Battling the elements – 09-2025

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper reminds us this month that solar and storage have been vital when managing heatwaves and providing homes and businesses with backup power when the grid goes down. “Americans in every state are recognizing the true power of solar,” she wrote in a guest article, adding that this is down to the grit and passion of the people in the industry.

Elsewhere in the world, growth continues despite new challenges. The sector is laser-focused on increasing global solar deployment. Whether it’s commercializing perovskite-silicon tandems in the United States, building out battery energy storage in India, implementing grid flexibility reforms in Brazil and Poland, or working to ensure clean energy benefits the communities where projects are being built, this month’s magazine features many who are taking action to speed things up.

The storms solar and storage developers must weather are literal as well as metaphorical. And in this September issue we focus on extreme weather solutions, including industry collaboration on high angle stowing and other efforts to mitigate hail damage, better protection of monitoring systems during storms, and exploring how solar asset owners can leverage data to monitor weather damage and other climate risks.

Other topics in this issue:

• Pakistan’s next steps: Local experts weigh in on what huge import volumes mean for solar and storage.
• Gulf of expectation: Investor confidence in Mexico’s PV sector will be steady rather than spectacular.
• EL testing with drones: An aerial approach to diagnosing hidden module defects.
• Grids and data centers: Batteries’ role in balancing the grid amid data center demand.
• A PV pioneer: Interview with SunPower founder Dick Swanson.