Germany

In the first ten months of the year, the country saw the addition of PV systems totaling 3,924 MW. The rooftop segment keeps prevailing in the German PV market.

Scientists in Germany investigated printing processes for perovskite solar cells, making some important conclusions for the development of inks suitable for the deposition of perovskite cell materials onto a substrate.

Hynamics, EDF’s hydrogen unit, has set up its own subsidiary in Germany. From there, the French group plans to expand its hydrogen generation business across the continent.

The latest edition of the accountant’s renewables attractiveness index has placed the nation in top spot for photovoltaics, helping it to fourth spot for overall clean energy investment. Mexico has been hammered by the government’s attitude to clean power and France has also slipped, four places.

The German authorities allocated around 202 MW of solar power in the procurement exercise. Final prices ranged between €0.0518 and €0.0545 per kWh.

Although still unfinished, the 187 MW solar park under construction by German utility EnBW near Berlin has already begun delivering power to the grid.

A group of German scientists has analyzed the possible trajectory of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in photovoltaic research and industry and has suggested a roadmap to bring this technology closer to mass production. Despite a large number of challenges, the academics predicted a brilliant future for CNTs in PV applications, explaining that the barriers to their adoption are constantly being reduced.

A British-German research team claims that organic PV technologies may become mature enough to compete with crystalline silicon and thin-film products not only in BIPV, but also in power generation in the electricity market. In order to get there, however, organic PV products will have to achieve higher efficiencies.

In Spain, Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis has agreed to buy wind and solar power through six different PPAs. In Germany, Enerparc has secured a PPA from German railway operator Deutsche Bahn.

The French energy giant has acquired Charging Solutions, a recharging stations specialist, from German industrial group Viessmann. It has also won a tender by the municipal government of Paris to operate 2,300 EV charging points.