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Airports Company South Africa issues tender for three PV plants totaling 9.5 MW

The tender covers the design, supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of three proposed projects to be based at Tambo International Airport, King Shaka International Airport, and Cape Town International Airport. Closing dates for submission is March 17.
Installations

California off to a strong clean electricity start with solar up 33.8%

Forty-eight days into 2025, CAISO gas use for electricity is down almost 28%, while battery use is up 78%, and solar has already met 100% of demand in the midst of winter.
Energy Storage

The Hydrogen Stream: Spanish government allocates €1.2 billion for renewable H2 clusters

The Spanish government allocated €1.2 billion ($1.26 billion) for seven green hydrogen clusters concentrated in Aragon and Andalusia. Meanwhile, an EU consortium started its work to develop diagnostic and monitoring tools for water electrolyzers.
Announcements

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UK government proposes longer CfD contracts, wider commissioning window for solar PV

Consultation ahead of seventh Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round proposes longer contract lengths in a bid to reduce strike prices and lower cost of finance for renewables projects. A wider target commissioning window for solar projects is a...
Installations

France launches 400 MW C&I solar tender

The French authorities intend to allocate 400 MW of PV capacity through the procurement exercise, which is open to PV installations exceeding 500 kW in size.
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Installations

US added nearly 50 GW of new solar generating capacity in 2024

A new report by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and BloombergNEF unpacks the market and policy trends facing the U.S. solar industry.
Manufacturing

Polyshine Solar unveils ultralight, flexible rooftop solar panels

The Chinese manufacturer said its new flexible modules have an efficiency of up to 20.1% and a weight of only 7.5 kg, or 2.92 kg/m2. The new products have purportedly a light transmittance of over 91% and "ultra-high" UV blocking ability.
Markets & Policy

Lennox debuts residential heat pump for cold climates

The company says that its new SL22KLV heat pump system can supply heat in temperatures as low as -28.9 C. It uses R-454B as the refrigerant and has a size ranging from 2 tons to 5 tons.

Press Releases

Is Your EV Safe While Charging? Discover Elecq Charger Advanced Protection

For electric vehicle (EV) owners, a charging station isn’t just about recharging your vehicle—it plays a crucial role in ensuring the long-term safety and performance of your car. During charging, power fluctuations can happen, and if these aren't controlled, they can damage both the charging station and your vehicle's battery system.

The 15th Clean Energy Expo China (CEEC 2025)

The 15th Clean Energy Expo China (CEEC 2025) with the theme of "“New Quality Productive Forces Empower Supply Chain: Greening, Powering, and Transforming" will be held from March 26th to 28th at the Beijing National Convention Center. As the first multi category professional expo in China to focus on the clean energy equipment industry chain, CEEC has successfully held 14 editions since its establishment in 2009.

ATESS’s Global Journey Towards Carbon Neutrality

Neil Yu, Cofounder of ATESS.

Intersolar India 2025: Huasun Introduces Cutting-edge Heterojunction Products for South Asia

On February 12, Intersolar India 2025 kicked off in Gujarat, India, bringing together leading global companies to explore the immense potential of renewable energy in South Asia. As a pioneer in heterojunction (HJT) technology, Huasun Energy made a striking presence at the event, unveiling three core module products that stood out for their exceptional efficiency and tailored innovations, drawing widespread attention.

Opinion & Analysis

Featured

‘The solar industry can offer unique opportunities for women to take on leadership, technical roles’

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Letizia Coradeschi, Investments at Switzerland's SUSI Partners AG. She says that normalizing parental leave and flexible work schedules that support work-life balance would further help retain female talent past junior and mid-level positions. "Despite the hurdles, my personal experience led me to believe that, coupled with persistence and resilience, this is a space where women can thrive and lead," she states.

Persistent cloud drops British Isles solar output in early February

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that cloud-bearing weather systems dominated the British Isles, significantly reducing irradiance across the UK and Ireland between 9 and 18 February 2025, when solar generation reached in the region its lowest levels relative to capacity in at least a decade.

Polysilicon market holds steady, awaiting policy-driven shift

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.

