Europe

The annual budget for solar rebates has been raised from SEK 390 million to SEK 915 million (US$102.5 million). Additional funds are intended to spur more growth and reduce waiting period for applicants.

EU member states have reached a consensus regarding the prohibition of discriminatory taxes for self-produced energy, in negotiations on the renewable energy directive. The indiscriminate regulation covers systems of up to 30 kW capacity. Furthermore, double taxation through the additional charges on energy storage is to be avoided.

The project – the largest storage system using second-life and new electric vehicle batteries installed at a commercial building in Europe to date – was developed in partnership with Eaton, BAM and The Mobility House. pv magazine was present at the commissioning ceremony.

A report published this week by the UK’s Committee on Climate Change warns that the country is currently not on course to meet emissions reduction targets set out in its Carbon Budget legislation; and outlines a series of actions it believes the government should take in order to get back on track.

Aton is offering batteries to be integrated with photovoltaic systems for residential customers. Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo also invested in the company.

The announcement was given by the French energy company during the #PlaceAuSoleil initiative, a new plan of France’s government to speed up PV development, and to make surfaces for large-scale solar plants available. The new package of measures includes doubling the volume of tenders for PV projects on agricultural land and increasing by 50% the volume of tenders for rooftop PV.

The Spanish renewable energy company will sell power to a local glass container producer for a year and a half. The electricity will be provided by its 45 MW solar park in southern Portugal, as well as by other wind power facilities.

A team of scientists led by Russia’ National University of Science and Technology (NUST MISIS) has made a discovery that allows them to better control excitons in a multi-layered semiconductor. In time, the discovery could lead to the development of unique new solar cell materials.

The German-based company delivered 26 battery inverters for lithium-ion storage with a capacity of over 50MWh. The facility is one of the largest of its kind and will provide reserve capacity to compensate for deviations in the power supply.

The huge 1.2 GW PV facility is currently being planned in the Lot-et-Garonne Department, southern France. The project’s required investment is expected to reach around €1 billion. Five big solar players are currently interested in developing the plant.