This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Elodie Colliard, director of Switzerland’s Green Giraffe. She explained she encountered her fair share of gender-based assumptions and biases. “While the disparities remain obvious and women are still a minority, I take comfort in seeing more of us join the industry, bringing our skills and perspectives to the table,” she states.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, says much of East Asia enjoyed a sunnier-than-usual start to the year due to a persistent Siberian high and delayed La Niña onset. However, a fully developed La Niña brought heavy cloud cover and flooding to other parts of the region, especially Indonesia.

As the global transition toward sustainable energy intensifies, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has emerged as a critical innovation in merging renewable energy with architectural design. The recently published guidebook “Building-Integrated Photovoltaics: A Technical Guidebook,” edited by IEA PVPS Task 15 experts Nuria Martín Chivelet, Costa Kapsis, and Francesco Frontini, offers a comprehensive resource for architects, engineers, and urban planners looking to integrate BIPV into the built environment. This article explores the book’s key insights, including applications, challenges, and future pathways.

This week, Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Josef Kastner, the CEO of Austria-based Nexun. He says professional decisions must be based on ability, not gender. “Societal expectations influence leadership styles, but fairness is non-negotiable. Everyone deserves the same rights and opportunities,” he states.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, analyses a new AI-driven weather model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). 

With regulator the Federal Network Agency requiring grid companies to tender for the provision of the reactive power needed to maintain network voltage, electricity transmission system operator (TSO) 50Hertz has stolen a lead on its rivals.

Czechia has increased funding for its interest-free loan program for commercial and industrial (C&I) solar and storage projects to CZK 3 billion ($132.2 million) after strong demand exhausted the previous budget.

Indian heavy industries could integrate 20 GW of open access solar to power operations profitably, according to a new Ember report, which highlights opportunities in the steel, cement, and aluminum sectors.

Avangrid said its 150 MW Powell Creek solar project in Ohio is now delivering power to the grid, after employing 500 workers at peak construction.

SPI’s panel-manufacturing plant in California has suddenly ceased operation and its cell-production site in South Carolina never got off the ground.

Westwood Global Energy Group says just 17% of the European Union’s hydrogen projects will advance without intervention, while Smartenergy says Spain’s Orange.bat project has cleared a key environmental hurdle and will launch in May 2028.

Around 137,000 Dutch homeowners have filed a legal claim seeking compensation over the planned cancellation of net metering in 2027.

An Italian startup supported by a group of scientists is developing a V-shaped agrivoltaic system that can reportedly find optimal application with bifacial modules and single-axis tracking. The proposed system configuration is claimed to reduce land use by 24 % compared to conventional setups.

Scientists in China have designed a solar self-insulated composite exterior wall panel, integrating a solar collector panel, PV panel, and insulation board. The proposed experimental setup has reportedly a static payback period of 1.1 years.

The MyGrid 10k home generator includes a 10 kW inverter and is rated for 6,000 cycles.

Researchers in China have sought to increase the efficiency of heterojunction solar cell through a buffer layer made of indium tin oxide. This innovation reportedly resulted in a 0.1% efficiency increase deriving from optimized short-circuit current density and fill factor.

US scientists have developed a lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles that enables high range and fast charging in cold weather. The battery uses a single-ion conducting glassy solid electrolyte coating and does not require changes to chemistries or production processes.

The U.S. heating specialist has agreed to invest an unspecified sum in Dutch startup Blueheart Energy, which is developing a 6 kW heat pump that works on acoustic waves and is able to produce both heat and cold air.

Spacelis is developing lightweight, rollable space-grade perovskite-organic tandem solar PV technology targeting space and terrestrial portable energy applications.

The Chinese battery maker has launched its next-gen lithium iron phosphate cell which can be integrated with both 1,500 V and 2,000 V platforms. It plans to establish mass production by June 30 with an annual manufacturing capacity layout of more than 80 GWh.

Astronergy says it plans to invest $500 million in a solar cell factory in Turkey, expanding its presence beyond its existing 850 MW module assembly facility.

The recent 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has disrupted solar wafer production in western China, where about 50% of the country’s wafer capacity is concentrated. Major manufacturers have suspended operations due to equipment failures, raising concerns over supply shortages and higher global solar prices.

India’s solar module manufacturing capacity nearly doubled from 38 GW in March 2024 to 74 GW in March 2025. PV cell manufacturing capacity tripled from 9 GW to 25 GW.

The United States is on track to reach 13 GW of cell manufacturing capacity and 65 GW of module assembly in 2025, says Clean Energy Associates.

Days after entering office, the Trump administration announced tariffs on key US trading partners. While Canada and Mexico negotiated a one-month stay, it appears tariffs are set to play an even larger role in US trade policy through 2029. Paula Mints examines the history of U.S. tariffs with a focus on the solar industry.

Energy Island Power, a German startup, has developed a connection kit that allows electric vehicle owners to use their car’s power to support home energy needs by integrating with the solar inverter and the home grid.

Scientists in Australia have shown how pre-cooling and pre-heating could be implemented in Australian buildings with the support of excess solar power. Their analysis has demonstrated that summer has the highest potential for air conditioning demand reduction.

A Roth Capital Partners survey of residential solar and energy storage installers has revealed an apparent market shift away from the leading home battery provider in some parts of the United States.

Akasaka Heating & Cooling Supply says it will use green hydrogen produced at an unspecified location in Japan to produce heat and electricity for its Akasaka 5-chome district heating system in central Tokyo.

Austa has launched an all-in-one residential storage system with a three-phase inverter offering output from 5,000 W to 15,000 W and storage capacities ranging from 10 kWh to 30 kWh.