• May 16, 2024

The Dutch competition watchdog has said that grid fees charged by large energy suppliers to owners of photovoltaic systems are legal. Depending on the size of the system, solar users currently pay between €100 ($107) and €697. The Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM) has investigated the grid fees currently charged to owners of residential PV systems by four energy suppliers - Budget Energie, Vattenfall, Eneco and Engie - and concluded that the fees are legal. The agency said the "terugleverkosten" fees are primarily based on higher procurement costs, higher imbalance costs, and net metering costs that energy providers must deal with when their customers own and operate rooftop PV systems. The agency added that the fees are not a source of profit because the money collected makes up for the lower tariffs paid to consumers who do not own photovoltaic equipment. The competition watchdog also said that PV system owners currently have to deal with complex contracts offered by energy suppliers, which makes it difficult to compare and select the best options. "The Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority calls on suppliers and energy comparators to make efforts to improve the comparability of contracts," the agency said in a statement. Dutch online platform www.keuze.nl allows consumers to compare different types of commercial offers, and grid fees can range from 100 euros ($107.81) to 697 euros, depending on the size of the system. According to the "Solar Energy Trends in the Netherlands 2023" study recently released by the Netherlands New Energy (DNE) Research consultancy, the Dutch solar market will add 4.82 GW of PV installed capacity in 2023. About 2.5GW of new capacity installed last year came from residential installation systems, up from 2.2GW a year earlier.

• May 13, 2024

The Swiss Federal Office for Energy reported a significant increase in photovoltaic (PV) installations registered for subsidies in the first quarter of this year. The data shows that photovoltaic installations contracted for financing in the first three months of 2024 reached a record 603 MW, a surge of 81% compared to the same period last year. The month of March alone saw an influx of installations, with a total of 6,112 systems registered for subsidies through Pronovo, the Swiss government agency. The surge in installed capacity reached 197 MW, indicating a significant increase in PV adoption. The surge in registrations was mainly attributed to the growth of large systems with capacities greater than 100 kW, while applications for smaller systems less than 100 kW remained relatively stagnant in the first quarter. In addition, the Swiss Federal Energy Agency notes that there has been a significant increase in photovoltaic systems installed on the exterior walls of buildings. Pronovo received 484 registrations for such installations in the first three months of 2024, with a total capacity of 6.7 MW. The surge in PV installations highlights Switzerland's commitment to the adoption of renewable energy and marks an important step towards achieving the country's Sustainable Development Goals.

• May 09, 2024

The Italian government has issued a new law prohibiting the deployment of large solar power plants on productive agricultural land. The ultimate goal of this law is to avoid the "desertification" of Italian agricultural land. The new regulations do not apply to projects currently in the approval process. Italian Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida said, "We want to regulate the use of photovoltaic panels, and we believe that land use for production and power generation must be adapted to agricultural production." Lollobrigida stated that solar power plants cannot be installed in agricultural areas. "We have very favorable tax regulations for agricultural enterprises and agricultural land," he said. "However, if you want to deploy photovoltaic panels on the ground, you change their intended use, so we believe that this practice should not continue." Lollobrigida also pointed out that the new regulations will not involve agricultural power generation facilities. The government stated that areas such as quarries, mines, state-owned railway franchising areas, airport franchising areas, highway protection areas, and industrial plant areas may still continue to generate electricity. Lollobrigida stated that the government will protect all projects during the approval process.

• May 06, 2024

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has reinstated the so-called Model and Manufacturer Approval List (ALMM) authorization with effect from April 1, 2024. Only solar products and manufacturers on ALMM approved by the MNRE will be eligible to participate in government-backed projects. The MNRE introduced the policy to protect India's domestic industries from dumping of Chinese products. The ALMM licensing provides an opportunity for Indian domestic manufacturers to serve the huge market by erecting non-tariff barriers for Chinese products. ALMM includes solar module models and manufacturers that comply with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). "The mandatory use of ALMM components ensures that Chinese components are excluded, thus giving a huge boost to Indian component manufacturers," said Tanmoy Duari, CEO of AXITEC Energy India. "This not only expands the market for Indian manufacturers, but also insulates them from competition with their Chinese counterparts, boosting local solar production and innovation." Goldi Solar is one of ALMM's listed PV manufacturers. The company plans to invest 6 GW of module manufacturing and 5 GW of battery production by 2026. Ishver Dholakiya, managing director and founder of Goldi Solar, said: "ALMM is a balancing mechanism that provides significant advantages to domestic manufacturers and creates a favourable environment for Indian companies." "This presents an excellent opportunity for local manufacturers, particularly in two key areas: rooftop solar and utility-scale projects."

