Netherlands

Over the past two years, German renewables business Baywa re has developed in-house floating solar technology and installed nearly 50 MW of projects in the Netherlands. Benoît Roux, director of solar activities at Baywa re in France, said the ramp-up in project size has enabled the company to achieve dramatic cost reductions.

Chint Solar Netherlands and Powerfield began construction of two new solar parks in the Netherlands. The Stadskanaal and Buinerveen Solar Parks follow the companies’ 103 MW Midden-Groningen Solar Park, now in operation.

Minister of economic affairs and climate change, Eric Wiebes, has written to parliament to confirm grid companies do not have to pay PV system owners when their installations are disconnected from the network due to capacity issues or poor-quality voltage.

A research project in the Netherlands is seeking to assess the impact of large scale PV projects on soil quality and biodiversity. Principal scientist Wim Sinke, of Dutch research center TNO, says well-designed and operated and maintained solar parks could prove to have better outcomes than monoculture farming.

Cell supply shortages could kick-start manufacturing activity in India, EV car sales are braced for a fall while still gaining market share and a new date has been set for the world’s biggest solar trade show.

In a recent conversation with pv magazine Roland Valckenborg, business developer and project manager at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), has described the results of a multi-year testing program for colored BIPV modules. Just a few years ago, it it was thought that power yield could be up to 50% lower than conventional panels, but tests have shown a difference of just 10%. Valckenborg says that losses can vary depending on the color of a panel.

A simulation by Utrecht University researchers indicated North Sea PV projects may perform better than a ground-mounted solar generator in the Netherlands. Offshore installations could generate 12.96% more power per year, according to the findings of the study, with the sea acting as a cooling system.

The unfolding effects of the Covid-19 crisis, and fears of a possible second wave, have split analysts trying to guess how the unsubsidized renewables market will emerge as slumping demand continued to distort power markets. pv magazine rounds up the week’s coronavirus developments.

As a focus of research at leading institutes the world over, new developments in the perovskite field come thick and fast almost every week. From x-ray observations on a nanoscale to financing and plans for mass production, pv magazine is bringing together some of the most exciting developments of recent weeks.

Solar capacity is expected to grow to unthinkable levels in the tiny country, according to a new report by Netbeheer Nederland. Under one scenario in which regional governments and companies would take the lead in the energy transition, cumulative solar capacity could reach 125 GW. Under a second scenario, in which growth would be driven by the central government, total PV capacity could hit 106 GW.