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Solar Energy

SolarMarket leads the way for urban PV

April 10, 2025 ryansheehanrts

The roof of the renovated, protected market hall Halles des Abattoirs has been equipped with a 2-megawatt photovoltaic system – a pioneering project highlighted in the new Learning from Europe series by The smarter E. Renovations restored the beauty of the original 19th-century zinc roof and gave it a solar touch. More than 5,800 black modules with aluminium strips were integrated into the curved roof of the former slaughterhouse as a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solution.

Learn more and join our webinar: Mastering C&I rooftop design – from complex geometry to seamless installation, 12 Feb 2025

The developers also took a creative approach to financing. More than 180 residents contributed between €500 and €10,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, raising a total of €300,000 to co-finance the project. This allowed locals to support sustainable development and climate protection in their own community, while earning an annual return of 5 per cent over eight years. The total cost of the project, including roof modifications for the PV installation, came to €1.7 million.

Also see: New EU solar rooftop standard unlocks huge potential

Skysun owns and operates the PV system and has a long-term partnership with the building’s owner, Abattoir SA. Most of the electricity generated is sold directly to Abattoir SA, saving the company around €60,000 in energy costs each year. Surplus electricity is fed into the public grid. According to Skysun, the system – commissioned in October 2021 – has proven technically reliable and efficient, regularly exceeding the expected 1,653 megawatt hours (MWh) annually under normal weather conditions.

Skysun

The PV-modules are integrated in the vaulted roof.

From Thursday to Saturday, the “SolarMarket” serves as a market hall, event space and base for food industry businesses. While the building was in use before the renovation and PV retrofit, its poor condition, including water damage, had begun to limit its usability. The refurbishment has significantly improved its functionality.

The smarter E AWARD 2025: Applications can still be submitted

In addition to the Halles des Abattoirs, Skysun has developed several similar building-integrated solar solutions with a combined capacity of over 2.5 megawatts (MW). These include the Marché International food market in Mouscron (1.708 MW), the Greenland Lanson office park in Jette, Brussels (333 kilowatts), and the David Lloyd Club fitness spa in Uccle, a suburb of the capital (99 kW). (hcn)

This article was first published by The smarter E Europe as part of a new series called “Learning from Europe”. It presents innovative and successful projects from across Europe that show how a renewable 24/7 energy supply can work. pv Europe is media partner of The smarter E Europe.

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Solar Energy

„SolarMarket“ in Anderlecht leads the way for urban PV

January 24, 2025 ryansheehanrts

The roof of the renovated, protected market hall Halles des Abattoirs has been equipped with a 2-megawatt photovoltaic system. Renovations restored the beauty of the original 19th-century zinc roof and gave it a solar touch. More than 5,800 black modules with aluminum strips were integrated into the curved roof of the former slaughterhouse as a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solution.

Learn more, join our webinar: Mastering C&I rooftop design – from complex geometry to seamless installation, 12.02.2025

The developers also got creative when it came to financing the project. More than 180 residents participated in a crowdfunding campaign, contributing between 500 and 10,000 euros, for a total of 300,000 euros to co-finance the project. This enabled residents to drive local sustainable development and urban climate protection while achieving an annual ROI of 5 percent over an eight-year period. The total cost of the project, including adjustments to the roof to accommodate the PV system, was 1.7 million euros.

Also see: New EU solar rooftop standard unlocks huge potential

Skysun owns and operates the PV system and has a long-term partnership with the owner of the building, Abattoir SA. Skysun sells most of the solar power generated to Abattoir SA, helping the company save around 60,000 euros in electricity costs each year. Excess electricity from the PV installation is fed into the public grid. According to Skysun, the PV system, which was commissioned in October 2021, has proven to be technically reliable and efficient. Under normal weather conditions, it delivers more than the expected 1,653 megawatt hours (MWh) per year at a constant rate.

Skysun

The PV-modules are integrated in the vaulted roof.

From Thursday to Saturday, the “SolarMarket” is used as a market hall, for events and by companies in the food industry. The building had been in use prior to the renovation and retrofit of the roof with PV, but its condition had deteriorated, including due to water damage, making continued use difficult. Thanks to the renovation, its functionality has been significantly improved.

