Finance

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and German development bank KfW have signed a €87 million ($102.5 million) financing package for a 134 MW solar project in North Macedonia, the country’s largest under development.

Provisional data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for 2025 showed that monthly utility-scale solar generation increased from an average of 0.73 TWh in 2024 to 0.99 TWh in the first nine months of 2025.

The Chinese PV manufacturer is stepping up its energy storage push with a new Beijing subsidiary capitalized at RMB 300 million ($42 million).

Virya Energy will leverage BayWa re’s local team in Japan to strengthen its position in the country’s lucrative power purchase agreement (PPA) market. The Belgian company will also rely on its Asian affiliate, Constant Energy, headquartered in Thailand.

European energy storage hardware startups have secured €2.14 billion ($2.5 billion) in equity funding for commercial, industrial, and grid-scale applications, says Avnet Silica. Nearly half of that funding was raised in the past three years, and more than 80% in the last five.

UK energy regulator green-lights transmission network operator budgets for five-year period. Initial budget of GBP 10.3 billion ($13.7 billion) approved with an upper-bound estimate of GBP 70 billion transmission investment by 2031. At least GBP 44 billion of transmission spend has already been committed, according to the regulator.

The EU’s third hydrogen auction is open for applications until Feb. 19, 2026, alongside a pilot auction for decarbonizing industrial process heat. The 2025 edition of the Net-Zero Technologies call is also underway, accepting applications until Apr. 23, 2026. Together, the three funding streams have a budget of €5.2 billion ($6.07 billion).

AirWater and Suichoku Solar K. K. have launched a 178 kW vertical PV system at a Tottori parking lot, operating under an on-site PPA. The Verpa-based system, a first for the San’in region, maximizes space, avoids snow damage, and reportedly delivers power equivalent to rooftop solar installations.

Italy’s PV industry raised concerns over new regulatory measures and funding cuts as Gestore dei servizi energetici (GSE) published results of the FER X auction showing significant price reductions and strong participation in Sicily.

The Southern Johor Renewable Energy Corridor (SJREC) forms part of a $6 billion project developing a 2,000 kilometer-squared hybrid solar and battery energy storage system zone set to connect South East Asia.