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.

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 a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, writes that while findings from the The European State of the Climate 2024 report align with its own solar analysis covering last year, differences in anomaly magnitude between the two datasets stem from the climatology periods used.

In a new monthly column for pv magazine, the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) reveals that Sweden, Australia, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark are the leading countries for per capita solar and wind generation capacity. Furthermore, it explains that global solar capacity has been doubling every 3 years, and wind every 6 years, whereas fossil and nuclear capacity and generation have been almost static in recent years.

Wood Mackenzie warns that policy uncertainty could significantly alter its projections for US solar industry growth. The research firm says the US solar industry will add 502 GW (DC) of capacity over the next decade, with annual installations surpassing 40 GWdc through 2035.

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.

GoodWe BIPV has identified new applications for its Vela residential solar carport. The modular unit is gaining traction in rural and small commercial settings in Australia as an alternative to ground-mounted and rooftop PV systems.

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.

A team of researchers based in Japan and Sweden have found a correlation between higher feed-in tariffs and increased capital expenditures of solar projects in Japan. They suggest this may have led to a lack of incentive for developers to innovate or reduce costs, in turn inflating expenditure and hindering long-term market competitiveness.

Aurora Energy Research says the global electrolyzer pipeline now totals around 1.3 TW, with 114 GW in development and 32% expected online by the end of 2026. The firm cites stronger EU policy support and growing momentum in hybrid power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The three projects comprise a 160 MW solar plant, a separate 100 MW solar facility and a 100 MW floating solar array with 30 MWh of accompanying battery energy storage. They will be implemented by Chinese companies working in collaboration with Azerbaijan-based developers.

Germany’s latest auction for utility-scale solar concluded with prices ranging from €0.0399 ($0.0455)/kWh to €0.0488/kWh. The procurement exercise was significantly oversubscribed.

Moldova has upheld the disqualification of four bids in its first renewables auction, citing inexperience, non-compliant bank guarantees, and missing prior approvals. The tender committee says it plans to assess the remaining bids by the end of the month.

An international research team has created a new model that finds the best tilt angle for south-facing bifacial PV plants across Europe. The scientists also considered the Alpine region to examine the impact of mountains on optimal tilt angles.

A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) says limited long-term data on floating solar is creating uncertainty and hindering adoption.

New research from Germany shows that home batteries have much lower chances of being hit by fire than electric vehicles and most home appliances. The researchers warned, however, that fires in residential storage systems can be more dangerous than those of burning tumble dryers.

Software company Solarstream provides a project management tool for installation teams, including traditional PV installers and electricians serving the solar market. The software is suitable for projects of all sizes, from large-sized commercial and industrial to residential installations.

Researchers at the Delft University of Technology have developed a top-down processing method localized the front contact in heterojunction solar cells. The new technique reportedly improves a cell’s short-circuit current density enabling higher power conversion efficiency.

1Komma5° has launched PowerHarvester, a lithium iron phosphate battery system for residential customers without solar. It is offering six power classes and storage capacities from 7.7 kWh to 27.2 kWh.

Toyo Co. has started production at its 2 GW solar cell facility in Ethiopia, with plans to deliver more than 80 MW of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells by the end of April before scaling capacity to 4 GW.

An international research team has developed a method to economically synthesize and stabilize conductive colloidal quantum dot inks for solar applications. When used to make quantum dot films in large area PV devices they enabled a certified efficiency of 10%, with lab-sized cells based on the ink material achieving 13.40% efficiency.

The Indian manufacturer said its new TOPCon solar panel is based on rectangular bifacial solar cells and is certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

Coalition trade lawyer says the U.S. Department of Commerce’s final tariffs on solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are among the highest rates he’s ever seen.

New research from UNSW shows that EVA-encapsulated TOPCon solar modules under damp-heat testing can suffer significant power losses and fill factor drops. The study describes metallization degradation mechanisms driven by EVA-generated contaminants and demonstrates the effectiveness of metallization adjustments in reducing EVA-induced degradation rates

Bulgaria’s standalone energy storage tender, which aimed to procure at least 3 GWh of cumulative usable capacity, ultimately awarded more than three times that amount.

Conceived for industrial applications, the novel heat pumps can reportedly deliver hot water at 65 C from -10 C up to 35 C of external air, and hot water at 55 C down to -20 C of external air. Their coefficient of performance reaches up to 3.60.

The Chinese manufacturer has designed a new high-density 400 kW power conversion system (PCS) and 6.25 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to cut costs and boost deployment speed.

E.ON is now working with a UK-based battery tech firm to advance more environmentally friendly energy storage for households.

Optimus Energy has announced a virtual power plant for renewables trading on the Greek wholesale electricity and balancing market. Work is already underway, with Germany-based emsys VPP connecting over 3,500 solar and wind power plants in Greece to its software suite.