Markets

Solar accounted for 54% of new US generation capacity in 2025, retaining its position as the top technology for the fifth straight year, while PV and storage together made up 79% of new electrical capacity, according to the latest report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.

The European Court of Auditors says in a new report that EU policies supporting energy communities are progressing slowly and that the bloc’s goal of establishing one renewable energy community in every municipality with more than 10,000 residents by 2025 is unlikely to be met.

Public solar auctions and corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) supported 92 GW of EU solar capacity from 2022 to 2025, supplying enough electricity for 28 million households. SolarPower Europe says the figures underscore the role of long-term contracts in stabilizing energy prices and strengthening energy security.

Sweeping import tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made waves for the US clean energy industry in 2025. While solar developers chase safe-harbor deadlines, US energy storage manufacturing could benefit from rules encouraging onshoring – provided there is policy certainty to bank on

China has deployed its first 1.25 MW urban vanadium flow battery (VFB), supporting peak AC loads and offering a safer alternative amid tighter lithium-ion storage regulations in dense urban environments.

Morocco’s state energy agency and national utility have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) and begun construction on six Noor Atlas solar plants totaling 305 MW. The project – financed by KfW, the European Investment Bank and Bank of Africa – aims to expand renewables, support local industry and create regional jobs.

Africa has abundant sunlight, arable land, and innovative farmers, and agrivoltaics offers a long-term strategy to boost food security, climate resilience, and energy access simultaneously. Success depends on coordinated policy, inclusive community engagement, and patient, innovative finance to build a viable, scalable market.

In its second monthly column for pv magazine, the Becquerel Institute explains that Europe has vast commercial and industrial rooftops suitable for solar, but decades-old structural limits block conventional PV panels, creating an 85 GW untapped potential. Lightweight PV modules, commercially available and up to 50% lighter, can unlock this constrained market, meeting regulatory, economic, and technical needs for solar deployment across the continent.

Bifacial PV modules, string inverters and advanced trackers are becoming the preferred technologies in utility-scale solar project design, according to new data from RatedPower.

Beazley has agreed to acquire US renewable insurance specialist kWh Analytics to strengthen data-driven underwriting for solar and energy storage projects.