Chinese PV Industry Brief: Daqo, Tongwei, Aiko Solar Post Q1 Losses
Chinese PV makers posted mixed Q1 results as polysilicon and module prices stayed under pressure. Daqo New Energy’s revenue fell 79% to $26 million and it recorded a $111 million loss despite a 75% rise in polysilicon output, while Tongwei posted $1.68 billion revenue, narrowing its loss to $337 million and holding $2.94 billion in cash. Aiko Solar saw revenue grow 7% to $614 million, improved gross margin to 7.2%, but its loss widened to $61 million due to FX, and it secured contracts for nearly 10 GW of capacity. Meanwhile, Deli Holdings terminated a $765 million glass supply agreement with Longi subsidiaries, and polysilicon prices steadied around $4,880 per ton, suggesting a possible bottom.
Growatt Launches C&I Storage System with 95% Depth of Discharge
Chinese inverter and battery maker Growatt has launched the RISE 261H‑XH, an all‑in‑one hybrid energy storage system for commercial and industrial use. The platform delivers 261 kWh of lithium‑iron‑phosphate storage with a 95 % depth‑of‑discharge and is offered in 50 kW, 63 kW, 85 kW...
Large-Scale PV Could Intensify Water Stress in China’s Tarim Basin
Chinese researchers used a high‑resolution 9 km coupled climate‑vegetation model to examine the impact of utility‑scale photovoltaic (PV) deployment across the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. Their simulations, which assumed the basin could be fully covered with panels, showed surface...
South Africa’s Eskom Resorts to Grid-Scale Gravity Energy Storage
South Africa’s state‑owned utility Eskom has signed a strategic development agreement with Energy Vault to pilot a 25 MW/100 MWh grid‑scale gravity energy storage system at the aging Hendrina coal plant. The deal also creates a framework for up to 4 GWh of...
Solar Capture Factors Fall Across Europe as Negative Price Hours Surge in Key Markets
Solar capture factors across Europe’s major markets fell sharply in April 2026, with France’s rate plunging 75% to 0.10 and Germany’s dropping to 0.26. The decline coincided with a surge in negative‑price hours, rising from 90 to 139 in France...
Drax Deploying Solar Panels at Scottish Hydropower Stations
Drax has completed its first photovoltaic project at the Glenlee run‑of‑river hydro station in Galloway, installing 1,500 SunPower panels that deliver 693 kW of solar capacity and an expected 480 MWh of annual generation. The £850,000 ($1.16 million) investment is the first of...
Ireland Urged to Create National Clearing House to Streamline Solar Projects
Ireland’s solar industry is urging the government to establish a national clearing house that would streamline coordination among planners, grid operators, developers and contractors. The move comes as the country’s grid‑scale solar output topped 1 GW in April and total installed...
Hybrid Tidal-Photovoltaic System for Modular Renewables Deployment in Estuarine Channels
Researchers in Brazil simulated a hybrid tidal‑hydrokinetic and photovoltaic floating farm for estuarine channels. By placing solar panels on each diffuser‑augmented turbine, the system mitigates wake‑induced losses and achieves annual generation between 5.2 and 24 GWh depending on turbine spacing and...
Assessment of Nigeria’s Agrivoltaic Potential Identifies Northern States as Optimal Areas
A geospatial study by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Indiana University and Cornell identifies Nigeria’s northern states—Kano, Katsina and Jigawa—as having the highest agrivoltaic potential. The analysis shows that meeting projected 2050 solar capacity in these states would...
Solar Tech Theft on the Rise in Chile
A survey by Chile’s solar association ACESOL reveals a sharp rise in nighttime thefts at photovoltaic installations, especially in the O’Higgins, Coquimbo, Maule and Metropolitan regions. Small‑ and medium‑scale distributed generation (PMGD) projects account for roughly 79% of the incidents,...
Floating Solar Offers Morocco’s Dams Antidote to Evaporation Loss
Moroccan researchers estimate that the nation’s 58 dams lose about 909 million cubic metres of water each year, a loss that could be curbed by floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems. Their techno‑economic analysis shows that covering just 1% of dam surfaces with...
Egypt Installs 800 MW of Solar in 2025
Egypt installed roughly 800 MW of solar in 2025, lifting cumulative capacity to about 2.9 GW. GlobalData projects annual additions surpassing 2 GW through 2028 and climbing to 3.5‑3.7 GW in the early 2030s, reaching 34.3 GW by 2035. Utility‑scale projects dominate, accounting for over...
