Utility Scale PV

Liquid insulation is one of the ways of ensuring transformers – which convert electric power from high voltages to lower voltages – remain safe. Mineral oil, however, has been the main insulating liquid in industrial power systems to date and sustanaible alternatives are strongly needed.

Cyprus curtailed more than half of its potential renewable power in early 2025, including record residential solar cuts, as grid limits and a lack of storage strain its energy transition. Without swift investment in flexibility, analysts warn the country risks eroding public trust and delaying decarbonization.

US solar manufacturing ramped up sharply in the first quarter of 2025, supporting record levels of new capacity as solar and storage made up 82% of additions to the grid. But proposed legislation and rising import tariffs could cloud growth prospects.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a hydrogel composite that absorbs moisture in solar modules overnight and facilitates evaporative cooling throughout daylight hours. The system has undergone lab tests and outdoor experiments on two continents.

The IEA-PVPS 2025 Snapshot of Global PV Markets reveals a pivotal moment for solar power: global PV capacity surpassed 2.2 TW, with more than 600 GW installed in 2024 alone. As module prices fell due to oversupply, installation volumes continued to grow, highlighting both the strength and volatility of the global PV industry.

Germany registered 130 hours of negative day-ahead power prices in May, driven by midday solar oversupply, as PV output regularly outpaced demand. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) says prices dipped below €1/($1.14)MWh for 160 hours.

Scientists in China have introduced developments to the RIME optimization method, which takes inspiration from the developmental course of hoarfrost in nature. They have compared it to other MPPT algorithms and found it to be faster and to improve power output.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that irradiance across large portions of eastern Australia fell by up to 20% below the seasonal norm in autunm.

Mining giant Fortescue has secured approval from the Western Australian government for a 644 MW solar farm that will help power its operations in the state’s Pilbara region.

A Danish trade group has ruled out any link between suspicious components found in local energy equipment and recent reports of compromised solar inverters in the United States, narrowing the scope of an ongoing cybersecurity investigation.