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, reports a stronger-than-usual end to typhoon season that delivered mixed levels of solar irradiance across Asia in November.

Manufacturers and suppliers of batteries for photovoltaic energy storage must meet more extensive requirements under the new EU battery regulation. Many companies are still unsure what this means for their product design, processes, and management systems. Yalcin Ölmez, head of the operational and investment risks department at German testing body TÜV SÜD, explains what companies now need to consider.

While Germany’s battery energy storage sector is booming, developers should be aware of the various hurdles to overcome and could learn lessons from the United Kingdom battery market.

A Terrasmart Innovation Engineer looks at ways of overcoming weather challenges particular to the installing solar in Midwest states.

The Jakarta-based Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) says 2025 will be a pivotal year for Indonesia’s energy transition, as the nation has fallen behind targets in recent years. It seeks to shift fossil fuel subsidies to renewables and is urging the government to implement a clear, measurable plan for the upcoming national energy policy.

The Gibraltar government is seeking developers to install rooftop solar systems at selected sites across the British Overseas Territory. It will also consider proposals for solar canopies and floating solar as part of the tender. The deadline for expressions of interest is Jan. 24, 2025.

A group of researchers have carried out a techno-economic analysis of three revamping strategies for an operating photovoltaic power plant in southeast Spain. They found the highest production value by installed power is obtained when both the modules and inverters are replaced.

Powernaut’s software balances local generation from decentralized devices such as solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps with the needs of the power grid.

Spanish company Grenergy says the 105 batteries that will complete the first phase of the Oasis de Atacama solar and storage project have arrived at the Chilean port of Iquique. The project, to be developed over seven phases, is set to have a total storage capacity of 11 GWh alongside 2 GW of photovoltaics.

New research from the Netherlands shows that using free-space luminescent solar concentrators could be used to considerably increase bifacial solar module performance in vertical residential setups. The scientists are confident that a variety of bifacial PV systems incorporating this technology can be designed and deployed in the future.

A Norwegian-Swedish research group has used multiple linear regression to assess if 128 existing wind power plants in the Nordics could be potentially converted into wind-solar plants with cost-optimal PV capacities and good net present value (NPV) levels. Their modeling could potentially be used in all countries and latitudes.

UK government to increase solar capacity threshold for nationally significant infrastructure projects, handing local planners consent power for projects up to 100 MW. Projects with capacity greater than 50 MW in England are currently subject to approval from central government.

The French company says its Inelio thermal battery can store solar power in the form of heat for heating and cooling applications, as well as for producing domestic hot water, while maximizing self-consumption. It can reportedly provide a hot water temperature of up to 65 C.

PowerChina is building three hybrid solar microgrids in Suriname, combining solar panels, energy storage, and diesel backup to power 25 remote villages across the country.

The five-year MaNiTU project, involving six Fraunhofer institutes, covered a range of investigations across the life cycle of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. It included the development of a scalable solar cell with a 31.6% power conversion efficiency.

Investments in battery storage within Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) are increasingly profitable due to higher power price volatility and changing market dynamics, according to the latest report by Wood Mackenzie. Going forward, four-hour storage systems are projected to have fastest return on investment.

The agrivoltaic project, with a production capacity of up to 5,011 MW, will cover 2 km of the Orellana Canal in Cáceres, western Spain.

New research from China shows that using rigid connectors instead of polyester ropes in floating photovoltaic arrays may help reduce the relative motion of floats and simplify the layout of the connection system.

Thai researchers developed three organic phase-change material (PCM) mixtures with nanoparticles to cool PV modules and improve efficiency. They used lauric acid blended with aluminum oxide, copper oxide, and magnesium oxide in an optimal 94:6 weight ratio, boosting module efficiency by up to 14.11%.

A new report by the United States Studies Centre (USSC), a joint venture of the American Australian Association and University of Sydney, encourages Australia to deeply engage in global solar supply chains and reduce its reliance on China.

Researchers in China have integrated a wide-bandgap perovskite solar cell with a hybrid back contact device in a four-terminal tandem cell that achieves high efficiency and stability. Key for the strong performance was a new surface passivation strategy that the research group adopted for the top cell.

Researchers from Egypt and the UK developed a new floating PV system concept that utilizes compressed air for energy storage. The system has a roundtrip efficiency of 34.1% and an exergy efficiency of 41%.

Netherlands-based Volta Energy has launched a 15 kVA portable solar generator to provide offgrid power equipment for use on construction sites. The system includes solar panels, an inverter, battery, trailer, and a backup bio-diesel generator.

GCL Perovskite says it has obtained nearly CNY 500 million ($68 million) of funding from several Chinese investors to make perovskite-silicon modules.

Guyana has unveiled a new 0.65 MW grid-forming solar project, paired with a 1,500 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS) and a 13.8 kV transmission line.

The startup is targeting commercial demonstration projects in 2025 and large-scale U.S. manufacturing by early 2027.

Italian researchers say hydrogen storage offers more supply-side flexibility than battery storage, while a German consortium has developed a global hydrogen potential atlas for sustainable production and trade.

China’s Bslbatt has introduced the MicroBox 800, a modular energy storage solution designed specifically for balcony photovoltaic (PV) systems. The system has a storage capacity of 2 kWh and features an 800 W bidirectional inverter.

The latest financial stability ranking keeps Tesla, Mustang Battery, Kung Long Batteries, Hyundai Electric and Eaton, in the top five spots in a report that includes 55 manufacturers.