Grid Operators May Reduce Renewables Penetration if Data Center Growth Continues Unchecked, Says ENTSO-E
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO‑E) warned that unchecked data‑center growth could compel grid operators to limit renewable energy penetration across Europe. In an 8 May report, ENTSO‑E highlighted the flexibility potential of data centres but stressed...
Argentina Sees Strong Growth in Solar Distributed Generation Amid Electricity Price Hikes
Argentina’s distributed generation (DG) market is booming, with over 4,000 user‑generators and 143 MW installed by March 2026, up sharply from just 67 in 2019. The surge is driven by recent electricity tariff hikes, historic lows in inverter and panel prices,...
Solar PV Accounted for 29% of Electricity Generation in Chile in March, with Instantaneous Peaks Reaching 75%
Chile’s solar photovoltaic output reached 2,141 GWh in March 2026, representing 28.7% of total electricity generation and hitting an instantaneous peak of 75.1% on March 14. Operational solar capacity stood at 11.9 GW, with another 2.8 GW under construction, while battery energy storage systems...
Spain Supports 4.2 GW / 8 GWh of Pumped-Hydro Storage with €165 Million
Spain will soon finalize a €670 million ($789 million) allocation under its Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, with €165 million earmarked for seven reversible pumped‑hydro storage projects. The Boralmac II program will add more than 4.2 GW of power capacity and over 8 GWh of storage...
U.S. Solar Panel Manufacturers Need to Learn to Solder
The Intertek CEA Global PV Manufacturing Quality Report 2026 reveals stark yield gaps between U.S. and Chinese solar panel factories, with some U.S. sites delivering as low as 30% yield versus near‑100% in mature Chinese plants. Soldering defects dominate the...
Bolivia Presents New Law to Boost Renewables, Private Investments
Bolivia’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy has submitted a draft Electricity and Renewable Energies Law for formal review, launching technical, legislative and public consultations. The proposal retains the state‑owned utility ENDE as system operator but places it in a competitive...
Kalyon PV Begins Production at New TOPCon Solar Cell Factory in Turkey
Kalyon PV has launched a new 1 GW TOPCon solar cell factory in Ankara, raising its annual cell output to 2.1 GW. The plant joins an existing 1.9 GW module facility and a 1 GW ingot‑and‑wafer line, creating a vertically integrated manufacturing hub. The...
Czechia Considers Stop to Double Taxation on Solar, Storage Projects
The Czech Economic Committee of the Chamber of Deputies has endorsed amendments to the Building Act that would raise the electricity‑tax exemption threshold for solar installations from 50 kW to 100 kW and remove double taxation on projects that combine photovoltaic panels...
Bandgap-Engineered Indoor Perovskite Solar Cell Achieves 37.44% Efficiency
An international team engineered the bandgap of methylammonium‑free perovskite absorbers to align with indoor LED spectra, achieving a record 37.44% power conversion efficiency under low‑intensity lighting. The 1.72 eV composition delivered consistently high performance across a range of lux levels and...
Bhutan Tenders Solar Projects for Healthcare Facilities
Bhutan’s Department of Energy has launched a tender to install 12.1 MW of rooftop solar across 73 public healthcare facilities, with expressions of interest due by May 29. The projects will be built, owned, and operated under a 25‑year concession, grouped into...
Europe’s Negative Electricity Price Hours Double in Q1 Amid Renewables Surpluses, Market Imbalances
EU‑27 day‑ahead power markets recorded 1,223 negative‑price hours in Q1 2026, more than double the 593 hours logged in Q1 2025. The surge was led by Spain (347 hours), Portugal (294 hours) and Greece (138 hours), while Nordic markets returned to zero...
Meta, Amazon and J&J Power Perigus Energy’s European CPPA Portfolio
Perigus Energy announced that Meta, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Flogas and SWW Wunsiedel have signed corporate power purchase agreements covering 204.85 MW, roughly 35% of its 578 MW operational portfolio. The deals span solar and on‑shore wind assets in Ireland, Germany and...
