Germany

Eon announced that, for the first time, more than 10 billion kWh of solar power were generated in Germany between January and April. Bruno Burger of Energy Charts has also determined that the last week of April was the best week for renewable energies in the current year, with a share of 53.2% in electricity generation across the country’s grid.

The German car maker entered the solar PV home storage business in mid-2016. In the future, its parent company, Daimler will align the stationary storage segment with its grid business.

New solar PV installations for March totaled around 156.5 MW, which is slightly less than in the previous two months. FITs will remain at current levels for the three-month period between May and July.

The solar PV equipment provider saw its sales decrease in the past financial year. It has improved its results and an order intake, however, which is expected to have a positive impact on sales this year.

The solar mounting systems maker’s U.S. division has filed for bankruptcy, one month after the German parent company filed for insolvency.

After a strong finish to 2017, Germany’s equipment suppliers are looking at weaker demand in 2018, although the industry still expects sales growth of 9.2% this year, according to the latest Business Climate Survey published by the German Engineering Federation’s Photovoltaic Equipment Group.

According to the latest report published by the German Engineering Association (Verbandes Deutsches Maschinenbau Anlagen, or VDMA), solar equipment sales for German tool makers increased by 117% in Q4 2017, compared with the previous quarter.

Scientists led by Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have demonstrated for the first time that, as well as electrons, light also releases charged particles in a perovskite solar cell material. The researchers state that this groundbreaking discovery could make possible new solar power applications, such as batteries directly charged by light.

The Terra High Power charger can charge an electric vehicle (EV) in just eight minutes, thus adding up to 200 km of range, says ABB, which launched the new model at this year’s Hannover Messe.

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%.