Markets

Qcells says it has resumed solar panel production at its Georgia manufacturing facilities after US Customs and Border Protection released seven solar cell shipments from South Korea that had been held under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), forcing a furlough of 1,000 workers and temporarily halting output at the second-largest module factory in the United States.

Malaysia’s rising power demand, driven by industrial growth and data centers, is exposing grid and capacity constraints, prompting policies like Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) to enable corporate renewable procurement while maintaining system cost recovery. A key factor is the System Access Charge (SAC), whose uncertain future trajectory affects long-term solar PPAs and investment decisions, making scenario-based modelling crucial for assessing project bankability.

The country’s first solar-plus-storage project will be located on a 400 hectare surface near Kébili, a town in the south of Tunisia and one of the main cities in the Nefzaoua region.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that destabilized polar circulation in February produced wet and cloudy conditions in some parts of North America, while the central and eastern regions enjoyed elevated irradiance under clearer conditions.

Longi says it has ranked first in a recent 800 MW PV module tender in China’s Gansu province, while Canadian Solar says the first 2 GW phase of its US heterojunction (HJT) cell factory is set to begin pilot production in March or April.

This March, Women in Solar+ Europe (WiSEu) is launching its International Women’s Day 2026 campaign: “Beyond 10X: Leadership Without Double Standards.” Inspired by a reflection from Hungarian chess grandmaster Judit Polgár: “I had to prove myself 10 times more than if I’d been born as a boy”, the campaign invites professionals across the solar plus industries to reflect on how leadership is evaluated and how subtle double standards can shape career trajectories.

February marked an early 2026 turning point in France’s electricity market, with negative prices emerging for the first time, intraday volatility spiking, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) capturing growing revenue opportunities.

ACME Solar has signed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) totaling 450 MW under a firm, dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) project with SJVN Ltd. It also commissioned an additional 38 MW/82 MWh at its Jaisalmer battery energy storage system (BESS) facility in Rajasthan.

Battery energy storage system (BESS) and demand-side response assets both secure roughly 8% of capacity agreements, according to provisional results, but nuclear leads the pack in first UK capacity market auction of 2026. Results from larger T-4 auction expected later in the month, with generators and energy storage assets vying for multi-year contracts.

Incentives in the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 drove a wave of new solar manufacturing announcements, and the country now has more than enough module capacity to meet domestic demand for several years. Policy shifts have created uncertainty, but continued tax credits and a focus on domestic industry have US manufacturers planning to expand cell and component production.