Markets

An alliance of 11 industry, environmental and union groups has urged the Australian federal government to require new data centers throughout the country to secure 100% additional renewable energy and fund workforce training as a condition of approval.

Official data from Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water puts the country’s cumulative utility-scale solar capacity at almost 1.3 GW, while import data suggests there could be a further 3 GW of operational solar spread across the commercial and industrial, solar pumping and residential solar markets.

India-based startup Xbattery has launched a 5 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) energy storage system for homes and small offices, scalable to 15 kWh by adding battery units.

Solar and battery storage are set to account for 79% of 86 GW of new utility-scale capacity planned in the United States in 2026, marking the largest annual increase in more than two decades, according to US federal data.

SolarPower Europe has released new technical due diligence guidelines for utility-scale solar-plus-storage projects, covering risk, engineering and lifecycle standards for co-located PV and battery systems.

Shanghai-listed polysilicon producer Tongwei says it intends to acquire 100% of Qinghai Lihao through a share-and-cash transaction, as consolidation in China’s polysilicon sector increasingly shifts toward mergers and acquisitions.

Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said future policy will ensure domestic consumers and the electricity grid are protected amid the country’s data center expansion. This could include leveraging the ASEAN Power Grid project to cover any supply shortfalls.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE (Fraunhofer IEE) says in a new position paper that large-scale battery storage systems in medium-voltage grids should be technically prepared for future grid-forming operation, aiming to bridge the gap between current regulations and potential system stability requirements.

Switzerland will implement amendments to its Energy Act on April 1 to shorten planning and permitting for solar, wind and hydropower projects of national interest, while also simplifying grid expansion and appeal procedures.

A systems approach is essential for smart energy standardization, ensuring interoperability, avoiding overlaps, and addressing complex interactions across the grid, appliances, and infrastructures. The IEC System Committee for Smart Energy (SyC SE) applies system-level thinking, using tools like reference architectures and roadmaps to coordinate standards, support innovation, and tackle emerging areas such as EV integration, digital twins, and zero-emission technologies.