PV

A European research team has installed solar panels on a light commercial electric vehicle and has tested their performance for four months. The vehicle was able to extend the range by 530 km, although not all panels contributed equally. System efficiency was measured at up to 66%.

New research from Sweden has shown that building global super grids across different continents could not necessarily result in increased investments in solar power. The scientists outlined the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) concept, which advocates the development of a global super grid covering 18 time zones.

Scientists in China built a four-terminal perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell based on a top semi-transparent perovskite device with an efficiency of 21.26% and a high bifaciality factor of 92.2%. They used a solvent-annealing strategy to produce a perovskite film with full coverage, larger grains, superior crystallinity and free of detectable lead iodide impurity.

More than 100 companies from eight different countries exhibited at InterSolution 2025, the largest solar energy trade fair for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

An international team of industry and researchers is developing technology and methods to improve the industry’s ability to recycle decommissioned solar panels, avoiding waste and targeting recovery of silicon, silver, glass, and polymers with a purity sufficient for further use in the PV industry or beyond.

Average electricity prices fell across most major European markets during the fourth week of January, according to AleaSoft Energy Forecasting’s latest analysis, but prices remained above €100 ($103.72)/MWh in all analyzed markets bar the Nordic market.

AREP, a subsidiary of French railway operator SNCF, has deployed a prototype of a mini-reversible solar power plant on non-running rails to test it for six months. The solution is shipped in standardized ISO containers including inverters and storage batteries.

The Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG) has introduced a fire safety test that simulates a fire starting on the roof membrane beneath a PV system. The researchers noted the importance of realistic construction methods, including factors such as anchors, adhesives, membrane welding, and ballast use.

The Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) says Romania installed 1.7 GW of solar in 2024, as increased funding, higher renewable targets, and a streamlined permitting process drove market growth.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that atmospheric conditions led to variations in solar conditions across North America. According to analysis using the Solcast API, ISO New England and PJM outperformed long-term trends in capacity-adjusted performance, whereas ERCOT performed only slightly above average.