Finland

A Japanese-Finnish research group has assessed the levelized cost of energy of solar power plants supplying electricity to data centers in cold climates and has found that PV electricity could be considerably cheaper than grid electricity, even if used with battery storage.

ERM says it has launched offshore trials to test its Dolphyn Hydrogen process, while Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) and Evoloh have completed a joint research project on electrolyzer manufacturing process and anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer tech.

While a team of Russian researchers proposed a novel approach to produce hydrogen directly in gas wells, Plug Power and CPH2 secure certification for the hydrogen systems.

Portuguese and Italian researchers have shown that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is lower onshore and that PV-wind configurations reduce the LCOH up to 70%, while Lhyfe says it has started collaborating on a hydrogen storage project.

Swedish solar developer Alight has obtained a grid connection for its 100 MW solar project in Eurajoki, western Finland. Construction is expected to start later this year.

Swedish developer Alight plans to build a 90 MW solar park in southwestern Finland. The company says the announcement is a big step toward developing 1.5 GW of PV projects in the country by the end of this year.

The European Commission says it has started working on a new pilot mechanism, and Italy has agreed to expand collaboration with Austria and Germany, while also supporting cooperation between Italian companies and Finland’s Wärtsilä.

Solar projects across Finland have been given the green light after grant agreements were signed with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. A total €27.5 million ($29.8 million) is being invested across the projects through the EU renewable energy financing mechanism.

Vantaa Energy plans to construct a 90 GWh thermal energy storage facility in underground caverns in Vantaa, near Helsinki. It says it will be the world’s largest seasonal energy storage site by all standards upon completion in 2028.

The Finnish startup says the funding will go towards several key purposes, including growing its sales and R&D teams and advancing capabilities in converting stored heat back to electricity.