Markets

Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, tells ESS News that 2026 is set to be another strong year for BESS, with forecast additions exceeding 450 GWh and no material supply constraints in sight. Meanwhile, the initial impact of rising lithium prices is already visible at the cell level, but the full effect has yet to ripple through to system pricing.

WFES 2025 in Abu Dhabi underscored growing momentum for solar, storage, and C&I renewables across MENA, with batteries emerging as a key enabler for grid stability, agriculture, and data centers. Industry leaders pointed to Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia as key growth markets, highlighting rising interest in AI-driven data centers, solar-plus-storage solutions, and a broadening regional supply chain.

Pakistan has imported over 50 GW of solar modules from China, including 18 GW during the country’s last fiscal year. In the absence of official installation figures, Islamabad-based thinktank Renewables First says up to 33 GW of solar capacity could have been deployed in Pakistan to date.

Smart Commercial Energy has unveiled a new prefabricated vertical rooftop solar system for the Australian market as part of a collaboration with Norwegian clean energy company Over Easy Solar.

A research group from the European Commission Joint Research Centre has developed a new PV climatic classification, the first to address annual yield and performance ratio. Their work resulted in 10 globally applicable clusters. “It challenges the assumption that many more classes are needed to capture PV-relevant climate,” the researchers said.

Silver prices hit a record $94.73/oz on January 19. Silver analyst Philip Newman tells pv magazine the metal could soon surpass $100/oz, increasing pressure on PV module manufacturers to reduce silver usage.

Four agencies told 16 leading firms to rein in irrational competition as China tightens oversight of power and storage batteries.

Egypt’s Kemet has signed three agreements with Chinese companies over the last week, covering plans for a 5 GW solar cell complex, a 5 GWh battery energy storage factory and Egypt’s first solar inverter factory.

China’s PV manufacturing sector is operating at full capacity ahead of an April 1 export tax change, contributing to module price increases of 20% to 30% in parts of the supply chain and raising risks for price-sensitive European commercial and utility-scale projects in early 2026.

The Polish Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Association (PSFiME) says proposed changes to Poland’s energy law could impose high upfront costs on developers, raising market entry barriers and unfairly favouring large, well-capitalized players.