Solar Now

Energy can never be created or destroyed. That’s basic Physics 101. You simply cannot create energy out of thin air. Yet researchers at Kyushu University in Japan say they have developed a technology that pushes the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells to 130%!
At first glance, the results of the research, conducted with collaborators at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, sound fanciful at best. However, the reality is far more nuanced. Using a molybdenum-based “spin-flip” metal complex paired with a singlet fission material, the scientists managed to generate more usable energy carriers than incoming photons.
Let’s break things down.
At any given moment during the day, the Earth receives roughly 89,000 terawatts of solar energy – almost 5,000 times the global human energy consumption annually. However, modern solar technologies capture only a fraction of it.
Photovoltaic solar cells, the kind that most likely come to mind when you think of solar panels, convert only about 20% of the sunlight that hits them into usable electricity. The conversion limitations primarily stem from the Sun itself.
Solar cells convert light into electricity through a relatively simple process. Photons, which are packets of light energy, stream in from the Sun and strike a semiconductor material, typically silicon. When a photon hits, it transfers its energy to an electron in the semiconductor, knocking it loose and setting it in motion. The energized moving electrons constitute an electric current.
The problem is that photons are not all equal. They arrive with wildly different energy levels depending on their wavelength. Infrared photons, at the low-energy end of the spectrum, do not carry enough energy to knock electrons loose at all. Instead, they pass through or are absorbed as heat, wasted. Blue light photons, on the other hand, carry far more energy than is needed to free an electron. The excess is shed as heat, also wasted.
This fundamental mismatch between the energy supply and the semiconductor’s electron threshold imposes a hard ceiling on efficiency known as the Shockley-Queisser limit. For a standard single-junction solar cell, that ceiling is around 33%.
Even with perfect engineering, you cannot extract more than a third of incoming solar energy this way. This is why even the very best commercially available solar panels do not surpass 25% conversion efficiency.
Now, under normal conditions, one photon excites one electron, creating a single unit of usable energy, known as an exciton. Even when a photon with more energy than needed hits the solar cell, only one exciton is generated. The rest of the energy is wasted as heat. So it’s always one photon, one exciton. This has always been considered a given. But what if it were not? This question forms the basis of the Kyushu research. The team’s approach centers on a phenomenon called singlet fission.
Singlet fission is a process in which a single high-energy exciton splits into two lower-energy excitons. Instead of producing one exciton per photon, the process allows a single high-energy photon to result in two lower-energy excitons.
“We have two main strategies to break through this limit,” explains Associate Professor Yoichi Sasaki of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Engineering. “One is to convert lower-energy infrared photons into higher-energy visible photons. The other, what we explore here, is to use singlet fission to generate two excitons from a single exciton photon.”
In theory, this could double the number of usable charge carriers. In practice, however, the process has a major flaw: those extra excitons are notoriously difficult to capture. The singlet fission concept is not new. The problem has always been capture. Before the two new excitons can be extracted and put to work, they tend to be hijacked by competing mechanisms, such as Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), in which energy is effectively “stolen” before it can be used.
This is where the researchers’ innovation comes in, bringing with it the elegance of physics. Their solution: a molybdenum-based “spin-flip” emitter, a system that selectively captures these otherwise lost triplet excitons.
During absorption and emission, an electron within the complex flips its spin. This property makes it uniquely suited to accepting the triplet excitons produced by singlet fission while ignoring the competing FRET pathway. The result is a measurable quantum yield of around 130%. This means that, on average, 1.3 excitons are successfully harvested for every photon absorbed.
So … is that 130% solar conversion efficiency for solar cells? Absolutely not. An energy efficiency of 130% would violate the law of conservation of energy, the bedrock of physics. What the researchers achieved was 130% quantum yield, a measure not of energy, but of charge carriers per photon.
“Quantum efficiency usually should not be higher than 100%, but [quantum yield] can be, if a proper definition is provided, that is, depending on how it is defined,” explains Dr. Jin Zhang, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California – San Diego, who was not a part of the research.
“What, then, is the ‘breakthrough’?” you may ask. Simply put, the solar cells do not absorb more sunlight than usual. Instead, they extract more usable charge carriers from the same absorbed light, recovering energy that would normally be lost as heat from high-energy photons.
Now that the “130%” definition is clear, it becomes easier to appreciate what the researchers have actually accomplished.
