Western Europe

Portugal’s Prosecutor’s General Office (PGO) reportedly confused the then-Prime Minister’s name, Antonio Costa, with that of the Minister of Economy, António Costa Silva, in a corruption investigation. The transcription incorrectly implicated the Prime Minister’s involvement.

A scientist in Switzerland is trying to develop a hybrid flow battery and lithium-ion battery by incorporating solid storage materials into the flow battery tank. He is currently identifying stable materials for the storage tanks over a 20-year operating period.

Researchers have looked into the impact of potential regulated charge exemptions on two types of energy communities in 39 European countries. They have found that communities with collectively owned PV systems achieve greater savings.

Norwegian vertical solar system specialist, Over Easy Solar, recently supplied a 102 kW bifacial commercial rooftop system, just a few months after supplying a 45 kWp system for a school rooftop. Both systems were installed on so-called green rooftops by the Norwegian project company, Solenergi Fusen.

A Dutch-German research team has tested how a series of framed messages may be used to boost PV system sales, addressing both self-interest and environmental concerns, and has found that all the proposed messages are effective at promoting the purchase of solar panel installations.

Researchers in Denmark have studied the technical and economic feasibility of biomethanation through large-scale PV power generation. They said that the intermittent PV-driven biomethanation process matches the efficiency of continuous processes after several days.

Plug Power has issued a warning about its 2023 financial performance due to supply challenges in North America, while Air Products says it is cementing its collaboration with Chengzhi in China.

Teleson has launched a sales and distribution platform for PV projects. The mobile and phone app is available for the company’s German-based customers.

Scientists in Germany have developed a new open-access approach to assess regional rooftop PV potential. The ETHOS.PASSION approach combines two deep learning models to identify rooftops and superstructures.

Scientists in the Netherlands have sought to understand the reason for unexpected gains in vertical PV systems and found that these installations have a much higher heat transfer coefficient than their horizontally deployed counterparts.