Western Europe

French organic PV module manufacturer Armor said it began manufacturing free-form PV modules in early April. The new technology will allow the company’s ASCA PV film to be produced in a range of different shapes.

German company GP Joule wants to build hydrogen transport infrastructure in North Friesland. The electricity generated by five wind farms in the region will be converted to green hydrogen to be delivered to filling stations in Husum and Niebüll and used by two fuel-cell buses and five cars.

Today’s edition of the Official Journal of the French Republic featured two long-awaited decrees: One concerning the multi-year energy program and another on national carbon budgets and the state’s low-carbon strategy.

The coronavirus epidemic continues to batter the global economy, including the solar industry, but falling demand during lockdowns has brought negative energy prices as well as helping drive record solar generation, amid less-polluted skies.

The Nordic nation is now the third European country to have waved goodbye to coal for power generation. Another 11 European states have made plans to follow suit over the next decade.

A U.K. study has identified 13 soiling agents with differing effects on light transmittance. Researchers found some dust particles were able to degrade photovoltaic performance by as much as 98%.

Solar capacity is expected to grow to unthinkable levels in the tiny country, according to a new report by Netbeheer Nederland. Under one scenario in which regional governments and companies would take the lead in the energy transition, cumulative solar capacity could reach 125 GW. Under a second scenario, in which growth would be driven by the central government, total PV capacity could hit 106 GW.

EuPD Research estimates around 65,000 energy storage systems linked to rooftop PV were installed last year thanks to increasingly popular solar arrays and electric vehicles as well as rising electricity prices.

Portuguese electric utility EDP will supply power to Dutch nutrition, health and sustainable lifestyle multinational Royal DSM. The agreement relates to 59 MW of solar and wind generation capacity.

Dutch solar distributor Enie is offering to buy rooftop PV systems from cash-strapped owners who will then receive a monthly leasing fee before regaining ownership of the hardware a decade on. The company will pay around 85% of the initial cost of the arrays but said it will not consider systems with ‘poor’ design or components.