SolarPower Europe

Solar industries bodies including SolarPower Europe, Germany’s BSW and Ukraine’s ASEU have joined forces to send a stream of modules, inverters and batteries to embattled Ukraine. The donations are critical as some hospitals have been without power for weeks, leaving surgeons to operate under headlamps.

SolarPower Europe says in a new report that households in Germany, Spain, and Italy can more than triple their savings by pairing PV with heat pumps. It said this combination helped families to save between 62% and 84% on their annual energy bills in 2022.

Last year was another landmark 12 months for energy storage, with all indicators pointing to a massive surge in demand. Supply chain instability and inflation saw battery prices rise but the industry demonstrated an ability to swiftly react to geopolitical developments. We look at five trends driving the market.

The photovoltaic industry is expected to achieve annual global expansion of 300 GW as early as this year. That sounds like a lot, but is it enough? In view of climate change and rising energy demand, it is time for a new vision.

With Russia intent on destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a network of NGOs is taking up the challenge to donate small and mobile energy supply solutions. Astrid Schneider, a member of clean energy nonprofit Eurosolar, shared the story of the small solar kits that are making a big difference, in this month’s edition of pv magazine.

In another record year for solar, SolarPower Europe estimates PV in Europe grew by 47% in 2022, rising from 28.1 GW in 2021 to 41.4 GW this year. Germany installed the most with 7.9 GW, followed by Spain at 7.5 GW, and Poland at 4.9 GW. For the first time, the top 10 European solar markets all added at least 1 GW.

SolarPower Europe’s latest analysis reveals that 9.3 GWh of battery energy storage systems have been installed in more than 1 million European households this year.

An unexpected “non-paper” in which the European Commission signaled a U-turn away from a price cap on gas has caused a stir in what was already an agitated European energy industry.

The Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance is one of the European Union’s key strategy initiatives under the REPowerEU plan that was adopted in May 2022. The European Commission has now formally endorsed the initiative, which is expected to launch by the end of this year.

The European Union’s much-needed emergency measures to tackle the ongoing energy crisis may have unintended consequences for the region’s renewable energy ambitions, warn analysts, but the impact on power purchase agreements will likely vary, depending on the contracts.