The Netherlands deployed 3.3GW of PV last year
The country’s cumulative installed PV power reached 14.3GW at the end of 2021.
Italy installed 937MW of solar, 431MWh of storage in 2021
The country’s cumulative PV capacity reached 22.56GW at the end of December.
Solar parks could help to increase rainfall in arid regions
New modeling suggests that the reduction in albedo caused by large-scale solar plants could double rainfall in the Red Sea coastal plain of Saudi Arabia.
Subsidies, interest rates, carbon prices could disrupt renewables expansion
German and Swiss researchers have published a new study that questions the idea of a continual decrease in renewable energy costs, given the reality of rising interest rates and higher carbon prices. They outlined a scenario in which interest rates could rise by up to 5% and public incentives for renewables would be gradually phased out. This could result in a loss of 535GW of new renewables capacity, compared to a scenario in which interest rates remain at current levels.
PV to account for about half of planned US utility-scale capacity additions
The US Energy Information Administration says that over the next two years, 60% of new capacity additions in the United States will be solar or battery energy storage.
Macquarie-led consortium acquires Reden Solar
French solar developer Reden Solar was on sale since October. The €2.5 billion transaction is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of this year.
Debate on land allocation for ground mounted solar heats up in Israel
Conflicts are arising within the Israeli government on how much land should be further allocated for ground mounted PV installations. According to the local renewable energy sector, more land is needed, inevitably, if the country’s renewable energy targets must be met.
Hybridizing PV, redox flow batteries and geothermal heat pumps
A Spanish consortium is equipping one of Madrid’s largest metro and bus stations with a hybrid system that combines PV, geothermal pumps, and vanadium redox flow batteries to provide cooling and heating.
Australian researchers announce lithium-sulfur battery breakthrough
Researchers from Australia’s Monash University have created a new generation of lithium-sulfur batteries to provide a cheaper, cleaner and faster-charging energy storage solution that outlasts lithium-ion alternatives and is rechargeable hundreds of times without failing.
The Hydrogen Stream: Hydrogen-fuelled V8 engine for automobiles from Toyota, Yamaha
In other news, Belgian company Tree Energy Solutions (TES) is accelerating plans to develop the German port of Wilhelmshaven into a “world-scale” hub for importing green gas, and German engineering company MAN Energy Solutions will invest up to €500 million in its hydrogen-focused subsidiary H-TEC Systems.
