Europe

A group of companies comprising Akuo Energy, Amarenco, BayWa re, EDF Renouvelables, Enel Green Power, Engie, Iberdrola and Vattenfall has sent a letter to the European Commission to ask for a strategy to build up a continental PV supply chain.

A new report from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) has shown that heat pump technologies are currently unable to compete for heating with gas due to high taxes and levies on electricity. According to its experts, a carbon tax, or removing this tax imbalance, may create a level playing field for renewable technologies in the heating sector.

Antonio Delgado Rigal, chief executive of energy forecasting service AleaSoft, tells pv magazine that skyrocketing gas and electricity prices are putting the global economy under strong pressure, while also opening up huge opportunities for solar, renewables and green hydrogen. He says current gas and electricity prices, along with rising CO2 prices, already make green hydrogen competitive. He therefore calls for immediate action on building new capacity, but acknowledges that a quick end is not yet in sight for rising prices.

Higher gas and electricity prices could open up new opportunities for short-term power purchase agreements in the Italian and European renewable energy markets, according to Stefano Cavriani, the founder and director of EGO Energy, an Italian company that specializes in PPA hedging. In a chat with pv magazine, he explained that electricity prices should not increase more, but they may stabilize at current levels, or slightly below the €100/MWh threshold.

According to UK-based consultant Ember, eight EU countries achieved record solar power production during June and July. Germany and the Netherlands were able to cover around 17% of their electricity demand with PV over the period.

The European Union wants to provide €700 billion through its post-pandemic reconstruction program, but the European Solar Manufacturing Council says that €20 billion of the total should be used to shore up the European PV industry.

Albanian utility KESH has secured funding for its 12.9 MW floating solar plant and, in Spain, the Port of Malaga is planning a 2.1 MW floating facility. Construction began on two unsubsidized solar plants in Germany and Portugal. Enel and Sterling & Wilson will build two large solar plants in Peru and the US, respectively.

German consultancy Enervis said the European market last year saw a 50% drop in new PPA-linked photovoltaic projects, compared to 2019. This year, however, higher capture prices for the PV energy source should enable a larger number of deals to be closed.

Green Investment Group, owned by Macquarie, has launched Cero Generation, which will operate on a European scale and carry out both ground-mounted and commercial scale power generation projects. It will also provide integrated energy storage solutions.

The Covid-19 crisis temporarily paralyzed the business for large scale unsubsidized solar projects across Europe. At the end of the year, however, demand for projects that are financed through electricity purchase agreements regained speed. Pexapark estimates that there is currently 10 GW of renewable energy capacity under signed PPAs in Europe, most of which is for solar power.