Combining residential air heat pumps with air-geothermal heat exchangers
Researchers in Italy have found that combining residential air heat pumps with air-geothermal heat exchangers may reduce power consumption by up to 30%. They tested the proposed combination using Matlab in a passive single-family building located in Valtellina, northern Italy.
Italy deploys 1.72 GW of new PV systems in Q1
Italy installed 1.72 GW of new solar capacity in the first quarter, bringing its cumulative installed PV capacity to 32.0 GW by the end of March, according to Italia Solare, the nation’s solar energy association.
Recurrent Energy secures €1.3 billion financing for European project pipeline
The subsidiary of Chinese-Canadian solar manufacturer Canadian Solar says the financing will go towards developing and constructing solar and battery energy storage projects across Spain, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany.
Crash test for lightweight 4-seater solar cars
Researchers at the University of Bologna carried out crash simulations to qualify a novel solar powered 350 kg passenger vehicle for the next edition of the 3,000 km Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) across the Australian continent.
Fiera Milano switches on Italy’s largest rooftop PV array
Fiera Milano SpA has started generating electricity from Italy’s largest rooftop solar array. The trade fair organizer’s development partner deployed the 18 MW system on the pavilions of its exhibition center in Rho, near Milan.
Italy bans PV from agricultural land
The Italian government has issued a new decree to completely ban solar from agricultural land. The new provisions will not apply to projects currently undergoing the approval process.
Researchers propose use of cesium, rubidium for hydrogen batteries
A study led by Russia’s Skoltech and China’s HPSTAR suggests that rubidium and cesium additives could improve the efficiency of hydrogen batteries. Researcher Dmitrii Semenok tells pv magazine that “it is a question of changing the approach to the search for promising hydrogen storage materials.”
Italy’s EU-made PV incentives raise specter of Chinese opposition
A World Trade Organization (WTO) official and several Italian lawyers recently spoke with pv magazine Italy about the timing of a potential Chinese legal challenge against Italy’s new solar measures, which exclusively provide incentives for high-performance PV modules produced in the European Union.
Italy adds 2,022 MW/3,836 MWh of distributed storage capacity in 2023
Italy hit 3,367 MW/6,645 MWh of cumulative distributed storage capacity at the end of December. The new figures indicate that lithium-ion technology powers most storage systems, at 516,475 units in total.
Italy now set for 5.4 GW of ‘ready-to-build’ solar projects
Terna, the Italian grid operator, says that it has received grid-connection requests for 144.48 GW of solar projects to date.
