Renewables

Liquid insulation is one of the ways of ensuring transformers – which convert electric power from high voltages to lower voltages – remain safe. Mineral oil, however, has been the main insulating liquid in industrial power systems to date and sustanaible alternatives are strongly needed.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a hydrogel composite that absorbs moisture in solar modules overnight and facilitates evaporative cooling throughout daylight hours. The system has undergone lab tests and outdoor experiments on two continents.

Researchers in Germany have modeled dozens of indirect-expansion solar-assisted heat pump systems using photovoltaic-thermal panels for single-family homes in Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg. Simulations accounted for local weather, electricity use, and thermal demand.

The IEA-PVPS 2025 Snapshot of Global PV Markets reveals a pivotal moment for solar power: global PV capacity surpassed 2.2 TW, with more than 600 GW installed in 2024 alone. As module prices fell due to oversupply, installation volumes continued to grow, highlighting both the strength and volatility of the global PV industry.

Germany registered 130 hours of negative day-ahead power prices in May, driven by midday solar oversupply, as PV output regularly outpaced demand. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) says prices dipped below €1/($1.14)MWh for 160 hours.

Austria’s Aerocompact says its new PV mounting system can be installed on foil, bitumen, gravel, and concrete rooftops. It can reportedly withstand wind loads of up to 1.7 kN/m2 and snow loads of up to 3.5 kN/m2.

Scientists in China have introduced developments to the RIME optimization method, which takes inspiration from the developmental course of hoarfrost in nature. They have compared it to other MPPT algorithms and found it to be faster and to improve power output.

This week Women in Solar+ Europe gives voice to Krystyna Kacperska, Marketing Director Europe at Germany-based SegenSolar. She says she never labeled her leadership style, but she always strove to lead authentically. “That includes vulnerability. I lead the same way I live: solution-oriented, assertive, empathetic, and open. I care deeply about what happens at work, and while I’m still learning to set boundaries and disconnect, I know that caring makes me a stronger leader,” she states.

Immersion-cooled batteries submerge cells in a special liquid as a fire-protection measure, as XYZ executive Zha Qing explained to pv magazine at May’s Intersolar Europe trade show.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that irradiance across large portions of eastern Australia fell by up to 20% below the seasonal norm in autunm.