The power puzzle – 06 – 2026
Table of content
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Table of content
The power puzzle – 06 – 2026
2026
Preview
The power puzzle – 06 – 2026
2026
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Excerpt from the magazine
Strengthening solar standards
The Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI) brings stakeholders from across the solar industry together to ensure that every component of the PV value chain is produced and sourced responsibly, from human labor to polysilicon. Rachel Owens, the first CEO of the Brussels-based organization and in the role for a little over a year, spoke to pv magazine about what comes next for the initiative.
Jul 10, 2026
Notes from the field
Across Europe, North America and high-latitude regions in Asia, agricultural operators face rising energy demand, volatile markets and increasing dependence on electrically driven processes. So why isn’t agricultural solar more popular? Based on her observations on an alpine dairy farm in Austria, complemented by additional insights from other farms in the region, Austrian agriculture consultant Maria Weissenböck finds there is a gap in approaches. Farms tend to approach solar as a risk management decision rather than as an energy transition measure.
Jul 09, 2026
Who maintains Europe’s orphaned rooftop solar?
Europe added 65.1 GW of solar capacity in 2025. It also lost 40,000 solar jobs – the first workforce contraction in nearly a decade, according to SolarPower Europe. Behind those job losses is a wave of installer insolvencies that is creating a problem the industry has been slow to acknowledge: a growing population of residential solar systems with no warranty support, no maintenance provider, and no monitoring.
Jul 08, 2026
US solar trade and residential market continues to tighten
Following the recent Trump-Xi meeting, our industry checks suggest there is little indication that proposed Section 232 actions on polysilicon are at risk of being withdrawn. Most market participants continue to expect the policy framework to move forward, although potentially at a lower tariff rate than initially anticipated. Industry contacts generally do not believe solar-specific trade policy was meaningfully addressed during the summit, with broader anti-China trade positioning still expected to continue.
Jul 07, 2026
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The aggregation imperative
Grid operators across the United States face an unprecedented dual challenge of surging electricity demand from data centers and frequent extreme weather events. These grid strains are forcing a structural shift in the US energy market, and decentralized generation capacity aggregated under virtual power plants (VPPs) is entering the mainstream.
Jul 03, 2026
Rapid shutdown explained
Rapid shutdown is a safety function that reduces the voltage of PV conductors if a system failure occurs. While it can be incorporated into module level power electronics (MLPE) devices – such as optimizers and microinverters – some markets require dedicated rapid shutdown devices (RSDs).
Jul 02, 2026
South Korea’s solar crossroads
South Korean solar is entering a new stage, where structural quality and sustainability are judged more important than speed of growth. The country’s annual solar installations in 2026 are projected to reach approximately 4 GW, similar to 2025 figures. Companies and public bodies see electricity as a long-term risk to be managed, rather than as an expense to be minimized, and the market is shifting from a supply logic centered on power generators to a choice logic centered on electricity consumers.
Jul 01, 2026
Time to talk electrification
Switching energy-hungry industries to processes that run on electricity is a key step in many regional decarbonization strategies, and one that will also ensure growing demand for renewable energy sources. For many industries electrification is already underway, and as grids gear up to better manage variable generation and supply shocks, the vulnerability of fossil fuel supply chains makes the case more compelling.
Jun 29, 2026
Lower temperatures, higher heat pump efficiency
A large-scale study of UK heat pump installations has revealed a major gap between hypothetical performance and real-world data. Changes to commissioning could make all the difference. pv magazine caught up with Oxford University’s Jan Rosenow and Heat Pump Monitor’s Trystan Lea to hear how installers can achieve higher seasonal performance factor (SPF) ratings for their customers.
Jun 27, 2026
Solar skills shortage intensifies
Solar plays an outsized role in skills and employment, as the largest growing employer in the energy sector worldwide. pv magazine looks at an investigative report into a European skills provider and digs further into the challenges of training workers for the solar industry.
Jun 26, 2026
Impacts of the EU inverter ban
The European Commission (EC) is restricting European Union funding to solar projects using Chinese-made inverters, due to the perceived risks of cyberattacks and blackouts. But are European suppliers ready to scale up production and challenge China’s monopoly? Andreas Walstad reports.
Jun 25, 2026
Escaping the energy straitjacket
Europe’s split grid infrastructure and lack of central planning mean it fails to use its renewables. It is stuck in volatile prices driven by reliance on imported fossil fuels. Treating the system as one network rather than separate national grids would unlock PV, storage and wind, says Christian Kjaer, executive director at Supergrid Europe.
Jun 24, 2026
Feeding Europe’s AI energy demand
On one hand, European policymakers are aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. On the other, they’re aiming to at least triple the region’s data center market by the mid-2030s to conserve European digital sovereignty and economic competitiveness. Is it possible to do both? Not without demand-side flexibility, cross-border electricity trading, and smarter integration of renewable energy assets.
Jun 24, 2026
Grids, solar and BESS – Balancing the buildout
Solar installations in Europe have begun to slow, as markets struggle with high levels of variable generation. Batteries and grid infrastructure need time to catch up, and Bernhard Suchland, CEO at energy infrastructure developer Sunotec, sees the need for a more integrated approach to developing energy systems and networks across Europe.
Jun 23, 2026
Running out of gas
Europe is hooked on gas, but another geopolitical crisis makes the case for accelerated solar and energy storage deployment even stronger. As policymakers mull potential methods for decoupling electricity markets from volatile gas prices, renewable generators and energy storage developers stand ready to break the link in the most direct way possible.
Jun 23, 2026
Polysilicon prices in a fragile balance
China’s photovoltaic market has shown tentative signs of stabilization over the past month, following an extended period of sharp price declines across the supply chain. The China Mono Premium – OPIS’ assessment for mono-grade polysilicon used in n-type ingot production – remained unchanged for a fourth consecutive week at CNY 34.071 ($5)/kg, or CNY 0.072/W. Before this stabilization, the benchmark had declined continuously for several weeks beginning in late February, falling by more than 33% from end-February levels.
Jun 22, 2026
BESS as a ‘Swiss Army knife’ for data centers
Artificial intelligence is changing how data centers consume electricity. New workloads are introducing levels of variability that conventional power systems were not designed to handle, creating operational challenges both inside the facility and across the wider grid. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are proving an essential tool to manage these rapid demand fluctuations, as S&P Global analyst Henrique Ribeiro explains.
Jun 20, 2026
Ukrainian solar’s summer surge
As Russian missiles continue to devastate Ukraine’s centralized power system, the country is turning to solar energy at a remarkable pace. Rooftop panels, batteries, and diesel generators have become part of daily survival for businesses, hospitals, and households enduring chronic blackouts. But Ukraine’s wartime solar rush is now exposing a new problem: the grid is struggling to absorb the very generation that helped keep the lights on, writes Ian Skarytovskiy.
Jun 19, 2026
New rules to Europe’s battery game
Europe installed 25.3 GWh of energy storage capacity in 2025, with annual additions expected to reach 35.1 GWh in 2026. Confidence among developers and investors has remained strong, supported by a robust project pipeline. At the same time, the market has been quietly absorbing a wave of increasingly unpredictable cost pressures. InfoLink Consulting CEO Corrine Lin sees that prices across the supply chain are no longer moving in a single direction, cost pass-through has become less linear, and the market has entered a new phase marked by structural tensions.
Jun 18, 2026
