Sweden

Although provisional statistics indicated the country had 230 MW of PV capacity at the end of last year, a new report reveals solar growth in 2017 was larger than expected – at 117.6 MW – and that cumulative installed capacity surpassed 300 MW.

Chinese EV maker BYD passes the 600-sales mark in Europe with a deal – announced at the International Motor Show – which also takes it past 100 sales in Scandinavia, and more than 35,000 worldwide.

The 5.5 MW facility was built by power company Göteborg Energi. The solar plant, in Säve, near Gothenburg, is intended to increase the utility’s generation capacity from renewable sources.

The company’s Dutch unit, Nuon, has agreed to acquire three solar projects totaling 27.5 MW of capacity from Powerfield. The projects will be developed under the Netherlands’ SDE+ program, for large scale renewables.

Saltwater batteries can be fully recycled receiving a “cradle to cradle” certificate, and don’t contain lead or lithium. For some, this prevails over the disadvantages of saltwater batteries being considerably bigger and heavier, as well as having a lower discharging current than lithium-ion batteries.

The market experienced strong growth in nearly all states. Scandinavian countries lead the charge, but Germany showed strong growth in the first half of 2018, analysts report. An uptake in EV sales might result in profound effects on their use as flexible storage units, recent reports and interviews suggest.

Turnkey PV equipment supplier, Midsummer has received a repeat order from an unidentified Asian customer for its thin film cell production equipment. On the back of strong demand, it adds that expansion is on the cards.

The social media titan is the world’s biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy so far this year. BNEF figures show the company has already secured 1.1 GW of green power this year, helping the corporate world break last year’s landmark.

InnoEnergy has launched its energy management platforms with local partners in Sweden. The platform would help integrate renewable energy resources through battery storage management algorithms. An expansion into other markets is planned already.

The annual budget for solar rebates has been raised from SEK 390 million to SEK 915 million (US$102.5 million). Additional funds are intended to spur more growth and reduce waiting period for applicants.