Ireland

Ireland could potentially reach 1 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity by the end of this year, according to new figures from the Irish Solar Energy Association.

A research group from Ireland developed a PVT system consisting of a 170 W photovoltaic panel connected to a water tank placed at the backside of the PV module itself. The PVT module is able to considerably reduce the temperature of the PV unit while producing hot water for residential use.

Oman has awarded hydrogen contracts to CIP, Shell, and BP, while Germany has strengthened its hydrogen ties by linking it to broader European initiatives.

Mitsubishi Electric has launched a demonstration experiment to assess the efficiency of heat pumps in demand-response control on the Aran Islands in Ireland and San Pietro Island in Italy. As part of the European Union’s REACT project, solar, wind, and storage solutions will also be implemented to enhance the energy self-sufficiency of isolated islands.

Irish researchers have created a mobile app that calculates the best route for solar-powered vehicles based on user preferences for time and energy efficiency. The app’s experiment predicted the most energy-absorbing route with 51.65% accuracy and chose the most energy-consuming route with 86.65% accuracy.

According to Aurora Energy Research, Europe is on track to install at least 95 GW of grid-scale battery energy storage systems by 2050, up from 5 GW of installed capacity today, and representing more than €70 billion ($76.9 billion) of investment.

EirGrid assigned 7.2 GW of capacity in its latest auction, with 5.4 GW to come from gas power plants. The auction clearing price reached €83.050 ($90.554)/MW per year.

The Irish cabinet plans to present a new measure in its finance bill this week to eliminate value-added tax (VAT) on solar products.

Trane has released a rooftop air-to-air heat pump that can produce between 14.5 kW and 37.4 kW of heat and between 16.5 kW and 38.4 kW of cooling. The new device can purportedly be adapted to cold-climate applications by adding complementary heating sources such as electric heaters or hot water coils.

Power Capital Renewable Energy (PCRE) has secured €240 million ($259.5 million) to build 1.2 GW of solar projects across Ireland. Commercial operations are expected to start in 2025.