Higher gas costs driving up European electricity prices, says AleaSoft
AleaSoft Energy Forecasting says European electricity prices rose last week due to lower wind energy production and higher gas prices. All analyzed markets, except France and the Nordics, recorded average prices above €100 ($104.85)/MWh.
Germany could deploy 10 million heat pumps by 2030
Scientists have used open-source models to simulate heat pump rollout scenarios for the year 2030. Additional investments of around 54 GW to 57 GW of solar PV capacity in a least-cost solution would allow the installation of 10 million heat pumps by the end of the decade.
How to combine off-grid agrivoltaics with large-scale hydrogen production
Scientists in the United Kingdom have simulated how a 1 GW off-grid agrivoltaic facility may be used to fuel hydrogen fuel electric cell vehicles across Australia, California, China, Nigeria, and Spain. Their techno-economic analysis showed that the proposed combination could provide a levelized cost of hydrogen ranging from $3.90/kg to $8.13/kg.
Panasonic powers UK factory with solar-driven hydrogen fuel cell generators
Panasonic has launched a solar-powered hydrogen fuel cell project at its factory in Cardiff, Wales, with the microwave assembly now operating on renewable energy.
Swiss utility to support more targeted use of solar power with dynamic tariff
Swiss energy company CKW says its new tariff, which will calculate prices according to kilowatts, rather than just kilowatt-hours, will incentivize more targeted use of solar power during the day.
European Commission opens second hydrogen auction
The European Commission’s second hydrogen auction allocates €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) for projects supporting renewable hydrogen production, with €200 million earmarked for projects with off-takers in the maritime sector. Bidding is open until Feb. 20, 2025.
BMW plans center in Germany to pioneer new battery recycling method
BMW Group’s battery recycling method involves raw materials from battery cells being fed back “directly” into the cell production cycle, creating a closed loop method.
TagEnergy to build France’s largest battery, 240MW/480MWh
TagEnergy will develop and manage the Cernay-lès-Reims project, which is scheduled for grid connection in late 2025. It will have a storage capacity nearly five times larger than France’s current largest operational battery.
Czech electricity grid to get €400 million upgrade
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €400 million ($420 million) loan to Czech utility ČEZ to upgrade and expand Czechia’s electricity distribution grid. The upgrades are expected to help absorb up to 5.5 GW of new renewable capacity.
Agrivoltaics for peppers
Scientists have built in India a 1.8 kW agrivoltaic setup to grow peppers under the PV modules. The proposed project design is described as an agrivoltaic insect net house that could be use for all crops that require rigorous pest management.