They have demonstrated a viable pathway to capture and use excitons that were previously inaccessible. By suppressing energy losses and improving how high-energy photons are handled, the system addresses one of the core inefficiencies in solar conversion. Blue light photons, which currently overshoot the threshold and shed the excess as heat, could instead be split into two usable excitons each, reducing heat loss and increasing current.
Realistic projections suggest that a well-engineered singlet fission-enabled solar cell could meaningfully push efficiencies beyond those of current commercial panels, with some models approaching 35-45% under ideal conditions. That’s up to double the efficiency in some models.
For now, the paper, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, is still in the proof-of-concept stage. The experiments were conducted in solution at the molecular level, meaning the technology is still several important steps away from a solid-state solar cell.

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RWE pulls 360 acre solar project over ‘lack of grid connection’  Energy Voice
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A review of 60 renewable energy studies finds that by 2050, solar PV and wind could supply 80–100% of electricity, but overly conservative Capex assumptions and simplified PV modeling often underestimate deployment potential. While future PV costs depend on supply chains and geopolitical risks, historical experience suggests medium-term risks are manageable, and material constraints are being resolved.
Global share of solar PV in electricity generation by 2050
Image: LUT University, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, CC BY 4.0

The Capex of photovoltaics is expected to range between €166 ($192)/kW and €720/kW in 2050, according to a new study from Finland’s LUT University.
The researchers noted that €166 value follows the standard convention used in documents to indicate nominal values in 2019 currency, while €720 follows 2017 values. “In short, all cost values prior to 2022 are now adjusted by 20% to account for inflation,” Christian Breyer, professor of Solar Economy at LUT University, told pv magazine.
“Assumptions about solar photovoltaics are often pessimistic,” said co-author Dennis Bredemeier, adding that energy system modeling results can be significantly affected by insufficient spatial or temporal resolution.
The researchers carried out a systematic literature review examining the role of solar PV in energy transition scenarios. They focused in particular on how Capex assumptions influence projected PV shares in the global energy mix, as well as how modeling choices such as temporal resolution, spatial granularity, and technology representation could shape these outcomes. They also explored the relationship between PV full-load hours and country-specific deployment levels, and assessed how the availability of power-to-X pathways could enhance the development and overall system value of solar PV in renewables-based energy systems.
The academics worked on a dataset that was filtered to include only studies achieving at least 95% renewable electricity by 2050, excluding nuclear power. Further selection focused on transition pathway and optimization-based studies that reflect realistic system evolution and cost efficiency. The analysis was limited to studies covering the power, heat, and transport sectors to capture sector coupling effects. Studies with limited geographic scope or insufficient data were excluded to ensure consistency and comparability. Projected PV and wind shares in electricity generation by 2050 were also considered, using electricity share rather than total primary energy demand for consistency. PV full-load hours were estimated using global solar resource datasets.
The literature review ultimately identified 60 studies that met the selection criteria, providing a comprehensive dataset of highly renewable energy transition scenarios. These studies vary significantly in their techno-economic assumptions, reported shares of solar PV and wind, and modeling approaches. Despite these differences, most studies converge on a common outcome: by 2050, solar PV and wind together supply between 80% and 100% of electricity generation. Lower combined shares are typically explained by the presence of other renewable resources such as hydropower or geothermal, or by energy imports.
The analysis also showed that Capex assumptions for solar PV strongly influence its projected share, with lower costs generally leading to higher deployment. Geographic factors further shape results, with countries rich in hydropower or geothermal energy showing lower PV shares, while regions with strong solar resources tend to rely more heavily on PV.
“Assumptions about solar PV are often overly conservative, both in terms of cost and technology representation,” Breyer said. “Many studies rely on Capex projections that exceed current market levels, with some 2050 estimates even higher than costs already achieved today. At the same time, PV is frequently modeled as a generic technology, overlooking the diversity of available solutions such as floating, bifacial, agrivoltaic, vehicle-integrated, building-integrated, and tracking systems. This simplification ignores opportunities to reduce land use or unlock additional deployment potential. In addition, modeling choices—particularly low spatial or temporal resolution—can further distort the estimated role of solar PV in future energy systems.”
“Current and future PV costs depend heavily on the stability of global supply chains, while rising geopolitical risks add uncertainty to cost projections,” he went on to say. “However, past experience shows that photovoltaic manufacturing value chains can be rapidly established across different regions with only moderate cost increases. This suggests that while short-term risks are not negligible, medium-term risks are likely to remain manageable. In addition, concerns over critical raw materials are limited, as key constraints, such as silver use in cell metallization, are expected to be resolved, with substitution technologies emerging from around 2026 to remove this potential bottleneck.”
