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 Bárbara Linares Turnkey Engineer Director Iberia & Latam at Sunotec Iberia. She says diverse and inclusive teams in the renewable energy sector drive innovation, resilience, and long-term success by combining technical expertise with collaboration, empathy, and clear communication. “I have encountered subtle biases, particularly in international and multicultural environments. At times, there was scepticism linked to being a young woman, assumptions that I was not the decision-maker, or complex discussions being directed toward male colleagues,” she states.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that Central Europe, led by Germany, experienced strong solar generation in December due to clear skies from a blocking weather pattern, while Iberia, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe saw reduced irradiance from storms and cloud cover. Late-month Arctic cold and snowfall further suppressed PV output in Eastern Europe through snow soiling, exacerbating already weak solar conditions.

Once considered isolated incidents, spontaneous glass breakages in solar modules are becoming more frequent, highlighting the limits of some manufacturing choices and the need for closer quality control.

Sensors are an indispensable tool to inform utility managers of the state of the electricity grid and the occurrence of disruptions of any kind. The IEC provides the standards and conformity assessment that enable them to operate safely and efficiently.

A US bankruptcy court approved Amazon’s purchase of the 1.2 GW Sunstone solar and battery storage project in Oregon from bankrupt developer Pine Gate Renewables.

Oxford PV CEO David Ward spoke with pv magazine about the prospects of its company and the perovksite-silicon tandem PV technology at the WFES event in Abu Dhabi. He said Oxford PV is expanding manufacturing beyond Germany while focusing on global licensing partnerships.

With lithium prices reaching a two-year high in early 2026, sodium-ion batteries are once again in the spotlight, as innovators on both sides of the Atlantic announce major milestones.

The Norwegian company started production in the Ain Sokhna Industrial Zone, while Brazil’s Federal Court provisionally ordered the suspension of construction activities of Solatio’s project in the State of Piauí.

SoftBank Group is piloting AI-controlled cellular base stations powered by solar panels and a 3 kW wind turbine to reduce energy use while maintaining service quality. The system stores excess power in batteries and can automatically switch to the grid when needed.

The launch of the new product suggests Tesla could renew its focus on residential solar and expand U.S. lease options with Powerwall.

Joint owners of the 2 GW Al Dhafra solar power plant Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, EDF Power Solutions and Jinko Power, alongside offtaker Emirates Water and Electricity Company, have issued the green bonds to refinance the plant’s existing debt obligations and support its continued operation.

Axinar has launched SolBox, a direct PV water heating system that powers electric resistance accumulators without thermal collectors. It’s designed for homes and businesses, offering real-time monitoring, MPPT optimization, and automatic grid backup.

Abu Dhabi-based developer Masdar and Montenegro’s state-owned power company EPCG have entered into a framework agreement that could see a joint venture company belonging to the two parties develop, build, own and operate large-scale solar projects in the country.

Scientists have analyzed the competition between photovoltaics and agriculture for land use in Spain by studying 134 different crops in 15 regions. Using a real options framework, they found that falling solar PV costs and high irradiance in southern Spain could make solar more profitable than farming by the mid-2040s, highlighting growing land-use competition.

Vikram Solar Ltd today announced the adoption of G12R format across its entire PV module portfolio. The company said the move reflects broader industry trends toward larger-format wafers, high-efficiency n-type technologies, and bifacial module designs aimed at improving energy yield and project economics.

UNSW researchers found that some POE encapsulants can trigger severe corrosion in TOPCon solar modules, causing up to 55% power loss under damp-heat conditions. Their study highlights that module reliability depends on the exact encapsulant formulation, not just the polymer type.

Researchers from Australia’s national science agency are working with Malaysian authorities to assess how different battery chemistries perform under tropical conditions, including high temperatures, humidity, and corrosion, and how these factors affect durability, safety, and cost effectiveness.

Basquevolt and Bcare have successfully developed and integrated the first solid-state cells into a module for stationary applications, accomplishing this within the Iberdrola-led ASTRA-CC project (2023–2025).

A new generation of sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery cells has been launched as an alternative to the virtual monopoly of lithium-ion (Li-ion). Although the technology is unlikely to displace significant Li-ion market share, recent improvements make Na-ion a viable solution for certain niche applications, with potential for wider usage if cost becomes competitive.

The patent infringement case was related to an unspecified TOPCon solar cell technology.

A team of scientists has simulated covering 20% of the Qush-Tepa irrigation canal with PV panels. To this end, the researchers developed a framework, termed an integrated techno-economic-environmental assessment, that can be applied elsewhere. “It explicitly quantifies energy production, water-evaporation reduction, land-use savings, and economic performance within a single analytical structure,” one of the researchers said.

An international research team has developed a new two-dimensional perovskite interlayer based on a co-crystal engineering strategy for more robust perovskite films. It demonstrated improved performance in small area perovskite solar cells and, in a 48 cm2 module, contributed to retain 95% of initial efficiency after 5,000 h.

The factory will be located in Jeddah and supply solar trackers across Saudi Arabia and the MENA region.

The new IQ9N-3P microinverter utilizes gallium nitride technology to deliver 427 VA of peak power and 97.5% efficiency for the 480 V three-phase commercial market.

Rajasthan Solar Park Development Co. Ltd. (RSDCL) has issued a tender inviting bids to develop 2,450 MW of state transmission utility (STU)-connected solar PV capacity paired with 1,600 MW/6,400 MWh of battery energy storage systems at the Pugal Solar Park in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district. The projects will be implemented on a build-own-operate (BOO) basis.

Latest report from energy think tank Dii Desert Energy says that with the Middle East and North Africa’s project pipeline of renewables now standing at 202 GW, solar is likely to drive the region past its aggregated national ambitions for renewables of 235 GW by 2030.

The Italian company said the manganese-hydrogen battery it has developed represents an advanced solution for long-duration energy storage. The technology enables energy to be stored for many hours or even days, overcoming the structural limitations of lithium-ion batteries.

One of the main benefits of hybridization is the ability to offer more attractive and stable energy products to clients. A hybrid PPA better covers consumption needs, reduces risks associated with the variability of a single source, and allows for more competitive long-term pricing, writes Rodrigo López, head of revenues at BNZ.

Soaring utility costs and rising power demand are recalibrating the financial outlook for the United States non-residential solar market.