• April 26, 2024

In Germany, floating PV installations are still fairly rare and generally on a smaller scale. Several megawatt-scale projects are under development or construction, but the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) stipulates that solar modules can only cover a maximum of 15% of the water surface. Developers must also maintain a minimum distance from the coast, making many floating solar projects difficult or even uneconomic. However, German startup Sinn Power has found a solution that makes some projects feasible. The company plans to build what it claims is the world's first floating photovoltaic system with vertically mounted solar modules. The project will be built on a gravel pit lake in Girching, Bavaria. The plant is still in the planning stage, but it has the strong support of the regional agency gwt Starnberg GmbH, the Starnberg regional Office and the municipality of Gilchen. Anchoring and lake preparation work for the Gilsing Gravel Pit is scheduled to begin on August 1. Construction of the 1.8MW floating solar installation will begin in September.

• April 22, 2024

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India has released draft guidelines for the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana program, which aims to support the installation of rooftop solar (RTS) power plants for 10 million households with subsidies from the central government. The main goal of this plan is to help 10 million households provide free or low-cost electricity of up to 300 kWh per month by installing rooftop solar energy. The plan will be implemented until March 31, 2027. MNRE stated that the budget for the second phase of the grid connected rooftop solar energy plan is INR 118.14 billion (USD 1.4 billion) and will continue until the new plan is launched from 2025 to 26. The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) portion of this plan will be implemented through the Prime Minister's national portal website - Surya Ghar. Suppliers will register and upload their detailed information on the national portal website, including system products, price points, system design, and specifications. The beneficiary will apply on the national portal website and will receive a unique application ID. They will select suppliers for rooftop solar installation with the assistance of various decision-making tools on the portal website. The beneficiary and supplier will jointly determine the rate, system specifications, customized design based on location, and value-added services, but must comply with the minimum technical specifications specified in the plan. To ensure that customers are not overcharged, MNRE publishes benchmark prices for solar modules, inverters, and other important equipment on its portal website every year.

• April 18, 2024

German investment firm Hansainvest Real Assets has launched a 605 MW solar power plant in Witznitz, near Leipzig, Germany. The facility is currently the largest operational photovoltaic project in Europe. At the site of the new plant, project developer Move On Energy plans to install an additional 45 MW in the summer of 2024. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Witznitz project was held in June 2022 and was successfully completed in less than two years. Move On Energy has deployed about 1.1 million solar panels on the 500-hectare site of the Witznitz II open-pit lignite mine. New cycling lanes were also built as part of the project. The large power plant is also surrounded by hedges. Hansainvest Real Assets also plans to test "parallel agricultural uses in the area below the solar module" and has set up a test area of five to 10 hectares for this purpose. In 2023, the investment company entered into a long-term power purchase agreement with Shell Energy Europe to purchase solar power from the plant.

• April 15, 2024

At first, many people overlooked the use of solar energy - it was seen as a cool space science experiment. Then, when solar started to develop and the technology matured, they scoffed at the small volumes being installed versus the vast amounts of coal, gas and oil being extracted every day. Solar and, more recently, energy storage installations now outnumber any energy source, and opposition has sometimes taken the form of spreading misinformation from centralized, fossil-funded sources to influence local acceptance of solar. And it is already having an impact. The Sabin Center on Climate Change at Columbia Law School collected 14 false solar claims in its document "Refuting 33 False Claims about Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles." The Law School previously launched the Renewable Energy Legal Defense Program in 2019 and published discussions on legislation that could slow the deployment of renewable energy.

• April 11, 2024

Malaysia's Ministry of Energy Transformation and Water announced a program to encourage residential photovoltaic installations. The National Solar Incentive Scheme (SolaRIS) will provide rebate subsidies ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 ringgit per kilowatt for new net metering users. Rebates will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To qualify for the rebate subsidy, applicants must ensure that their photovoltaic system is in operation by March 31, 2025, and that the government's rebate quota has not been used up. Applications opened on April 1 and will be closed by the end of the year. State-owned utility company Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) administers the rebate subsidy scheme. Applicants must be both a residential customer of TNB and a Malaysian citizen to be eligible for the rebate subsidy. The SolaRIS project will support Malaysia's goal of generating 70% of its electricity supply from renewable energy by 2050 and help reduce carbon emissions in the power sector, according to the Malaysian government website.