Events

The first day of the RE-Source Southeast Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, this week underscored European and regional interest in renewable-energy projects based on corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs). Negative or very low electricity prices in European electricity markets affect the appetite for such projects, but the solution for investors and policymakers is to approach the issue systematically.

The 2024 edition of the Middle East’s most important solar event hosted a higher number of exhibitors and visitors, even though the heaviest rainfall seen in decades hit the United Arab Emirates throughout the first day of the trade show. Nonetheless, the event clearly showed that large-scale PV projects still dominate in the UAE market.

Import duties and domestic incentives continue to shape the Turkish solar market. Despite protectionism, there was a significant Chinese presence at the SolarEX trade fair as new manufacturers rely on Asian resources.

Volatility in the global PV market did not go unnoticed this week at the Solar Solutions Amsterdam trade fair. However, the prevailing impression is that the Dutch PV market is poised for stability.

Italy’s most important event for renewable energy took place last week in Rimini with a 41% increase in visitors and about 30% growth in the number of participating brands. This reflects the sustained growth of the Italian PV sector and also underscores the expansion of the trade show, which is now Europe’s second-largest PV event after Germany’s SmarterE – Intersolar.

Portable solar generators are making their way from the fringes of solar and energy storage to become a mainstream consumer item. The rise has been charged by a range of factors that have created massive brands. Where did the sector emerge from, who was buying before, who is buying now, and what’s next? Tristan Rayner reports.

Tripling clean energy generation capacity to 11 TW by 2030 was a leading pledge from the United Nations’ (UN) climate change conference in Dubai. With few details about infrastructure and energy storage and no clear PV targets, however, it is hard to judge the effectiveness of the 28th global Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting. Angela Skujins considers possible impacts for the solar industry.

Spain’s largest renewable energy event saw the participation of the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and underscored the excellent state of health of the Spanish PV sector in all its segments.

A sagging electricity line managed by major Californian utility Southern California Edison (SCE) is alleged to have caused a 2022 wildfire which led to two deaths, local media reports. An SCE spokesperson tells pv magazine the company cooperated with Californian authorities during its review of the blaze.

The latest edition of China’s SNEC Energy Storage & H2 event showed an impressive range of new products and technology. pv magazine was there to check out the most interesting solutions.