Russia

Construction of the 100 MW Sputnik solar plant in Russia’s Volgograd oblast has been suspended and possibly canceled, due to Western sanctions imposed in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to sources.  

The Russia Renewable Energy Development Association (RREDA) said in a new report that investors are still interested in building new renewables projects in the country, despite harsh market conditions related to Western sanctions.

Scientists in Denmark have modeled the likely impacts of reduced gas supply on the European energy mix up to 2050. Their research finds that if the continent is to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global average temperature increase to 1.5 C, then gas consumption would need to be heavily reduced, anyway. In less ambitious climate scenarios, however, limited gas supplies could delay the phase-out of coal-fired electricity and lead to longer-term uncertainty over fuel and electricity prices.

Researchers in Russia have developed a new sodium-vanadium phosphate fluoride powder. It has a particular crystal structure that provides superior energy storage capacity in the battery cathode.

Scientists in Russia have developed a new wide-band optical absorber called ‘black silicide’ which they claim is more adjusted to match AM-1.5 solar spectrum with theoretically higher photogenerated current density. It could be used for tandem operation in photovoltaic devices.

Developers are making hay as far as PPA prices are concerned thanks to eye-watering wholesale electricity prices which mean they can just sell their solar and wind power on the open market.

Wood Mackenzie this week made a slew of predictions for the industry in 2022 and noted the effects the US’ recently announced anti-circumvention investigation is already having on utility scale plans.

The war in Ukraine has acted as a brutal wake-up call for governments to act and reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Many have pledged to hasten project timelines for renewables, but there are mixed reports about impacts on investor confidence and projects under development in Ukraine’s neighboring countries. Marija Maisch reports.

Indra Overland, the head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, tells pv magazine how the Ukraine war is irreversibly changing the global energy landscape, making massive renewables deployment a certainty. But labor issues, equipment shortages, and reliance on Chinese manufacturing remain obstacles.

Rystad Energy has joined BloombergNEF with a significant forecast for gray and blue hydrogen off the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the analysts, the impact of the war has sent prices of fossil fuel-tied forms of hydrogen production surging, leaving the gradual but consistent downward price trend of green hydrogen now looking remarkably competitive.