Enel inagurates 10 MWh second-life battery project at Italian airport
Enel’s Pioneer project is expected to last 10 to 15 years and has been integrated with Rome-Fiumicino airport’s Solar Farm, self-consumption PV system.
Supercharging pumped-hydro stations with floating PV
Scientists have simulated the addition of floating solar panels to Switzerland’s Etzelwerk, an open-loop pumped-storage hydropower plant. Using 10% of the upper reservoir for the solar panels, the research team was able to add about 20% of the energy output.
EU updates Photovoltaic Geographical Information System
The EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) has updated the core technologoy of the Photovoltaic Geographical Information System with the aim of reflecting the dominance of crystalline silicon solar technologies over thin-film counterparts in the global energy market.
Utility-scale batteries show exponential growth in Italy
The development of bigger battery energy storage systems (BESS) is booming in Italy, but deployment of residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) equipment fell in 2024.
Ecoprogetti releases fully automated solar panel recycling line
Italy’s Ecoprogetti has developed an automated photovoltaic recycling line that separates and recovers up to 100% of the aluminum, copper, glass, plastic and silicon in solar panels. It can process up to 60 panels per hour while using 40% less energy than other solutions on the market.
Italy installs 1.24 GW of solar in Q1
Italy installed 1.24 GW of new solar capacity in the first quarter, a 19% decline from the same period in 2024, according to renewables association Anie Rinnovabili. The slowdown highlights mounting headwinds in the country’s PV market.
Will MACSE auction put Italy at the front of battery deployment?
Italy expects a wave of subsidized utility-scale batteries to meet all national grid needs, attendees heard last week at the NetZero Milan summit.
All agrivoltaic system designs at a glance
Researchers in Sweden and Italy analyzed the economics of one-axis, vertical, and elevated PV systems for agrivoltaic applications, finding that overhead agrivoltaic systems may perform better the further south they are installed. The discounted payback period and levelized cost of electricity were also calculated and compared.
Italian court rejects law on suitable areas for renewables
Italy’s Lazio regional tribunal has partially invalidated a May 2024 decree defining suitable zones for ground-mounted renewables, forcing national and regional authorities to rethink the policy framework.