The “Prospects for solar photovoltaics in highly renewable energy transition scenarios towards a dominant future energy source” study was published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
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Scientists are focusing on nanometre-sized crystals for the next generation of solar cells. These nanocrystals have excellent optical properties. Compared with silicon in today’s solar cells, nanocrystals can be designed to absorb a larger fraction of the solar light spectrum.
However, the development of nanocrystal-based solar cells is challenging: “These solar cells contain layers of many individual nano-sized crystals, bound together by a molecular glue. Within this nanocrystal composite, the electrons do not flow as well as needed for commercial applications,” explains Vanessa Wood, Professor of Materials and Device Engineering at ETH Zurich.
Until now, the physics of electron transport in this complex material system was not understood so it was impossible to systematically engineer better nanocrystal composites.
Wood and her colleagues conducted an extensive study of nanocrystal solar cells, which they fabricated and characterized in their laboratories at ETH Zurich. They were able to describe the electron transport in these types of cells via a generally applicable physical model for the first time.
“Our model is able to explain the impact of changing nanocrystal size, nanocrystal material, or binder molecules on electron transport,” says Wood. The model will give scientists in the research field a better understanding of the physical processes inside nanocrystal solar cells and enable them to improve solar cell efficiency.
Promising outlook thanks to quantum effects
The reason for the enthusiasm of many solar cell researchers for the tiny crystals is that at small dimensions effects of quantum physics come into play that are not observed in bulk semiconductors.
One example is that the physical properties of the nanocrystals depend on their size. And because scientists can easily control nanocrystal size in the fabrication process, they are also able to influence the properties of nanocrystal semiconductors and optimize them for solar cells.
One such property that can be influenced by changing nanocrystal size is the amount of sun’s spectrum that can be absorbed by the nanocrystals and converted to electricity by the solar cell.
Semiconductors do not absorb the entire sunlight spectrum, but rather only radiation below a certain wavelength, or – in other words – with an energy greater than the so-called band gap energy of the semiconductor. In most semiconductors, this threshold can only be changed by changing the material.
However, for nanocrystal composites, the threshold can be changed simply by changing the size of the individual crystals. Thus scientists can select the size of nanocrystals in such a way that they absorb the maximum amount of light from a broad range of the sunlight spectrum.
An additional advantage of nanocrystal semiconductors is that they absorb much more sunlight than traditional semiconductors. For example, the absorption coefficient of lead sulfide nanocrystals, used by the ETH researchers in their experimental work, is several orders of magnitude greater than that of silicon semiconductors, used traditionally as solar cells.
Thus, a relatively small amount of material is sufficient for the production of nanocrystal solar cells, making it possible to make very thin, flexible solar cells.
Need for greater efficiency
The new model put forth by the ETH researchers answers a series of previously unresolved questions related to electron transport in nanocrystal composites. For example, until now, no experimental evidence existed to prove that the band gap energy of a nanocrystal composite depends directly on the band gap energy of the individual nanocrystals. “For the first time, we have shown experimentally that this is the case,” says Wood.
Over the past five years, scientists have succeeded in greatly increasing the efficiency of nanocrystal solar cells, yet even in the best of these solar cells just 9 percent of the incident sunlight on the cell is converted into electrical energy.
“For us to begin to consider commercial applications, we need to achieve an efficiency of at least 15 percent,” explains Wood. Her group’s work brings researchers one step closer to improving the electron transport and solar cells efficiency.

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Durham firefighters were injured Monday afternoon while trying to put out a house fire. The fire is at a home along Timberview Drive near Arborwood Drive. According to firefighters at the scene, dry and windy conditions made the fire harder to put out.
Several Durham Fire Department fire trucks and firefighters responded to the scene.

Hillandale Road was closed between Horton Road and Meadowcreek Drive as firefighters worked to put out the fire.
Firefighters told WRAL News that several things involving the home’s construction made it diffiult to firefighters to put it out. Of some of the problems firefighters faced, the home had a lightweight roof with solar panels on top.
“That makes it unsafe to be on and unsafe to be under, especially with the weight of the solar panels,” said division chief Bryan Baker.
Baker said the home also had limited upstairs access, with only one way in or out.
According to Baker, a firefighter had hand and arm burns. Baker said the house’s solar panel system shocked another firefighter.
