Magazine Archive 11 2025

There is great potential for solar in Southeast Europe, especially in southern Albania, which boasts very high irradiance levels. So why aren’t there more solar plants? Insiders from Albania and neighboring Croatia say solar faces tough obstacles, including energy legislation, regulatory inaction, corruption, and a lack of state will to enforce needed market reforms.

With electricity imports from the breakaway region of Transnistria now completely cut off, solar power has a key role to play in Moldova’s quest for energy independence and decarbonization efforts.

Glory Oguegbu, a renewable energy entrepreneur, has garnered many accolades. An Obama Scholar, she was named one of The Economist’s top five women changing the world in sustainability. She advocates building local capacity and implementing renewable energy solutions for underserved communities and partners with global organizations to accelerate Africa’s clean-energy transition. Carrie Hampel of pv magazine spoke with her about building infrastructure in the smallest off-grid communities and recalibrating geopolitical engagement in Africa.

SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger received the prestigious Becquerel Prize at the EU PVSEC conference in September, in recognition of her tireless work advocating for solar and policies to support it across Europe. pv magazine caught up with Hemetsberger at the event for a look back at recent successes, and the industry association’s focus going into 2026.

While photovoltaic systems operating at 2,000 V DC have become a reality in China and North America, Europe’s transition is in its infancy. There is no product standard, and without one, the market remains blocked. Perhaps Europe’s standardization bodies could catapult the market directly to 3,000 V, reports Marian Willuhn.

At the Solar & Storage Live UK show in Birmingham, United Kingdom at the end of September, the word ‘optimization’ was mentioned repeatedly. Among the exhibitors at this year’s event was Dutch company iwell, which sees the UK as a great base to grow its energy management services (EMS) offering. The company’s UK director, Mark Duxbury, spoke to pv magazine about the growth of the behind-the-meter market in the United Kingdom, and why iwell, which also provides modular battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Europe, is positioning itself as more of a tech-led company than hardware-led.

Like any other asset owned and operated for financial gain, solar farms are at risk of criminal attack. Copper theft is a particularly common crime affecting solar sites, with multiple news reports highlighting the ongoing problem in countries such as Spain, the United Kingdom, and Germany, as well as other crimes such as arson and vandalism. Luckily, there are measures solar farm owners can take to mitigate criminal activity, as DeterTech’s Head of Renewable Energy Matthew Uttley tells pv magazine.

There are signs that the energy sector’s transformation is accelerating, driven by renewables and digital technologies. Yet integrating new digital tools into solar asset management and O&M is rarely straightforward, despite their very clear advantages, writes Guy de Macedo, product manager for meteocontrol’s mc Assetpilot.

While targets to build significant PV manufacturing capacity in Europe before 2030 remain in place, progress toward them has stagnated. With the few active manufacturers on the continent struggling to compete, the industry is again calling on the European Union and national governments to introduce various measures to support the buildout of a local supply chain.

A spate of new announcements for lightweight silicon solar panels means there is plenty of choice for investors, particularly in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector. pv magazine’s Valerie Thompson takes a closer look at what’s on offer for low-load-bearing C&I rooftops.