Spain

Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland said that chemical energy storages were needed for short and long-term balancing in every climate region, especially in the northern climates. Meanwhile, companies are moving forward with their plans to produce hydrogen in Namibia and Morocco.

Spanish researchers compared two software programs that are used to analyze bifacial PV systems. They found that PVsyst outperformed Comsol in calculating solar production in nearly all cases.

Non-synchronous renewable energy affects grid stability but storage-as-transmission (SAT) assets offer grid companies a trump card. Whether it’s “virtual transmission” in Australia, Germany’s “Grid Booster” program, or the giga-scale pipeline of projects emerging in the United Kingdom, energy storage is finding a way.

CNPC and Sinopec are working on transporting hydrogen via pipelines, while Matrix Renewables has expanded its green hydrogen partnership with Rolwind Renovables.

A team of US researchers engineered a double-membrane system to minimize chloride oxidizing the anode. Meanwhile, the Spanish government supports Destinus to develop its hydrogen-powered supersonic plane and test it in 2024.

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has revealed plans to open a second solar module factory in Spain, following its first announcement in February. The initiative will require European funding to ensure its competitiveness.

The European Commission has informally approved Portugal and Spain’s request to extend the so-called “Iberian exemption” mechanism. The measure, which limits the price of natural gas for electricity production, was originally scheduled to end in May, but it will now run until the end of the year.

Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition says it is now reviewing a significant amount of hybrid wind-solar power projects. The developers include Iberdrola, Acciona, Forestalia, Ignis, and Enel Green Power.

Storage specialist Fluence has launched Ultrastack, a battery energy storage system (BESS) for storage-as-transmission assets (SATA). It is designed to help network owners and operators to manage renewables curtailment, increase the use of power lines, and limit congestion.

High interest rates and hefty capex drove up the average payback time for solar in Germany, Spain and Italy to around 20 years in 2022, according to a new report by SolarPower Europe (SPE) and Energy Brainpool. pv magazine recently spoke with SPE Market Analyst Christophe Lits to crunch the numbers.