It is unclear if the solar panels played a role in starting the fire and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
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By 150Sec Team – April 14, 2026
Guest author: Daniel Domingues, Founder & CEO, Planno
We hear it all the time: renewable energy has become cheaper than fossil fuels. In fact, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2025 reported that a total of 91% of renewable energy projects are cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. That same report found solar photovoltaics (PV), otherwise known as solar power, to be 41% cheaper. 
And now, a study released in January by the research department of the European Commission has found that 40% of European power needs could be met by rooftop solar alone by 2050.
Using the game-changing technology of geospatial AI, the researchers drew on a comprehensive database of three-dimensional, geospatial information of all buildings across the European Union (the Digital Building Stock Model R2025, or DBSM R2025). From this, they digitally mapped out the entirety of Europe’s building landscape. 
Ultimately, by implementing a methodology that considers factors such as roof slant degree, the researchers were able to determine the number of viable rooftops across the European Union for hosting solar panels.
They found that residential buildings could host about 79% of total PV capacity, while non-residential (i.e. commercial and industrial) buildings could host about 21% of that total.  
But if renewable energy is overwhelmingly cheaper than fossil fuels, and solar power is one of the cheapest alternatives available, and if we know Europe’s rooftops have the capacity to host such a massive amount of PV — why are energy prices still so expensive? 
Despite massive inroads made in the renewable energy sector, fossil fuels are still king, and in 2026, we’re experiencing the very real downsides of that.
As we face an energy crisis based on the old fossil fuel system, the need to transition to renewables has never been more clear. 
It turns out that is easier said than done, though. We may have the technology and infrastructure at our hands, but implementation remains a logistical problem.
Some countries have figured it out. Although widespread use of solar panels in Australia may be more obvious than elsewhere due to optimal weather conditions, the question of logistics remains something the country has successfully contended with. 
Solar in Australia has grown staggeringly fast — in 2015, Australia was producing from just over 5 gigawatts of energy from solar, whereas in 2025, this number had grown to over 45 gigawatts.
The country is now a global leader in solar power, with PV energy making up 21.5% of the total energy mix as of 2025
Two major factors contributed to the Australian solar boom: price and policy.
As the price of oil and gas became increasingly unreliable, the price of solar energy continued to drop.
Today, residents can expect to save approximately $1,500 AUS (about $1,000 USD) per year on energy costs. Meanwhile, the Australian government made solar uptake by businesses and residents additionally attractive with their Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), reducing upfront costs by about 30%. 
In Europe, solar energy has also made inroads. In fact, PV makes up a notably large part of the energy mix in countries like Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Germany, meanwhile, is a top five global leader in solar power capacity — the country’s solar power installed capacity stood at over 81 gigawatts as of 2023, behind only Japan, the United States, and China. 
Starting on May 29, 2026, a European Commission regulation mandates that all new buildings must be designed for solar energy generation, where and when viable. 
Still, as solar power continues to take over larger parts of Europe’s energy mix, new problems arise.
According to the association Solar Power Europe, issues like grid congestion and slow permitting run the risk of stalling PV progress.
As an energy crisis with no end in sight looms before us, renewable energy has never been a more obvious choice.
At the 2026 Green Growth Summit in March, UNFCCC Executive Simon Stiell emphasized as much: “Sunlight doesn’t depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts,” he said. “Renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and to side-step might-is-right politics.”
Logistical challenges remain, but market-readiness, region-wide policies, and new AI technologies have made solar power not just an ethical choice, but a smart financial investment, too.
Early movers who treat rooftops as energy assets in their own right will see both near-term and long-term returns, especially in the face of a volatile global power market.
Daniel Domingues is the founder & CEO of Planno, an AI-powered prospecting platform for solar companies.

By 150Sec Team – April 14, 2026
By Polya Pencheva – April 8, 2026
By Isabel Ramelli – April 7, 2026
By 150Sec Team – April 7, 2026
By Liubov Romanova – April 6, 2026
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GAIL India to build 600-MW solar farm, 550-MWh BESS in Uttar Pradesh  Renewables Now
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s most recent short-term outlook highlights renewable energy’s growing grid penetration, particularly during the summer.
EIA’s short-term outlook illustrates the declining role that coal will play in the years ahead, while solar resources grow to meet the demand — particularly in summer. The output of other resources will remain more constant.
Total gas-fired generation is expected to grow from 1,702 billion kWh in 2025 to 1,704 billion kWh this year and 1,774 billion kWh in 2027, according to EIA’s data. Coal will decline from 733 billion kWh in 2025 to 658 billion kWh in 2027. Nuclear will remain relatively constant, with production a little under 800 billion kWh.
