Norway

Norway’s Ocean Sun has agreed to provide its technologies for utility-scale floating PV projects that Greek developer MP Quantum Group wants to build on lakes, reservoirs and sheltered coastal inlets. They expect to secure permits for the first demonstrator by the end of this year.

The renewables business formerly known as Scatec Solar has added a 2.5 GW hydropower portfolio in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and also added its first wind farm while reporting a consolidated loss of almost $43 million for the year.

Around 31.7 MW was installed and 1,613 rooftop PV systems were deployed under the Plusskundeordningen solar rebate program last year. This compares to 31.9 MW and 1,666 projects a year earlier. Low power prices and policy confusion are the main causes of this slight market contraction.

The two companies want to test a floating PV array under harsh weather conditions in rough waters for at least a year. The system will be based on a floating solar technology developed by Maritime Moss, a unit of Saipem.

The third annual scorecard published by the consultant has tested 22 batteries with different chemistries for cycling stability and temperature-dependent behaviour and identified significant product trends.

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.

A Norwegian chemical company has received funding from a state-owned innovation hub to develop technology which enables the capture of hydrogen as a byproduct of the company’s silicon production.

Shares in the Norwegian renewables company have been trading below the $26 price linked to a recent $527 million fundraising issuance which the developer launched to fund its planned acquisition of hydropower business SN Power.

Norwegian researchers have quantified the cooling effect of water in direct contact with floating PV arrays. They tested a computational fluid dynamics model to estimate U-values and used it on a 6 kW floating system deployed by Ocean Sun.

Unnamed business was the launch customer for DNV GL’s Instatrust online PPA-matching platform. The corporate client’s request prompted offers of more than 800 GWh of renewable energy.