PV Tech Power Papers

Scores of new green hydrogen projects have been announced in the Middle East and North Africa in recent months, as countries look to take advantage of high levels of irradiation and available space to deploy renewables. Jonathan Tourino Jacobo explores the challenges and opportunities for the region’s burgeoning green hydrogen sector.

Cheap and quick to deploy, solar PV can provide a vital source of power to areas impacted by war, supporting critical infrastructure and helping to keep day-to-day life running. Molly Lempriere details how the technology is helping communities in Ukraine and other war zones.

With grid availability, plenty of land and a new contracts for difference scheme that is set to go live this year, Romania is proving an increasingly attractive market for solar developers. Lena Dias Martins finds out more.

While solar has been the backbone of Japan’s renewable energy push, deployment has been stalling in recent years. Chris Wilkinson of Rystad Energy details the benefits of the country’s feed-in premium scheme, the potential for corporate PPAs and the importance of battery storage.

With appropriate policy support and investment incentives, agrivoltaics could play a crucial role in Africa’s green energy transition, writes Dr Richard Randle-Boggis of the University of Sheffield.

Many companies working in the Australian utility-scale solar sector are exploring opportunities to integrate agricultural production into projects, writes Lucinda Tonge, a senior policy officer at the Clean Energy Council.

With France’s rooftop and ground-mount solar tenders featuring a sub-family for agrivoltaics, Xavier Daval of France Agrivoltaïsme details routes to market for new projects.

To make agrivoltaics a widely available option for developers in the US, questions about cost, liability and other business, legal and regulatory issues need to be addressed, writes Michele Boyd of the US Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office.

Max Trommsdorff of Fraunhofer ISE and Jens Vollprecht, a lawyer at Becker Büttner Held, detail the legal aspects of agrivoltaics deployment in Germany.

Combining solar plants with agriculture is becoming more prevalent in markets globally, increasing the availability of sites for new PV projects while reducing land-use conflicts. Will Norman details how the industry can take advantage of agrivoltaic opportunities while navigating construction, operation and maintenance challenges.