Commercial & Industrial PV

WFES 2025 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.

Pakistan has imported over 50 GW of solar modules from China, including 18 GW during the country’s last fiscal year. In the absence of official installation figures, Islamabad-based thinktank Renewables First says up to 33 GW of solar capacity could have been deployed in Pakistan to date.

Smart Commercial Energy has unveiled a new prefabricated vertical rooftop solar system for the Australian market as part of a collaboration with Norwegian clean energy company Over Easy Solar.

A research group from the European Commission Joint Research Centre has developed a new PV climatic classification, the first to address annual yield and performance ratio. Their work resulted in 10 globally applicable clusters. “It challenges the assumption that many more classes are needed to capture PV-relevant climate,” the researchers said.

US-based Copeland has launched its Sensi Hydro sanitary water heat pump designed to provide energy-efficient hot water for hotels, commercial buildings, and public facilities. The units feature ZW scroll compressors, independent refrigerant circuits, and backup mode to ensure reliable hot water supply.

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.

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.

United Arab Emirates software specialist Planno has launched software to automate prospecting for roof surface sites with potential for solar PV generation.

SoftBank Group is piloting AI-controlled cellular base stations powered by solar panels and a 3 kW wind turbine to reduce energy use while maintaining service quality. The system stores excess power in batteries and can automatically switch to the grid when needed.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Central Europe, led by Germany, experienced strong solar generation in December due to clear skies from a blocking weather pattern, while Iberia, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe saw reduced irradiance from storms and cloud cover. Late-month Arctic cold and snowfall further suppressed PV output in Eastern Europe through snow soiling, exacerbating already weak solar conditions.