Daytime charging of electric vehicles further expands adoption of photovoltaics

Photovoltaics continues adding capacity at a rapid pace, and 2024 was another record year for solar PV deployment. In the meantime, despite recent hurdles to widespread adoption in some countries, electric vehicle uptake grew 25% last year. Assuming a 10 kWh/day energy requirement for every new EV, the 17 million new EVs sold in 2024 would have added another 50-70 GW of new PV generation worldwide.

‘Societal progress is often a slow process that requires a strong commitment to change’

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Kristi Ghogh, a Clean Energy Associate at an energy advisory Trio. She says deep-rooted cultural biases can impact women’s choices, sometimes leading individuals to avoid entering male-dominated careers. “Overcoming these biases involves stepping outside our comfort zones and embracing new learning experiences, which can be challenging and time-consuming,” she states.

South America sees strong solar gains despite weak La Niña conditions

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that South America saw widespread above-average irradiance in January, despite weak La Niña conditions. However, storm systems fueled by Atlantic moisture suppressed solar generation in parts of Brazil and Bolivia.

Markets & Policy

Chinese PV Industry Brief: China General Nuclear concludes 10 GW mounting system tender

The selected bidders are Trina Solar, Antai Ke Clean Energy, Xin Yuan Electric, Guoqiang Xing Sheng Energy Technology, and TBEA, with the winning bid prices ranging from CNY 0.209 ($0.29)/W to CNY 0.221/W.

Solar, battery-equipped home destroyed by explosion in Germany

In the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, an explosion tore away the outer wall of a show home equipped with solar panels and a residential battery. The badly-damaged building, which was vacant at the time of the incident, will likely be demolished.

Record 13.6 GWh of battery energy storage capacity added in January

Rho Motion noted big projects in Saudi Arabia and Hubei, China, and reported the only non-lithium-ion sites were three Chinese vanadium flow batteries.

Fraunhofer institutes developing electrocaloric solid-state heat pump without compressors

Six Fraunhofer institutes are developing new electrocaloric heat pumps that use elastocaloric heat pipes instead of compressors to extract heat from the sources. The first pilot systems developed by the research team achieved an electrical efficiency of 99.74%.

Indian startup offers PV-driven cold storage unit for ‘last mile’ vaccine transport

India’s Enhanced Innovations has developed the Phloton active cooling vaccine carrier with a 14-hour lithium battery backup and solar charging support.

ACWA Power building hydrogen bridge between Europe and Middle East, North Africa

In an exclusive interview with pv magazine, ACWA Power CEO Marco Arcelli said the Saudi energy giant is currently exploring opportunities to build a hydrogen corridor between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. He spoke about the company’s current 2 GW hydrogen project in Neom and presented the company’s plans for renewable energy and desalination.

Installations

Austrian startup presents vertical bifacial PV systems for garden fences

Sunbooster GmbH is offering 372 W flexible solar systems including inverters and cabling. The price for the smallest version is €500 ($524).

GAF Energy releases nailable 57 W rooftop solar shingle

The updated solar roof product from GAF Energy has purportedly 23% more power than previous units and has a depth of less than 0.6 cm.

New research shows correlation between PV module electrode corrosion and damp heat test

A research group in Japan identified a correlation between damp heat test of 1,000 hours to 3–6 years of field exposure in humid areas and changes in acetic acid concentration in photovoltaic modules. Their analysis also showed that an acetic acid concentration over 10,000 μg/g can be critical.

Transformer fire at Australian solar farm under investigation

Electricity distribution company Powercor Australia attended the scene of a solar farm transformer fire near Raywood, Victoria, which is now being investigated by Energy Safe Victoria.

Slovakia added 274 MW of PV in 2024

Last year’s solar additions, led by installations in the commercial and industrial sector, took Slovakia’s cumulative solar capacity to over 1 GW.

Yotta Energy replaces ballast blocks with battery storage

The energy storage startup’s new plug-and-play modules will provide a kilowatt of storage in a small package.

Technology

Featured

U.S. startup unveils highly automated, low-waste solar panel recycling tech

PV Circonomy, based in California, has launched a recycling and treatment service for end-of-life (EoL) silicon PV panels based on a highly-automated, proprietary technology that reportedly has a 99.3% recovery rate. The solution includes the recovery of EVA and glass material for use in other industries.

