Europe

The growth of installed solar energy capacity in Greece remained almost non-existent in the second half of 2013 with no new large projects added in December at all as a government moratorium took hold.

The German cabinet approved a new charge on self-consumed solar power on Wednesday.

The EU has proposed a binding 27% renewable energy target for 2030 and a 40% emissions reduction goal.

France’s President Francois Hollande has called for an ‘Airbus’ style model of collaboration for the European solar industry.

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) wants ‘established’ renewables to compete against each other for support under its upcoming contracts for difference (CfD) regime.

SolarWorld’s chairman and chief executive, Frank Asbeck, has sold five tranches of shares in the company in the last week, taking his shareholding to 19.72%, according to financial filings.

Power generated by photovoltaics systems covered 4.5% of Germany’s total electricity production last year, according to estimates released by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).

French battery company Saft will lead a consortium building a photovoltaic (PV) power plant combined with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery energy storage system on the island of La Réunion, Indian Ocean.

The number of solar installations in the UK registered for the government’s feed-in tariff has topped half a million for the first time, according to official statistics.

Solar investment vehicle ForVEI has purchased a 6.9MW PV plant in southern Italy.