Markets

Rising silver prices are putting pressure on solar manufacturers, prompting greater focus on copper and other alternatives to reduce costs. Heraeus says it expects silver demand from photovoltaics to decline this year despite stable global installations.

A pavilion dedicated to electric vehicles, a dominant Chinese presence and limited European representation shaped the solar trade show held Feb. 10 to 12 in Casablanca, Morocco. Local distributors warned of rising prices for Chinese solar equipment, while a booming commercial and industrial (C&I) segment, a nascent residential market, emerging storage demand and largely untapped solar potential underscored the sector’s direction.

An international research team has reviewed emerging solid-state and gas-cycle heat pumps capable of reaching temperatures of up to 1,600 K, assessing their challenges, applications, scalability, and technology readiness levels. The researchers say these systems could outperform conventional high-temperature heating technologies by achieving coefficients of performance above 1.

Brazil has opened consultations on its PDE 2035 energy plan, which projects 107 GW of solar by 2035 – including 78 GW of distributed generation – with battery storage reaching 7 GW, or 2% of the power mix.

Research exploring off-grid practices in South Africa has defined three forms of off-gridding, with reasons for being off-grid varying depending on income background, in turn highlighting that decentralized energy transitions can reproduce existing inequalities.

Denmark had a record year for solar deployment last year, with new additions led by an uptick in ground-mounted, utility-scale solar. Cumulative capacity now stands at around 6.3 GW.

Hydrostor has secured a 50 MW/400 MWh offtake agreement with California Community Power (CC Power) for its Willow Rock Energy Storage Center, providing firm capacity to six of CC Power’s community choice aggregator members.

Researchers in Sweden developed a new methodology to optimize agrivoltaic systems across Europe, showing that row pitch, system type, and panel orientation must be tailored to local climate, crops, and regulatory constraints.

EnergyAustralia’s 50 MW/245 MWh Stage 1 Hallett battery energy storage system (BESS), co-located with a gas-fired power station, has reached financial close and is moving into the delivery phase.

By embedding quality benchmarks into procurement and manufacturing incentives, policymakers are ensuring that India’s energy transition is durable, not disposable. The focus has moved from rapid installation to long-term reliability — a sign of sectoral maturity.