Austria's Ministry of Climate Protection and Environment on Wednesday approved a 300-million-euro ($327.6 million) budget for green energy investment subsidies for 2022, which is considered enough to add 1 terawatt-hour of electricity. The bulk of the investment subsidy (€240 million) will be used to install new solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. Hydropower projects will receive 35.4 million euros in subsidies, while wind power plants and biomass power plants will receive a total of 4 million euros and 6 million euros in investment subsidies, respectively. The first two applications will open on April 21. Applications for solar power plants up to 10 kW (with or without energy storage) will be accepted until May 19, and the total subsidy budget for this category is set at 40 million euros. Demand for solar plants of 10 kW to 1 MW (with or without energy storage) ends on June 2. Such assets will receive a total of 60 million euros in investment subsidies. More calls for solar projects will be launched in August and October. The approval of the budget is expected to boost solar expansion in Austria, as many projects are on hold until the details of the investment subsidy become clear. The Austrian solar association PV welcomed the decision to quadruple the investment subsidy budget and increase the subsidy rate. The investment subsidy is one of two mechanisms under the Renewable Energy Expansion Act (EAG) aimed at promoting investment in green energy in Austria. Another tool is the feed-in tariff, which is paid over a 20-year period to offset the difference between production costs and fluctuating electricity prices in the market. (1 EUR = 1.092 USD)

The latest data released by the Belgian Association of Energy Communities shows that Belgium will add 850 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity in 2021, 300 megawatts less than in 2020, but it still exceeds the expectations of domestic industry players. This compares to 1,010MW, 544MW and 367MW of newly installed PV capacity in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. With the addition of new projects in 2021, Belgium's cumulative installed PV capacity exceeds 7GW. According to Belgian grid operator Elia, Belgian solar generated more than 7TWH of electricity in 2021, thus covering 8% of Belgium's total electricity consumption, reaching 85 TWH in 2021.

According to foreign media reports, Portuguese utility company Endesa Generación Portugal has received approval to develop a renewable energy project that combines solar power generation facilities, wind power generation facilities, green hydrogen energy facilities and a 168.6MW battery energy storage system. to replace Portugal's last coal-fired power plant. Endesa will deploy 365MW of solar power generation facilities, 264MW of wind power generation facilities, 168.6MW of battery energy storage systems, and a 500kW electrolyzer for the production of green hydrogen. The project will require a total investment of 600 million euros ($660 million). Investments in the project will not be affected by external financial assistance as it is economically sustainable, Endesa said in a press release. The battery energy storage system in this project will reduce energy losses and optimize its use in a dynamic and optimized manner, and export the stored renewable energy power to the public service grid (RESP). The green hydrogen electrolyzer will use excess electricity from renewable energy generation facilities. Portugal's Deputy Energy Minister, João Galamba, presented the exact rationale for deploying green hydrogen facilities at the Energy Storage Summit organized by Solar Media. However, the scale of the 500kW green hydrogen electrolyzer is relatively small compared to other renewable power generation + energy storage developments, such as the Horizeo project in France, where a 10MW green hydrogen electrolyzer is deployed. The 628MW Pego coal-fired power plant, the last operating coal-fired power plant in Portugal, ceased production last November, marking the end of Portugal's coal-fired era. Endesa said it has developed a training program for more than 2,000 employees at the plant. The plant is managed by a joint venture between Endesa and Trustenergy, a joint venture between energy giant Engie and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni. Enel Green Power, the renewable energy subsidiary of Enel, has been developing the Spanish market in recent years, deploying vanadium redox flow battery energy systems and iron flow battery energy storage systems for customers. Portugal is one of the few countries in Europe to adopt large-scale pumped-storage power generation facilities, and an 880MW pumped-storage power generation facility under construction in the north of the country will be fully operational by mid-2022.

Swedish renewable energy developer OX2 AB said it has acquired a portfolio of two wind and solar development projects in Greece with a combined capacity of more than 500 megawatts. The names of the suppliers and the financial details of the purchase are kept confidential. The specific programs are distributed all over Greece and are currently in different stages of development. Details about its capacity and target debug are not provided. OX2 said it will work with "experienced local co-development partners" on these projects. In addition, it will also pursue other renewable energy opportunities to further expand into the Greek market. "Greece is a very interesting market for OX2," said chief executive Paul Stormoen. Greece is aiming for renewable energy to account for 61% of its electricity consumption by 2030. The main contributing technologies will be solar and wind, with new target deployments exceeding 5 GW and 3 GW respectively.

On March 19, local time, Energy China International Group and Beringia Energy Global signed an EPC framework contract for the 500MW photovoltaic project in Baharachara, Bangladesh, in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, realizing the rolling development of the Bangladeshi market. The project is located in Bansushukari Town, Chittagong District, Bangladesh, about 45 kilometers away from the center of Chittagong. Development" mode to promote project development and construction in stages. Bangladesh is the core market of China Energy Construction in South Asia. The country's current renewable energy accounts for less than 3% of the country's installed power capacity. In the future, it will vigorously support the development and construction of clean energy and continue to optimize the energy structure. The location of the project is rich in solar energy resources. After the project is completed, it will provide sufficient power to the surrounding areas and significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy in Bangladesh.

