energy prices

A latecomer to the European PV party, Romania’s embrace of clean energy means it is perfectly placed to ride the wave of urgently ramped grid investment being rolled out by the European Union.

In the third week of September, European electricity markets prices fell compared to the previous week. The decline was due to lower demand and a significant increase in wind energy production in several markets, which offset increasing gas and CO2 prices. On September 25, TTF gas futures reached their highest level since early April and on September 18, Brent reached its highest settlement price since November 2022.

Almost every weekend since Easter, European generators have been paid to power down plants but some Northern European nations are experiencing record electricity prices. An energy system set up for fossil fuels is in urgent need of reform, according to Gerard Reid, co-founder and partner of Alexa Capital.

The growth of European rooftop solar continues this year, with innovative companies raising capital to develop the market. It’s an encouraging trend with the potential to accelerate rooftop solar adoption. pv magazine correspondent Valerie Thompson takes a closer look.

Small-scale PV systems drove the installation of more than 200 GW of solar capacity last year and could support more than 300 GW this year. That means a reset for utilities.

A poor showing by the ruling, left-of-center Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party in May’s regional and local elections prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap national election for Sunday, July 23. With the vote looming, solar industry insider Kjetil Torper considers the state of Spanish solar.

A flurry of clean energy announcements in the European Union this year bodes well for the expansion of renewables but there will be a race against time to get key legislation adopted before next summer’s European elections.

From zero to hero in 20 years, China’s PV industry has undergone an extraordinary journey. Vincent Shaw considers the reasons for the nation’s solar success and the challenges ahead.

The deployment of a vanadium flow battery at a fire station run by Native Americans illustrates the role that the energy storage technology can play in ensuring that nobody is disadvantaged by the shift away from fossil fuels.

Once a European leader in PV deployment, the solar market in Czechia has slumbered for the last decade. Now, with growing public support and financing in place, momentum is building and a gigawatt-scale pipeline is taking shape. However, fresh challenges loom, as Marija Maisch reports.