Europe

Around 60% of the newly installed capacity comes from residential installations, a sign that the market is still being driven by the rooftop business, despite new developments in the large-scale and private PPA segments.

A few days after announcing a record turnover and positive EBIT, the German PV equipment provider has now dismissed its CFO, Gunnar Voss von Dahlen, effective immediately. The company said his departure was due to divergent opinions about its strategic direction.

The French corporate and investment bank acquired the project from Hyperion Renewables via its unit for responsible investment solutions, Mirova. The project has already secured a 10-year PPA from local power distributor, Axpo Ibéria.

The research team found that sodium, contrary to common belief, does not decrease per se indium and gallium interdiffusion, but instead hinders intergrain diffusion by segregating at grain boundaries.

Alexander Schönfeldt of energy storage specialists, Younicos examines the growing trend of energy storage-as-a-service, and explains why the sector is growing at such a rate.

Austria’s largest power provider announced a plan to invest around €100 million in solar and €15 million in recharge stations for electric vehicles over the next five years. The company aims at investing mainly in residential and C&I projects.

The Dutch solar fair has now taken the shape of an international event, due to the increasing number of big players attracted to the Netherland’s PV market, and the high level of professionalization that has been reached by the local ecosystem of installers and distributors. Although a few uncertainties on the possible changes of the current regulatory framework are suggesting caution, solar across all of its segments is clearly set to become a mainstream source of energy nationwide.

The Swiss PV equipment manufacturer recorded a loss of around €68 million last year. Although Meyer Burger was able to slightly increase sales, the EBITDA margin was below 3%. This year, the company is aiming for an EBITDA margin of 10%, in order to return to profitability.

Investments in new large-scale solar energy projects in Spain are expected to surpass €4 billion over the next two years. Meanwhile, the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha is planning to reduce the timeframe for the authorization process for solar and renewables from 12 to nine months.

Although the Balkan country has recently approved the construction of a new coal power plant, Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj has said he intends to open the energy market to solar and wind power, an action that was recommended by the EU a year earlier.