Bust to boom: Key takeaways from Czechia’s Smart Energy Forum
As Czechia reaches its solar potential, with impending changes to the country’s legislative landscape ushering in greater utility-scale solar array rollouts, over 5,000 attendees – government ministers, industry experts, and key business stakeholders – descended on Prague this week for the 2023 Smart Energy Forum.
Coating metallic ribbons for aesthetic implementation of BIPV
Researchers in Switzerland have looked into three kinds of black ink coating for metallic ribbons used in PV modules. They have compared their visual stability and their effect on electrical performance.
Bulgaria kicks off process for first renewables auction
The Bulgarian government has opened public discussion for the country’s first renewable energy auction. Through the procurement exercise, it expects to allocate 1,425 MW of renewable energy power generation capacity and 350 MW of storage.
Cleaning up the statute book
Polish lawmakers are preparing plans to legislate the sharing of grid connections and regulators are easing the establishment of off-grid, direct-to-consumer power lines but obtaining a permit for a solar site could be about to get more tricky.
PVcase introduces AutoCAD tool for rooftop solar systems
PVcase has introduced a new AutoCAD tool for rooftop PV systems, featuring 3D building preparation, layout generation, shading calculation, and electrical design capabilities.
Masdar to develop 500 MW of renewables in Tajikistan
W Energy, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and W Solar, plans to develop 500 MW of clean energy projects in Tajikistan, including floating PV installations.
European research group creates injection molding plastic solar cells
A French-Spanish research team developed organic photovoltaic modules embedded into plastic parts through high throughput injection molding. The researchers injected thermoplastic polyurethane in the modules and found it enhances their mechanical stability while keeping a high flexibility.
Former Polish coal mine transforms into 200 MW solar PV plant
‘It is a project that stands as an example of energy transition,’ Duarte Bello, CEO of EDP Renewables’ Europe and Latin America operations told pv magazine. The new 200 MW solar PV plant is now generating energy on a former brown open-pit lignite site.
Construction begins on massive, merchant wind-solar hybrid plant in Bulgaria
Tenevo Solar plant is expected have a solar capacity of 238 MW, a wind capacity of 237 MW and a storage capacity of 250 MW-500 MWh, with construction starting this month. Konstantin Nenov, director of Renalfa AD – one of the businesses behind the project – tells pv magazine the plant is emblematic of the Balkan country shifting away from coal and towards the sun.
Solarstone opens 60 MW BIPV module factory in Estonia
Solarstone, an Estonian producer of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar roofs, has opened a 60 MW manufacturing facility in Viljandi, Estonia, to produce a broader range of design and performance specifications.