EIA expects wind generation will grow from 464 billion kWh in 2025 to 526 billion kWh in 2027. Solar will grow from 293 billion kWh to 415 billion kWh, EIA said. 
Renewables growing contributions will be most evident in the summer, EIA said.
Last year, summer solar generation surpassed wind generation for the first time, “and that trend continues in our forecast,” the agency said. “In the summer of 2027, we expect solar generation will grow by 22% to reach 178 BkWh, surpassing wind generation by almost 30%, although we still expect wind will generate more electricity than solar for the whole year.”
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Also, PJM’s last two base capacity auctions show a growing shortfall compared to its reserve margin targets, according to the grid operator’s market monitor. Prices will continue rising until large data center loads are addressed, it said.
Consumption rose for all other sectors, however, making 2025 a record year for U.S. gas consumption.
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Also, PJM’s last two base capacity auctions show a growing shortfall compared to its reserve margin targets, according to the grid operator’s market monitor. Prices will continue rising until large data center loads are addressed, it said.
Consumption rose for all other sectors, however, making 2025 a record year for U.S. gas consumption.
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Jackery is celebrating the rock we all call home with its Earth Day Sale and up to 54% power station discounts. One of the best picks for folks during this event who want an easier-to-manage solution is the newest Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra Portable Power Station down at $999 shipped, which happens to match the deal we’re also seeing at Amazon right now. It’s dropping down from a $1,299 full price, which we last featured when it fell to the $899 low at the end of March in the brand’s expanded/extended spring sale lineup. It popped back up to this second-lowest rate during the previous Easter Sale, and is continuing the $400 markdown in this new event. If you want to save a bit more money while gaining much of the same backup power support, you can also find the Explorer 1500 v2 power station at $699 shipped during this sale. Head below to browse the full lineup of deals while they last.
The Jackery Explorer 1500 Ultra power station is the newest nature-ready solution that first released during CES 2026, coming with a protective design over its ports for dust, sand, rain, and even up to magnitude-9 earthquake force for folks over on the west coast. It brings along a 1,536Wh LiFePO4 battery to provide up to 1,800W of steady power (and up to 3,600W of surging power) to your devices/appliances. There are seven ports for connection options (3x AC, 1x 100W USB-C PD, 1x 30W USB-C, 1x 18W USB-A, and a 12V car port), and of course, the standout is the IP65 dustproof and water-resistant covers over each of them. It also offers you four ways to recharge the station’s battery: standard AC charging, car port charging, gas generator charging, or with up to 800W of solar panel input.
We also have more Earth Day Sales from EcoFlow, Bluetti, and Anker SOLIX to shop from (with the latter two coming with exclusive bonus savings for our readers) in our dedicated power stations hub here.
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India’s Solar Surge Peaks In March As Year-End Commissioning Rush Drives Record Additions Photograph: (Archive)
India created new records in the renewable landscape with its record 50 GW of renewable energy solar capacity additions, primarily driven by solar power. Solar energy capacity additions seem to be increasingly being driven by a year-end commissioning push, with March emerging as the most critical month for project execution, according to data from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
We analysed the capacity additions of the country in March in the last five years which hinted at the last month rush of financial year. The data revealed that in the last month of any financial year in the last 5 years, March 2026 remained the most produtive. In March 2026, India added around 6.6 GW of solar capacity, the highest ever recorded in a single month, marking a sharp jump from about 3 GW in March 2025 and surpassing the previous high of roughly 6.2 GW in March 2024.
The trend underscores a consistent pattern over recent years where developers accelerate project commissioning in the final month of the financial year to meet contractual and regulatory deadlines.
The data suggests that this “March effect” is becoming structural. Over the past five years, March has repeatedly accounted for a disproportionate share of annual additions, with developers racing to align project completion with financial year timelines. Industry executives say this is largely driven by power purchase agreement milestones, transmission connectivity conditions and financial closure requirements, which often incentivise commissioning before March 31 to avoid penalties or delays in revenue realisation.
A closer look at FY2025-26 installations shows a steady build-up through the year before a sharp spike in the final quarter. Monthly additions started at about 2.9 GW in April 2025 and gradually increased to around 3.9 GW by September. The momentum strengthened in the second half, with installations rising to 4.6 GW in November before moderating briefly in December. The final quarter saw another surge, with January contributing about 4.8 GW, February around 3 GW and March alone delivering a record 6.6 GW.

