Polar Night Energy to build second sand battery pilot in Finland
Polar Night Energy will build a second pilot plant in southern Finland to test its power-to-heat-to-power sand battery technology. The project aims to demonstrate the system’s ability to reconvert stored heat into electricity.
Panasonic exits solar and battery storage
Panasonic has told its installation partners that it will no longer produce products for the residential solar and storage markets, but will continue to offer warranty and installation support for existing and ongoing projects.
Low Carbon, ElectroRoute sign four PPAs covering 140 MW of UK solar
Four balancing PPAs will see ElectroRoute trade Low Carbon solar assets in UK electricity market. The agreements are set to run until 2028.
Corning to expand solar wafer manufacturing in Michigan
Corning says it will add 400 jobs and contribute domestically produced wafers to the US solar supply chain with an investment of $1.5 billion.
Is solar really the root cause of Spain’s massive power outage?
Some media outlets have speculated that Spain’s April 28 blackout may have been caused by a disconnected solar plant, but DNV grid analyst Andrea Mansoldo tells pv magazine that it was likely due to a combination of grid weakness and low-frequency oscillations.
Fraunhofer presents solar module cleaning tech using structure-borne sound
Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT has developed a solar module cleaning system that uses structure-borne sound and targeted mechanical vibrations to dislodge dust. Researchers will present the technology at Intersolar Europe in Munich from May 7 to 9.
Alight inaugurates Sweden’s largest solar park
Swedish independent power producer Alight has completed a 64 MW solar project near Stockholm. The site in in Hallstavik is now the largest PV facility in the country.
Togo breaks ground on solar-plus-storage project
Togo has begun construction on a 25 MW solar plant with 36 MWh of battery storage in the country’s north. China’s TBEA International Engineering is leading the project, which is scheduled for completion within 13 months.
UK rooftop solar has strongest Q1 since 2012, new record for generation in April
Building regulations in England support growth in demand for rooftop solar as new-build properties make up significant share of small-scale PV installations. Strong installations in first quarter of 2025 were followed by a new single-day record for UK solar generation in April.
Colombia approaches 2 GW solar capacity milestone
Colombia is approaching 2 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity, with 1.34 GW currently operational and an additional 700 MW in testing, according to the country’s grid operator.
