Europe

FuturaSun has revealed plans to expand its production capacity in China and its home market, Italy. Its new all-black solar panel features a power conversion efficiency of up to 21.60%.

Plans for Europe’s largest-ever PV cell and module factory are taking shape, with equipment orders placed and a projected start date in mid-2024. Enel Green Power has received €118 million ($116.36 million) in funding from the EU Innovation Fund to support the project, out of a total €600 million investment. The EU is hoping it will catalyze further investment in similar projects, and start a high-tech comeback for European solar manufacturing.

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology researchers have unveiled designs for advanced solar hydrogen production systems to broaden the application of LC biomass. Mitsubishi has started building the world’s first validation center for hydrogen-related technologies, while Fortescue Future Industries has announced investments in Germany and Australia.

The first renewable energy community in Portugal was inaugurated in August 2021 in Miranda do Douro, a rural village in the north. One year on, pv magazine spoke with the company behind the project to assess its status. With a production capacity of 73.3 kWp, solar has saved the community €31,500 ($30,850) on electricity bills.

An energy transmission system operator (TSO) has announced plans to install a 250 MW battery project in Kupferzell, Germany, in order to transmit wind power from the northern part of the country to the south.

The European Union’s much-needed emergency measures to tackle the ongoing energy crisis may have unintended consequences for the region’s renewable energy ambitions, warn analysts, but the impact on power purchase agreements will likely vary, depending on the contracts.

The RE-Source 2022 event is taking place this week in Amsterdam amidst what is being described as “the perfect storm” of challenges for the European PPA market. Prices have skyrocketed, permitting continues to hamper accelerated development, and a new European Commission policy decision has only added to the inertia in the market.  

The Italian government has decided to unlock 314 MW of new renewable energy projects, including a 60 MW agrivoltaic plant in the southern region of Apulia.

Maxeon has closed its last PV module factory in Europe, as it cannot remain competitive due to its small size and high raw material costs.

Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE is applying its FlexTrail-printing technology to the direct metallization of silicon heterojunction solar cells. It said the technique reduces the use of silver, while maintaining high efficiency levels.