Europe

SGC and SMO say they plan to install 100 MW of solar waste-to-energy systems in Australia. They aim to deploy a total of 50 waste-to-energy units in the next three years, with plans to scale up to 1 GW in the future.

The European Parliament has adopted electricity market reforms aimed at making the European Union’s electricity market more stable, affordable, and sustainable. The reforms include a focus on two-way contracts for difference (CfD), a mechanism to declare electricity price crises, and protections for consumers against volatile prices.

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, SolarPower Europe describes which policy tools are expected to help Europe move at a faster pace in solar and renewable energy deployment. The European trade body discusses the upcoming support schemes, the transformation of the PPA market and the rise of green finance.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Maria Sabella, CEO and founder of Italy-based Enlight Energy Services. She told as, in some cases, at the beginning of her working relationships, she felt some prejudgment from male colleagues, but she also aknowledged, that the initial reaction disappeared after the focus on the details of the activity to be performed increased.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that in March most European solar operators and grids saw less solar irradiance and production than normal, due to enhanced westerly winds bringing moist air off a relatively warm Atlantic ocean. Large areas of the continent saw irradiance down 10% to 25% below normal for March.

Ademe, the energy and environmental agency of France, has published an anti-greenwashing guide to help companies to avoid misleading commercial practices in their operations and communications. Companies and institutions have access to an online test for initial self-assessments.

Italy hit 3,367 MW/6,645 MWh of cumulative distributed storage capacity at the end of December. The new figures indicate that lithium-ion technology powers most storage systems, at 516,475 units in total.

The European Solar PV Industry Alliance (ESIA) has published a 10-point action plan geared toward delivering 30 GW of EU solar manufacturing capacity by 2030. It includes calls for targeted financial support, sustainability standards for PV units, and the development of a European Solar Academy and European PV Passport.

The Austrian authorities are granting a rebate of €200 ($214)/kWh to residential and commercial storage systems.

Romanian developer Monsson has installed a 24 MWh battery storage system as the first stage of a 216 MWh project. The storage unit forms part of Romania’s first hybrid PV-wind-battery system.