Covid-19 weekly round-up: Residential systems in Italy will get a 110% tax rebate and UK consumers are being paid to turn appliances on as coronavirus turns the energy world upside down
Plus, Australia’s Greens want renewables front and center of the post Covid-19 economy and Mexican plant owners are overturning a politically-motivated ban on clean energy, however, Indian developer Acme solar says pandemic delays warrant it reneging on the terms of the record-low solar price agreement it signed.
EU to support tenders for 15 GW of renewables over next two years
The EurActiv portal has published a draft of the European Commission’s reconstruction plan, which includes a tender program for 15 GW of renewable energy projects over the next two years. The tender mechanism is expected to raise €25 billion of investments.
PV module recyclers aiming for high-purity material recovery
France’s National Institute for Solar Energy takes a look at the state of play in the European solar panel recycling industry.
The raw materials needed for the European Green Deal
A team tasked by the European Commission with estimating the raw material requirements of the European energy transition found if global PV roll-out is high, and the component requirements of certain solar technologies don’t improve by a greater margin, some elements could end up in short supply.
Europe can be 60% powered by solar before 2050
Perhaps it is not surprising a report co-produced by Europe’s solar industry places PV at the heart of a zero-carbon, mid-century energy system on the continent. However, the study does flesh out two out of three scenarios in which becoming carbon-neutral by 2050, or even 2040, could be possible.
European leaders push ‘Green Recovery’ plan for post-Covid economy
Political support for the idea of linking Covid-19 exit strategies to green policy appears to be mounting in EU institutions. Easter, appropriately enough, may have injected new life into the idea.
Covid-19 daily bulletin
pv magazine rounds up the latest Covid-19-related stories likely to affect the world of solar and energy storage.
European Council raises hopes of green stimulus package
The economic fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak is yet to be determined but as legislators scramble to establish fiscal support for the EU it is becoming clear the suits in Brussels are not prepared to scrap their hard-won Green Deal plan. Quite the opposite, in fact.
European Commission reveals circular economy plan amid Covid-19 storm
The trading bloc’s bureaucrats could be praised for grasping the nettle to transform manufacturing in a post-Covid-19 world or accused of burying another slew of red tape whilst member states are distracted, depending on your point of view.
European industrial strategy makes no mention of solar
The move has been welcomed as a step in the right direction by lobby group SolarPower Europe nevertheless, particularly as it envisages bringing together EU low-carbon businesses. The outline ambition will now be considered by the European Parliament.
