Germany

The sunny, dry summer has seen solar break several records and PV kept the lights on when a lack of coolant – caused by rising river water temperatures – led to the temporary shuttering of conventional power plants in France and Germany.

While installations up to 750 kW continue to grow, compared to June, overall capacity slightly decreased. This is due to the fact less utility-scale projects were commissioned in July, compared to the preceding month. Solar subsidies will decrease by another percentage point in September.

According to the German solar trade association, BSW-Solar the number of energy storage systems in Germany is set to double in two years. Already, politicians recognize the increasing relevance storage has, in light of the progressing energy transition.

The market experienced strong growth in nearly all states. Scandinavian countries lead the charge, but Germany showed strong growth in the first half of 2018, analysts report. An uptake in EV sales might result in profound effects on their use as flexible storage units, recent reports and interviews suggest.

With the carbon price set by the bloc’s emissions trading scheme on the rise – alongside fossil fuel costs – there’s never been a stronger economic case for renewables. And analysts are predicting the trend is no blip.

German company, Geltz Umwelt-Technologie has developed an advanced recycling plant, which it says could recover up to 95% of the materials in a module for reuse. With funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 project, the company is planning a pilot facility that could recycle up to 50,000 silicon based PV modules per year.

In a recent pv magazine webinar, K2 Systems presented two new developments designed for solar PV systems on flat roofs, which promise a higher coefficient of friction and good thermal cycling, among other benefits. Here are the questions we didn’t have time to answer.

In a report on the outlook for the Danish energy market, the agency predicted solar will keep having a minimal share in the country’s energy mix as it grows from around 900 MW to just 1.4 GW by 2030.

The Stuttgart-based industrial group wants to work on technology development and production with the British fuel cell manufacturer. Bosch considers highly efficient fuel cells an important step forward in the energy transition.

German developer settled on Ha Tinh province after two years assessing several regions of the southeast Asian nation, and stressed the decision was in large part due to the welcome offered international investors.