Europe

The Macedonian government increased the size limit for PV installations under net metering, launched a €1 million rebate scheme, and is now planning to eliminate all grid fees for prosumers.

Researchers in Hungary have found that a high tilt angle may increase power forecast errors in a PV installation by up to 49%. They also ascertained that
undersizing the inverters by a sizing factor of 1.5 may reduce forecast errors by up to 25%.

Swiss scientists have built a 4T tandem perovskite/CIGS mini-panel with a geometric fill factor of over 93%. It combines a 10.8%-efficient mini perovskite module and a 15.1%-efficient CIGS device.

Estonian startup Solarstone has developed two solar tiles with an efficiency of up to 19.5% and an operating temperature coefficient of -0.41% per C. It recently secured €10 million in funds to expand sales across Europe.

The auction will be held on October 25 and will be open to solar projects not exceeding 5 MW in size.

Spanish scientists developed a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a bipolar plate based on a nature-inspired structure. This architecture, according to its creators, shows remarkable performance when operating at high relative humidity values of 90%.

The fire affected an area of around 5,000 square meters but did not damage the solar panels. The local fire brigade was able to control the fire in around two hours.

The authorities in Slovakia are offering rebates to cover up to 50% of the cost of buying and installing solar water heaters, PV systems with generation capacities of up to 10 kW, heat pumps, biomass systems, and solar-thermal collectors.

High temperatures can affect different components of PV systems. Inverters can fail, the efficiency of solar modules can decline, and existing cell damage can become worse. However, investors, planners, and operators can adjust to heat waves in a number of different ways.

The UK High Court has sided with environmental groups in a judgment that will require the government to re-evaluate its climate strategy for the 2030s and make up for an apparent shortfall that would see it miss the target of lowering carbon emissions by 78% from 1990 levels by 2035.