Europe

TUV Rheinland has awarded six energy storage certificates to Phono Solar, for the Phonocube all-in-one PV inverter and storage system.

Peter Fath has been appointed as the new managing director of the solar division of German equipment supplier RENA.

The cost of grid connections should not be an obstacle to large-scale expansion of solar energy in Europe, according to a new report developed by Imperial College London.

German Federal Network Agency figures show the 10,109 installations fell below the 300MW mark for the first time in four months.

Self-consumption and other new business models for PV “can reduce and ultimately suppress the reliance on dedicated financial support”, according to Marie Latour, senior national policy advisor at the European Photovoltaic Industry Association.

Tracking system engineering firm Exosun has signed a contract to supply a 12MW solar plant that once completed will be the largest tracker-equipped plant in France.

IKEA has confirmed that all UK IKEA stores will stock, sell and install solar PV modules.

Punitive measures against PV users and growing competition from abroad are “dismantling” Spain’s solar industry, according the country’s PV industry body.

System manufacturer and developer, Conergy, has received offers for its production subsidiaries, Mounting Systems and Conergy SolarModule, as insolvency negotiations continue.

Construction has been completed on a 4.2MW solar power plant in Odessa, Ukraine, by ET Solutions, a subsidiary of the multi-national ET Solar.