Western Europe

A new report from the association of Dutch grid operators predicts strong growth for the Dutch PV sector, regardless of potential international scenarios.

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.

Switzerland says it wants to reduce its incentives for small PV systems to encourage larger projects that use all available rooftop surfaces.

Public Power Corp. (PPC), Greece’s state-owned utility, has won a tender to build a solar-plus-storage project on the Greek island of Astypalaia.

Scientists in the Netherlands have developed a new crystalline solar cell based on poly-SiOx passivating contacts. The poly-SiOx tech results in a 20% efficiency rating, but 4T tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells based on the poly-SiOx cell can reach an efficiency of 28.1%, and 2T tandem perovskite-silicon devices can hit 23.2%.

Hungary’s Platio has inaugurated a solar footpath in the Dutch city of Groningen. The installation consists of 2,544 monocrystalline Patio solar pavers with a 21.8% efficiency rating. It will generate 55,000 kWh of electricity per year and can purportedly withstand a pressure of 2 tons without microcracks.

France-based Luciole & Basilic has developed a tracking system that can be manually oriented according to the zenith every 15 days. The startup recently introduced the first prototype and is now looking for distributors.

Netherlands-based One Solution says its new FlexTherm Eco battery can be used in combination with rooftop PV systems and residential photovoltaic-thermal installations. It consists of a thermal charging station that converts power directly into heat and stores it for the provision of hot water.

Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy says that hydrogen pipelines will be “far better” than vessels at moving hydrogen over short- and medium-range distances in the years ahead.

Several lawyers recently spoke to pv magazine France spoke about changes to the French legal framework for renewable-energy power purchase agreements (PPAs).