For years, the battery energy storage (BESS) story has followed a familiar script: costs fall, deployment accelerates, economics improve. Even when cell costs rose and system prices briefly flattened during the 2021-22 lithium price spike, the narrative largely held. Paola Perez Peña, senior principal analyst at S&P Global Energy, examines why the latest jump in lithium prices has only had limited impacts on overall BESS costs so far.

This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Sara Kapeller, CEO of Germany’s Twistor GmbH. She says building impactful careers in the renewable energy landscape requires courage, curiosity, and inclusion, turning setbacks into growth and empowering more women to lead technical innovation and shape the future.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, provides a June–August 2026 outlook indicating mostly neutral to positive solar irradiance globally, with stronger gains in regions like Australasia, South Asia, West Africa, and Central America—patterns consistent with a developing El Niño. Negative anomalies are limited and mostly early-season, while Europe and the U.S. show modest or mixed signals, with improvements or neutrality dominating as the season progresses.

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.

UK-based consultancy Ricardo, part of the WSP Group, explains how solar PV has compounded at 17% annually since 2016, defining the EU’s clean-energy trajectory. However, straightforward merchant returns are disappearing, and battery storage and grid expertise are now essential.

Solar Energy Corporation of India has invited proposals to set up interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected renewable energy projects for assured peak power supply of 1,500 MWh (500 MW for three hours) under a contract-for-difference (CfD) mechanism.

Beijing has introduced a stricter national carbon evaluation system that formally holds provincial governments accountable for emissions reduction and energy transition targets.

New federal data shows solar and battery assets will comprise nearly 80% of all new utility-scale power additions planned for the U.S. electric grid this year.

BPDB has launched a tender for 495 MW of grid-tied solar power projects across 10 sites in Bangladesh, with capacities ranging from 25–100 MW and full private investment required. The bid structure, which places land acquisition and financing risks on developers, has drawn investor concerns over bankability and limited project attractiveness.

CATL has completed a roughly $5 billion share sale in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Chinese inverter and battery manufacturing giant Sungrow is making a second attempt at an IPO after its initial listing bid, launched in October 2025, lapsed.

Sungrow has released a mining microgrid power solutions white paper in partnership with TÜV Rheinland and the China Electrotechnical Society covering application scenarios from 2.5 MW up to more than 100 MW.

Grid-scale solar PV electricity generation surpassed 1 GW in mid-April, which marked a new record in Ireland according to the country’s high-voltage transmission system operator Eirgrid. Around 500,000 customers’ power needs can be met with 1 GW, Eirgrid estimates.

A Vietnamese research team has developed a low-cost passive cooling system for PV modules based on hydrogel-coated paper that combines water flow and interfacial evaporation to reduce operating temperatures. Outdoor tests showed temperature reductions of up to 14 C and efficiency gains of up to 16.8%, with stable operation achieved using both freshwater and natural seawater.

Cox has acquired Iberdrola México for $4 billion, adding 2,600 MW of capacity and becoming Mexico’s largest private power supplier with a 12 GW renewable project pipeline.

Huaneng has commissioned the 5.43 GW Xiaowan Hydropower–Solar Hybrid Project in Yunnan, combining 4.2 GW of hydropower and 1.23 GW of solar under a coordinated “hydro–solar intelligent control” system integrating 16 PV plants.

Longi claims to have achieved the world’s highest efficiency for a silicon solar cell. The result was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH).

Researchers in Canada found that 69%-transparent crystalline silicon semitransparent PV modules can improve tomato greenhouse yields by up to 38% while maintaining healthy plant growth through beneficial partial shading. Their simulations also showed that combining rooftop agrivoltaics with heat pumps can fully eliminate fossil fuel heating.

The iSkim Ultra utilizes a 24 W monocrystalline solar array and a 10,000 mAh battery to provide 24/7 surface cleaning through an autonomous dual-path navigation system.

The Chinese manufacturer said its TOPCon-compatible hybrid back-contact solar cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 28.0%. The result was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH).

The Indian manufacturer said its new all-black panel series features a power conversion efficiency of up to 23.32% and a bifaciality factor of up to 85%.

The Chinese customs data show a March surge as buyers rushed shipments ahead of April’s tax-rebate change.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued preliminary anti-dumping determinations for three key solar-exporting nations, establishing duties of up to 123% on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate of the Netherlands has identified a planned polysilicon factory in the country as of strategic importance under the Net Zero Industry Act.

The four-terminal tandem device relies on FAPbI₃ nanoparticles and a spectral splitting design, combining a 24.4% wide-bandgap top cell and a 21.5% narrow-bandgap bottom cell to reach 30.2% efficiency. The system improves light utilization by directing different wavelengths to optimized subcells.

The Swedish thin-film solar specialist produces 50 MW of modules at its Bari facility, using its proprietary DUO system for cell manufacturing. The company says it sources all materials from the EU and other countries in the global North.

Supported by Toshiba, Bulgarian utility NEK is working to restart its 864 MW Chaira pumped-storage hydropower plant, the largest of its kind in Southeastern Europe. The facility has been offline since March 2022 following a turbine failure.

The two companies announced a 60 GWh supply agreement on Monday, marking a pivotal step in the commercialization of sodium-ion battery technology.

A market alert for the attention of installers, distributors and traders in the solar and storage market.

Oxford PV has joined Nissan’s SUITE consortium, advancing perovskite-silicon tandem solar tech that could boost vehicle-integrated solar EV range by an additional 3–5 km per day and push total daily solar driving range toward 15–20 km.

Nusku has developed a prototype of a fully integrated air-source heat pump system that combines the heat pump with a hot water cylinder and controls into a single outdoor unit. The design aims to simplify installation and reduce space requirements by replacing separate indoor and outdoor components with one pre-packaged system.