This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Delfina Muñoz, Research Director & Strategic Project Manager at France’s CEA. She says diversity is a catalyst for faster, fairer clean energy innovation. Inclusion, mentorship, and authentic leadership don’t just support people, they build stronger, more resilient teams that power the energy transition forward.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that February saw a sharp East Asia solar divide, with southern China and Taiwan experiencing record-high irradiance due to clear skies and low aerosols, while maritime Southeast Asia faced heavy rainfall and below-average irradiance from enhanced tropical convection. The surplus in China was driven by atmospheric cleanliness, whereas Taiwan’s boost came mainly from persistently clear days, contrasting with widespread deficits across Indonesia, the southern Philippines, and nearby islands.

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.

Iran is widely known for its oil and gas resources, but its strongest long-term energy asset may be the sun. New research shows how solar PV could drive a cost-competitive transition across power, heat, transport, industry, and desalination, while opening the door to a broader Solar-to-X Economy.

Australia has become one of the world’s most attractive destinations for hyperscale data centers, ranking among the top five to 10 markets globally by capacity. Drivers include large land availability in Renewable Energy Zones, renewable penetration exceeding 40% across the National Electricity Market (NEM), geopolitical stability, Five Eyes membership, and proximity to Asia-Pacific demand hubs.

Melbourne-based renewables developer Enervest has begun construction of a 500 kW floating solar array on a water storage reservoir in Warrnambool, Victoria, which it says will be Australia’s largest floating solar installation on completion.

Combined generation from wind and utility-scale solar reached a record 17% of the US electricity mix in 2025, producing 760,000 GWh, up 88,000 GWh from 2024, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Spain’s Fundación Ciudad de la Energía (Ciuden), a government energy research foundation, has completed operational testing of a 1 MW/8 MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) system at its Cubillos del Sil technology center, which it says is the largest vanadium flow battery in Europe dedicated to applied research.

UK government plans new obligations for energy suppliers as smart meter deployment slows in Great Britain. Annual additions to smart electricity meter total have fallen each year since 2021. Binding annual milestones expected to come into force from 2027.

Analysis across 16 European countries finds an around 240,000 increase in the number of residential heat pump sales year-on-year. The European Heat Pump Association attributes the upward trend to governments stabilizing subsidy schemes.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a smart window that combines switchable polymer-dispersed liquid crystal with integrated PV cells, offering controllable transparency and electricity generation. The system balances light, heat, and solar protection while maintaining high visual quality and stable performance, according to its creators.

Alparslan Bayraktar, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, says 2026 will be a record year for renewables in the country after total deployed solar reached 25,827 MW by the end of January.

Invertix has launched 22 specialized AI “workers” to automate O&M tasks for renewable energy assets, targeting inefficiencies in data handling, alarm management, and reporting. The startup says its system enables PV plant operators to scale portfolios more efficiently by reducing manual workloads, while keeping humans in the loop for critical decisions.

Researchers at the German institute found that some widely used PV cleaning agents can damage anti reflective glass coatings, significantly reducing solar module efficiency. Their tests showed that while some cleaners are safe, others cause visible and permanent coating degradation, highlighting the need for careful selection of cleaning products to avoid long term performance loss.

Sweden’s Ionautics has advanced its platinum-based hydrogen catalyst toward full-scale industrial production, while thyssenkrupp nucera has signed contracts for 300 MW of alkaline electrolysis capacity in Spain and 260 MW in India.

Elon Musk, the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, raised some eyebrows at this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, when he predicted “that the lowest cost place to put AI will be space and that will be true within two to three years, three at the latest.” pv magazine reported on Musk’s vision on our global website www.pv-magazine.com on Jan. 26, 2026, and exactly one week later SpaceX announced that it was acquiring xAI “to form the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications, and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform.”

The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (Entso-E) has published its final root cause report on the April 28, 2025, blackout in Spain and Portugal, finding failures across grid operations, generation, and regulations, and issuing 22 recommendations to strengthen European grid resilience.

In an interview with pv magazine, cybersecurity expert Roberto Setola describes a structural shift in cyber threats against solar energy infrastructure, where attacks now target peripheral systems like remote terminal units rather than centralized SCADA, often in coordinated campaigns amplified by AI. He also emphasized that the recent cyberattack to PV plants in Poland demonstrated how simultaneous strikes on smaller, less-protected operators can potentially trigger major disruptions, including blackouts, economic losses, and cascading grid risks.

Swish Solar has an AI-driven tool that optimizes solar panel cleaning schedules to reduce soiling losses and operating costs. The platform uses data analytics and forecasting models to help operators time cleaning based on financial impact.

Sandia National Laboratories conducted the first-ever blind comparison of seven commercial PV modeling software, revealing that differences in weather handling, system modeling, derates, and assumptions grow as system complexity increases. The study emphasizes that software choice should consider project complexity, workflow, and modeling features rather than relying on rankings alone.

German engineering firm BEC Energie Consult has developed a substructure for low-mounted agrivoltaics designed to provide cost-efficient installation while supporting crop growth and livestock management, with the potential to enhance economic viability.

Germany’s solar sector is reporting a surge in inquiries following the military escalation between Israel, the United States, and Iran, with E.ON citing a doubling of demand for solar installations. Other industry participants are more cautious, attributing much of the increase to seasonal patterns rather than geopolitical anxiety.

Data from EnergyBin and Buckstop shows used solar modules made up just 1% of resale listings in 2025, as falling prices for new panels weaken reuse economics.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has expanded its Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) framework to include solar ingots and wafers, with mandatory compliance for new project bids taking effect from June 1, 2028.

Researchers in Brazil have developed a weighted PV inverter efficiency methodology that accounts for country-specific solar irradiance and operating conditions. The approach is designed to address the limitations of international metrics by incorporating variables such as input voltage and maximum power point tracking (MPPT) performance.

Brazil’s second Long-term Reserve Capacity Auction (LRCAP) of 2026 has contracted 501 MW of thermoelectric capacity, leaving an estimated 3 GW of remaining demand to be addressed in a forthcoming battery storage auction expected later this year.

The BESS insurance risk profile is shifting. In an exclusive interview, Tokio Marine GX underwriter Michael Carrington explains why insurers are looking past battery fires and sweating over supply chain bottlenecks, high-voltage transformers, and costly EPC integration errors.

The fourteenth edition of Solar Solutions Amsterdam showcased the latest technologies across solar, storage, electric vehicle charging and green HVAC. This year saw energy storage systems dominate the show floor, ahead of the event’s rebrand to Sustainable Solutions Amsterdam from next year onwards, reflecting the Dutch market’s position as a mature market increasingly focused on flexibility and the connectivity of different technologies within a single system.

The Danish company said its configurable CO2 system delivers up to 4.8 MW per unit and is scalable to 50 MW for large industrial and commercial projects. The units offer hot water output of up to 95 C and compatibility with complex installations such as food processing, district heating, and commercial buildings.

Edify Energy will start construction proper of two massive solar and battery energy storage projects in Queensland, Australia, by mid-year after naming DT Infrastructure as its preferred engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.