Solar Power

The Chinese manufacturer has launched a fire-resistant version of its Hi-MO X10 module for distributed PV applications, featuring back-contact technology and up to 24.8% efficiency. The company says the module adds enhanced fire-safety design to address rooftop PV risks such as hot spots and DC arcing.

Researchers from Nanchang University and Trina Solar found that TOPCon solar modules exhibit metastable “degradation–recovery” under UV exposure, with light soaking fully restoring performance and no impact on real-world energy yield. Their findings highlight the need to refine UV testing standards to better reflect field performance and guide PV reliability assessments.

Canadian researchers proposed a laminate-free solar module using polycarbonate instead of EVA and glass. The new encapsulation technique reportedly enables easy disassembly, reuse of solar cells, and open-source local manufacturing.

An Algerian research team has developed a smart water-spray cooling system for PV panels that activates only when temperatures exceed a set threshold, boosting efficiency while minimizing water use in desert conditions. The system raised power output and reduced module temperatures, offering similar efficiency to continuous cooling but with far lower water consumption, pump operation, and costs.

Japan has allocated 79 MW of PV capacity in its latest procurement exercise. The lowest price in the auction was JPY 0/kWh.

Swedish thin-film solar manufacturer Midsummer has secured its largest-ever order for production equipment, covering a complete solar cell factory. It follows an initial order in May 2025 for a 15 MW line producing thin-film copper, indium, gallium and selenide (CIGS) solar cells.

The 3 kW N3300S inverter combines a pure sine wave inverter with an integrated MPPT solar charge controller for small residential and hybrid PV systems. The unit supports multiple power sources, flexible battery chemistries, and rapid grid/off-grid switching.

Australia’s rooftop solar market has bounced back into record-setting territory with 281 MW of new capacity registered across the country last month, marking the largest February total on record.

Key – The Energy Transition Expo was held last week in Italy, featuring 1,065 exhibitors and 530 buyers. The event focused on energy-as-a-service and agrivoltaic projects, with operators saying agriPV standardization should be reached by 2030-32. Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told pv magazine that coal and gas are strategic assets, noted that the “PV sector is maturing,” and urged the European Union to coordinate on gas storage and supply chains for modules and storage solutions.

The electricity grid is a real bottleneck for energy in the United States, and it’s not only utilities and grid operators who are struggling. Grid congestion also puts pressure on renewable energy project owners and is as much a business problem as it is a technical one, writes Alon Mashkovich, CEO of energy management business software supplier enSights.