Sandra Enkhardt
Tesla can continue to cut trees for German ‘gigafactory’
The company has secured approval from the Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court to start clearing 91 hectares of forest for its first European “gigafactory,” which is scheduled to start operations in summer 2021.
Vattenfall secures 10-year power supply deal for 60 MW of German solar
A Deutsche Telekom subsidiary has agreed to buy solar power from Vattenfall.
Construction begins on 27 MW Netherlands floating solar plant
German renewables company Baywa r.e. has started work on its fourth utility scale floating PV project in the water-rich country.
European battery providers mindful of possible coronavirus shortages as LG Chem halts production in China
Storage system providers in Europe have told pv magazine output has thus far been unaffected by the virus outbreak in China. Manufacturers are aware, however, the situation may change rapidly if self-isolation measures taken by the authorities continue.
SMA reduced operating losses in 2019
The German inverter maker last year saw shipments and revenue rise by 35% and 20%, respectively. The company claims measures taken to reduce its cost structure are bearing fruit.
German coal mines could host 3 GW of floating PV
Research institute the Fraunhofer ISE has estimated the technical potential of floating PV at mining sites in Germany at around 56 GW. With floating projects 10-15% more costly than land-based alternatives, researchers have called for further incentives, such as the staging of ‘innovation tenders’.
Germany added almost 4 GW of PV in 2019
The German network operator reported around 339 MW of new solar in December. New installations for 2019 exceeded new capacity additions for the preceding year by more than 1 GW.
Europe has now 8.4 GW of planned and built PV projects under PPAs
A new report from Enervis shows that Spain is currently the most attractive European market for PV projects with a PPA, with 4.39 GW of contracted capacity. Italy and Germany are the second and third markets for this type of project, with 1.91 GW and 1.05 GW, respectively.
Wacker reports strong operating loss for 2019 due to polysilicon business
The German polysilicon manufacturer said results for the past financial year are in line with its expectations. However, falling sales and earnings were also reported. The company blamed low prices for polysilicon for last year’s performance.
Switzerland increases net metering tariff for rooftop PV
Swiss renewable energy association VESE has reported an average 4% increase for owners of PV systems not exceeding 10 kW in size. However, the remuneration continues to vary widely between the 30 largest network operators in the country.
