Chinese Researchers Build 33.33%-efficient Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar Cell via New Passivation Strategy
Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers have demonstrated a perovskite‑silicon tandem solar cell that reaches a 33.33 % peak efficiency and a certified 32.89 % on a 1 cm² device. The record was achieved using a novel peak‑selective passivation strategy that applies Al₂O₃ only to the apexes of silicon pyramids via polystyrene nanosphere templating. This method eliminates the need for lithography, remains compatible with current silicon manufacturing, and yields a pinhole‑free perovskite layer with reduced recombination. The cell also retained about 90 % of its initial performance after 1,000 hours of continuous illumination, indicating strong stability.
Protecting Heterojunction Solar Modules with UV-Downshifting, UV-Blocking
German researchers examined UV‑induced degradation in lightweight silicon heterojunction (HJT) solar modules using encapsulants with varying UV transmission. They discovered that a dual‑layer architecture—combining a UV‑downshifting EVA layer with an underlying UV‑blocking encapsulant—preserves more than 98% of initial performance after...
Ingeteam Unveils High-Density String Inverter for Utility-Scale Solar
Ingeteam has launched the Ingecon Sun 300TL, a high‑density string inverter aimed at utility‑scale photovoltaic plants. The 300 kW unit packs a single MPPT, 99.05% peak efficiency and an IP66 rating into a compact 1.045 m square, 115 kg package. It operates from...
Philippines Imported 4 GW of Chinese Solar Panels in January-April
The Philippines imported over 4 GW of Chinese solar panels between January and April 2026, dwarfing the utility‑scale solar installed that year. Imports lifted total solar arrivals to 4,133 MW in the first four months, fueling a rapid rise in rooftop capacity...
Swiss Power Distributors Allowed to Remunerate Solar Power at Market Rates
Switzerland’s Federal Council will let distribution grid operators pay solar generators the prevailing market price for electricity injected into the grid starting Jan. 1, 2027. Operators may still offer higher feed‑in rates, and small‑scale PV owners are protected by a retroactive premium...
JinkoSolar Secures 20 GW Order Backlog for High-Efficiency Tiger Neo 3.0 Modules
JinkoSolar’s Tiger Neo 3.0 module, delivering up to 670 W and 24.8% conversion efficiency, has amassed a roughly 20 GW order backlog since its November launch. The panel incorporates four proprietary technologies that together add more than 20 W of power and cut...
Battery Storage Key to Solar Project Bankability in Africa
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming essential for making solar projects in Africa financially viable. AIIM’s investment principal Zoë Pierre emphasized that flexible, dispatchable power and solid project structures, not technology, drive bankability. He highlighted regulatory‑friendly markets such as...
German Consortium Developing Aluminum Facade Elements with Integrated PV Modules
A German consortium led by ISFH, MN Metall, Baltic Renewable Partners and Fraunhofer CSP, backed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, has created a lamination process that bonds crystalline‑silicon PV modules directly to aluminum façade panels. The...
Romania Tightens Grid Connection Rules for Future Projects
Romania’s energy regulator ANRE has raised the financial guarantee for grid‑connection permits on projects over 1 MW from 5% to 20% of the connection fee, and introduced a €30/kW ($34.83/kW) guarantee for construction authorization. The move targets the 1,500 pending projects—totaling...
Pennar Industries Expands Investment in PV Manufacturing in India
Indian engineering firm Pennar Industries announced a INR 5.8 crore (≈$700,000) investment in ZAP91 Solar India Pvt Ltd, securing a 45% equity stake. ZAP91 Solar, a joint venture with Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses, is building a solar PV module manufacturing plant in Sadashivpet,...
Paraguay Launches First Large-Scale Solar Tender, Marking Historic Shift in Energy Policy
Paraguay’s state utility ANDE has issued its first large‑scale solar photovoltaic tender, targeting a 140 MW plant in Boquerón under the newly enacted Law No. 7599/2025. The project, supported by the World Bank, includes design, construction, operation and a 220 kV grid connection...
Malaysia Offers Cash Rebate for Home Solar
Malaysia’s Sustainable Rebate and Incentive Assistance (SuRIA) Home scheme will begin on June 1, offering households a cash rebate of MYS 600 ($151) per kWac, capped at MYS 3,000 ($756) for a typical 5 kW system. The program is first‑come‑first‑served, runs until year‑end or...
