Germany added an estimated 6.57 GWh of stationary battery storage capacity in 2025, an increase of about 8% year on year, lifting total installed capacity to roughly 24 GWh. Growth was driven by industrial and large-scale systems, even as home storage installations declined alongside weaker rooftop solar demand.

This article of the Women in Solar+ Europe series brings together experts and leaders featured throughout 2025 to reflect on why leadership must be redefined for today’s realities. Their insights highlight inclusion not as an add-on, but as the very heart of effective, future-ready leadership.

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.

India’s power system is rapidly decentralizing as electricity demand, rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and distributed generation expand, turning a one-way grid into a dynamic network that increasingly depends on decentralized data systems such as RF mesh networks.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that December’s solar resource reflected a classic La Niña pattern, with suppressed irradiance in the Pacific Northwest and above-normal conditions across the southern U.S. A blocking ridge brought clear skies and strong solar gains to the Southwest and Texas, while cloud cover and fog reduced output farther north.

Australian Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the country is on track to meet the government’s flagship target of 82% renewable energy by 2030 after solar, wind, and other renewables supplied about 50% of all power in the electricity grid in the final quarter of 2025.

A Swiss research team has developed a low-temperature sintering and interface-coating process that significantly improves the durability of argyrodite-based solid-state batteries. The approach delivers high ionic conductivity and long cycle life, retaining 75% of capacity after 1,500 cycles.

An Adani Green Energy subsidiary has signed agreements to supply 20.8 MW of hybrid solar and wind power to Asahi India Glass from projects in Gujarat.

Ola Electric has rolled out Ola Shakti, a residential battery energy storage system (BESS), from its gigafactory in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. Powered by Ola Electric’s indigenous 4680 Bharat Cells, Ola Shakti is India’s first residential BESS to be fully designed, engineered, and manufactured domestically.

Hybrid solution combines battery, solar, and a new DC generator to power the energy system, as it goes direct to consumers. Plus, full pricing and availability.

Croatia’s solar capacity is on course to exceed its wind energy capacity for the first time in early 2026. With utility-scale projects facing regulatory deadlock and the end of net-metering for the residential market, growth is being led by commercial and industrial customers.

France’s fourth PV tender for non-interconnected areas allocated 40 MW across Corsica, Réunion, and French Guiana. The weighted average tariff fell to €92.04 ($107.59)/MWh, while overall subscription remained well below the 99 MW available.

Pacific Hydro has brought its 293 MW Desierto de Atacama solar project online with 110 MW/220 MWh of battery storage. The Atacama Desert facility is expected to supply 780 GWh of clean electricity annually to more than 310,000 homes.

Solar farms in New South Wales led the way for Australia’s utility-scale PV energy output in December 2025, generating 1,052 GWh of renewable electricity.

Abu Dhabi-based developer Masdar has signed its first power purchase agreement in Angola, covering a 150 MW solar site that marks the first phase of a 500 MW multi-site project.

Chinese state-owned power group SPIC has launched a 1 MW / 4 MWh pilot, showcasing a long-duration energy storage alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries and compressed air energy storage (CAES).

A new Perspectives research study on the future of the global PV supply chain outlines how module prices, performance, and lifetimes could evolve over the next 25 years. The work reflects a collaboration among leading solar research institutions worldwide. One of the study’s authors, the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), told pv magazine that solar module and cell efficiencies could exceed 35% by 2050, with panel prices expected to drop by a factor of two.

An international research group has conducted a literature review of capital expenditure-driven levelized cost of electricity optimization strategies for utility-scale PV systems. Tracking optimization, system voltage escalation, and advanced system design are identified as the most promising cost reduction areas. “The next wave of PV research must be LCOE-native, system-level, and deployment-validated,” a member of the research group said.

The Indian PV manufacturer has launched Conserv Augmensheet, a sheet encapsulant for insulation and sealing of busbar and junction box areas in solar modules. Supplied in reel format, the product supports automatic feed-in on fully automated module manufacturing lines, reportedly enabling higher productivity and consistent processing for solar module production.

The use of a novel roll-to-roll process and optimization technology resulted in polymer foils for use in colored PV modules in a potentially wide range of colors with low iridescence and low levels of efficiency loss.

China’s antitrust regulator has halted an industry-led effort to reduce polysilicon capacity and coordinate pricing, ordering full rectification of actions that contributed to rising market prices. Futures fell sharply after the intervention.

New UNSW research found that about 20% of solar modules in large PV plants degrade much faster than expected. They recommend holistic strategies such as robust materials, advanced designs, and proactive monitoring to decouple degradation pathways and prevent cascading failures.

Polysilicon prices in China rose sharply this week as reduced output, higher costs, and strong downstream demand pushed transactions above CNY 60,000 ($8,590) per metric ton (MT). Module prices, however, remained stable, supported by firm procurement and tight wafer supply.

Spain-based Izpitek has developed an 86 kW building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) installation for tunnel entrances and exits that supplies power for lighting, demonstrating how solar energy can be adapted to complex architectural environments.

The Chinese perovskite solar technology developer said the result is currently under testing by an unspecified third-party authoritative laboratory in China. The achievement is part of the company’s efforts to bring its perovskite cell technology closer to commercial production.

By 2050, sodium-ion batteries with fast learning rates could deliver storage at 11–14 €/MWh – cheaper than lithium-ion at 16–22 €/MWh – while also offering higher energy-to-power ratios and high cycle durability, a new research finds.

RWE has started commissioning a 100 MW electrolyzer in Germany to supply renewable hydrogen under long-term contracts, while Hydrogen Utopia International and Hydrogen Systems are advancing plans to build waste-to-hydrogen plants in Saudi Arabia.

The 500 MW/1 GWh Jiayuguan NingSheng project combines lithium batteries and supercapacitors to support grid stability and renewables integration.

Wood Mackenzie’s 2026 market outlook for hydrogen expects non-biological origin hydrogen to gain momentum and ammonia crackers to reach commercial scale but predicts the Middle Eastern market to retreat and the EU to abandon its industrial hydrogen mandates.

Australia recorded a sharp rise in electric vehicle sales in 2025, with new-car sales data showing nearly 157,000 EVs were purchased nationwide, up 38% from the previous year.