France announces winners of 200 MW tender for rooftop PV
The final average price of the awarded projects was €80.8/MWh, slightly below the previous tender of the same type, in which the average price was €85/MWh.
EU grants €5 million to perovskite research consortium
Belgian institute Imec will be the coordinator of a project involving many of Europe’s leading research organizations, which will focus on developing stable, scalable, low cost PV modules based on perovskite technology. The project, named ‘ESPResSo’ has received more than €5 million in funding from the European Union.
Eni to build 220 MW of solar at its Italian facilities
The Italian oil giant has already identified 25 sites where the solar plants could be located. The projects are part of the company’s €7 billion investment plan in Italy.
Poland’s PV capacity reaches 281 MW
In 2017, newly installed solar power in Poland reached around 81 MW, the majority of which comprised PV installations 40 kW or smaller in size.
Total inks deal to acquire Direct Energie
The French oil group, which is the parent company of U.S. solar manufacturer, SunPower, is set to acquire a 74.33% stake in France’s third largest power utility, Direct Energie. With this move, Total is gearing up to expand its presence in the power sector, particularly in France and Belgium.
Blockchain project powered by 45 MW of solar launched in Spain
The project, expected to be finalized by April 2019, is being planned by Spanish blockchain platform, CryptosolarTech. A big cryptocurrency mining server, relying on 3,000 servers to mine cryptocurrencies, will be located near Malaga, in the southernmost part of Spain. Ten solar projects totaling 45 MW will provide the necessary power, the estimated aggregate investment of which is €42.8 million.
Fraunhofer ISE, Schmid develop production line concept for custom design modules
German research institute, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and equipment supplier, Schmid have jointly developed a production line for customizable modules for building-integrated projects. According to Fraunhofer ISE, the concepts developed by joint study could reduce the production cost for BIPV modules as much as 35%.
Swedish scientists develop new method to reduce defects in organic solar cells
The researchers found that printed solar cells achieved a better performance when they used an active polymer material as glue.
Dutch transmission system operators make room for more solar
Netherlands-based TenneT and Enexis are implementing a series of measures to prepare their networks for more solar power in the regions of Groningen and North Drenthe.
Ukraine’s operational solar capacity reaches 841 MW
According to new provisional numbers released by the Ukrainian government, around 100 MW of new solar PV power stations were connected to the country’s grid in the first quarter of 2018.
