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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thailand’s Consumer Protection Board is supporting homeowners located across three different areas of the country who have reported substandard solar installations, including signs of equipment melting and burning.

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.

Macro-siting models that protect sensitive habitats and farmland from utility-scale development reduce permitting friction for a mere 0.17% cost premium.

Spanish engineering company Intergia is testing floating PV systems adapted for manure lagoons at pig farms to reduce ammonia emissions while generating on-site solar electricity. Two prototypes are being assessed to measure emissions reduction, durability, and energy performance.

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.

Taoyuan’s Department of Economic Development says its new guidelines for solar projects are designed to make photovoltaics “reliable and trustworthy neighbors.” Solar operators will be required to inspect environmentally-sensitive areas during the planning of future projects and prepare plans for storing damaged solar panels as a result of any natural disasters.

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.

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

Researchers from University of New South Wales and Jolywood found that corrosion-induced degradation in TOPCon solar cells is primarily governed by glass frit chemistry in low-aluminum silver metallization. Their findings show that barium-zinc-modified frits significantly improve resistance to acetic-acid and damp-heat stress, enabling more stable silver-silicon interfaces and reduced module-level power loss.

Researchers in Italy have developed a Pd/Si catalyst for upcycling silicon from end-of-life PV panels. The system showed performance comparable to commercial-silicon catalysts and stable recycling over six cycles.

Chilean company Atamostec is testing low-silver heterojunction solar modules under real desert conditions at the Atacama Desert Solar Platform (PSDA) in partnership with France’s CEA-Ines. The ALPACA project has so far achieved up to 70% silver substitution with copper.

HY Solar has launched the HT3.0 quad-cut module at its Jiangyin base, marking an upgrade to its n-type portfolio built on TOPCon 3.0 cell technology with up to 27.5% cell efficiency. The manufacturer said the new product features PSP quad-cut architecture, high bifaciality and low degradation.

Researchers at the German institute built a photovoltaic water electrolysis system based on micro-concentrator photovoltaics coupled to proton exchange membrane electrolysis. Outdoor testing demonstrated a record solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 31.3%, achieved by a four-junction CPV system driving two PEM cells in series under real operating conditions.

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.

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.

The first 4 GWh phase of the Canadian developer’s Quinte Energy Storage Centre is expected to be operational in the early 2030s, with subsequent phases targeting 8 GWh to 16 GWh.

Third long-term decarbonization auction sees significant drop in BESS bids due to new rule on storage duration. However, awarded capacity for battery storage remained relatively strong.