This back-loaded growth pattern meant that nearly 35–40% of the total annual solar capacity additions were commissioned in the January–March period. Overall, India added an estimated 44.6 GW of solar capacity during FY2025-26, making it the country’s highest-ever yearly addition and reinforcing its position as one of the fastest-growing solar markets globally.
While the surge reflects strong execution capabilities, it also highlights structural inefficiencies in project timelines. Analysts note that delays in land acquisition, transmission readiness and supply chains often push commissioning into the final quarter, resulting in a compressed execution window. The concentration of additions in March can also pose challenges for grid integration and planning.
Going forward, the industry is expected to continue witnessing strong year-end commissioning cycles, particularly as India scales up hybrid and storage-linked renewable projects. However, a more even distribution of installations across the year would improve execution efficiency and reduce risks associated with last-minute project completions.
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The Huntsville City Council last week approved a partnership with Madison County Commission, Huntsville Utilities and EE Gemina Solar, LLC that would make way for a 238-acre solar power facility in Madison County.
The 40-megawatt facility will generate power for Huntsville Utilities.
Read more below, and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get news like this delivered to your inbox.
The new facility–located off Wall Triana Highway south of Sixth Street–will be operated by Eurus Energy, who also moderates the 30-megawatt solar facility at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing.
Huntsville utilities said construction is expected to begin this summer, with completion planned by fall of 2027.
“The goal for this project is for Huntsville Utilities to be able to purchase the generated solar energy at a price that is cheaper than TVA rates. This will benefit Huntsville Utilities customers. Lowering Huntsville Utilities electric costs reduces pressure on customer rates and helps put off future electric rate modifications.”
Gary Whitley, Huntsville Utilities
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A new report from global energy think tank Ember shows 814 GWdc in new solar and wind capacity was installed in 2025, but the pace of wind deployment rose 47% year-over-year compared to just 11% for solar.
Image: Ember Energy Research
Ember, a global think tank based in United Kingdom, has released a new report on the growth in solar and wind capacity across the globe in 2025. The report highlights additions of 647 GW of solar power generation and 167 GW in new wind capacity, a ratio of about 3.9 to 1.
Those numbers represented a year-over-year increase of 11% for solar, up from 582 GW added in 2024, and 47% for wind, from the previous year’s 113 GW. The increase in the growth rate of wind reflects recent reports of record-setting capacity additions for offshore wind installations.
The report says overall total capacity represented by both wind and solar has now reached 4,174 GW, more than 4 TW.
In addition to the report, Ember is highlighting its new Wind and Solar Capacity Data Explorer and API, through which users can track month-over-month and year-over year capacity additions across 25 countries and economic divisions on the basis of absolute value and per-capita installed capacity (in GWdc) from December 2020 to the present day.
The report authors note that capacity additions of wind and solar represent enough energy generation capability to displace more than a seventh of global gas generation — equivalent to annual gas import costs of about $194 billion (USD 138 billion).
“The scale and speed of solar’s expansion is unlike anything seen before in the power sector. Along with accelerating capacity additions for wind, these technologies are on track to become the backbone of the global electricity supply,” said Leonard Heberer, a data analyst with Ember. “As they scale up, they will strengthen energy independence, reduce reliance on fragile fossil fuel supply chains, and help insulate consumers from price spikes in fossil fuel prices driven by geopolitical instability.”
However, another Ember visualisation tool based on a dataset of the world’s electricity generation over time reveals that although the relative percentage of total global electricity generation represented by fossil fuels like coal and gas has shrunk slightly from previous highs, the absolute value of the electricity those sources represent (in TWh) remains at or near all-time highs.
For example, while generation from coal has shrunk to just over 34% of the world’s total electricity, from a high of 40.8% in 2007, it accounted for 10,539 TWh of energy in 2025, compared to 8,052 in 2007, while total electricity generation has risen from 19,714 to 30,930 TWh over that time period.
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PRESS RELEASE
Jakarta, 12 February 2026 – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR)–GIZ Energy Programme, convened a high-level policy dialogue entitled “From Ambition to Affordability: Lessons Learned from India’s 3 Cents US/kWh Solar Journey” at Pullman Thamrin Hotel, Jakarta. The dialogue brought together senior policymakers from Indonesia and India to exchange experiences on advancing affordable, reliable, and sustainable utility-scale solar power as part of Indonesia’s energy transition agenda. The event was officially opened by the Honourable Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty, the Director of the GIZ Energy Programme, Ms. Lisa Tinschert, and the Head of the Human Resources Development Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Prahoro Nurtjahyo.  