Solar-Friendly Dynamic Pricing of Electricity Could Cut California’s Peak Demand by Several GW
A new Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study finds that dynamic electricity pricing combined with price‑responsive appliances could shave up to 8.75 GW off California’s peak demand by 2030. The state’s 2027 mandate requiring utilities and community choice aggregators to offer such...
Türkiye Reduces Grid Fee for Around 800 Unlicensed Solar Plants
Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority cut the grid fee for about 800 unlicensed solar plants that finished their ten‑year feed‑in tariff, lowering the charge from TRY 2.081 to TRY 0.656 ($0.014) per kWh – a 68 % reduction. The affected facilities total 500‑550 MW...
JA Solar, Gold Stone Energy Claim World’s Highest Efficiency for Silicon Solar Cells with 28.2%-efficient Back Contact Device
Chinese PV firms JA Solar and Gold Stone Energy have set a new world record for single‑junction silicon solar cell efficiency, achieving 28.2% conversion in a hybrid back‑contact (HBC) device. The result, certified by TÜV Rheinland, surpasses the previous 28.13%...
EU Awards €400 Million to 65 Industrial Heat Projects in Auction
The European Commission has awarded €400 million ($465.7 million) in grants to 65 industrial heat decarbonisation projects across ten EU countries, marking the first Innovation Fund heat auction. The projects, spanning heat pumps, solar thermal, resistance and dielectric heating, target energy‑intensive sectors...
DAS Solar, UNSW Build Tunnel Back-Contact Solar Cell with 27% Efficiency, Lower Silver Content
Researchers from UNSW and DAS Solar have introduced a zero‑busbar (ZBB) metal‑grid design for tunnel‑oxide passivated back‑contact (TBC) silicon solar cells. The new architecture reduces silver paste usage to roughly 6 mg per watt while maintaining high performance. Mass‑produced TBC cells...
Pollution From Coal Plants Can Reduce Solar Generation by over 5%
A UK‑led research team used satellite data on 140,000 solar sites to measure how aerosols from coal‑fired power plants cut solar output. In 2023, aerosols reduced global photovoltaic generation by 5.8%, equivalent to about 111 TWh of electricity. China accounted for...
Brazil Falls Short of Its Battery Storage Potential
Brazil’s battery‑energy‑storage (BESS) market is projected to exceed 1 GW by 2026, a fraction of the roughly 300 GW expected globally. Industry leaders say the slowdown stems from missing price signals, specific contracting mechanisms, and an undefined regulatory framework. A recent Absae...
EU Understimating Rooftop PV Power Generation
SolarPower Europe says EU rooftop solar output is vastly under‑reported, estimating 410 TWh of electricity generated in 2025 versus the 275 TWh recorded in official statistics. The discrepancy stems from incomplete registration of rooftop installations, delayed data transfers, and the difficulty of...
Fujiyama Power to Set up 1.2 GW TOPCon Solar Cell Manufacturing Facility in India
Fujiyama Power Systems will build a 1.2 GW TOPCon solar‑cell plant in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, at an estimated INR 350 crore ($36.5 million). The facility, slated for commercial output in the first quarter of FY 2028, complements its existing 1 GW mono‑PERC line in Uttar Pradesh....
EBRD Lends €70 Million to Slovenian BESS Developer Across Four Countries
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a €70 million ($81.3 million) loan to Slovenian battery‑storage developer NGEN Energetske Rešitve. The financing will fund five utility‑scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Slovenia, Latvia, Poland and Romania, delivering a...
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Polysilicon Prices Remain Flat Amid Supply-Demand Rebalancing Signals
Polysilicon prices in China held steady at CNY 35,000‑36,000 per ton ($4,840‑$4,980) as May output of roughly 83,000 metric tons matched wafer operating rates, easing inventory pressure. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association noted the market is shifting from excess stock...
Slovakia Plans to Develop Energy Communities
Slovakia is accelerating the formation of energy communities, with the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA) and the Energy Communities Cluster of Slovakia (KEKS) signing a memorandum of cooperation. Solar power, now exceeding 1.3 GW of installed capacity, is expected to...
Meeting the Challenges of Long Life Time PV on Buildings
Europe’s early building‑integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installations are now reaching the end of their 20‑30‑year design life, forcing owners and maintainers to confront maintenance, repair and replacement challenges. Research projects such as SPHINX and EVERPV are analysing technical, economic and regulatory...
