Western Europe

The government said developers have one more month to apply for the subsidy. It also delayed the project-completion deadline from Dec. 31, 2020, to June 30, 2021. From next year, rooftop PV will likely be supported by unspecified tax breaks.

European scientists have developed mini modules with an active area of 14 cm² and a 3.68% efficiency rating. The panels also have a self-adjusting feature that can help to mitigate the amount of light when they are exposed to full sunlight, or to the temperatures of buildings with large windows and/or glass facades.

The Italian cabinet has accepted a request from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities to cancel approvals granted by the Lazio regional government for two large-scale PV projects. Lazio’s Tuscia area is a potential solar hub for the Italian energy system.

A global assessment of bifacial testing methods conducted in Singapore has endorsed the approach taken by France’s Institut National de l’Énergie Solaire.

The Norwegian government has decided to postpone the planned reduction of the Plusskundeordningen solar-rebate program, currently managed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, until the end of this year.

Dutch startup Solar Visuals and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have developed new “mimic design” facade modules that reproduce the features of building surfaces. Lenneke Slooff-Hoek, a senior scientist for TNO, told pv magazine that the panels can be made in any size or color at 13% efficiency, adding that they have a partly transparent colored layer made of small dots.

Analysts appear divided on the effects the public health crisis will have on the EV market even as sales of petrol-engined SUVs soar in China. And Portugal is plowing on with its Covid-delayed national solar tender, an exercise which may help establish whether clean energy thinktank Ieefa is right to predict PV prices will continue to fall.

The SOL 7 series comprises five products for Perc, Topcon and heterojunction devices.

Dutch water supplier Evides Waterbedrijf has commissioned a 1.6 MW floating PV plant at one of its facilities near Rotterdam. It is now considering the construction of more floating solar plants on three other reservoirs, including a 350-hectare water surface.

The Yllikkälä Power Reserve One project will be one of Europe’s largest storage installations and the biggest in the Nordic countries. French developer Neoen will deploy the big battery close to Lappeenranta in the southeastern part of the country.