Italy

The EU-funded Nextbase project aims to manufacture heterojunction, interdigitated back-contact solar modules for less than €0.275/W. Solar panels featuring the Nextbase cell tech are expected to have a conversion efficiency of 23.2%, according to the European Commission.

The country installed 10 MW more solar in the first three months of the year than it did in the same period a year earlier. Its cumulative capacity surpassed 21 GW by the end of March.

The Italian cabinet has accepted a request from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities to cancel approvals granted by the Lazio regional government for two large-scale PV projects. Lazio’s Tuscia area is a potential solar hub for the Italian energy system.

Dubai-based Weco has unveiled a new lithium battery solution that can operate in parallel as a low-voltage storage system or in series as a high-voltage battery with no hardware changes. The batteries can be mounted on walls or set up in a stack configuration.

Fiat Chrysler has begun construction of a vehicle-to-grid pilot at its Mirafiori manufacturing facility in Turin. The project, which also includes 5 MW of PV, will eventually become a virtual power plant.

The levelized cost of energy generated by large scale solar plants is around $0.068/kWh, compared to $0.378 ten years ago and the price fell 13.1% between 2018 and last year alone, according to figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The utility scale renewable energy tender saw wind prevail again, with 18 projects with a total generation capacity of 406 MW. Solar secured four projects with a combined capacity of 19.3 MW but did offer the lowest bid.

pv magazine spoke to Mark Jones, chief executive of privately-owned clean energy investment company Susgen about where the newly-launched business is looking to spend the cash pile it has allocated for big, early-stage project pipelines.

Plus, Australia’s Greens want renewables front and center of the post Covid-19 economy and Mexican plant owners are overturning a politically-motivated ban on clean energy, however, Indian developer Acme solar says pandemic delays warrant it reneging on the terms of the record-low solar price agreement it signed.

The Italian government has raised the tax breaks it offers for building renovations and energy-requalification projects – potentially including storage-backed rooftop PV systems – to 110%. The new measure is part of the Relaunch Decree, which is a package of guidelines aimed at reviving the Italian economy in response to the Covid-19 crisis.