US software and services company Stem has deployed its AI monitoring and optimisation solutions at the 304MW Mezőcsát solar plant in Hungary The solutions are collected under a single energy platform and includes the PowerTrack and PowerManager control solutions developed by Stem’s subsidiary The platform’s primary function will be to monitor conditions at the plant the project’s operations and maintenance provider to make informed decisions about how best to manage the facility The platform can also track data on the project itself enabling its operators to assess how the project is operating and when it is producing power the most efficiently The integration of such solutions at Hungary’s largest solar plant is an important step in demonstrating how such monitoring processes can be an integral part of some of the most influential solar projects in Europe “Stem is excited to see our international strategy coming to fruition with the successful activation of utility-scale clean energy assets especially as the European market prepares for Net-Zero Industry Act one of the biggest investment initiatives in the renewable energy sector,” said Stem CEO John Carrington “As more businesses explore storage solutions we look forward to continuing to deliver value and support in monetising more clean energy projects in existing and expanding markets.” Hungary, meanwhile, is looking to reduce its reliance on foreign imports of power, and has targeted solar as a means to ensure a stable domestic supply of energy The Mezőcsát facility began production last month and was partially funded through a 15-year bond under the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme as actors across the industries look to develop Hungarian solar we have upgraded our product offerings and features to bring you the best experience please check your email inbox for password reset message from PV Tech and follow the instructions Can\'t find the email? 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Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience a 233 MW solar plant in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Commissioning of the 233 MW Mezőcsát power plant The Hungarian government has announced that a 233 MW solar power plant has begun commercial operations in the municipality of Mezőcsát and reducing the reliance on natural gas and increasing the share of electricity from alternative sources are key goals,” tweeted Energy Minister Csaba Lantos “The inauguration of the Mezőcsát power plant is a step toward achieving these objectives.” The latest statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) show that Hungary had installed 2.98 GW of solar by the end of 2020 New capacity additions only reached 20 MW in 2022 More articles from Emiliano Bellini Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close Home News Highlights Spotlights How Hungary’s Orbán uses control of the media to escape scrutiny and keep the public in the dark Hungary (AP) — In the months leading up to elections for the European Parliament Hungarians were warned that casting a ballot against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would be a vote for all-out war The right-wing Fidesz party cast the June 9 election as an existential struggle one that could preserve peace in Europe if Orbán won — or fuel widespread instability if he didn’t Orbán used a sprawling pro-government media empire that’s dominated the country’s political discourse for more than a decade as it has since Orbán returned to power in 2010 and his party came first in the elections — though not by the margins it was used to attracted disaffected voters and took 29% of the vote to Fidesz’s 44% “Everything has fallen apart in Hungary. The state essentially does not function, there’s only propaganda and lies,” said Péter Magyar, the leader of that new party who has emerged in recent months as perhaps the most formidable challenge yet to Orbán’s rule supported by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting is part of an ongoing Associated Press series covering threats to democracy in Europe party campaigned on promises to root out deep-seated corruption in the government He has also been outspoken about what he sees as the damage Orbán’s “propaganda factory” has done to Hungary’s democracy “It might be very difficult to imagine from America or Western Europe what the propaganda and the state machinery is like here,” Magyar said in an interview before elections with The Associated Press “This parallel reality is like the Truman Show Since 2010, Orbán’s government has promoted hostility to migrants and LGBTQ+ rights, distrust of the European Union, and a belief that Hungarian-American financier George Soros — who is Jewish and one of Orbán’s enduring foes — is engaged in secret plots to destabilize Hungary Such messaging has delivered Orbán’s party four consecutive two-thirds majorities in parliament and the most Hungarian delegates in the EU legislature an analyst and head of the Political Capital think tank in Budapest Orbán has created “an almost Orwellian environment” where the government weaponizes control of a majority of news outlets to limit Hungarians’ decisions “Hungary has become a quite successful informational autocracy The restriction of Hungary’s free press directly affects informed democratic participation Opposition politicians have long complained that they only get five minutes of air time every four years on public television to present their platforms before elections public television and radio channels consistently echo talking points communicated both by Fidesz and a network of think tanks and pollsters that receive funding from the government and the party Their analysts routinely appear in affiliated media to bolster government narratives Hungary’s electoral commission issued a warning to the public broadcaster for repeatedly airing Fidesz campaign videos during news segments credits his new party’s success partly to its ability to sidestep Orbán’s dominance by meeting directly with voters and developing a large following on social media even those with a strong online presence struggle to compete with Fidesz’s control of traditional outlets According to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders Orbán has used media buyouts by government-connected “oligarchs” to build “a true media empire subject to his party’s orders.” The group estimates that such buyouts have given Orbán’s party control of some 80% of Hungary’s media market resources it put Orbán on its list of media “predators,” the first EU leader to earn the distinction A network of independent journalists and online outlets that continue to function in Hungary struggles to remain competitive head of the Media and Communication Department at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest The government is the largest advertiser in Hungary A study by watchdog Mérték Media Monitor showed up to 90% of state advertising revenue is awarded to pro-Fidesz media outlets The government’s efforts to control media have moved beyond television shifting into social media posts that are boosted by paid advertisements Hungary spent the most in the entire 27-member EU — nearly $4.8 million — on political ads on platforms owned by Facebook’s parent company which has more than eight times the population according to a recent report based on publicly available data compiled by Political Capital Mérték Media Monitor and fact-checking site Lakmusz The vast majority of that spending came from Fidesz or its proxies a self-declared training center for aspiring conservative influencers the group spent $800,000 on boosting its pro-government content on Meta platforms more than what was spent in total by 16 EU countries in the same period With government narratives so pervasive across mediums a level of political polarization has emerged that can reach deep into the private lives of Hungarians a 55-year-old entrepreneur from a suburb of Budapest and her husband Attila Kohári began to drift apart — fed by Kohári’s steady diet of pro-government media “He listened to these radio stations where they pushed those simple talking points it completely changed his personality,” Simon said and his brain was replaced with a Fidesz brain.” ‘You have to choose: me or Fidesz,’” she said like many Hungarians who hold fast to traditional values in a changing world Kohári remains a faithful supporter of Orbán and his policies His love of his country and belief that Orbán has led Hungary in the right direction have him “clearly convinced that my position is the right one,” he said The media divide also has consequences for Hungary’s finances who has uncovered dozens of suspected cases of graft involving EU funds go largely unaddressed because the majority of voters are unaware of them (the government) controls state media by hand and spends about 50 billion forints ($135 million) a year on advertisements … that sustain their own TV networks and websites,” he said “The people that consume those media simply don’t hear about these things.” a small village on the Hungarian Great Plain Hadházy inspected the site of an industrial park that was built with 290 million forints ($795,000) in EU funds is that since the site was completed in 2017 and the money used to build it has disappeared Hadházy said that Hungarians “who consciously seek out the real news hear about these cases and don’t understand how it’s possible that there are no consequences when I present such things almost daily.” He continued: “But it’s not important for the government that nobody hears about them it’s important that more people hear their lies Far more people hear their messages than the facts.” This story has been corrected to show that the building of the industrial park in the village of Mezőcsát involved EU funds in the amount of 290 million forints Discover the best of AP content in every format Explore diverse topics through our world-class journalism