EVA the next supply chain pinch point for solar
With polysilicon production capacity having been rapidly rolled out after last year’s shortages, China analyst Frank Haugwitz has suggested global manufacturing capability for the ethylene vinyl acetate used on PV panels could struggle to keep pace with what is expected to be another record year of demand for solar.
The EU plan to drastically ramp renewables to replace Russian gas
The European Commission yesterday announced its intent to remove demand for two-thirds of its Russian gas supply in less than nine months and hugely accelerating the rate of solar deployment is a central part of its radically raised clean energy ambition.
Ukrainian energy company restarts grid generation from its solar parks
Clean energy facilities have been ordered offline in the nation since Thursday as the national grid ran an exercise to establish how it would function in isolation from the power networks of Russia and Belarus.
European Commission moves on battery skills and forced labor
The EU’s executive body will supply €10 million to the European Battery Academy program launched in Brussels yesterday which aims to train the 800,000 battery workforce it has been estimated will be required in three years’ time.
EU member states have three weeks to sign up for Europe-wide renewables tender
The European Commission’s proposed renewable energy financing mechanism would enable wealthier EU nations to fund clean energy projects in poorer neighbors rich in solar potential.
Nigerian mini-grid program appears to have been scaled back
An initial intent to commission 28 local solar-plus-storage networks has now been stated as comprising “around 20” mini-grids, with delivery expected this year, rather than by the middle of the year.
Polish gas plans could leave taxpayers needing to find billions
With the Polish government planning to commission five gas power plants over the next five years, London-based thinktank Carbon Tracker has estimated just how costly the move will be, compared to deploying solar plants and energy storage instead.
EU Chips Act proposed to address semiconductor shortages
The European Commission wants to introduce legislation to back semiconductor research and to address the immediate problem of supply chain bottlenecks by drumming up more than €43 billion, with member states and the private sector expected to contribute.
SolarPower Europe calls on Italy to abandon measure introduced to halt rocketing energy price
Mario Draghi’s administration has replaced market-driven electricity prices for the rest of the year and replaced them with tariffs based on historical averages. With solar plant operators among those affected, the European trade body for PV is not amused.
Solar the fastest growing European clean power source
The latest numbers released by EU data body Eurostat indicate renewables, including hydropower, contributed 37% of Europe’s gross electricity consumption in 2020, up from 34% a year earlier.
