UK brings forward CfD auction, backs balcony solar in Middle East response
Energy Minister confirms plan to accelerate renewables deployment including support for residential solar in response to conflict in Iran. Summer contracts for difference (CfD) auction quickly follows record allocation round for solar in February 2026.
Ukraine prioritizes solar-plus-storage in renewables auctions
Newly-implemented rules governing Ukraine’s energy market introduce solar-plus-storage systems as a separate auction category, ease regulatory barriers governing standalone storage projects and establish processes for renewable energy facilities located in Ukraine’s occupied territories.
Austria could harness 90 TWh of agrivoltaics using 5–16% of cropland
Austrian researchers conducted a techno-economic analysis of agrivoltaic systems and found that 5%–16% of the country’s cropland would be required to meet its solar electricity targets.
New framework promises unprecedented level of cybersecurity for SCADA systems
An international research team developed CyberSentry, a software framework using advanced deep learning and optimization techniques to enhance cybersecurity in SCADA systems for power plants and critical infrastructure. It combines feature selection, hybrid anomaly detection, and dynamic parameter tuning to detect diverse cyberattacks with 99.5% accuracy while minimizing false alarms.
Australia-backed rooftop solar to power remote Samoan communities
An Australia-supported project will install rooftop solar, batteries and a minigrid upgrade for remote communities in Samoa currently reliant on diesel, kerosene and wood.
Waaree Energies begins construction of 10 GW ingot, wafer plant in India
Waaree Energies has started building a 10 GW solar ingot and wafer manufacturing facility in the Indian state of Maharashtra, aimed at strengthening the nation’s upstream solar supply chain.
Lessons from the solar frontier
Utility-scale solar projects are larger, interconnections are slower, and engineering decisions must anticipate regulation and supply chains years in advance. At the CT Solar Platform in Snyder, Texas – a 1.6 GW AC single-site development – the first phase, CT Solar One (110 MW AC), has served as a test bed for integrating civil design, BOS optimization and domestic-content strategy. Levona Renewables led the development and engineering of the project, and CEO Fernando Queiroz shares key lessons.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Wafer prices fall on weak demand
The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA) says polysilicon and wafer prices continued to fall this week, with n-type re-feed and dense polysilicon down 6.39% and 6.42% to an average of CNY 45,200/ton ($6,240).
‘Even when I sensed bias, I focused on doing my job’
This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Sabina Blitek, General Counsel at Netherlands’ R.Power Renewables. She says women in male-dominated industries, like energy and finance, can overcome bias by consistently demonstrating competence, believing in their own potential, and leading by example.
Cold, clear skies boost northeastern Europe’s solar while storms dim the west
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that February saw a sharp divide in Europe’s solar conditions. Northeastern regions experienced clear, cold weather with irradiance 20% above average, while western and southern Europe endured persistent storms and widespread irradiance deficits.
