Solar PV

Italian research agency Enea has created a web tool that assesses the feasibility of replacing residential gas boilers with heat pumps by providing an estimate of the potential energy and economic savings. The app also provides information on the technical specifications of the photovoltaic system necessary to meet the heat pump’s electricity demand.

Austria added 1,036 MW of new solar capacity between January and September 2025, down from 1,419 MW over the same period in 2024, as political uncertainty, delayed legislation, and weakening residential demand strain the solar sector.

A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) notes that while it is still uncertain whether sodium-ion batteries will become a disruptive alternative to lithium-ion technology, they could offer significant cost-saving opportunities in applications such as electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

The Chinese manufacturer said the higher-voltage design of the new module reduces cable, combiner, pile-foundation, and land-use requirements, delivering balance-of-system savings of up to CNY 0.15 ($0.012)/W in western China. The module offers a power output of 730 W to 770 W and a conversion efficiency of up to 24.8%.

A research team in India has investigated the use of highly conductive transparent electrodes based on amorphous indium zinc made with a room temperature process in perovskite solar cells. The devices could be used in tandem and building-integrated PV applications.

Switzerland is implementing a new winter electricity bonus for solar installations larger than 100 kW that generate over 500 kWh/kW of electricity in the winter half-year from October 1 to March 31. The country’s Federal Council has also raised the target for electricity generated by photovoltaics to 18.7 TWh by 2030.

The new 12.5 kWh pack-based design supports flexible configuration up to 250 kWh per system. An optional long-duration combiner box supports 2–4 clusters, expandable to 1,000 kWh and 8 hours of storage.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is seeking a consultancy to conduct a feasibility study for a utility-scale solar plant in Ukraine, with applications due Dec. 23.

The 6.55 MW project, hailed as the world’s first grid-connected, solar rooftop project within a social housing community, equipped almost 2,000 houses with solar panels.