In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that January in South America featured dramatic weather contrasts with persistent floods and cloud cover in northern regions sharply reducing solar irradiance, while extreme heat, drought and wildfires in the south boosted sunlight yet also generated aerosol smoke that complicated irradiance outcomes. Severe storms, tornadoes and industrial fires further punctuated the month’s highly variable irradiance patterns across the continent.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Charmaine Coutinho, Director – EMEA Energy Transition at UK-based FTI Consulting. She says the energy transition requires inclusive systems that actively involve underrepresented groups, ensuring diversity and equity at all levels. Drawing on decades in the sector, she emphasizes intentional mentorship, sponsorship, and transparent leadership as essential for meaningful change and career impact.

Whatever decision the U.S. Department of Commerce makes on polysilicon imports, some market segments are in for a bumpy ride in 2026 as the expiration of tax credits and other policy levers change the trading environment faced by residential installers and others. Jesse Pichel and Lev Seleznov of Roth Capital assess what lies ahead for U.S. solar.

A systems approach is essential for smart energy standardization, ensuring interoperability, avoiding overlaps, and addressing complex interactions across the grid, appliances, and infrastructures. The IEC System Committee for Smart Energy (SyC SE) applies system-level thinking, using tools like reference architectures and roadmaps to coordinate standards, support innovation, and tackle emerging areas such as EV integration, digital twins, and zero-emission technologies.

As transformer lead times double and US prices surge 79%, a manufacturing “supercycle” struggles to keep pace with the explosive growth of AI data centers and renewable energy.

A survey of more than 800 Spanish C&I PV installations following the 2019–2022 self-consumption boom found significant administrative, technical and monitoring deficiencies in all audited systems, with 13.2% of businesses reporting savings far below expectations.

State support for solar should result in a record year for PV deployment in the United Kingdom, with strong provisional January data putting market on a good footing. Pipeline of CfD plants due in 2026 plus ramping up of support for rooftop set the stage for accelerated capacity additions.

Department of Energy (DOE) order sets out new rules for mandatory energy storage, including a minimum capacity of at least 20% of the generating plant’s installed capacity. DOE also calls forenergy storage systems (ESS) installations to have grid supporting capabilities, such as grid-forming inverters to help stabilize voltage and frequency.

The APX HV Battery 2.0 supports 5–30 kWh capacities and up to 15 kW of output. The IP66-rated system features a stacked, cable-free design.

McGill University researchers used deep-learning computer vision to analyze 719 solar projects across the Western U.S. The study establishes a new “land-sparing” benchmark, providing developers with precise data to balance rapid capacity expansion with conservation and land-use priorities.

With Latvia’s cumulative solar capacity reaching 920 MW by end of 2025, the Latvian Renewable Energy Alliance says the 1 GW threshold may now have been surpassed. The country also appears on track for a record year in solar deployment this year, as some of the largest projects in the pipeline materialize. 

Ireland reached 2,345 MW of installed solar capacity by December 2025, more than tripling installed capacity since 2023, according to Solar Ireland data. The country’s development pipeline has currently reached 1.7 GW.

The new SALT 110 battery storage system from the Vienna-based company has a usable capacity of up to 110 kWh. The storage system is reportedly capable of 6,000 charge cycles at a depth of discharge of 95%.

Official data from Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water puts the country’s cumulative utility-scale solar capacity at almost 1.3 GW, while import data suggests there could be a further 3 GW of operational solar spread across the commercial and industrial, solar pumping and residential solar markets.

China brings online 300 MW/1,200 MWh grid-forming energy storage facility in Inner Mongolia, integrating lithium-ion and vanadium flow battery technologies.

The cell was fabricated using a new interfacial phase equilibrium strategy that suppressed uncontrollable metal ion migration. The device achieved an exceptionally high open-circuit voltage of over 600 mV at a bandgap of 1.10 eV.

The polymer solar cell is able to retain 97% of its performance after 2,000 hours in air. By blending small-molecule acceptors into polymeric matrices, the research team improved molecular packing, enhancing both stability and charge transport for “ultra-stable” flexible devices.

Kardinia Energy has secured AUD 2.15 million from the Australian government’s Industry Growth Program to scale up its flexible, low-cost printed solar technology from university proof-of-concept to pilot manufacturing.

Swedish researchers developed two novel single-axis solar tracking strategies that dynamically adjust panel tilt based on crop light requirements, balancing photosynthesis and energy production. One strategy prioritizes daily light integral targets before shifting to energy capture, while the other uses the light-response curve to optimize photosynthesis, offering improved dual-use efficiency compared with conventional tracking methods.

Shanghai-listed polysilicon producer Tongwei says it intends to acquire 100% of Qinghai Lihao through a share-and-cash transaction, as consolidation in China’s polysilicon sector increasingly shifts toward mergers and acquisitions.

The Chinese manufacturer claims the new efficiency result sets a world record for industrial-scale TOPCon solar cells on M10-size wafers. The achievement was verified by an undisclosed independent third-party organization in China.

Canadian researchers conducted the first nationwide survey on public attitudes toward agrivoltaics, finding strong support across provinces with 85.8% of respondents in favor, although preferences varied by configuration. Opposition mainly stemmed from resistance to change, aesthetic concerns, and lack of awareness, highlighting the need for public education and updated policy frameworks to enable wider adoption.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued preliminary findings that solar manufacturers in India, Indonesia and Laos benefited from government subsidies, paving the way for countervailing duties of up to 143.30%.

The lab-scale, near-white heterojunction solar cell uses nanoclay-based scattering layers combined with dielectric multilayer films to preserve power conversion efficiency while enhancing visual appeal. The researchers report optical losses of less than 1% at a 50% clay volume fraction, which are significantly lower than those observed with textured glass.

Germany’s large-scale battery industry is urging regulators and grid operators to speed up utility-scale connection approvals as applications outpace available grid capacity.

An alliance of 11 industry, environmental and union groups has urged the Australian federal government to require new data centers throughout the country to secure 100% additional renewable energy and fund workforce training as a condition of approval.

The Irish heating specialist has launched a high-temperature heat pump delivering up to 110 C hot water and heating capacities of 100 kW to 370 kW for industrial and district heating applications. The system achieves a coefficient of temperature of up to 4.63.

German startup Solarsecure Tech has introduced a gateway designed to decouple PV inverters from manufacturer clouds and block unauthorized remote control commands.

SolarPower Europe has released new technical due diligence guidelines for utility-scale solar-plus-storage projects, covering risk, engineering and lifecycle standards for co-located PV and battery systems.