Hail damage to solar projects: 1% of filed claims, but over 50% of total losses
Hail damage has become a real headache for project developers in the United States, where growing deployment has increased exposure to weather-related risk. As project owners seek to limit the impact of hail on their bottom line, innovations in tracking systems and insurance can help.
AlphaESS releases liquid-cooled ESS for commercial, industrial use
The Chinese storage manufacturer said its new energy storage system has a capacity of 261 kWh per cabinet. It can be expanded up to 50 units in parallel, scaling to multi-MWh projects.
French solar developer Everwatt goes bankrupt
EverWatt, a French solar developer, entered receivership this summer after investors withdrew support, leading to layoffs and the sale of its assets while the company seeks buyers for regional solar projects.
German airport installs solar modules on chimney of thermal power plant
Cologne-Bonn Airport has installed 80 adhesive photovoltaic panels on the 27-meter chimney of its cogeneration plant in a pilot project using Heliatek modules.
South Africa deploys 928 MW of solar in Q1
South Africa’s cumulative solar capacity surpassed 9.4 GW by mid-2025, according to figures from the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA). The country also has a solar project pipeline in excess of 10 GW.
PV-powered thermal distillation device with self-cleaning, cooling
Scientists in Hungary have built a prototype of a thermal distillation device, supported by PV power. The PV panels use an IoT component that self-cleans when dust is detected and cools itself when the temperatures are too high. The system achieved a daily freshwater yield of 6.1 L/m2⋅day.
Czech electricity distributor connects 253 MW of solar in H1
Czechia’s largest electricity distributor, ČEZ Distribuce, says 9,084 solar power plants were connected across its network during the first half of the year, 86% of which were equipped with an energy storage system.
NREL researchers warn of unexpectedly high UV-induced degradation in n-type solar modules
A research team from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has analyzed n-type modules deployed in a 3 MW commercial PV project in an effort to assess the high degradation rate reported by the plant owner. The scientists found that ultraviolet-induced degradation (UVID) was a major factor affecting the facility’s performance.
Germany adds 1.95 GW of new solar in August
Germany installed 1.95 GW of solar in August, bringing total additions to 10.8 GW in the first eight months of 2025.
Floating PV system with ring-like floater geometry
Scientists in China have investigated the hydrodynamic performance of a novel modular floating photovoltaic system. They did so using a novel hybrid approach, which integrates viscous-flow effects from computational fluid dynamics into a potential-flow solver. They analyzed the new system with varying numbers of panels, either in a single chain or a parallel configuration.
