Highlights

Trina Solar broke ground on its Thai Nguyen plant in December, and completed construction in five months.

The discussion about the extent to which forced labor exists in the solar value chain continues. A video, a university report, a ministerial response and a parliamentary machinations formed notable developments of the debate last week.

Statistics published by Greece’s leading solar association show the country constructed 913 MW of new photovoltaic systems last year. Meanwhile, Greece’s largest island has been connected to the mainland power network by what has been described as the world’s longest subsea AC cable.

The scheme is expected to be issued within 18 months. According to law firm Schoenherr Romania, there is a growing appetite for large-scale solar projects in the country among investors.

An investment of around €5 million will allow an old solar panel factory in the Beja district to reopen and create more than 40 new jobs. Galp Energia’s former director of innovation is part of the new team.

The sheer volume of new power lines which will be required to accommodate the rising tide of solar installations ensures copper has been included by the International Energy Agency on its list of minerals which must keep flowing if the energy transition is to stay on course. And it’s not production that’s the potential bottleneck.

Large-format PV modules are a key development in solar technology and advocates say their emergence has the potential to be one of the most significant innovations the industry has ever seen. But many people remain unconvinced that bigger is actually better.

Lightsource BP plans to build a new PV hub in the Australian state of New South Wales.

The Golomoti solar plant is expected to come online by the end of the year. The plant will be used to provide grid stability and reduce national dependence on diesel generators and hydroelectric generation.

India’s production-linked incentive scheme for battery storage is designed to facilitate the construction of 50 GWh of cumulative advanced chemistry cell (ACC) capacity and 5 GWh of “niche” ACC production facilities in India.