This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Ilse Cappelle, Head of Marketing & E-commerce at Netherlands’ Libra Energy. She explains how returning from maternity leave directly into a leadership role showed her the company’s strong support for career growth and work-life balance.

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.

Solar energy, driven by excellent resource conditions and rapidly improving economic attractiveness, is expected to emerge as a bulk energy supplier in future energy systems. The self-limiting effects of solar power can be circumvented through solar-hybrid solutions, such as PV-geothermal hybrid configurations.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Saharan dust caused widespread panel soiling in southern Europe in early May, while much of central and eastern Europe benefitted from above-average solar resources. Favourable conditions broke down later in the month as cold polar air and a powerful storm system brought cloud, snow and damaging winds to many parts of the continent.

In its first monthly column for pv magazine, experts from UK-based consultancy Ricardo, part of the WSP Group, explain how UK will soon allow low-cost plug-in solar panels under 800 W to be installed without a qualified electrician, making home solar more affordable and accessible. These portable systems, expected on sale by summer 2026, could significantly boost household solar adoption while complementing the country’s wider renewable energy growth.

A review of 60 renewable energy studies finds that by 2050, solar PV and wind could supply 80–100% of electricity, but overly conservative Capex assumptions and simplified PV modeling often underestimate deployment potential. While future PV costs depend on supply chains and geopolitical risks, historical experience suggests medium-term risks are manageable, and material constraints are being resolved.

Kosol Energie has used air freight to sustain PV module production, as supply constraints pressure timelines across utility-scale and commercial and industrial (C&I) segments.

Swiss national grid company Swissgrid teamed up with a group of Swiss energy expects to publish a white paper covering how Switzerland can integrate up to 40 GW of solar by 2050 while maintaining safe and reliable operation of the grid.

A proposed decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has drawn criticism from industry groups, who say it fails to support a viable market for community solar.

China’s Envision has launched a 12.5 MWh battery storage system and started production of a 790 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell, as it advances an AI-driven storage strategy.

The new Anker Solix Solarbank Max AC steps up from balcony-scale storage with a 3.5 kW inverter, plug-in capabilities for do-it-yourself (DIY) ease of installation, and expandability to 42 kWh, priced from €2,229.

A research team has developed a solvent-free method using ultrasonic cavitation to delaminate end-of-life crystalline-silicon PV modules, fully separating the glass and front EVA layer while partially releasing c-Si fragments. The proposed approach achieved an 82.2% mass-based delamination efficiency, highlighting ultrasonic cavitation as a sustainable alternative for PV module recycling.

Figures from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority indicate that the country had a record year for solar deployment in 2025. Cumulative capacity surpassed 2 GW, leading to Singapore’s 2030 solar target being increased to 3 GW.

The 800 MW PV project with battery storage has been granted planning approval by the Energy Secretary, despite local councils and campaigners raising objections. Springwell Solar Farm expected to connect to new National Grid substation being built to accommodate flurry of local grid-scale solar projects.

Analysis from Wiki-Solar finds the world’s 33 largest utility-scale solar markets had a cumulative capacity of 1,008 GWac by the end of last year.

A new UNSW study shows that laser-enhanced contact optimization (LECO) can boost industrial TOPCon solar cell efficiency by improving contact properties and reducing recombination losses. By combining optimized firing conditions with LECO “repair” of contacts, the approach balances recombination and resistance, offering a practical path for conventional TOPCon cells to compete with PV technologies offering higher efficiencies.

Norwegian vertical solar specialist Over Easy Solar has installed its first rooftop vertical solar installation in the U.S. market. The 100 kW system, combined with a green roof in New York, is expected to deliver around 120,000 kWh annually depending on factors including albedo, azimuth and local shadowing.

An international study found that the specific power of commercial silicon solar modules increased from 8.5 W/kg in the early 2000s to 23.6 W/kg today, driven by advances in module design, bifaciality, and temperature management. The researchers highlighted that glass and framing dominate module weight, and considering operating conditions like nominal operating cell temperature and rear-side illumination is essential for accurate PV system design.

Wood Mackenzie’s latest analysis explores how 13 of the world’s leading power markets are impacted by the current fuel crisis, with those most reliant on fuel imports facing the greatest risk exposure. The consultancy says the average cost of generation is set to increase by $2.30/MWh across these 13 markets if a de-escalation of the conflict enables fuel price moderation in the latter half of 2026, increasing to an average of around $8.30/MWh if current elevated price levels persist through the year.

A Japanese–Chinese team developed a titanium molten salt redox-flow battery using abundant titanium ions and molten salt electrolytes to enable high-voltage, fast, and stable grid-scale energy storage. The system demonstrates high efficiency of over 97%, strong cycling stability, and improved cost and scalability compared to vanadium-based batteries, with further optimization underway.

IT security firm Jakkaru has identified a vulnerability in microinverters from AP Systems that could enable a “kill switch” scenario, potentially shutting down tens of thousands of inverters simultaneously and disrupting grid operations.

Aroma Solar has opened a 1.2 GW tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) module facility in in the northern Indian state of Haryana, using automated production and AI-based quality control.

Scientists in Australia claim that TOPCon cells are rapidly closing the open-circuit voltage gap with heterojunction counterparts, now under 10 mV, while offering greater wafer tolerance and high industrial scalability. Despite slightly lower efficiency, TOPCon-based perovskite/silicon tandems can achieve a levelized cost of energy comparable to heterojunction-based tandems due to reduced fabrication costs, according to the researchers.

Chinese power transformer manufacturer TBEA introduced a grid-forming string power conversion system (PCS) for utility-scale storage, renewable energy base projects, and weak-grid applications. The TE435/392K-HV-BL high-power converter focuses on improving power density and grid support. According to TBEA, its fully integrated liquid-cooling design increases volumetric power density by 78% and gravimetric power density by 32% […]

GCL Technology says its GCL Optoelectronic subsidiary plans a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, alongside a potential 500 MW factory in the United States and a roadmap for space-based solar.

Brazil’s National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) has authorized a 5 MWh battery system co-located with a solar plant, setting a regulatory precedent for integrated storage.

Renalfa Power Clusters plans to combine newly acquired solar and battery assets in Romania into a hybrid project using lithium-ion and sodium-ion storage.

Inpow Battery has launched a 587 Ah semi-solid-state storage cell with safety-focused design features, while outlining plans for a 6.5 GWh production line.

Greece’s PPC Group has finished construction of its 2.13 GW solar portfolio in northern Greece. The company is now working on its third large-scale battery storage facility in the area, with plans for two pumped-hydro storage projects also progressing.

A new sodium-ion cell for ESS may further improve competitiveness in large-scale systems against the weight of the lithium-ion battery sector.