Interest in co-locating solar PV with energy storage is increasing in Southern Europe, as grid curtailments and negative or near zero prices for solar PV become more frequent.
Swedish thin film solar manufacturer Midsummer has secured roughly €8 million (US$8.6 million) to support the development of its 50MW copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film cell manufacturing plant in Italy.
PV Tech spoke with Alejandra Pérez-Plá, regional manager – Mediterranean at financial advisory firm Global Capital Finance about challenges related to land acquisition for utility-scale solar PV projects in Southern Europe, how to manage these issues and grid modernisation.
The Pope has ordered that a solar PV project be built in the Vatican City, with a capacity sufficient to power all of the mini-state’s electricity needs.
Earlier this month the agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, announced a plan to "put an end to the wild installation of ground-mounted photovoltaics" on land classified as agricultural land.
The Italian government has banned solar PV installations on agricultural land in a move that the nation’s solar trade association said would cost Italy €60 billion (US$64.5 billion).