TCL SunPower Launches New Shingled TOPCon Module Series
TCL SunPower, the PV arm of China’s TCL Zhonghuan, unveiled a shingled TOPCon module series that combines multi‑cut cell technology with a gap‑free design. The residential T5 Pro S line delivers 450‑475 W at up to 23.8% efficiency, while the utility‑scale...
Omani PV Manufacturer AACE Switches to TOPCon
Advanced American Clean Energy (AACE) has launched a 300 MW solar module plant in Oman’s Salalah Free Zone, currently producing PERC‑based modules for utility‑scale projects. The company announced plans to convert the line to TOPCon technology and evaluate back‑contact and busbarless...
IRENA Proposes Global Electrification Target of 35% by 2035
IRENA's new report sets a global electrification target of 35% of final electricity consumption by 2035, up from 23% today, to stay on a 1.5°C pathway. To meet this, the agency calls for 18.4 TW of renewable capacity by 2035 and...
UNSW Researchers Shed New Light on UV-Induced Degradation in PERC, TOPCon Solar Cells
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have pinpointed how ultraviolet (UV) exposure creates additional interface defects and makes them more recombination‑active in PERC and TOPCon silicon solar cells. Laboratory tests showed severe degradation on both front and rear...
U.S. PV Manufacturing Capex Could Reach $7 Billion in 2027 in Breakout Year for Domestic Supply-Chain
U.S. photovoltaic manufacturing capital expenditure is projected to reach $7 billion in 2027, a 150% year‑on‑year jump. Crystalline‑silicon (c‑Si) will dominate the spend, accounting for more than 90% of the total, while thin‑film investments shrink to about 10%. The surge is...
China Conducts First Experiments for Space-Based Solar Power Plants
China’s Sun Chasing project has demonstrated its first space‑based solar power experiments, achieving wireless power transmission over 100 meters with 20.8% DC‑to‑DC efficiency and delivering up to 1,180 watts to a stationary receiver. The team also powered a moving drone at 30 km/h,...
PV Curtailment on the Rise in India
India curtailed roughly 300 GWh of renewable electricity in Q1 2026, part of a total 470 GWh loss driven largely by transmission bottlenecks. The northern and western grids bore the brunt, with 178 GWh and 122 GWh respectively, while the south saw no transmission‑related curtailment....
From Coal to Solar: A Stable Jobs Transition for Poland
A new study by AGH University of Krakow projects Poland’s solar industry will maintain between 20,000 and 40,000 full‑time jobs through 2040, depending on investment scenarios. The research outlines three pathways—a baseline, the PEP2040 policy scenario, and an optimal (OPT)...
Sahaj Solar, Clarion Plan 750 MW PV Module Factory in UAE
Sahaj Solar of India and Clarion Investments of New York have formed a joint venture to build a 750 MW photovoltaic module manufacturing plant in the United Arab Emirates. The facility will serve both domestic demand and export markets, with a...
EU Solar Recycling only Viable Under Strict Policy, Say Researchers
TU Wien researchers find that EU solar‑module recycling only becomes economically viable if binding recycled‑content and domestic‑production targets are imposed. Without such mandates, exporting end‑of‑life panels to third countries remains the cheapest option, with treatment costs soaring from $32 per...
Lidl Launches 2.24 kWh Battery in Germany for €299
German discount retailer Lidl is introducing its own Tronic 2.24 kWh solar battery storage unit at a headline price of €299 (about $348). The plug‑and‑play system delivers 1 kW input and 800 W output, works with 99% of balcony PV installations and can...
Intelligent Solar Siting Neutralizes Local Opposition at Near-Zero Cost
A new geospatial optimization model shows that utility‑scale solar can avoid critical habitats with only a 0.17% increase in total system costs. Using New York as a test case, the study compared least‑cost, agricultural‑preservation, and biodiversity‑first siting strategies. Prioritizing biodiversity pushes...
Taiwan Shifting to Regionalized Approach for Solar Permitting
Taiwan's city of Taoyuan introduced new solar permitting guidelines that require operators to conduct self‑inspections on environmentally‑sensitive sites, engage local residents, and establish disaster‑panel storage plans. The rules also mandate third‑party health checks once plants are online and enforce stricter...