In his remarks, Ambassador underlined that India’s achievement of solar tariffs at around three US cents per kWh was not merely the result of abundant sunlight, but of structural reform and regulatory clarity. He emphasized that unlocking solar potential requires enabling policies that provide certainty to investors and allow innovation to flourish within the power market. Echoing this perspective, Lisa Tinschert noted that the idea for the dialogue was inspired by Indonesia’s own leadership. “When Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bapak Bahlil highlighted India’s achievement of three US cents per kilowatt hour, we saw an opportunity to facilitate a structured knowledge exchange. GIZ stands ready to support Indonesia in translating ambition into affordable and reliable implementation,” she said.  
Meanwhile, Head of MEMR’s Human Resources Development Agency stressed that Indonesia’s direction is already clear. “We have a Net Zero Emissions target by 2060, the RUPTL as our operational roadmap, and President Prabowo’s commitment to developing 100 GigaWatts of solar power. Learning from India’s experience, particularly the implementation led by Pak Manu and his team, provides us with a concrete reference point to identify what can be adapted and strengthened in Indonesia,” he affirmed. 
The dialogue was organised under the MEMR–GIZ Energy Programme, which supports the Government of Indonesia in achieving its energy and climate policy targets, particularly in accelerating the expansion of variable renewable energy within the national power system. This effort aligns with the Vision of Indonesia Emas 2045 and the national commitment to reach Net Zero Emissions by 2060 or sooner.  
The dialogue featured two senior policymakers from the Government of Madhya Pradesh, India: Mr. Manu Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary for New and Renewable Energy, and Mr. Aman Bir Singh Bains, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited. Both speakers shared first-hand experience on the drivers of cost reductions, the evolution of procurement and risk-sharing mechanisms, and policy sequencing that has enabled large-scale solar deployment. 
The event brought together 62 participants, including officials from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development Planning, as well as representatives of PT PLN (Persero). Discussions focused on identifying lessons that are relevant to Indonesia and aspects that may need to be adapted to national power system characteristics. 
 
Strengthening Indonesia’s Power System for Sustainable Growth  
Indonesia’s power system plays a strategic role in enabling broader national development agenda. Affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity is foundational to economic growth and job creation, strengthening industrialisation and value-added activities, poverty reduction, and social equity. At the same time, growing middle-class aspirations and Indonesia’s ambition to strengthen national sovereignty and regional leadership require a power system that is increasingly resilient, efficient, and adaptive. 
This transformation pathway is reflected in the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) 2025–2034, which positions renewable energy as a key pillar of future capacity expansion. Of the planned renewable energy capacity additions, solar power represents the largest share, with an allocation of 17.1 GW, significantly above the current installed capacity of around 1.5 GW, which is largely dominated by rooftop systems and one large-scale floating solar PV project. Beyond the RUPTL, the Government of Indonesia has also articulated a longer-term ambition to develop up to 100 GW of solar power capacity. 
Nevertheless, the key challenge lies not only in setting ambitious targets, but in translating policy ambition to large-scale and cost-competitive implementation. This includes questions related to procurement design, risk allocation, land and grid readiness, long-term contractual certainty, and the sequencing of policies and investments that most effectively reduce tariff while improving investment attractiveness. 
 
What Can Indonesia Learn from India’s Solar Experience  
In this context, India’s experience offers relevant insights for Indonesia. Government experts from India shared that the country’s solar journey evolved from climate-driven ambition into a strong economic case, with solar tariffs now significantly lower than coal-based power. The experts shared the experience in different types of Solar PV: Large scale Ground Mounted Solar PV, roof top Solar PV, Floating Solar PV and Agricultural solarisation.   Recent competitive auctions have achieved tariffs of around 2.15 Indian rupees per kWh (approximately 2.35 US cents), secured under 25-year inflation-proof contracts. 
The key driver for the cost reduction has been the principle of “de-risking” the projects from uncertainties for investors and lenders. The principle of de-risking has been common irrespective of the scale of projects. Some of the important components of derisking projects include large project aggregations, well-structured tender documents, intensive pre-bid meetings, transparent e-auctions, inflation proof 25-year contract and Government backed payment security mechanisms. The de-risked projects attracted strong competition from international and domestic players further contributing to reduced costs. 
The experts suggested that Indonesian government could focus on piloting solar PV projects applying the principles of “de-risking” from Indian experience while contextualising the details as per context in Indonesia. Once there is demonstrated proof of low-cost solar PV projects across different scales, this would create a “virtuous” cycle enabling rapid energy transition in Indonesia.  
