Women in Solar+ Europe – WiSEu Network attended the launch of POWERful Women’s Annual State of the Nation Report this week, where leaders and changemakers called for faster action to close the gender gap in energy.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that solar irradiance levels across the Amazon Basin were 10% higher than the long-term average during April and May, reflecting a decadal trend towards drier conditions in the region.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, reports thatglobal polysilicon negotiations remain challenging, as buyers and sellers continue to struggle to reach agreements on pricing amid a persistent supply-demand imbalance. Furthermore, it reveals that China’s polysilicon futures market could imply a further 13% drop for Nov 2025 delivery contracts.

Australia is tracking towards 75% electricity from solar and wind in 2030, which makes it a global energy transition pathfinder. Pathfinders are important because they learn to solve new problems and disprove misinformation and disinformation.

Compliance with ever-increasing cybersecurity regulations is a challenge for many in the energy storage industry but it creates big opportunities for risk-mitigation. Katherine Hutton and Lars Stephan, from energy storage integrator Fluence, take a closer look at cybersecurity compliance risks and how investors can mitigate revenue losses with a clear strategy.

An inauguration ceremony has taken place for the installation of solar panels at two district cooling plants in Abu Dhabi belonging to the UAE’s Ministry of Defence.

Ofgem has awarded GBP 500,000 ($677,000) to a consortium led by National Gas and Gravitricity to develop a lined shaft system for storing up to 100 tons of green hydrogen underground. The six-month project aims to assess feasibility ahead of a potential demonstration in 2026.

A joint venture partly owned by a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Solarvest will build Brunei’s first utility-scale solar plant under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Brunei government.

Romania’s energy regulator ANRE has adopted new grid connection rules, introducing changes to the solution study process, financial guarantee requirements, and connection agreement terms to prioritize mature projects and ease grid congestion.

Italy-based Heiwit has developed a 200 Ah sodium-ion battery with a lifespan of 6,000 cycles. The device reportedly offers thermal stability and rapid charging speed.

Researchers in the Netherlands have identified all major solar power plants in the Dutch Province of Gelderland and have analyzed all of their spatial measures in an effort to assess their impact on landscape. They have specifically focused on land use competition, biodiversity, and landscape experience.

The Al Dibdibah Power and Al Shagaya Renewable Energy Phase III Zone I solar project will be built at the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park in Jahra Governorate, located west of Kuwait City.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved the Darden Clean Energy Project, the first development to receive fast-track approval under its Opt-In Certification program. The project includes 1.1 GW of solar capacity and a battery energy storage system (BESS), designed to power 850,000 homes for four hours.

In an exclusive interview with pv magazine, Panamanian Energy Secretary Juan Manuel Urriola said the government will open the electricity market to private investment and revise regulations to enable energy storage. Urriola also emphasized the importance of long-term planning and transparent bidding to attract developers.

Rising electricity demand and higher CO2 emissions prices drove up average power prices last week across most major European markets, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting. Spain hit a new daily solar generation record, with France, Italy and Portugal also setting June highs.

Researchers from Swiss and Austrian institutions have demonstrated a novel design for a glass-free, structurally robust silicon PV module. With a weight below 6 kg/m2, the targeted application is older buildings with weak roof structure.

Chinese energy storage speciliast Hithium has completed a landmark UL-supervised fire safety trial, signaling a step-change in system-level fire protection for grid-scale battery storage.

Researchers in Brazil have installed a vertical thermistor chain with six temperature loggers beneath a floating PV plant and at a nearby reference site. The system also recorded dissolved oxygen and photosynthetically active radiation to assess environmental impacts.

TNO and Solarge have developed a lightweight perovskite solar module prototype measuring 32 cm x 34 cm by combining roll-to-roll processing and low-weight panel materials. The Netherlands-based partners aim to scale the technology for broader commercial applications.

New research from Saudi Arabia shows that PV, concentrated solar power (CSP), or hybrid PV-CSP systems could significantly reduce the levelized cost of hydrogen. CSP offers higher capacity factors, but PV-driven electrolysis provides the lowest projected cost for hydrogen production.

Researchers in Mexico have enhanced optoelectronic and solar cell performance by combining melanin with porous silicon powder. The compound improved photocurrent generation by boosting the luminescence of the silicon material.

The United States continues to dominate the solar tracker market, with Nextracker securing the top spot globally in 2024.

Taiwan’s United Renewable Energy (URE) says it plans to lay off more than 100 employees as it retires passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cell production lines in Taiwan to focus on its tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) module series.

US-based Ascent Solar Technologies says its latest 30cm2 Titan solar module has a power density of 1,960 W/kg and is designed for space applications.

Chinese solar manufacturers showed resilience at the 2025 SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai despite a deepening supply glut, as strong demand for energy storage and emerging technologies offset a steep drop in new PV module launches. Tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) stayed dominant, while back-contact, perovskite, and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) storage solutions gained traction.

The Anahim Lake Solar Farm in British Columbia, Canada, will provide the Ulkatcho First Nation with renewable energy, reducing the remote community’s use of diesel for electricity generation by almost two-thirds.

Researchers in Sweden have analyzed the impact of a hybrid heating system combining heat pumps and district heating on five real buildings. The analysis showed that residents were able to save up to €2,768 ($3,159) compared to a scenario without source coupling.

Recent studies forecast Australia is on the precipice of a rooftop solar and household battery boom, predicting record breaking installation numbers driven by falling battery and solar module prices, government rebates and cost-of-living pressures.

Researchers in Spain have simulated an energy community with varying electric-vehicle penetration levels (0%, 50%, and 100%) to analyze system optimization under different regulatory frameworks and EV brands. Charging strategies significantly affected overall performance and outcomes.

Spain’s Instituto Tecnológico de la Energía (ITE) has built a prototype sodium-ion battery cell using high-potential materials and a sustainable polymer-based separator, as part of the SOSBAT project to develop alternatives to lithium-ion storage.