In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, reports that prevailing pessimism in the global polysilicon market continues to intensify, with current conditions still favoring buyers to a certain extent, allowing them to retain a degree of leverage in negotiations.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Southern Brazil and the northern Andes were irradiance hotspots during March, posting anomalies as high as 30% above the climatological average. The increase came despite intense rainfall causing flooding in other parts of South America.

Martin Schachinger, founder of pvXchange.com, says the European PV market has remained unaffected by the disruptive effects of the Trump administration’s new tariff policy.

With module sizes increasing, labor shortages worsening and workplace safety risks escalating, automation is a necessity.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to María del Puy Ayerra, Head of Business Development Iberia at Spain’s Zelestra. She encountered isolated experiences that reflected subtle gender bias – particularly the assumption that women in leadership must adopt a “tough” character to survive in a male-dominated environment. “These stereotypes can be limiting and disheartening, especially for women who lead with empathy, collaboration, and strength of vision,” she states.

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has fined eight solar operators for failing to comply with output curtailment orders and canceled licenses for 11 renewable energy projects totaling 347.4 MW. It did not say how much of the canceled capacity was solar.

Reliance Industries has begun production at the first phase of its planned 10 GW solar module facility. The fully automated line manufactures heterojunction (HJT) panels with outputs of up to 720 W.

Sunora has unveiled new grid-connected and hybrid inverters at the RenewX 2025 clean energy trade show in Chennai, India.

Bright Saver, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, aims to bring the European balcony solar trend to US homes with low-cost, plug-in systems that require no interconnection approvals or permits in some jurisdictions.

Polysilicon prices fell again this week amid weak market activity and elevated inventories, according to industry sources. Downstream wafer, cell, and module prices also continued to slide, with modules now trading as low as CNY 0.68 ($0.09)/W.

Scientists in South Africa have used computational fluid dynamics to investigate whether a dummy panel, placed in front of a working PV panel, can mitigate soiling. They have tested this setup with various inclination angles, heights, and distances and have found that the dummies accumulated up to 58% more dust than the PV panels.

Swiss startup Sun-Ways says it has activated what it calls the world’s first removable solar plant on active rail tracks, with passenger trains set to run over the 18 kW installation from April 28.

Guatemala has launched a 1.4 GW energy auction for renewable and low-emission projects to secure 15-year capacity contracts starting in 2030.

The Germany manufacturer said its new heat pump systems use propane (R290) as the refrigerant and are able to provide a maximum flow temperature of 70 C. Their coefficient of performance ranges from 4.7 to 5.1.

Spain now has 65.8 GW of solar projects with grid-connection permits, says the country’s energy agency. Total renewable energy installations with grid permits hit 129.5 GW by the end of March, up 15.5% from February.

New research from Germany has shown how improving top-cell transparency and performance remains key to the commercialization of tandem perovskite-silicon solar cells, as well as for all other types of tandem devices. The analysis demonstrated, in particular, that the top cell must achieve higher single-cell efficiency to compensate for reduced transparency.

The new 20-foot Center L Max system is configurable for storage durations ranging from two to eight hours and is compatible with 2000 V platforms. It utilizes the manufacturer’s proprietary 783 Ah cells, which feature an oxide solid electrolyte.

The off-grid solution includes module optimizers, an inverter, a battery, and an automatic transfer switch.

The MagicBlock utility-scale storage platform supports two-hour to eight-hour discharge durations, targeting flexibility markets and long-duration energy storage needs. The 10-foot container supports a maximum capacity of 3.2 MWh and is available in both AC- and DC-coupled versions.

The Portuguese company said its new anti-soiling solution lasts for at least a year. It can be applied during routine cleaning operations by mixing it directly in the cleaning water.

India’s Solex Energy has started working on its new 2 GW n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell factory, with operations set to begin in early 2027.

The tandem device is based on a bottom thin-film heterojunction cell that can bend and a top perovskite cell that can be manufactured with a low-temperature process to prevent damage. It achieved the highest efficiency ever recorded to date for a flexible perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell.

Chinese manufacturer Das Solar says it will open its first European PV panel assembly plant in Mandeure, eastern France, by the end of 2025.

Enphase Energy has posted $356.1 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2025, falling short of expectations. The solar microinverter and battery storage provider says it has lowered its margin outlook due to rising tariff pressures.

Researchers in Italy have designed a novel carbon dioxide heat pump that can work with photovoltaic-thermal energy, a finned coil heat exchanger and a U-tube borehole heat exchanger. Their experiment has shown that the simultaneous use of at least two energy sources always results in improved system performance even with limited heat transfer areas.

Sunwoda’s MESS 2000 mobile energy storage vehicle redefines the role of mobile power—evolving from a tool for emergencies to a key player in everyday energy supply.

Government-run Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is tendering for the provision of technical and advisory support services for its grant programs aimed at organizations in Ireland planning to decarbonize. The tender follows a report by the SEAI that showed Ireland has a limited market for industrial heat pumps and called for greater outreach and support for businesses to install the technology.

Dutch energy storage firm Return has started construction on the 100 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system in Waddinxveen, which will be the first project of the size to connect to the TenneT Netherlands high-voltage network in 2026. Vattenfall will manage and optimize half of the system’s capacity under an eight-year contract.

The Spanish manufacturer will exhibit the E/Xpand HV battery at the upcoming Smarter E show in Munich next month. It will showcase racks for commercial and industrial (C&I) and large-scale systems of up to 5 MWh.

The Trump administration’s China tariffs have piled atop existing and developing trade barriers on battery energy storage systems, components, and materials – destabilizing the US energy storage industry. While existing inventories will allow project development to move forward in the short term, uncertainty extends across the supply chain, including to prospective manufacturers.