IEA-PVPS Task 15 has launched its first modeling intercomparison exercise on coloured building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and is inviting PV modelers and researchers to evaluate their methods using real-world performance data.

Anza’s Transformer Procurement Service aims to help solar developers meet new deadline requirements imposed by US federal policy.

Utility-scale solar is set to meet rising data center demand in the United States as generation in Texas nearly doubles and battery storage capacity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) more than triples by 2027.

China’s PV manufacturing sector is operating at full capacity ahead of an April 1 export tax change, contributing to module price increases of 20% to 30% in parts of the supply chain and raising risks for price-sensitive European commercial and utility-scale projects in early 2026.

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.

Grid-scale battery developers in the United States face different revenue risks in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) markets, with ancillary market saturation compressing revenues in Texas.

BloombergNEF says Australia will attract AUD 5.1 billion ($3.5 billion) in utility-scale solar and wind investment in 2026, with wind expected to account for about 95% of the total.

A record-breaking year for solar generation and a leap in battery capacity have shifted the US energy landscape, turning solar into a primary workhorse for meeting the nation’s surging power needs.

Output from Estuary Power’s recently-completed Escape Solar and Storage project more than doubles MGM’s share of solar energy.

Halocell Energy is set to benefit from the development of a sovereign supply chain for high-purity precursors to perovskite after signing a memorandum of understanding with Queensland advanced materials company Lava Blue.

Hungary deployed over 1 GW of solar for the third consecutive year in 2025, driven largely by grid-scale solar additions. There are concerns momentum could slow in the coming years due to no new connection permits for large-scale projects authorized over the last three years.

The Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) has released a voluntary reference guide to support adoption of vertical bifacial PV in Japan, outlining design, performance, and compliance considerations for projects in snow-prone, high-latitude, and space-constrained conditions.

U.S. scientists used density functional theory to reveal how sodium ions are stored in nanoporous carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries, identifying dual ionic and metallic storage mechanisms within the pores. Their findings provide practical design guidelines to improve battery voltage, safety, and commercial viability for stationary energy storage.

DEC’s “Dongchu No. 1” prototype completed more than 100 charge-discharge cycles at 65 meters depth in a freshwater lake.

The three new utility-scale projects in region ten of Guyana, with a combined capacity of 15 MW, form part of wider plans to deploy 33 MW of large-scale solar with accompanying energy storage across four of the country’s regions.

Researchers from KAUST, TU Delft, and LMU Munich have improved the performance of monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells by modifying the physical structure at the front of the bottom heterojunction solar cell.

Rising silver prices are pushing PV manufacturers toward copper-based metallization, with DK Electronic Materials targeting 2026 for large-scale deployment of high-copper paste solutions, while Fraunhofer ISE warns efficiency trade-offs remain unacceptable.

The pilot showcases a reversible solid oxide fuel cell battery and represents the first fully containerized, modular ultra-LDES system to be operated for thousands of hours, achieving more than 200 hours of energy storage capacity.

China-based PV equipment supplier Ideal Energy (Shanghai) Sunflower Semiconductor has completed an AI-enabled pilot line for ultra-thin, flexible heterojunction (HJT) solar cells, targeting lightweight power systems for space and near-space applications.

Researchers in Spain have tested the erosion resistance of common galvanized coatings using both free-falling sand and forced-air sand-impingement methods. The study found that continuously galvanized steel coatings showed the lowest erosion rates, outperforming HDG and Zn-Al-Mg coatings.

The U.S. federal patent office rejected separate challenges from JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar and Mundra Solar to invalidate intellectual property that First Solar claims is fundamental to the manufacturing of crystalline silicon solar cells.

United Solar Holding has secured more than $900 million to complete the financing required for its 100,000 MT polysilicon manufacturing facility in Oman. Production is expected to begin during the first quarter of this year.

WFES 2026 in Abu Dhabi underscored growing momentum for solar, storage, and C&I renewables across MENA, with batteries emerging as a key enabler for grid stability, agriculture, and data centers. Industry leaders pointed to Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia as key growth markets, highlighting rising interest in AI-driven data centers, solar-plus-storage solutions, and a broadening regional supply chain.

China-based metallization paste supplier DK Electronic Materials says a major unnamed customer has adopted its high-copper metallization paste for gigawatt-scale solar cell production, combining copper paste with a seed-layer silver paste compatible with n-type and tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) 3.0 processes.

Silver prices hit a record $94.73/oz on January 19. Silver analyst Philip Newman tells pv magazine the metal could soon surpass $100/oz, increasing pressure on PV module manufacturers to reduce silver usage.

Scientists from the University of Seville have developed real-time optimization models showing that electricity storage in Spain may be approaching its economic limit, with cumulative capacities above 32 GWh depressing prices and undermining project profitability.

Swiss analytics firm Pexapark says last year Europe’s announced power purchase agreement capacity and deal count fell by approximately 13% and 19% year-on-year, respectively.

Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, tells ESS News that 2026 is set to be another strong year for BESS, with forecast additions exceeding 450 GWh and no material supply constraints in sight. Meanwhile, the initial impact of rising lithium prices is already visible at the cell level, but the full effect has yet to ripple through to system pricing.

Four agencies told 16 leading firms to rein in irrational competition as China tightens oversight of power and storage batteries.

Czechia’s solar market slowed in 2025, largely due to a downturn in residential deployments. The country’s solar association says that while it remains to be seen if the rate of installations will pick up this year, significant growth is expected in the storage market.