Europe

The Italian government has unveiled a new hydrogen strategy that aims for 20% hydrogen penetration into final energy demand by 2050.

The promise of hydrogen as the energy source of the future has long been deliberated by manufacturers, climate professionals, and political figures. These discussions have intensified following the European Commission’s economic recovery package, which features a focus on kick-starting a clean hydrogen economy in Europe. Nikolaos Tsiouvaras, R&D director at Systems Sunlight S.A., a Greek manufacturer of industrial and advanced technology batteries for the energy storage industry, explores storage in Europe.

With Swiss solar equipment company Meyer Burger laying plans for a module fab in North Rhine-Westphalia and Norwegian panel maker REC Group mulling a fab in Sarreguemines, northeastern France, Xavier Daval – from French renewables association the SER – says it is time Europe resumes its path to a stable solar manufacturing industry, not least because of the rising proportion of solar module costs accounted for by shipping.

Iberdrola’s 500 MW Núñez de Balboa solar park has started commercial operations, following the completion of construction in December.

In a recent conversation with pv magazine, Luca Pedretti – the COO of Swiss software developer Pexapark – said that a new mindset is now required for solar and wind PPAs. The market has not completely stalled, he argued, noting that prices have already started to stabilize.

The European Commission has launched a 12-week online public consultation period for its 2030 climate targets.

In a recent conversation with pv magazine, Virginia Canazza, the CEO of Italian consultancy REF-E, outlined future scenarios for PV in the Italian PPA market. Projects will be delayed, as prices for gas and CO2 certificates are already low. Unsubsidized PV projects via PPAs might still be bankable, but it is unlikely that investors will risk dealing with small margins. Current capture prices do not justify investments and new entrants may wait for market stability.

Analysts from German energy advisory Enervis have told pv magazine power purchase agreement-linked solar projects which are under development in Europe may be delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak and new unsubsidized projects appear unlikely any time soon, thanks to the current economics.

According to SolarPower Europe, local agriculture and solar energy could become the engines of a sustainable European economy. The trade body has created a task force, led by French independent power producer Amarenco, that aims to place agrivoltaics at the top of the European agricultural policy agenda, while also establishing global standards for the segment.

Differing finance costs across the continent are likely to see wind-rich, high electricity demand nations such as Germany, France, Austria and Belgium forge ahead with renewables at the expense of countries with plenty of sun but where borrowing is expensive, according to a German study.