The smarter E AWARD 2025: Applications can still be submitted

In addition to the Halles des Abattoirs, Skysun has realized a number of similar building-integrated solar solutions with a total capacity of over 2.5 megawatts (MW), including a food market complex (Marché International, 1,708 MW) in Mouscron, Belgium, an office park in Jette, a municipality of Brussels (Greenland Lanson, 333 kilowatts (kW)), and a fitness spa in Uccle, a suburb of Brussels (David Lloyd Club, 99 kW). (hcn)

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Solar Energy

RE-Source Platform – Battery regulation risks undermining PPAs

October 25, 2024 ryansheehanrts

PPAs have significant benefits: they enable European companies to procure clean energy at competitive and predictable prices. They increase companies’ energy autonomy and security. They help accelerate the roll-out of much-needed renewables. In short: PPAs can be a key driver of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.

However, the EU’s institutions must have a consistent and supportive approach to PPAs to facilitate these benefits. The EU must build-in incentives across all EU policies for corporates to sign PPAs and other procurement tools.

EU regulation draft for EV batteries as risk

Despite the recently adopted EU Electricity Market Design revision, which mandates Member States to promote PPAs, the European Commission is currently undermining the sustainable growth of PPAs. The Commission is drafting rules to determine the carbon footprint of Electric Vehicle batteries which would ban the use of PPAs and green energy certificates to demonstrate reduced emissions.

Also see: RE-Source 2024 offers energy buyer-supplier match meetings

“With this approach, the EU would be giving with one hand and taking with the other by promoting PPAs in one policy, and building in disincentives in another. This is hugely problematic as we know that the EV battery rules will be copy-pasted for other policies.“

„The incoming European Commissioners have been instructed by the Commission President to draw on Draghi’s report in their work – this includes his recommendation to promote PPAs as a tool for industrial competitiveness. Dan Jørgensen, the Commissioner-Designate for Energy & Housing has also been instructed to unlock private financing. PPAs tick this box”, commented Annie Scanlan, RE-Source Platform’s Director.

10.7 GW PPAs already signed this year

2024 is set to become another record year for the European PPA market, with 10.7 GW signed already this year. Europe needs to accelerate this positive advancement in the energy transition. Corporates stand ready to finance new wind and solar assets – for the benefit of all society. Give them the policy framework which will help them do more, not less!

Fortunately, the methodology for the carbon footprint of EV batteries is still in a drafting phase – meaning the EU can still act to stop this hugely damaging approach to PPAs being set in EU law.

Also see: Joachim Goldbeck: “Negative electricity prices are a bad fit with PPAs”

PPAs, alongside green energy certificates, are part of many critical EU energy decarbonisation policies, therefore a consistent and supportive approach is critical to support PPAs, as a route to market for new wind and solar which uses private financing for the transition to net zero. An ambitious regulatory framework in the EU will spur renewables development globally, given that imported products would also have to follow these rules. (hcn)

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Solar Energy

Trinasolar reports profitability – 26% more PV modules shipped

September 5, 2024 ryansheehanrts

Trinasolar has published its financial report for the first half of 2024, confirming revenues of $6.047 billion and attributable net profit of $74.058 million, and demonstrating two consecutive quarters of profitability. Over the first six months of the year, the company delivered 34GW in PV modules, 1.7GWh of DC container and energy storage systems, and 3.2GW of solar mounting systems.

Achieving robust growth in PV, solar tracker and ESS business

In the first half of the year, Trinasolar shipped 34GW of modules, 25.9% more than in the corresponding period last year. Its cumulative shipments of 210 modules exceeded 140GW, helping maintain the company’s top position worldwide. Trinasolar leads the industry in the 700W+ era with its Vertex N 720W series module, based on the 210mm product technology platform and n-type i-TOPCon advanced technology.

