Europe

The airplane is powered by 22 square meters of solar cells with an efficiency of up to 24% and 14 kWh of lithium-ion batteries. According to its creators, it can reach an altitude of 25,000m.

Higher gas and electricity prices could open up new opportunities for short-term power purchase agreements in the Italian and European renewable energy markets, according to Stefano Cavriani, the founder and director of EGO Energy, an Italian company that specializes in PPA hedging. In a chat with pv magazine, he explained that electricity prices should not increase more, but they may stabilize at current levels, or slightly below the €100/MWh threshold.

FRV, Harmony Energy, and Tesla are building a 99 MW/198 MWh facility in Essex. The system will rely on the Megapack solution from the U.S. manufacturer.

The shallow pilings used on solar farms can offer relief to subsoil structures which might otherwise be threatened by regular plowing and, as Italy’s biggest solar project has demonstrated, site surveying for PV projects can unearth hidden delights.

Dutch startup Solarge has developed a 500 W panel that weighs 50% less than conventional glass-backsheet modules. The new product can be fixed to rooftops with roofing anchors, which eliminates the need for ballast, according to the manufacturer.

The result was confirmed by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE). The cell was fabricated through a low-temperature co-evaporation method for the growth of the light-absorbing CIGS semiconductor thin film.

The annual EU PVSEC conference started this morning, and the opening session saw renowned PV reliability expert Ulrike Jahn win the Becquerel Prize for her contribution to the development of PV technology.

Energy commissioner Kadri Simson has opened the 38th European solar technology conference and exhibition with a positive message for the industry. A week of tech and innovation events have got under way at this year’s event, which is again being held online.

Switzerland-based Energy Pier has developed a new concept for hybrid-wind solar projects located along highways. The proposed solution combines a rooftop PV system with small scale wind generators that are installed on both sides of the supporting pillars of the system.

Scientists in Germany developed a new process for manufacturing battery electrodes, that they say could be both more cost effective and environmentally friendly compared to current technologies. The technique could be applied to a range of different battery materials/chemistries and its creators say they are in discussion with a number of battery cell manufacturers regarding pilot production.