Author
Eckhart Gouras
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Articles written by Eckhart Gouras
Solar-plus-storage microgrids now delivering competitive baseload power
Wood Mackenzie presented modelling for Ukraine, Ghana, and the Netherlands showing that 300 MW solar-plus-storage systems can deliver competitive, baseload-like power across very different grid contexts. Across all three countries, hybrid PV-plus-storage consistently outperforms conventional coal and gas in LCOE terms, highlighting faster deployability, strong cost declines, and superior resilience versus long-lead-time fossil infrastructure.
Jun 11, 2026
Solar key to space-based AI
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.”
Musk at WEF: Solar space-based AI data centers possible in two to three years
Space-based solar could power AI more efficiently than on Earth, with full-scale deployment possible in two to three years, Elon Musk said last week in Davos, Switzerland. SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle and its reusable rockets aim to sharply reduce space access costs, enabling solar-powered AI satellites and potentially large-scale extraterrestrial energy infrastructure.
Jan 26, 2026
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Oxford PV targets 20-year lifetime for perovskite-silicon tandem modules by 2028
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.
Jan 16, 2026
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SNEC Interview: Skyworth PV to roll out EPC business globally
During last month’s SNEC exhibition in Shanghai, pv magazine met with Wanfei Qu, CIO of Skyworth Group and CEO and director of Skyworth PV (also named Solavita in Europe), at the Chinese manufacturer’s impressive booth. The company utilizes the “Solavita” brand in Europe, but whether the brand is “Skyworth” or “Solavita” the it can leverage its strong foundation in manufacturing, electronics and IT, which it has built up in over 37 years. The Shenzhen-headquartered manufacturer only entered the solar PV industry in 2020, but in the span of just four years the company went from $10 million in PV-related revenues to $3 billion in 2024. The young CEO of Skyworth PV has ambitious goals for the future, targeting $1 billion in overseas PV revenues in the next three years. Germany and Italy are the company’s target markets in Europe.
‘The battery market is far from saturated’
Cornex Chairman Dai Deming discusses battery prices and R&D prospects in an exclusive interview with pv magazine. He says the company’s effective production capacity exceeded 110 GWh in the first quarter of 2025, ranking second in the lithium-ion battery industry.
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