Policy

Heat pump manufacturers will need to meet ‘smart ready’ standards under new appliance regulations, including stricter rules on cybersecurity. Utilities will be obligated to ensure battery energy storage systems, heat pumps and electric vehicle smart charge points can work across different tariffs under tariff data framework.

Guatemala has launched a 1.4 GW energy auction for renewable and low-emission projects to secure 15-year capacity contracts starting in 2030.

This week Women in Solar Europe (WiSEu) gives voice to Canan Koç Yasar, VP HSSE-S at Germany’s Uniper Renewables. She says that policies and practices that shape workplace safety, health, and security are mostly intended to satisfy men’s needs and stresses the importance of designing workplace systems that reflect the realities of everyone on the team.

Solar power purchase agreement (PPA) prices in North America held steady in the first quarter of 2025, averaging $57.04/MWh, up 1% from the previous quarter, says LevelTen Energy.

Government-run Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is tendering for the provision of technical and advisory support services for its grant programs aimed at organizations in Ireland planning to decarbonize. The tender follows a report by the SEAI that showed Ireland has a limited market for industrial heat pumps and called for greater outreach and support for businesses to install the technology.

Austria has opened applications for its €60 million ($68.3 million) rooftop PV rebate program for 2025, with a second-round “Made in Europe” bonus offering 20% more funding for projects using European-made components, says OeMAG.

The Japanese government says it has opened applications for a subsidy initiative aimed at cutting costs for renewable heat and industrial waste heat systems. The program supports equipment upgrades that lower emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Wood Mackenzie warns that policy uncertainty could significantly alter its projections for US solar industry growth. The research firm says the US solar industry will add 502 GW (DC) of capacity over the next decade, with annual installations surpassing 40 GWdc through 2035.

The Trump administration’s China tariffs have piled atop existing and developing trade barriers on battery energy storage systems, components, and materials – destabilizing the US energy storage industry. While existing inventories will allow project development to move forward in the short term, uncertainty extends across the supply chain, including to prospective manufacturers.

A team of researchers based in Japan and Sweden have found a correlation between higher feed-in tariffs and increased capital expenditures of solar projects in Japan. They suggest this may have led to a lack of incentive for developers to innovate or reduce costs, in turn inflating expenditure and hindering long-term market competitiveness.