PV

In the first article of a new series on solar manufacturing facilities around the world, pv magazine presents the polysilicon facility of United Solar in Oman. The plant has a production capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year and is currently the largest of its kind outside China.

AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s latest analysis finds the weekly average electricity price was above €95 ($111.70)/MWh last week in all major European markets except France, Portugal and Spain. These three countries each set new records for solar energy production for a day in April last Friday, recording 145 GWh, 26 GWh and 213 GWh respectively. 

Researchers in the United Kingdom developed a scheduling model for residential heat pumps that reduces electricity costs while maintaining thermal comfort under dynamic tariffs and uncertain rooftop PV generation. It optimizes when to use grid power, PV energy, and building thermal storage.

Latest report from the International Energy Agency says last year’s 600 TWh increase in solar PV was the largest-ever electricity generation increase by any source in one year, outside of periods of post-crisis recovery.

An international research team has developed an AI-driven robotic platform that autonomously designs, fabricates, and optimizes perovskite solar cells, completing the full experimental workflow in a closed-loop system. Using the platform, the researchers fabricated and tested more than 50,000 devices, achieving efficiencies of up to 27%.

Insurance premiums for renewable energy projects in Australia are expected to decrease this year despite natural catastrophe and extreme weather exposures remaining a major concern, particularly for large-scale solar asset owners and investors.

Tandem PV has opened a 40 MW commercial demonstration factory in Fremont, California, marking a significant transition for perovskite-silicon technology from laboratory development to repeatable manufacturing at scale.

California is putting the sun to work on the heavy lift that keeps California hydrated.

Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency say the Philippines’ cumulative solar capacity neared 3.9 GW by the end of last year. Deployment rates look set to increase in the coming years, led by a gigawatt-sized pipeline of projects procured under the country’s green energy auctions.

Jinko Power signed a framework agreement with Zhongwei to develop a 1 GW data center in Ningxia, marking its entry into green computing under China’s “Eastern Data, Western Computing” initiative. The project, however, remains subject to approvals and funding scrutiny.