Highlights

Growatt’s new APX HV cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery has a storage capacity of 5 kWh and a nominal voltage of 650 V. It can be scaled up to six battery modules, for a maximum capacity of 30 kWh, or 60 kWh in parallel. It comes with a 10-year warranty.

Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité (CIE), a utility in the Ivory Coast, is set to inaugurate its first solar plant – a €40 million ($42.6 million), 37.5 MW installation, backed by a 10 MW storage system by Saft.

Croatia is preparing to build Eastern Europe’s largest energy storage project. IE Energy has secured €19.8 million ($20.9 million) to develop a 50 MW storage system, potentially extendable to 110 MW by 2024.

The Australian government has announced a $117.5 million (AUD $176 million) funding injection which it expects will unleash over $2 billion of investment in advanced battery technology, delivering a step change in grid-forming capability.

In another record year for solar, SolarPower Europe estimates PV in Europe grew by 47% in 2022, rising from 28.1 GW in 2021 to 41.4 GW this year. Germany installed the most with 7.9 GW, followed by Spain at 7.5 GW, and Poland at 4.9 GW. For the first time, the top 10 European solar markets all added at least 1 GW.

Serengeti Energy has started operations at what it claims is Sierra Leone’s first solar independent power project. The 5 MW solar installation is located in Yamandu, Southern Sierra Leone. A second project phase is planned for 2023, bringing its capacity to 25 MW.

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved Net Energy Metering 3.0 and has slashed payments to send rooftop solar electricity to the grid. New rooftop solar projects are now considered uneconomical without attached batteries.

Canadian manufacturer Sparq has unveiled a three-phase microinverter for on-grid and off-grid solar water pumps. It has a peak efficiency of 97.5% and a nominal maximum power point tracking (MPPT) efficiency of 99.8%.

Slovenia’s cumulative PV capacity additions could grow from 466 MW in 2021 to 724 MW by the end of this year. The residential market will account for almost all new capacity, and demand is expected to grow under a net-metering scheme extension until the end of 2023.

European prices for power purchase agreements rose in several countries in November, with the Polish index recording an increase of 19.4%. Portugal registered an increase of 15.5%, followed by Spain at 15.7%. Germany was the only country that recorded a monthly decline, with prices falling by 0.8%.