Ireland’s solar capacity has almost doubled in the space of one year, largely driven by utility-scale projects of 5 MW or more. In 2023, the country had 349 MW of utility-scale solar across seven projects, but this has since increased to 594 MW across 13 installations.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have developed a new silver-free adhesive for shingled solar cells. The novel adhesive is based the PEDOT:PSS polymer and can reportedly reduce silver consumption to approximately 6.3 mg/W.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will conduct economic and technological feasibility studies on two Bulgarian pumped storage hydropower plants due to be operational by 2032. The projects will each add generation capacity of around 800 MW and will both come with a price tag of around €900 ($964) million.

A new partnership will investigate the viability of colocating a closed-loop pumped hydro energy storage facility with solar PV at the site of a former gold mine in Moose River in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Atlantic Mining, owner of the mine, and Natural Forces, a renewables company with 300 MW of operational capacity in Canada, are optimistic the project will be feasible.

US-based technology provider Torus has agreed to supply nearly 26 MWh of energy storage for Gardner Group’s commercial real estate portfolio. The project will integrate battery and flywheel energy storage systems (BESS, FESS) with Torus’ proprietary energy management platform.

US-headquartered Apricus Generation says it has acquired a controlling stake in Toronto-based Nexus Renewables – its first strategic acquisition.