Western Europe

France’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached 14.6 GW at the end of March.

Scientists in Italy have developed a module with an area of 0.2 sm and an efficiency of 2.7% in outdoor conditions, with a tilt angle of 60 C. They designed it by considering the trade-off between low losses and device sturdiness.

A German consortium led by Fraunhofer IEE aims to bring gallium nitride inverters closer to commercial viability. The primary goal of the research project is the optimization and miniaturization of inverters, including passive components such as cooling systems, casings, and mounting structures.

Shipbuilder Hermann Barthel has developed the world’s first push boat to combine battery-electric propulsion with hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Iberdrola and Fertiberia, meanwhile, have commissioned Europe’s largest green hydrogen production plant.

An international research team has proposed the use of water from high-altitude rivers and regenerative braking in electric trucks to store electricity for reuse in power networks, or for transport purposes.

Italy’s energy agency has awarded 300 MW of solar capacity at 34 locations, but it only selected a 6 MW wind project in its latest auction. All developers offered a maximum discount ranging from 2% to 3.02% off the auction ceiling price of €0.065 ($0.07)/kWh.

Germany’s new solar additions for April included 517 MW under the country’s incentive scheme and 35 MW of unsubsidized installations.

Aurora Energy Research says in a new report that maximum green hydrogen project profitability could be achieved when solar and wind power plants are combined with electrolyzers.

Fraunhofer ISE have improved the performance of a cell structure originally developed by France’s Soitec in 2014. The German scientists managed to reduce resistance losses and the reflection on the cell front side.

Ciel et Terre has unveiled a new rough-water floater and another rigid platform that maximizes the number of solar panels per square meter.