China TOPCon Solar Cell Prices Stabilize as Holiday Lull Slows Trading
China's TOPCon solar cell prices held steady at $0.0486/W in early May, ending a streak of declines. The stability coincides with a week‑long Labor Day holiday that dampened trading activity. Upstream supply dynamics could pressure prices later in Q2 2026...
Solar Backup Power Supports Ukrainian Intensive Care Units During Grid Outages and Cyberattacks
At the SolarPower Summit in Brussels, Ukrainian representatives highlighted how solar‑plus‑storage systems are keeping hospitals and schools operational amid grid outages and cyberattacks. Energy Act for Ukraine, led by Yuliana Onishchuk, has installed nearly 1.5 MW of photovoltaic capacity and 2 MWh...
Remote Australian Community Secures Permit for Sun Turtle Solar and Battery Project
The Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation secured planning approval for the Aalga Goorlil Sun Turtle Community Power Project, a 100% First Nations‑owned solar farm and 3.25 MW battery system on Western Australia’s Dampier Peninsula. The AUD 12 million (≈ US$8.6 million) development will install 3,408 panels arranged...
There Are Now More than 2 Million UK Solar Installations
UK solar installations surpassed 2 million in March 2026, the highest monthly volume since 2012, pushing total capacity to 22.1 GW. The month recorded 27,607 new systems delivering 121 MW, while the 373 MW Cleve Hill plant alone contributed 16% of the year‑over‑year capacity...
Dutch Partners Explore Bringing Silicon PV Into Space
The Netherlands’ research institute TNO, solar‑module maker MCPV and aerospace giant Airbus have launched a joint programme to adapt terrestrial silicon photovoltaic technology for space use. The effort targets back‑contact silicon cells as a cheaper alternative to the gallium‑arsenide (GaAs)...
Norwegian Startup Testing Hybrid Solar, Wave, Wind System
Norwegian startup Flex2Future has begun testing a scaled‑down hybrid offshore energy platform that combines solar, wave and wind generation in a SINTEF ocean basin. Laboratory trials focus on the structure’s hydrodynamic response and the power‑take‑off performance of its wave converters....
Sinovoltaics Launches Free Tool for Project-Specific PV Module Test Scopes
Sinovoltaics unveiled PV Lab Test Advisor, a free web‑based platform that generates customized reliability‑testing scopes for utility‑scale solar projects. Users input site climate, technology and risk parameters, and the tool outputs a PDF‑ready testing plan. The service aims to replace...
PV Module Recycling Technologies ‘Progressing’, Says IEA-PVPS
The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme released its latest Task 12 report, showing measurable progress in PV module recycling. Commercial recyclers like Solarcycle and SPR now recover up to 98% of silicon and over 90% of silver and copper,...
Angola Switches on Africa’s Largest Off-Grid Solar-Plus-Storage Park
Portuguese renewable firm MCA has commissioned the Luau photovoltaic park in eastern Angola, a 31.85 MW solar facility paired with 75.26 MWh of battery storage. The off‑grid system can power more than 90,000 residents and eliminates the need for fossil‑fuel generators. Valued...
Fraunhofer ISE Opens Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Scale-Up Lab
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has inaugurated the Pero‑Si‑SCALE laboratory in Freiburg to scale perovskite‑silicon tandem solar cells to 210 mm × 210 mm wafers using industry‑standard processes. The lab builds on a hybrid vacuum‑wet deposition route that has already surpassed 33%...
How to Retrofit Commercial PV Panels Into Photovoltaic-Thermal Modules
Brazilian researchers at the Federal University of Paraná experimentally retrofitted a standard 60 W polycrystalline PV panel with four rear‑mounted thermosyphons to create a photovoltaic‑thermal (PVT) module. Under real outdoor conditions the hybrid system reached total energy efficiencies of 45.7% on...
Indonesia Tenders 1.2 GW of Solar
Indonesia’s state‑owned utility PLN has opened a 1,225 MW solar tender, dubbed Mentari Nusantara I, spanning six regions including Java and Sumatra. The projects are bundled under the new ‘Giga One’ procurement scheme, which aims to deliver economies of scale and...
Dutch Regulator Plans Grid Fee for Large Solar Producers
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) plans to introduce a grid fee for large electricity producers, including solar farms, no earlier than January 2032. The fee is designed to fund grid maintenance and encourage more efficient use of the...
