Markets

The International Solar Energy Society’s (ISES) Solar World Congress (SWC) has been held biennially since the 1970s, and in November 2025 will take place in Brazil. With the sharp and continuous drop in PV costs, photovoltaics has become the lowest-cost solution in Brazil and worldwide, and this is reflected in the number of articles accepted for presentation at the SWC. The Solar World Congress program has traditionally been dominated by presentations on solar radiation and solar thermal applications, but this year, photovoltaics is the focus of most of the accepted papers. In Brazil, where large-scale hydropower plants have traditionally dominated the electricity generation mix, PV is now the second-largest generating source, and the country is adding every year the equivalent of its largest hydropower plant Itaipu, which took more than 10 years to build and reach installed capacity.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2025 electricity statement of opportunities 10-year report finds investments needed to maintain reliability in the national electricity market are well on track.

NTPC Green Energy has commissioned 212.5 MW of solar capacity in western India through its wholly owned subsidiary, NTPC Renewable Energy.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says developers plan to add 21 GW of solar in the second half of 2025 alone.

US President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, striking down key Inflation Reduction Act measures for energy storage and leaving the sector bracing for turbulence.

Eskom has launched a renewable energy offtake program in South Africa, opening a 291 MW solar tender for large consumers through power purchase agreements on utility-owned sites.

Third Pillar has secured exclusive access to develop a potential 500 MW of floating solar in water reservoirs in Texas.

The clean energy transition is extending its reach with three communities in the isolated far west of South Australia set to transition away from high-cost diesel generation to solar and battery energy storage-based microgrids.

Portugal’s solar capacity reached 6.17 GW in May, according to the country’s renewable energy association. While distributed generation is steadily expanding, a quicker rate of deployment across all market segments will be needed to meet 2030 targets.

Vikram Solar’s initial public offering (IPO) was 1.52 times subscribed on its first day, with strong demand from retail and non-institutional investors, following anchor investments of INR 6.208 billion ($75 million) and support from major mutual funds and global banks.