Spain’s Balearic Islands fast-track 20 MW solar project
The Sa Caseta PV plant has received the status of public utility project from the archipelago’s Directorate for Energy and Climate Change.
Belgian region of Flanders plans fiscal incentive for community solar and wind projects
The Minister of Energy of the Flanders hopes that another 6.4 million solar modules can be installed in the region under his mandate until 2020.
Industry reaction: proposed EU solar pricing allows for better enforcement, says EU Prosun
Milan Nitzschke, president of solar manufacturing trade body EU Prosun, believes that the new proposals for MIP by the European Commission’s DG Trade offer a more accurate means of imposing necessary trade tariffs on imported solar cells and modules.
Organic electrode material could boost lithium ion capacity
Researchers at Germany’s Helmholtz Institute have developed a new electrode material which could improve the capacity and charge/discharge speed of lithium-ion technology, as well as reducing for costly cobalt in the batteries.
Belgium: Wallonia’s PV system owners to pay grid-fee starting from 2020
The energy regulator of the Belgian French-speaking region has announced the grid-fee will come into force in 2020, and not in 2019 as previously planned. PV systems operators are expected to pay an annual fee ranging from €330 to €560.
Scatec Solar’s revenue rise in Q2 on growing power production business
The Norwegian developer had a project backlog of 1,143 MW and a project pipeline of 745 MW at the end of the second quarter.
REC Silicon’s polysilicon sales rise 18% sequentially in Q2, net loss increases
The Norwegian polysilicon producer saw its revenue drop slightly Y-o-Y to $61.0 million in the latest quarter. Average solar grade polysilicon prices, on the other hand, dropped by 6.9% from the previous quarter.
Ireland’s mitigation plan outlines incremental and permanent decarbonization steps
200-page plan proffers detailed breakdown of Ireland’s pathway towards decarbonization and greater energy efficiency by 2050. Key tenet is transition from centralized, fossil-fuel based electricity system to a low carbon power system. Green campaigners criticize plan’s lack of ambition.
New EU solar pricing proposal ‘divorces prices from reality’, says SolarPower Europe
Intended update for MIP by the European Commission’s DG Trade will set a pricing schedule for panels and cells on the European market that does not reflect market realities, trade body argues.
Coal provided just 2% of UK power in H1 2017
Just five years after meeting 40% of U.K.’s electricity supply, data from Imperial College London shows that coal only met 2% of the country’s power needs in the first half of the year.