France Publishes Specifications for 925 MW Ground-Mounted Solar Tender
The French energy regulator (CRE) released the specifications for the ninth PPE2 ground‑mounted solar auction, earmarking 925 MW of capacity for projects over 500 kW. A 200 MW slice is set aside for sub‑5 MW sites spaced at least 500 m apart. Bids are accepted...
Home Batteries Earn During Negative Electricity Price Spikes
Over the recent European holiday weekend, day‑ahead electricity prices in the Germany‑Luxembourg bidding zone fell to minus €0.50/kWh (≈$0.58). Delta Green, a Czech aggregator of residential batteries, EV chargers and inverters, used its AI platform to empty home batteries before the...
Swiss Balancing Energy Market Now Open to C&I Solar
Switzerland’s balancing energy market is now open to commercial, industrial and multi‑family photovoltaic installations through the AMAG Energy Flexpool. The solution, built by Novagrid AG and AMAG Energy, certifies existing PV systems for remote participation without additional hardware, while preserving...
Oman Seeks Consultant for Green Hydrogen Project
Oman’s state‑owned Nama Power and Water Procurement (PWP) has issued a tender for a consultancy to conduct a techno‑economic feasibility study of a green‑hydrogen‑fueled independent power plant sized between 800 MW and 1 GW. The tender documents cost OMR 150 (about $390) and...
New Technique Measures Water Ingress in PV Modules without Disconnecting Them
A German research team has unveiled a nondestructive, on‑site technique that quantifies water ingress in photovoltaic (PV) modules using near‑infrared absorption (NIRA) spectroscopy calibrated against Karl‑Fischer titration (KFT). The method delivers absolute moisture content without opening the sealed modules, enabling...
Western Australia Backs Grid Buildout Ahead of Coal Exit
Western Australia announced a AUD 1.4 billion ($1 billion) clean‑energy fund to finance transmission and network projects as its state‑owned coal plants close by 2030. The fund will back the Clean Energy Link (CEL) – East and CEL – North projects, which together aim to...
China Datang Brings Online 500 MW Solar Farm for Direct Data Center Supply
China Datang Corp has commissioned a 500 MW solar farm in Zhongwei, Ningxia, marking the nation’s first large‑scale renewable project built to feed a data‑center cluster directly. The plant, part of a 2 GW first‑phase build‑out that also includes a 1.5 GW wind...
Japan Reopens NEDO Perovskite Solar Call with Single-Junction Focus
Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has launched a supplementary call for proposals to scale up single‑junction perovskite solar cell manufacturing. The five‑year Green Innovation Fund program runs from fiscal 2026 through 2030 and seeks to match...
Study Finds ‘Relatively Good’ Agreement in Worldwide Solar Cell Calibrations, but Flags Key Differences in Testing Methods
An interlaboratory comparison involving nine metrology institutes evaluated solar‑cell calibrations under the World Photovoltaic Scale. The study found generally good agreement, with short‑circuit current values aligning within –2.2% to 3.5% and most measurements falling inside expanded uncertainties. Nonetheless, discrepancies up to...
Free Market, Curtailment, and Storage Reshaping Brazilian Solar Sector
Brazil’s solar market is entering a more complex phase as curtailment, grid saturation and new regulations reshape growth. The Northeast region now holds roughly 74 GW of the 117 GW pipeline, while free‑market solar accounts for about 44% of national consumption. Law 15,269...
French IPP Building Mini Solar Farms via Low-Voltage Extension
Solvéo Energies has expanded its Bélesta‑en‑Lauragais solar plant to 3 MW by adding a 300 kW unit that uses a decentralized low‑voltage “mini solar field” architecture. The design connects directly to the local grid at low voltage, eliminating the need for high‑voltage...
The Best Performing Utility-Scale PV Asset in Australia
Rystad Energy reports Australian utility‑scale solar generated 1,730 GWh in May 2026, a 21% rise from April, pushing total solar‑wind output to 4.7 TWh. The 204 MW Edenvale Solar Park in Queensland posted the highest monthly capacity factor at 33.1%, topping the national...
The Hydrogen Stream: AfDB Backs Projects, Europe Logs 265 Offers
The African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa has opened a Green Hydrogen Programme, offering up to $20 million in pre‑investment grants to private developers across the continent. Meanwhile, the European Commission’s Hydrogen Mechanism recorded 265 supply‑side opportunities, with 87 %...