France exempts energy communities up to 1 MW from excise duty
France’s 2025 Budget Law exempts energy communities with projects up to 1 MW from excise duty on electricity consumption. The measure applies retroactively from Jan. 1, 2025, and remains in effect until Jan. 1, 2027.
Tesla begins production at Shanghai Megapack Factory amid intensifying price war
Tesla’s first overseas energy storage plant starts operating as global competition from Chinese firms and pricing pressures mount.
Panasonic launches decentralized water-to-air heat pumps
The Aquarea Loop heat pump system is intended for applications in residential and commercial buildings. It features a coefficient of performance of up to 5.9 and heating capacities ranging from 1.10 kW to 3.10 kW.
Trina Solar sues Canadian Solar over patents in $147 million lawsuit
Trina Solar has filed a lawsuit against Canadian Solar and its subsidiary, seeking $147 million in damages for alleged infringement of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell patents. The case, accepted by the Jiangsu High Court, underscores the rise of intellectual property disputes in China’s competitive solar sector.
Transport costs are a crucial factor for the future of the green e-methanol market in Europe
Hard-to-abate segments in the energy transition, such as the chemical industry and marine transportation, require electricity-based e-methanol in large quantities. The transport costs could be a key factor in determining the best locations for future green e-methanol projects.
Colombia deploys 1.6 GW of solar in 2024
Colombia installed 1.6 GW of solar in 2024, bringing its total capacity to 1.87 GW by year-end. Industry group Ser Colombia says 33 utility-scale projects accounting for 1,410 MW were added to the grid.
International partners plan floating solar projects in Australia
Singapore-based Canopy Power has teamed with Norwegian floating PV specialist Ocean Sun aiming to accelerate the deployment of floating solar technology across Australia.
Photovoltaic windows can reduce energy consumption in greenhouses by 57%
Developed by a research team including experts from Australian specialist Clearvue, the new PV windows were also able to reduce water usage in a greenhouse by 29%. The group believes that a fully glazed solar greenhouse could offset up to 100% of the energy consumption in worldwide locations by using adaptable and efficient temperature control techniques.
Waaree commissions first phase of 5.4 GW solar cell factory
Waaree Energies has started commercial production from the first 1.4 GW of its planned 5.4 GW solar cell manufacturing capacity in Gujarat, India.
Inverted perovskite solar cell based on stabilized C60 achieves 25.6% efficiency
An international team has utilized an n-type polymeric additive to stabilize C60 molecules for use in inverted perovskite PV cells. Thanks to this approach, the researchers built a solar cell with the highest efficiency value ever recorded for perovskite devices based on solution processed C60 electron transport layers.
