Europe

The French authorities might be poised to lower the feed-in tariff (FIT) threshold for rooftop PV from 500 kW to 100 kW. France’s Direction générale de l’énergie et du climat (DGEC) says the proposed measure is designed to reduce the expense of the FIT scheme, despite opposition from trade groups such as Enerplan and SER.

New research from Denmark shows PV-to-methanol facilities may achieve 30% lower levelized cost of methanol through engagement in reserve markets. The researchers examined the ability of a PV-to-methanol plant to contribute to the grid in frequency containment reserves (FCR), automatic frequency restoration reserves (aFRR), and manual frequency restoration reserves (mFRR).

Researchers at the Delft University of Technology have designed an optical filter for the thermal management of IBC photovoltaic modules. The proposed technology can reportedly reduce the cell operating temperature by up to 2.5 C and extend the lifetime of a PV module by up to 2 years.

Nur Bukhara Solar PV LLC FE, a project company owned by Masdar, will deliver a 63 MW battery energy storage system alongside a 250 MW solar plant in south-central Uzbekistan.

Fairer curtailment, greater grid flexibility and better regulation were all on the industry wish list at Kongres PV. From cable pooling to direct lines, Poland hasn’t been afraid to innovate in its approach to renewables deployment – but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Mytilineos has signed two 10-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Ireland for 14.28 MW of solar projects it is developing.

The German research institute said the new 120 µm thin solar cell could exceed 25% efficiency with the next optimization steps. The device was metalized via screen-printed contact fingers and calibrated by scientists at the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin.

Chinese battery manufacturer Svolt has cancelled plans to open a plant in the German state of Brandenburg. Meanwhile, its plans for cell production in Saarland, southwest Germany, continue to be delayed.

Researchers in Italy have found that combining residential air heat pumps with air-geothermal heat exchangers may reduce power consumption by up to 30%. They tested the proposed combination using Matlab in a passive single-family building located in Valtellina, northern Italy.

Italy, Spain and Portugal recorded their highest-ever daily PV production rates during the week of May 20, while prices also rose across all major European electricity markets, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting.