• June 03, 2024

The European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and the Environment (CINEA) has signed grant agreements with seven solar projects in Finland with a total capacity of 212.99 MW. Following the success of the EU's first cross-border solar tender last year, the EU Renewable Energy Financing Facility has invested a total of €27.5 million in these projects. These include two projects in the South Ostbotten region of western Finland, a 74.03 MW plant in an area currently used for peat production and a 33 MW plant in a peat bog. In addition, the 20-megawatt surface solar park in Loukkaanaro will be the largest solar project in northern Finland and is expected to operate for at least 30 years. Other projects funded include a 40.16 MW power plant in Poytya in southwestern Finland, a 30 MW power park in the city of Tohmajarvi in the North Karelia region of eastern Finland, and an 8 MW power park in the city of Nivala in central Finland Megawatt power plant and a 7.8-megawatt power plant in the city of Savonlinna in eastern Finland.

• May 30, 2024

Ausgrid, a distributed networking provider in New South Wales, Australia, has commissioned its third battery energy storage system as part of the federal government's AU $200 million (US $132 million) Home Solar Community Battery program. Ausgrid says the 250 kW/535 kWh battery storage system installed in the Sydney suburb of North Epping will allow households without rooftop PV systems to benefit from renewable energy, while also easing pressure on the grid by absorbing excess solar power. Ausgrid CEO Marc England said the benefits of community batteries are huge, providing a flexible, scalable energy solution that benefits the local communities in which they are located and the wider energy system. "Batteries like this can maintain local power quality and voltage, enabling residents to install more solar and feed that solar energy into the grid, supporting home electrification and electric vehicle charging," he said, adding, "Batteries will also provide system-wide benefits, supporting more intermittent renewable energy generation by bridging the gap between when energy is generated and when it is needed." " England said that with the right regulatory setup, Ausgrid could provide more than 1 GW to 2 GW of storage capacity in its network, which he believes will improve the safety and reliability of the power system.

• May 27, 2024

The Irish government has announced the second phase of its Small-scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS). The latest phase targets community and local projects, or Renewable energy communities (RECs). In addition to export-only projects under 1 MW, it also targets small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) that produce their own solar or wind power. The scheme provides guaranteed feed-in tariffs without the need for auctions. Government guidelines state that successful applicants will receive a premium on their renewable electricity market income. Electricity prices for renewable energy certificates have been set at 150 euros ($162.70) per megawatt-hour for solar projects up to 1 MW and 140 euros per megawatt-hour for projects between 1 MW and 6 MW. For smes, the electricity price for solar projects up to 1 MW is 130 euros/MWH and 120 euros/MWH for projects between 1 MW and 6 MW. The scheme sets cheaper electricity prices for wind projects. According to government guidance, electricity prices for renewable energy certificates are higher because such projects face additional hurdles in developing planning, grid connectivity and financing, and also reflect public policy preferences for community participation in renewable energy projects. The Irish Solar Energy Association welcomed the latest phase of the scheme, saying it "presents a significant opportunity for communities, local businesses and smes to drive Ireland's transition to renewable energy". The first phase of the Irish SRESS will be launched in 2023 for self-use of more than 50 kW and less than 1 MW. The third phase is expected to support all applicant categories and is currently scheduled to start in 2026. The Irish government has set a target that 80% of its energy market will come from renewables by 2030.

• May 24, 2024

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association has released a digital map highlighting more than 200 agricultural photovoltaic projects across Europe. The total capacity of these flagged projects, including pilot and commercial projects, exceeds 15 GW. They represent a range of technologies, including ground-mounted photovoltaics, line-to-line photovoltaics, dynamic photovoltaics, overhead photovoltaics, farm rooftop photovoltaics and solar greenhouse technologies, all tailored to suit different agricultural activities. So far, the map features projects in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Lina Dubina, policy adviser at the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, said the map shows how agricultural photovoltaics and plantations can work together to support a wide range of crops. Last year, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association published best practice guidelines for agricultural photovoltaics. In recent weeks, France, Catalonia and the Czech Republic have issued guidelines for the adoption of agricultural PV technology.

• May 20, 2024

A new report prepared by the Indo-German Partnership for Innovative Solar Technologies provides a comprehensive overview of the potential of floating solar energy in India and forecasts the solar installed capacity in India for the period from 2024 to 2040. The new report shows that India's inland water bodies have the technical potential to carry 206.7 GWp of floating solar power capacity. The research team used GIS based data on all water bodies in India (in square kilometres) in reference to the European Commission's Copernicus programme. After filtering, the data set includes water bodies with a usable area greater than 0.015 square kilometers and available for 12 months, but excludes protected areas. 0.015 square kilometers is the water area required to install 1 MW floating photovoltaic. Madhya Pradesh has the highest development potential of 40,117 MWp, followed by Maharashtra with 32,076 MWp. The project was launched under the direction of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and funded by the German Federation for International Cooperation (GIZ). The project is led by EY LLP, with CSTEP and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy as project partners. Under a conservative scenario, India is expected to install a cumulative 30 GW of floating solar capacity between 2024 and 2040, the report said. They assume that 1 MW floating PV requires a capital expenditure equivalent to the levelised Cost of energy (LCOE) of INR 4.32 (US $0.052)/KWH. The research team assumes a 2.5% reduction in capital expenditure per year, which will lead to a gradual decline in LCOE for floating PV plants, starting in 2024 and continuing through 2040. LCOE is expected to fall to INR 3.72 / KWH by 2030 and to INR 2.90 / KWH by 2040.以上翻译结果来自有道神经网络翻译（YNMT）· 通用场景

• 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."