Europe

UK scientists have developed Solar2Water, a system that generates twice the amount of water as conventional atmospheric water generators. The system operates efficiently with the same energy input, regardless of air humidity, relying solely on photovoltaics.

The European Commission says it is unnecessary and unadvisable to prolong the emergency measures for the energy market that were adopted at the end of 2022. This means that the €0.18 ($0.19)/kWh price cap on solar and other renewables will no longer apply in most member states from June 30.

Mezőcsát, a 233 MW solar plant in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hungary, has officially commenced operations.

PVcase, a Lithuanian PV software company, has acquired Anderson Optimization and says the integration of the US-based firm’s software could allow it to slash design times from weeks to just 20 minutes.

More than 20 companies, governments, and nongovernmental organizations have presented EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson with a roadmap for the European heat pump sector, including recommended solutions to overcome barriers to growth.

A research group from Ireland developed a PVT system consisting of a 170 W photovoltaic panel connected to a water tank placed at the backside of the PV module itself. The PVT module is able to considerably reduce the temperature of the PV unit while producing hot water for residential use.

A Spanish-Finnish research team has fabricated an IBC solar cell with an ultrathin black silicon wafer with a thickness of 40 µm. The device is based on vanadium oxide and laser-processed phosphorus-doped silicon carbide stacks as hole and electron transport layers, respectively.

German engineering federation VDMA has published a new report outlining strong demand for solar production equipment from non-Asian markets, indicating a shift in the global solar industry landscape.

In the first week of June, prices of most European electricity markets fell and some negative prices were registered, thanks to the decrease in demand and prices of gas and CO2, and to the increase of renewable energy production in some cases. However, prices rose in the Nord Pool and MIBEL markets, with the latter being the highest weekly price, something that did not happen since the first week of November. A record photovoltaic energy production was registered in Germany on June 3.

Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions has supplied two 50 MW seawater heat pumps for district heating at the port of Esbjerg, Denmark. They use CO2 as a refrigerant and will be powered by nearby wind farms. The project will start producing 350,000 MWh of heat per year in the fall.