Can micro hydropower be a solution for remote energy access, especially in developing countries? And what standards are required?

PV systems and distributed energy assets require stronger cybersecurity and controllability, but measures to protect critical infrastructure should be based on careful, expert assessment rather than rushed policy decisions.

Josef Daniel-Ivad from the Zinc Battery Initiative updates the current scaling of zinc battery manufacturers and technology.

This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Yuliana Onishchuk, founder and CEO of the Charitable organisation Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation. She explains how Russia’s full-scale invasion transformed solar energy in Ukraine from a green technology into a vital tool for survival, powering hospitals, schools, and communities during blackouts and attacks. Through the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation, decentralized renewable energy and women-led initiatives are helping build resilience, protect critical infrastructure, and shape a more secure and sustainable future for Ukraine.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that a persistent high-pressure system over the North Sea created a major April solar irradiance surplus across western and northern Europe by suppressing clouds and boosting GHI well above average. At the same time, displaced storm tracks reduced irradiance in the eastern Mediterranean and parts of Eastern Europe, producing deficits in Greece, Turkey, and Ukraine while maintaining a sharp west–east contrast.

Taiwanese researchers compared a 100 MW ground solar plant with a 181 MW offshore floating PV system and found the offshore setup produced about 12% more electricity over its lifetime. They attribute the gain to cooling and intertidal effects, suggesting offshore floating solar is technically viable, although it is currently around 30% more expensive and still faces durability and marine engineering challenges.

The Italian manufacturer said its Gemini air-to-water heat pump is intended for commercial and industrial applications. It reportedly achieves a coefficient of performance of up to 3.28 and delivers hot water temperatures of up to 60 C.

Driven by multi-billion-dollar investments from the likes of Tesla and Corning, U.S. solar manufacturing capital expenditure is forecast to skyrocket 150% year-on-year to $7 billion in 2027, marking a massive breakout year as silicon-based technology eclipses thin-film spending and cements a domestic supply chain.

Italian energy agency GSE announced it will allocate 10 GW of solar capacity and 16 GW of wind power through auctions planned for 2026 and 2027.

Research from Poland finds the development of the country’s solar industry will likely result in stable economic stimulus over the next 15 years, supporting between 20,000 and 40,000 direct full time contracts until 2040 depending on the level of investment and operations and maintenance of PV installations.

Norwegian classification society DNV has published two new guidelines covering the structural design of floats for floating solar systems and their mooring and station keeping systems.

A substitute bill abolishing South Korea’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and replacing it with a government-led auction system cleared a key National Assembly committee this week.

India curtailed 300 GWh of renewable energy in Q1 2026 due to transmission constraints, according to a new repor from Ember.

The Doornhoek solar PV project, located in South Africa’s North West province, is the first to be completed under the sixth bid window of the country’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement program.

Latest report from Renewables First finds that Pakistan’s solarization continues to grow with households, farms and businesses turning to distributed solar to reduce their reliance on the grid.

Researchers at NTU Singapore have developed ultra-thin perovskite solar cells about 50 times thinner than conventional designs using a vacuum-based thermal evaporation process. The devices can be semi-transparent and energy-generating under diffuse light, making them promising for integration into building windows and facades.

A research project led by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has demonstrated that vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) can significantly reduce strain on power grids. The concept is particularly relevant for the logistics sector, where trucks require large amounts of electricity for cooling, heating and auxiliary systems, while also offering extensive roof space for PV integration.

Researchers in India developed a predictive framework combining degradation experiments, weather data, and environmental stress models to assess how rain affects anti-soiling solar coatings. They found that coating lifetime strongly depends on local climate, installation tilt, and rainwater pH.

TU Wien researchers say binding EU policy targets are essential to make solar module recycling economically viable, with exports to third countries remaining the cheapest option for member states in their absence.

Bluetti has launched the Balco 260 and Balco 500, two integrated balcony PV storage systems combining MPPT, inverter, battery storage and smart control in a plug-and-play architecture for urban households.

The plant will serve global markets, especially GCC countries and the United States, combining Sahaj Solar’s manufacturing expertise with Clarion Investments’ logistics capabilities.

The U.S. solar industry tracks billions in new factory investments, but upstream bottlenecks and strict trade enforcement mean active factory production continues to trail behind headline numbers. Solar Energy Industries Association organized the American Solar and Storage Manufacturing Expo on Capitol Hill, which brought manufacturers together to highlight $43.1 billion in announced domestic manufacturing investments since 2022.

Carbon’s gigafactory project in Fos-sur-Mer, designed to build a 5 GW integrated solar manufacturing chain in France, has been abandoned due to insufficient regulatory visibility and investor guarantees. Despite attempts to scale down and pursue partnerships, including with Chinese manufacturer Longi, the project collapsed amid uncertainty over EU industrial policy and market preference mechanisms.

Toyo Co. says a new anti-circumvention petition targeting its Ethiopian solar cell facility is “riddled with misinformation.” The Japanese manufacturer tells pv magazine that the site reached 4 GW of capacity last year and that it is planning a U.S. onshore cell plant.

The result was certified by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

Australia is in the grip of a consumer-led energy storage boom with new figures showing more than 400,000 batteries representing 11.2 GWh of storage capacity have been installed nationwide in the past 10 months.

The battery supports 1,000 W input and 800 W output, is compatible with most balcony PV systems, and can be optionally app-controlled via a dedicated app.

Romania is not planning to run a grant scheme offering non-repayable funds for home solar installations for a second year running, instead aiming funds at existing solar prosumers looking to install battery storage systems. The Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association expects strong growth in Romania’s rooftop PV market to continue despite the absence of solar-specific installation grants.

GCL Technology is expanding into lithium-ion battery storage based on LFP materials as part of a shift toward a “multi-product” new energy platform.

The new propane heat pumps support water flow temperatures of up to 70 C and achieve a seasonal coefficient of performance of up to 5.2 according to the UK-based manufacturer.