Achieving a system cost of $0.65/W through the secondary market and do-it-yourself assembly demonstrates a viable pathway for US plug-in solar to provide immediate utility bill relief to renters and apartment dwellers.

An industry analysis argues that agrivoltaic systems using trackers or vertical designs can outperform conventional solar on both revenues and land use, challenging conclusions from a recent German study.

This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Irene Mihai, Policy Director at the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA). She says her personal experiences show how mentorship, collaboration, and inclusive workplace practices are essential for attracting and retaining talent while empowering the next generation to contribute to a sustainable future.

Marine energy is renewable and generally predictable. It could thus compensate for the unplanned intermittency of solar and wind generation, its proponents argue. But several challenges still need to be overcome for the energy to become widely used.

Global solar PV continues its rapid growth, reaching around 650 GW in 2025, with record solar irradiation extremes across regions such as East Asia, India, and Latin America. With current production capacity and emerging technologies like perovskite-silicon tandem modules, PV is poised to surpass all other electricity generation technologies combined by the end of the decade.

Swiss analytics firm Pexapark says the latest developments in the Middle East are having a visible effect on long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) valuation in Europe, as the market begins to reprice the coming years.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has inaugurated a major battery energy storage system (BESS) project as part of a 500 MWh rollout to strengthen grid stability and support renewable energy integration.

Investors at the Battery Business & Development Forum (BBDF) 2026 signaled continued confidence in the energy storage market, while warning that regulatory uncertainty, particularly around grid fees in Germany, could affect project economics and investment decisions.

Following the closure of its €5.4 million ($6.23 million) pre-seed funding round, Luxembourg’s TerraSpark aims to carry out its first space-to-earth power transmission in 2028 using radio frequency-based wireless energy transmission. The company has also been selected to join Germany’s Dcubed on a mission scheduled for early 2027.

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) awarded 155 MW of rooftop PV capacity at an average of €0.0956 ($0.11)/kWh, leaving nearly half of the 283 MW tender volume unallocated.

The Department of Energy of the Philippines says it is fast tracking 12 solar projects for grid entry in April in response to changes in the global oil markets caused by conflict in the Middle East.

A study of 20 solar parks in southern France found that soil biodiversity and respiration drop significantly under panels, especially in mown areas, while plant traits like height and leaf area can increase under grazing. The researchers highlighted that climate, management type, and solar shading all shape soil and plant responses.

Australian solar and thermal energy storage company RayGen says it has achieved a major international milestone with the commissioning of a 1 MW integrated solar electricity and hydro energy storage plant in Brazil.

Researchers in Brazil tested second-life polycrystalline PV modules for two years and found they retained 87–88% of their original power, with minimal degradation and stable performance. Despite strong sustainability and circular economy benefits, economic incentives remain limited due to the declining cost and short warranties of new state-of-the-art silicon PV modules.

Bhutan is seeking expressions of interest from private sector players interested in developing solar projects under a build-own-operate basis. The first deadline to register interest is April 30. 

Multi-year field trials conducted in Italy show that agrivoltaic systems can support healthy potato yields without major losses. Strategic shading and dynamic light management during critical growth stages proved key to maintaining productivity.

German and Swedish researchers have found that rapid temperature cycling degrades perovskite cell performance through thermally induced stress and phase transitions, while also identifying organic spacer molecules that can enhance structural stability.

SOSV-backed Qnetic is aiming to raise $20 million in 2026. Over the next two years it will work with the National Lab of the Rockies and other partners on field testing and validating its technology across multiple use cases.

Bosa Energy in Hubei, China, has launched sodium-ions cells for stationary energy storage, with a volumetric energy density of 206 Wh/L

Researchers in Finland found that dishwashing liquid reduces solar module transmittance and performance, leaving residues even after rinsing. They recommend avoiding its use for cleaning solar panels.

Premier Energies Ltd has commenced trial production at its 5.6 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Seetharampur, Telangana. The new facility produces G12R TOPCon modules with zero busbar (0BB) architecture.

The International Finance Corporation is providing an A Loan to Malaysian polysilicon producer OCI TerraSus that will partly finance the development of a semiconductor-grade polysilicon production facility in Sarawak, Borneo.

Researchers in Singapore have developed fully vacuum-processed ultrathin perovskite solar cells with absorber layers as thin as 10 nm, achieving high transparency and stable efficiencies up to 12%. These cells balance optical transparency and electrical performance, offering scalable, design-flexible photovoltaics suitable for seamless integration into buildings.

Tongwei is partnering with GS-Solar and Golden Solar to develop a large-scale manufacturing facility for hybrid heterojunction back-contact (HBC) solar cells that combine heterojunction passivation, tunneling oxide and polysilicon structures used in TOPCon designs, and the grid-free front-side architecture typical of back-contact technologies.

Researchers in Sweden developed a bifacial chalcoprite solar cell using a titanium-doped indium oxide (ITiO) back contact, achieving 68% bifaciality. The device is able to maintain strong front-side performance with around 15% efficiency, 595 mV open-circuit voltage, and 75% fill factor.”

Lithuania added approximately 600 MW of solar last year, taking total capacity to 3,040 MW. Technical permits have been issued for an additional 4 GW of solar but with grid congestion becoming a primary constraint, future deployments will be increasingly dependent on integration with storage technologies.

The UK government is proposing stronger cybersecurity rules for electricity and gas sectors, prompted by recent attacks on European energy infrastructure, including a recent incident involving solar power plants in Poland. The plans would extend baseline cybersecurity requirements to all licensed energy organizations and could also adjust compliance thresholds under NIS regulations.

GlobalData says hydrogen capacity could reach 82.3 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) by 2030, while Topsoe has ended supply agreements with First Ammonia.

An international research team developed a multi-stage intrusion detection system that uses supervised and unsupervised AI techniques to detect and mitigate cyber threats in smart renewable energy grids. The system can reportedly achieve high accuracy, low false positives, and real-time detection, outperforming traditional intrusion detection system models.

Low Carbon Hub plans to add battery energy storage system (BESS) to existing solar plant. The developer is offering shares in what’s thought to be the first community-owned co-located battery in the United Kingdom.