

SNCF Réseau and the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES) in France have agreed to jointly develop renewables projects. They aim to build PV systems that can supply continuous power at voltages of 3 kV, 6 kV, and 9 kV, while optimizing installation costs – particularly with regard to cables, operations, and maintenance.

With Russia intent on destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a network of NGOs is taking up the challenge to donate small and mobile energy supply solutions. Astrid Schneider, a member of clean energy nonprofit Eurosolar, shared the story of the small solar kits that are making a big difference, in this month’s edition of pv magazine.

The Flemish government will halve the solar panels premium from a maximum of €1,500 ($1,594) in 2022 to €750 from Jan. 1, 2023. It will also end the home battery premium earlier than initially announced, from April 2023. The premium for heat pump boilers, on the other hand, will be retroactively doubled.