DNV shares technology performance level chart for perovskite solar modules

The technology performance level chart is designed to help perovskite module manufacturers develop technical bankability and highlight the economic viability of their technology.

China’s SPIC offering copper-based heterojunction solar modules

The Chinese module maker is preparing to bring to the market 25.97%-efficient heterojunction solar cells based on copper metallization. The new products are based on ultra-narrow 9-micron busbars, vacuum-deposited copper interconnects and proprietary interface engineering.

Could German PV energy communities participate in the balancing market?

The RWTH Aachen University has simulated 27 scenarios of energy communities participating in the balancing market in Germany and has found that the business model behind an energy community is only feasible if battery storage is available.

Indian scientists design 31.16%-efficient 2D-3D perovskite solar cell

Scientists in India have simulated a novel perovskite solar cell that combinies a Dion-Jacobson 2D layer with a 3D halide perovskite. The design showed improved stability compared to reference cells without the DJ-2D layer.

Risen claims 30.99% efficiency for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell

The result was confirmed by China’s National Solar Photovoltaic Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. The tandem device is relying on a bottom cell based on a heterojunction design.

Manufacturing

Featured

Remembering Frédéric Dross: A tireless solar champion

Jenya Meydbray writes a tribute to a well known and beloved member of the solar industry, Frédéric Dross.

Reliance Infrastructure to enter solar, battery manufacturing

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra) has announced plans to set up integrated solar equipment and battery manufacturing units.

TrinaTracker establishes 3 GW factory in Saudi Arabia

The facility will manufacture TrinaTracker’s Vanguard series of solar trackers and smart control systems. Commercial operation is set to begin during the first quarter of this year.

Brazilian plastics manufacturer offers reflective membrane for bifacial PV plants

Azul Pack has developed a new reflective membrane to increase albedo and energy yield in photovoltaic plants with bifacial modules. In a fixed structure plant located in Minas Gerais, the technology reportedly resulted in a 7% increase in energy at the inverter output.

New study shows reducing number of solar modules per string reduces risk of hotspots

Scientists in Indonesia have investigated early operational defects in a 24.9 MW solar PV system in Sumatra and have identified hotspot formation as the dominant defect. They also detected 282 cases of glass cracking, 350 cases of junction box failures and shading effects linked to module defects.

Longi sues JinkoSolar for alleged patent infringement in China, United States

Longi filed the lawsuit in China at the Jinan Intermediate People’s Court in Shandong, demanding an immediate halt to the manufacturing, sales, and offers to sell the allegedly infringing products. The lawsuit in the United States was filed at District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Energy Storage

Featured

Israel awards 1.5 GW energy storage in tender, pricing from $49.41 to $74.20 per kWh

Israel’s storage tender sets prices between $0.0056 and $0.0085 per kW, with kWh figures therefore at $49.41 to $74.20 per kWh.

India mandates co-locating energy storage with solar projects

India’s Ministry of Power has mandated all renewable energy implementing agencies and state utilities must incorporate a minimum of two-hour co-located energy storage systems (ESS), equivalent to 10% of the installed solar project capacity, in future solar tenders.

Slovenia allocates €20 million for renewable electricity, heat

Slovenian electricity market operator Borzen has shared details of a forthcoming €20 million ($20.9 million) fund that will support the installation of heat pumps and solar thermal collectors, alongside other renewable energy devices. Applications for the subsidy will open Mar. 18, 2025.

Heat pump sales dropped across large European markets in 2024

Analysis by the European Heat Pump Association found sales of heat pumps across the 13 main European markets, that make up around 85% of the total European market, fell by an average of 23% year-on-year in 2024, with the UK the only one to buck the trend.

Massachusetts allows increased demand charges to drive energy storage

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has approved a rate change that allows large electricity customers, specifically large business customers, to pay a transmission coincident peak demand charge instead of a volumetric transmission charge.

Solar a beacon of hope as Ukrainians yearn for peace

Solar energy has been essential for survival in Ukraine during nearly three years of war since the Russian invasion in 2022. As citizens hope for peace, PV will be instrumental in supporting post-war recovery, whenever it comes.

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