The Japanese authorities will provide a maximum rebate of JPY 303,500 ($2,350)/kW for solar projects ranging in size from 10 kW to 50 kW. Projects above 50 kW will be assigned a rebate of JPY 205,900/kW.

The Directive No. 2022/542 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on April 5. According to the new provisions, member states will be free to apply a VAT rate of 0% to 5%.

The PV manufacturer says there is a risk of electric shock in some of its solar modules due to defective polyamide backsheets. Products delivered between 2010 and 2012 are affected. According to Schüco, they should be uninstalled and disposed of.

Belgium’s federal government has decided to reduce to 6% the VAT on PV systems and heat pumps deployed on buildings erected over the past ten years. This measure was previously applied only to projects developed on buildings that were more than ten years old.

The new measure will come into force on April 1 and will be in place for five years.

The EV revolution has begun. The number of electric vehicles hitting the road is on the verge of exponential growth and technology solutions are on hand to make sure the power system is ready to welcome them in their millions. This is the conclusion of EY and Eurelectric’s collaborative report, ‘Power sector accelerating e-mobility’.

US researchers have investigated how rooftop PV systems may affect air and building temperature in urban environments and, conversely, how the urban heat island (UHI) effect may have a negative impact on PV system performance. Their work considered urban air temperature, urban air pollution, the partial shading of the PV system, soiling, building heating and cooling loads, and outdoor shade.

The country saw around 421 MW of new PV capacity come online in December alone. Its cumulative solar power reached 56.3 GW.

The Commission has proposed today to align the rules for the energy performance of buildings with the European Green Deal and decarbonise the EU's building stock by 2050. This proposal will facilitate the renovation of homes, schools, hospitals, offices and other buildings across Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills, improving quality of life for millions of Europeans. Today's revision of the energy performance of buildings directive translates the Commission's Renovation Wave Strategy into concrete legislative action.

Instead of being promoted as “transitional fuel”, gas could be better described as a fuel of last resort, with the caveat that it is not the only one: other technologies are advancing into the balancing role for the power systems, writes Julian Popov.
Julian Popov is a Fellow of the European Climate Foundation, Chairman of the Building Performance Institute Europe, former Minister of Environment and Water of Bulgaria.

The urgency of the challenge to mitigate the climate crisis will force all of us to change how we heat our homes: away from polluting sources like gas to greener and more efficient alternatives. According to a new study released by BEUC (The European Consumer Organisation) today, heat pumps will be the cheapest green heating option for consumers. They will be both more affordable and convenient for consumers than hydrogen, which is the only other non-fossil fuel solution.