Also interesting: Solar and storage boom with challenges

Trina Storage, a business unit of Trinasolar, takes a comprehensive approach to energy storage, providing solutions from cell to pack to container. In the first half of the year, the company launched its Elementa 2 Elevate solution in North America. Trina Storage has now been recognized as a Tier 1 energy storage supplier by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for three quarters in a row this year. By the end of June, about 7GWh of DC container and energy systems had been delivered globally.

TrinaTracker serves major PV markets worldwide, with cumulative shipments exceeding 23GW by the end of June. It ranked sixth in global shipments last year and third in key countries and regions, being one of the fastest-growing companies in its space, according to S&P Global. A report by Wood Mackenzie ranked TrinaTracker among the top three PV companies in South America, the Middle East and other regions.

Giving R&D a central role

Trinasolar has invested $381.409 million in R&D and had cumulatively filed 5,649 patent applications by the end of June. Trinasolar puts a high premium on its patents, with more than 500 patents on TOPCon technology filed by July.

The company is extending global collaboration with innovative partners to maintain core competence. In June it signed a long-term collaboration agreement with the Institute of Solar Energy at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and in August it announced research collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore’s leading public sector R&D agency.

Ensuring stable supply worldwide

The company deploys global production capacity to meet burgeoning demands and global delivery needs. Trinasolar prospectively laid out a 1GW cell and module base in Indonesia and a 5GW module base in the USA in 2023, with both expected to begin operations in H2 2024. (hcn)

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Solar Energy

LONGi/Octopus Energy – Strategic partnership to boost PV

September 3, 2024 ryansheehanrts

The partnership between LONGi and Octopus Energy is set to increase the deployment of solar energy across the globe. The collaboration will provide consumers and businesses with greater access to advanced solar technologies, reinforcing both companies’ commitment to supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest specialist renewable energy investors with $9 billion of projects under management, will play a key role in this collaboration. With over 150 solar farm investments in six countries and a strong pipeline of new projects globally, Octopus Energy Generation brings extensive expertise and resources to the partnership. This experience will be instrumental in scaling solar energy solutions in the UK and beyond.

Huge untapped potential in Europe

During the signing ceremony, Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, stated: “China’s rapid progress in accelerating the roll-out of green energy is nothing short of remarkable. Partnering with a world-leading company like LONGi will help turbocharge solar projects around the world and ensure they are affordable due to LONGi’s scale and size. We look forward to working together to create a cheaper, greener, and more secure energy system for everyone.”

Also see: Major utilies intent to raise renewable capacity by 2.5 times to 2030

Ross Kent, General Manager for LONGi Solar (DG) UK & Ireland, commented: “There is a huge untapped potential for renewable energy in Europe, particularly solar energy. This partnership will help to further close this gap, accelerate the transition and bring cutting-edge solar technology innovations such as LONGi’s high-efficiency back-contact technology to solar projects across Europe.”

Dennis She, Senior Vice President at LONGi said: “Octopus holds a substantial influence on the UK and global energy market. By harnessing the strengths of both parties in technological innovation and strategic resources, we are poised to deliver transformative projects worldwide. This agreement is a pivotal move towards achieving our shared vision of a sustainable energy future, setting new standards for the industry and accelerating the world’s transition to clean, renewable energy.”

Strong R&D focus

LONGi has one of the highest annual R&D expenditures in the industry. Approximately 5% of its annual operating revenue is invested in R&D, making the company a pioneer in solar technology innovation. Since 2021, the company has broken the photovoltaic (PV) cell conversion efficiency record 18 times in a row. Currently it is holding two efficiency world records, both officially confirmed in 2024.

As a result, LONGi has also been at the forefront of the development of back contact technology, specifically Hybrid Passivated Back Contact (HPBC) solar cells. This proprietary HPBC technology allows for higher conversion efficiency and superior performance under challenging conditions, making it ideal for Europe’s diverse weather patterns. Back contact technology in solar modules enhances the power output and reliability of the panels.

“Back contact technology is the future of solar technology, and LONGi is leading the way. We have invested additional R&D resources to excel the technology further,” Ross Kent added. “We believe that by pushing the boundaries of solar technology, we can provide more sustainable and efficient energy solutions for all.” (hcn)

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