Iceland

UK startup Space Solar has reached an agreement with Reykjavik Energy with a view to supplying 30 MW from space-based solar in 2030. Co-CEO Sam Adlen tells pv magazine the next steps include ground-to-air transmission demonstration and a kilowatt-scale solar satellite in orbit in three years’ time.

UK-based researchers have developed a novel method to estimate the amount of defrost cycles a heat pump will experience in the winter and how much energy it would require to implement the cycles. The results of their simulation showed a strong relationship between the number of defrost cycles and the ambient temperature.

The latest numbers released by EU data body Eurostat indicate renewables, including hydropower, contributed 37% of Europe’s gross electricity consumption in 2020, up from 34% a year earlier.

Appetite may have been lacking among private investors – at a time when global stocks are tanking amid Covid-19 and global recession fears – but the eco-friendly new Finnish government, and neighboring administrations, have stepped in to fill the breach.

A study of the after-effects of the energy transition has assessed 156 nations and ranked a surprising winner. Here, energy expert Indra Overland discusses the findings of the GeGaLo Index as part of our interview examining renewables and geopolitics.

Among 45 critical energy technologies and sectors assessed in a tracking report by the International Energy Agency, only seven are keeping hopes alive that climate, energy access and air pollution goals can be met.

The market experienced strong growth in nearly all states. Scandinavian countries lead the charge, but Germany showed strong growth in the first half of 2018, analysts report. An uptake in EV sales might result in profound effects on their use as flexible storage units, recent reports and interviews suggest.