This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Marion Bourdais-Massenet, Country Manager France at Viridi Energies Renouvelables. She says true inclusion comes from daily practice, allyship, and self-reflective leadership, encouraging young women to pursue their potential and contribute confidently to the energy transition.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Storm Claudia significantly reduced daily irradiance across the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula, limiting solar generation.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

In its latest monthly for pv magazine, the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) promotes the biennial Solar World Congress (SWC), which took place in Fortaleza-Brazil in November 2025, a few days before the COP30. The SWC scientific program has traditionally been dominated by presentations on solar radiation and solar thermal applications, but this year, photovoltaics was the focus of most of the presentations. This reflects the massive adoption of PV all over the globe, which, at the current pace, will dominate the electricity mix by the end of the decade.

French solar engineering firm kiloWattsol says technical assessments show that capture-price analysis provides a more accurate measure of photovoltaic asset performance than France’s monthly M0 benchmark, as price volatility and negative wholesale prices increase.

UK government-owned energy company’s first strategic plan sets GBP 15 billion private finance target and commits to support for more than 1,000 local and community energy generation projects.

Following reports of fraudulent solar inspections, Poland’s energy regulator has issued an announcement clarifying who is authorized to conduct such assessments. 

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has started accepting submissions for new road-surface PV technologies, with field verification planned in pedestrian areas at roadside stations to test performance and electricity use ahead of societal implementation.

Grid operator Fluvius says that 80% of all homes, apartments and small businesses in the Belgian region of Flanders, including 89% of all solar panel owners, have now converted to digital meters as the company begins the final phase of the mandatory switch over.

AirWater and Luxor Solar K.K. have launched a 178 kW vertical PV system at a Tottori parking lot, operating under an on-site PPA. The Verpa-based system, a first for the San’in region, maximizes space, avoids snow damage, and reportedly delivers power equivalent to rooftop solar installations.

Solar and storage industry leaders from China and Europe gathered in Germany this week to advance cross-border partnerships, launch a bilateral storage collaboration platform, and coordinate strategies for scaling PV and battery deployment amid surging demand, grid pressures, and intensifying market competition.

Italy’s PV industry raised concerns over new regulatory measures and funding cuts as Gestore dei servizi energetici (GSE) published results of the FER X auction showing significant price reductions and strong participation in Sicily.

Researchers in China developed a new compressed air energy storage system that uses flooded roadways in abandoned coal mines to store compressed air and heat for nighttime power generation. Simulations show the design can achieve 71.5% thermal efficiency, stable performance, and higher energy density at greater depths, with minimal long-term impact from air leakage.

The procurement exercise had initially attracted 1,387 project proposals with a combined capacity of 17,537 MW, according the Italian energy agency GSE.

The Japanese electronics manufacturer is testing its glass-based perovskite solar PV technology in office windows made by YKK AP, a construction and building materials company.

A Swedish government agency is investing SEK 130 million ($13.8 million) in the next-generation indoor solar cell technology belonging to Exeger. The company’s Powerfoyle solar cells are an evolution of dye-sensitized solar cells and are said to offer 1,000 times better conductivity.

Researchers in the US tested the degradation of antimony chalcogenide solar cells exposed to proton radiation. The result indicated a robust tolerance and potential for use in space.

Renewables research firm Pexapark says Europe’s independent power producers (IPPs) are evolving into customer-centric platforms with a focus on adding battery energy storage systems (BESS) to their portfolios and more structuring and pricing capabilities to prepare for the next wave of deals.

Huawei’s FusionSolar 9.0 is a new integrated solar-plus-storage platform featuring smart inverters, AI-driven management, and grid-forming capabilities to turn solar plants into active grid-support assets. It boosts efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances stability in weak grids with high renewable penetration, according to the company.

The Southern Johor Renewable Energy Corridor (SJREC) forms part of a $6 billion project developing a 2,000 kilometer-squared hybrid solar and battery energy storage system zone set to connect South East Asia.

A TÜV Nord-certified white paper demonstrating JA Solar’s DesertBlue module series says the modules, which are specifically designed for desert regions and wastelands, transcend industry benchmarks and offer an optimized levelized cost of electricity.

Chinese manufacturer Sunman is to build a 500 MW per annum solar module production facility in the New South Wales Hunter Valley after securing funding support from both the state and federal governments.

An international research team comprising scientists from Chinese module manufacturer Longi has investigated the resistivity distribution of antimony- and phosphorous-doped wafers used in solar cell manufacturing and have found that they offer comparable mechanical strenght. However, their work also showed that antimony-doped wafers have a more uniform resistivity, with a slight increase near the tail end.

The Swiss group acquired Gamesa Electric’s power electronics business in Spain from Siemens Gamesa. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.

Dongkuk CM has introduced an ultra-high-reflectivity color steel sheet designed to boost the performance of bifacial rooftop PV systems, increasing solar reflectance to 80–85. The new material also offers enhanced corrosion resistance, long-term durability, and added cooling benefits thanks to its advanced plating and dual-layer design, according to the manufacturer.

EcoFlow, Tibber, and Fenecon have introduced new software and hardware updates to improve residential battery control, interoperability, and grid arbitrage across Europe.

Irish grid operator EirGrid has set the proposed minimum procurement for long-duration energy storage (LDES) procurement at 201 MW, well below its initial 2030 goal of 500 MW of storage capacity.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that battery storage capacity grew by 13,809 MW in the past 12 months and is projected to expand by another 22,053 MW as solar continues to dominate new utility-scale additions.

Australian researchers developed a high-resolution energy modeling framework to assess how PV and batteries can supply 24/7 electricity to heavy industries, considering cost, grid interaction, and load flexibility. They found that, while technology cost reductions help, smart grid integration and flexible industrial operations are far more effective in lowering electricity costs and enabling 100% renewable energy use.

A coalition of 18 California legislators has formally urged the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to enforce regulations under “Rule 21” regarding the interconnection of customer-sited solar and energy storage systems.