Floating solar project in the UK: UK port operator Associated British Ports’ (ABP) plan for a 40 MW project, which it says will be the country’s largest floating solar energy facility, has been approved. The Barrow EnergyDock Project at the Port of Barrow has been cleared by the Westmorland & Furness Council’s Strategic Planning Committee. Around 47,000 solar panels will be mounted on floating pontoons secured to the dock bed by an anchoring system. ABP says this will leave port land for operational and manufacturing uses, enabling leisure activities to continue since the floating PV system will cover close to 1/3rd of the available water area in the dock. ABP had submitted plans for this project in March 2025 (see 40 MW Proposed Capacity For UK’s ‘Largest’ Floating Solar Project).
170 MW in the Netherlands: Dutch independent power producer (IPP) PowerField has completed construction of 7 solar PV projects totaling over 170 MW of installed capacity in the Netherlands. Located across the provinces of North Brabant, Gelderland, Overijssel, and Drenthe, these facilities now await final site work. With these facilities, PowerField says its total operational capacity in the Netherlands now exceeds 300 MW.
500 MW solar panel deal: Jordan-based solar PV manufacturer Philadelphia Solar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Voltalia of France to supply 500 MW of its high-efficiency solar modules. Announcing the MoU in a LinkedIn post, Philadelphia Solar did not share any more details about the deal.
Growing requests for energy storage in Germany: Energy storage is gaining ground in Germany. According to the figures on battery storage connection requests published for the first time by the Federal Network Agency or Bundesnetzagentur, grid operators received 9,710 requests for medium-voltage and higher-level battery connections in 2024. These represent about 400 GW of planned output and 661 GWh of storage capacity, and they do not include residential systems. Currently, 921 such systems are operational, totaling 2.3 GW of power and 3.2 GWh of storage capacity. They also issued about 3,800 connection commitments for new and older applications last year, covering a combined capacity of roughly 25 GW and 46 GWh. Developments for 2025 will be published later.
Rooftop solar project in Ukraine: Columbus Energy has commissioned what it calls the largest rooftop solar power plant in Ukraine. With an installed capacity of 3.49 MW, this project has come up on the rooftop of GLASS ALLIANCE LLC in the city of Vilnohirsk. The project uses 620 W solar panels and Huawei inverters.
Solar for drinking water: More from Ukraine. The European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have provided 36 sets of autonomous solar power systems to the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Solar panels will be installed on the rooftops of non-residential municipal buildings to support city water supply systems that serve close to 440,000 city residents. UNDP says this project will ensure the uninterrupted operation of critical infrastructure, guaranteeing access to safe drinking water to the denizens.
Refinancing for JPee projects: French renewable energy producer JP Energie Environment (JPee) has secured €430 million long-term financing that was arranged and financed by Bpifrance, CIC Structured Finance, Société Générale, and Crédit Agricole Transitions et Energies, alongside the banks of the Crédit Agricole Group. This refinancing will enable JPee to cover 19 wind farms, including one under construction, and 25 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 427 MW. This represents nearly 70% of its total installed capacity.
