PV

Researchers in Spain have tested the erosion resistance of common galvanized coatings using both free-falling sand and forced-air sand-impingement methods. The study found that continuously galvanized steel coatings showed the lowest erosion rates, outperforming HDG and Zn-Al-Mg coatings.

While global solar corporate funding in 2025 fell to the lowest level recorded since 2020, deal count rose to its highest level since 2017. Mercom Capital Group says investors favored smaller, lower-risk, execution-ready projects last year amid policy uncertainty, trade pressures and higher financing costs.

The U.S. federal patent office rejected separate challenges from JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar and Mundra Solar to invalidate intellectual property that First Solar claims is fundamental to the manufacturing of crystalline silicon solar cells.

The European Commission is revising its Cybersecurity Act. While presenting the proposals in European Parliament, the commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said dependency on a very limited number of solar inverter suppliers could “pose a significant security risk.”

Swiss analytics firm Pexapark says last year Europe’s announced power purchase agreement capacity and deal count fell by approximately 13% and 19% year-on-year, respectively.

United Solar Holding has secured more than $900 million to complete the financing required for its 100,000 MT polysilicon manufacturing facility in Oman. Production is expected to begin during the first quarter of this year.

Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, tells ESS News that 2026 is set to be another strong year for BESS, with forecast additions exceeding 450 GWh and no material supply constraints in sight. Meanwhile, the initial impact of rising lithium prices is already visible at the cell level, but the full effect has yet to ripple through to system pricing.

WFES 2026 in Abu Dhabi underscored growing momentum for solar, storage, and C&I renewables across MENA, with batteries emerging as a key enabler for grid stability, agriculture, and data centers. Industry leaders pointed to Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia as key growth markets, highlighting rising interest in AI-driven data centers, solar-plus-storage solutions, and a broadening regional supply chain.

Pakistan has imported over 50 GW of solar modules from China, including 18 GW during the country’s last fiscal year. In the absence of official installation figures, Islamabad-based thinktank Renewables First says up to 33 GW of solar capacity could have been deployed in Pakistan to date.

China-based metallization paste supplier DK Electronic Materials says a major unnamed customer has adopted its high-copper metallization paste for gigawatt-scale solar cell production, combining copper paste with a seed-layer silver paste compatible with n-type and tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) 3.0 processes.