Floating PV Tested at Manure Lagoon in Spain
Spanish engineering firm Intergia is piloting floating photovoltaic (PV) systems on pig‑farm manure lagoons to cut ammonia emissions while generating on‑site electricity. Two prototypes—one a 33 kW commercial float covering 20% of a lagoon in Zamora, the other a 9.4 kW custom...
Japanese Scientists Achieve World Record 25.14% Efficiency for Perovskite-CIGS Tandem Solar Cell
Japanese researchers at Tokyo City University, together with AIST, have set a new world record for a perovskite‑CIGS tandem solar cell, achieving a certified 25.14% power conversion efficiency on a 1 cm² two‑terminal device. The record surpasses the previous 24.6% benchmark...
Upcycling Silicon From End-of-Life Solar Modules via Palladium Nanoparticles
Italian researchers have created a palladium‑silicon (Pd/Si) heterogeneous catalyst using silicon recovered from end‑of‑life photovoltaic (PV) modules. The catalyst matches the activity of commercial Pd‑based systems in Mizoroki–Heck cross‑coupling reactions, delivering a turnover number of 5,820 and a turnover frequency...
Spain, Denmark Could Develop European Green Hydrogen Corridor for €2/Kg by Combining Solar and Offshore Wind
A joint Spanish‑Danish study shows that pairing Spain’s high‑output solar photovoltaics with Denmark’s offshore wind can produce green hydrogen at roughly €2 per kilogram (about $2.30). Using an hourly techno‑economic model, the researchers found that long‑duration storage, especially liquid organic hydrogen...
Japan Awards 1.25 GW of Battery Storage in Capacity Market Auction
Japan’s FY2025 long‑term decarbonization auction awarded 1.25 GW of battery storage capacity across 19 projects, accounting for roughly 30% of the decarbonization category. Lithium‑ion batteries secured 551 MW and non‑lithium technologies captured 699 MW. Bidding volume plummeted from nearly 7 GW in FY2024 to...
The Hydrogen Stream: Ireland’s LCOH on Par with Morocco, Brazil
Fraunhofer ISE, working with Ireland’s ESB, released a methodology that shows Ireland can produce green hydrogen at €160‑205 per megawatt‑hour, a cost level comparable to Morocco, South Africa and Brazil. The study highlights pipeline transport to Rotterdam or Stade as...
Women’s Leadership Is Everywhere in Ukraine
Yuliana Onishchuk founded the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation in 2022 to turn solar and battery storage from green tech into a lifeline during Russia’s invasion. The NGO’s "100 Solar Schools" and "50 Solar Hospitals" programmes have equipped public facilities...
Solar PPAs Raise Spanish Spot Prices, Not Suppress Them
A peer‑reviewed study of Spain’s day‑ahead market shows that physical bilateral contracts (PBC) for wind and solar, which once dampened wholesale prices, now lift them during high‑penetration phases. Analyzing 52,260 hourly observations from 2019‑2024 across 11 market regimes, the authors...
Blocking Pattern Lifts Irradiance From France to Finland While Storms Hit the East
Solcast’s April analysis shows a persistent North Sea high‑pressure ridge generated a pronounced solar irradiance surplus across western and northern Europe, with GHI 13%‑16% above the 2007‑2025 baseline from France to Finland. The same blocking pattern diverted Atlantic storm tracks...
German Scientists Explore Whether Solar Power Plants Can Induce Rain in Deserts
German researchers led by the University of Hohenheim will assess whether large‑scale solar farms in coastal deserts can trigger rainfall. Funded by the UAE’s $5 million‑a‑year Rain Enhancement program, the three‑year project will deploy LiDAR at sites like the 3.8 GW Mohammed bin Rashid...
Heterojunction PV Modules with Low Silver Content Tested in World’s Sunniest Region
Chilean firm Atamostec, together with France’s CEA‑Ines, is field‑testing heterojunction (HJT) solar modules with dramatically reduced silver content at the Atacama Desert Solar Platform. The ALPACA project has demonstrated up to 70 % substitution of silver by copper in the cells,...
Fraunhofer ISE Achieves 31.3% Record Solar-to-Hydrogen Efficiency in CPV Electrolysis
Researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have set a new outdoor record for solar‑to‑hydrogen conversion, reaching 31.3% efficiency with a four‑junction micro‑concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) array driving two series‑connected PEM electrolyzers. The CPV module delivered 34.7% solar‑to‑electricity conversion while the electrolyzer operated at...