Europe

Amazon Web Services has inaugurated a pilot project to turn the Greek island of Naxos into a “smart island.” A number of other companies, including Volkswagen, are also running smart island pilots in the Aegean Sea.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) says that 691 MW of new PV systems were subsidized under the country’s EEG renewables incentive program in September.

A new study of the environmental impacts of renewable energy finds significant opportunities for solar to reduce its impacts in various categories, including human health, resource depletion, and environmental damage. The study notes in particular that more work is needed to establish a comprehensive reuse and recycling network for end-of-life PV products.

A roof-mounted air source heat pump has reportedly been installed for the first time in the United Kingdom, as part of a pilot project at the University of Salford. The performance of the 200 kg Bosch 3400i Hydrotop will be compared to a similar unit mounted on the wall of a home.

Qingdao University researchers have synthesized high-performance titanium dioxide-based anode materials with excellent cycling stability, while German scientists have used operando techniques to observe how solvated sodium ions embed themselves in electrodes.

A unit of Svevind has signed an agreement to invest up to $50 billion in a project on the Caspian Sea that could produce up to 2 million tons of green hydrogen per year. Stellantis, meanwhile, has revealed plans to mass produce light commercial hydrogen vehicles.

Scientists at EPFL in Switzerland have achieved a new efficiency record for dye-sensitized solar cells. The group reported 15% efficiency in direct sunlight, and up to 30% under ambient light conditions. Their key achievement was the development of a new combination of photosensitizer materials that can absorb the entire light spectrum.

The Sustainable Solar Europe conference kicked off this week with a focus on the European Commission’s draft regulation on eco-design. The regulation will likely be adopted in the second quarter of 2023.

Operating gas-fired power plants would be 10 times more expensive in the long-term than building new solar capacity in Europe, according to research from intelligence company Rystad. Their study uses the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for gas and coal-fired power generation at different price levels and compares it to the LCOE of solar PV and wind.

A new study has calculated that the globalized PV module supply chain has saved billions for PV installers in Germany, the US and China. It also found that if strong nationalistic policies that limit the free flow of talent and capital were implemented going forward, solar panel costs would be 20-25% higher by 2030.