Sodium-ion batteries have several advantages over conventional batteries. They contain no critical raw materials such as lithium or cobalt - and could make stationary energy storage and electromobility much more cost-effective. There is still a lack of the necessary energy storage materials for production.
Commercial storage manufacturer Tesvolt has started construction of a new large-scale factory at its headquarters in Wittenberg, eastern Germany. With a planned production capacity of four gigawatt hours per year, it will be one of the largest facilities for stationary battery storage systems in Europe.
The new Berching-Altmannsdorf solar park will feed solar power into the grid of the Berching community wind farm. As with the wind farm, the citizens are once again involved.
Several tall rows of modules are installed on a field on the farm in Deutenkofen. The aim is to test the influence of the modules on the growth of apple and pear trees.
The Sectors4Energy conference presents solutions for successful sector coupling. This is the only way to stabilise the energy system of the future. The sectors will meet in Cologne in Germany at the beginning of July 2024.
The solar industry is still waiting for Solar Package I. Several manufacturers have repeatedly called for resilience bonuses, i.e. additional remuneration for domestic components in the construction of solar power plants. Module manufacturer Meyer Burger is now drawing the consequences and announcing the closure of its Freiberg plant at the end of April.
Solar modules for integration into vehicles: Opes Solar Mobility is building a new factory for this purpose in Zwenkau, Saxony. The location was chosen carefully.
There was unprecedented growth in 2023 in the European corporate power purchase agreement (PPA), with companies procuring a record number of new renewable energy capacity of 10.4 gigawatts.
Several containers with fake modules put into circulation. Bauer Solar is now taking legal action against the Chinese manufacturer and all other parties involved.
A research project by the ZSW in southern Germany is developing environmentally friendly energy storage systems for both urban transport and stationary applications.
Solar developer IB Vogt has sold a 122 MW solar photovoltaic project in Brandenburg, Germany to Octopus Energy Generation. The development of the plant marks ib vogt’s return to the German market.
A large Korean and globally networked trading company has acquired a minority stake in the German PV recycler Flaxres, thereby establishing a strategic partnership for significant non-European markets.
Meyer Burger plans to focus on profitable PV production in the USA and close its module production in Germany. In the absence of political measures to create fair competitive conditions, the company intends to take action against the current losses.
Module manufacturer Solarwatt has delivered the first solar modules with the efficient Topcon cell technology in the Netherlands, the UK and Germany. The new glass-glass and glass-foil modules with outputs from 420 watts have been available to order since October 2023.
Agrivoltaics is being promoted as the ideal way to combine solar power generation and agricultural use. Although it can hardly replace traditional solar parks, it offers interesting opportunities for niche applications, says Carsten Bovenschen, CEO of Juwi, in an interview.
Sunovation, the manufacturer of glass modules for solar facades, is moving into its new company headquarters in Obernburg am Main in Germany at the end of the year. This step had become necessary as part of the company's steady growth.
The currently most efficient organic solar module was constructed at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nuremberg for Renewable Energies (HI ERN). It achieves a new record efficiency of 14.46 per cent.
Axpo and German industrial gas specialist Messer have concluded a long-term PPA. From 1 January 2024, Axpo will supply two Messer facilities in Germany with electricity produced by Südwerk solar plants based in Bavaria.
SolarPower Europe’s new EU Market Outlook for Solar Power 2023-2027 reveals a record 56 GW of solar installations in Europe in 2023. However, the forecast for next year is lower.
To achieve the goals of the EU Green Deal, the expansion of the grid infrastructure and the flexibilization of energy generation are fundamental, Martin Dürnberger and Jörg Menyesch of CCE state in a guest article. They give an overview about the situation in different European countries.
For four years, MVV will supply 40 gigawatt hours of solar power from solar parks built by Juwi. The three plants are located in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
NexWafe strengthens its management team with the appointment of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Rick Schwerdtfeger and André Seemaier as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Recently the company has broken grund on ist first wafer production facility in Bitterfeld/Germany.
Installers and solar customers crowded into the two halls on the banks of the Rhine on the first day of the trade fair. Not only visitors from North Rhine-Westphalia sought contact with suppliers and service providers. But also many guests from Benelux.
Politicians must not wait much longer to send a signal to manufacturers that it is worth investing in additional production capacities. The association reiterates its call for a local content regulation.
The market for second-life solar modules is growing rapidly: in addition to use in smaller stand-alone systems and as balcony power plants, entire solar parks can also be equipped with used modules. After all, 70 per cent of old modules are immediately usable.