Mining group Eramet and environmental services group Suez have proposed plans to build an electric vehicle battery recycling plant in France by 2024. After that, the material extracted there will also be processed on site. Eramet already produces large quantities of nickel and manganese, but mainly serves the steel industry. However, given the demand, the company's focus is now slowly transitioning to electric vehicles, including battery recycling. The first phase of the plant planned with Suez will focus on the mechanical shredding of used batteries. In this process, various metals and plastics are sorted out in several steps until what is left in the end is the so-called "black lump", which includes the cathode materials nickel, cobalt, manganese, lithium and graphite. The "black lumps" are then separated into their individual components in a hydrometallurgical process so that these materials can be reused. Such a refinery will be studied in the next step, according to the statement. Starting in 2025 or 2026, the two partners hope to be able to recover battery-grade products from the black blocks. Eramet is currently building a pre-industrial demonstration unit at its research and innovation center, paving the way for the commercial phase. There Eramet will refine its process to make it more efficient. Eramet and Suez are forming a long-term partnership. Research into the recycling process has been underway since 2019 under a project called ReLieVe (Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles).

According to a report by the Tehran Times on March 14, the Iranian government will hold a tender at the beginning of 1401 of the Iranian calendar (starting on March 21, 2022) to select the implementation company of the 4,000-megawatt renewable energy power plant project. The Iranian government plans to build a renewable energy power plant with a capacity of 10,000 megawatts in the next four years, of which 500 megawatts will be put into use during the peak electricity consumption period in the summer of 1401 of the Iranian calendar (starting on June 22, 2022). Iranian Energy Minister Ali said that the government has allocated more than 30 trillion riyals (about 115.3 million US dollars) for the development of renewable energy in the next annual budget.

The addition of 730 megawatts of solar power in the UK in 2021 means 2021 "could be the most important year for the UK solar industry to date," according to data from solar energy UK, the UK's solar industry body. The UK will add 369 MW of new residential PV in 2021, the highest increase in new residential PV since the 869 MW recorded in 2015. This historic figure includes substantial subsidies, while household systems installed across the UK in 2021 are unsubsidised. In fact, all three major market segments - residential, industrial and commercial, and large-scale projects have experienced steady, unsubsidized growth, indicating that the UK solar market is finally maturing. By the end of December 2021, the UK had installed 14.6GW of solar power, of which more than 5GW were residential systems.

Saudi Arabia's International Hydropower Projects Company, or ACWA Power, said today that it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 700-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant to be built in central Saudi Arabia. Under the power purchase agreement, the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) will power off the Ar Rass Solar Park for 25 years. Located in Qasim province, the independent power plant will be able to provide green electricity to around 132,000 households in central Saudi Arabia. It will be connected to the grid in the fourth quarter of 2024. The project is expected to close financially in the last quarter of the year, with an investment of $450 million (€413.03 million). ACWA Power is the largest investor in Ar Rass with a 40.1% stake, while the State Power Investment Corporation of China holds a 39.9% stake. The remaining 20% is held by Hydro Holdings (Badeel). During the signing of the power purchase agreement, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Abdul Aziz bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud said several renewable energy projects would be launched, in To generate about 15GW of green electricity between 2022 and 2023, as part of the Kingdom's efforts to diversify its energy mix. ACWA Power already operates the 300-megawatt Sakah solar power plant in Saudi Arabia and is working with Saudi Aramco and Badeel on the 1,500-megawatt Sudar solar park. (1 USD = 0.918 EUR)

Recently, SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank, and First Solar signed an order for 1.5GW of thin-film photovoltaic solar panels for SB Energy's 4GW solar-storage project in the United States. This order complements First Solar's previous contract to supply 1.7GW of thin-film solar panels for five large-scale ground-mounted PV plants in Texas and California. First Solar said the company installed 1.3GW of solar PV in 2021 and the remaining 400MW of the first order book will be commissioned in the first half of 2022. Abhijeet Sathe, co-CEO of SB Energy, said, "We are delighted to expand our partnership with First Solar as we enter our next phase of growth and continue to develop cutting-edge climate infrastructure and technology solutions." SB Energy aims to have 10GW of renewable energy and energy storage projects in operation/under construction by the end of 2025. The solar panels in the new order will be produced at First Solar's Ohio facility. Georges Antoun, Chief Commercial Officer of First Solar, said: "At First Solar, we value long-term relationships, not only based on our ability to provide competitive high-quality products and hedge against price and supply fluctuations, but also based on trust and mutual Vision." Last year, First Solar unveiled plans to double the capacity of its 3.3GWdc plant in Ohio, First Solar's third plant in the United States, which is expected to be operational in the first half of 2023. First Solar has been trying to expand the company's capacity in the United States as well as globally. The company also secured a $500 million loan to build a thin-film solar panels plant in India. At the same time, First Solar also signed a 5.4GW thin-film photovoltaic module supply contract with project developer Lightsource bp and energy giant bp.