The dialogue concluded with a shared understanding that achieving affordable and reliable solar power requires an integrated approach across policy, regulation, power system planning, and investment. In this context, the experts reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to partner with GIZ in providing steadfast support to help unlock the potential for large-scale solar PV deployment in Indonesia. Lessons drawn from India’s experience are expected to inform future policy formulation, enhance the competitiveness of solar energy, and contribute to accelerating Indonesia’s energy transition. 
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Oman-based renewables firm Naqaa Sustainable Energy has been named as the lead developer of a 500MW PV plant in Botswana.
Local media, citing Botswana’s Ministry of Minerals and Energy, have reported that the Omani firm will design, finance, build, and operate what would be, by some distance, the southern African country’s largest PV power plant.
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Few details of the project have been made public, but reports indicate that it will be built near the town of Maun in northern Botswana and feature an integrated battery energy storage unit.
The genesis of the project stems from an agreement inked late last year between Omani and Botswanan authorities to develop solar, wind, and battery storage projects with a combined production capacity of up to 3GW in Botswana.
A key signatory of that agreement was O-Green, a clean energy company backed by Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, founded in 2025 to lead on clean energy projects and technology development at home and abroad.
O-Green owns Naqaa Sustainable Energy, which has been mandated to deliver a gigawatt-scale portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects across Oman, the Gulf and Africa, according to the company’s website.
O-Green has two other subsidiaries: Mawarid Green Technologies, which specialises in wind turbines and other green energy technologies, and SolarWadi, which leads the development and commissioning of renewable projects, according to the company website.
According to the Botswana government, the country’s president, Duma Gideon Buko, is of today (13 April) in the middle of a visit to Oman to sign cooperation agreements between the two countries covering, among other areas, solar energy.
Botswana is courting investment in its nascent renewables industry from other countries, with India’s KP Group a recent signatory to a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on 5GW of renewables projects in the country.
Norwegian firm Scatec has recently reached full commercial operation for the two-phase, 120MW Mmadinare Solar Cluster it has built in Botswana, while a Chinese and Botswanan consortium is working on a 100MW PV project near the diamond-mining town of Jwaneng in the south of the country.
PV Tech has contacted the relevant Omani and Botswanan parties for further detail on the Maun project.

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Wayne Greier hoped to sign a deal with a utility to host solar on his acreage for some $540,000 in annual lease payments. But his community blocked the plan. A recent study found that there has been a 16% increase in local laws restricting renewable energy projects. (AP Video: Joshua A. Bickel)
CANFIELD, Ohio — Through the window of his combine, Wayne Greier watches his teenage son Blake drive a tractor across an empty field, towing a plow into position for another uncertain season of spring planting.
Greier would be worrying less if the solar farm he wanted on his land had come to pass. But local officials blocked it in 2023 under an Ohio state law, and Greier — facing a heavy medical debt — had to sell part of his land to stay afloat. The deal that was killed would have brought him about $540,000 in lease payments every year.
Wayne Greier, left, talks with his son, Blake, 13, right, as they move farm equipment, March 10, in Canfield, Ohio.
“It was our saving grace,” he said. “It wasn’t a scary picture that everybody likes to paint about solar and the loss of farmland.”
Local opposition to solar has long been an obstacle for green energy developers. But some communities are working to reverse local restrictions, citing the tax benefits and jobs the projects bring as well as the lease payments from energy companies that can provide stable income to farmers in a volatile industry.
Wayne Greier poses for a portrait, March 10, in Canfield, Ohio.
When a solar company approached him about installing panels on part of his land, Greier, 42, a sixth-generation farmer, hesitated. But facing $1 million in medical debt from a long battle with COVID and related complications, he saw a chance to save his farm.
Some in the community thought differently.
Greier said he and his family were ostracized as debate over the project played out in public meetings. His mental health plummeted. And the project was eventually blocked under a state law that allows counties to block construction of wind and solar farms on land they deem “restricted.”
“I was the one that was going to lose the sixth-generation farm. I was the one that couldn’t provide for my family,” he said.
President Donald Trump’s hostility to green energy has battered the industry by wiping away subsidies, loans and tax incentives. But even before his return to the White House, local bans on renewable energy were becoming more common. A 2025 study from Columbia University found that from 2023 to 2024, there was a 16% increase in local laws across 44 states that restricted such projects.
“Many communities want to decarbonize and probably theoretically support renewable energy,” said Juniper Katz, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts who focuses on environmental policy. But, she added, “When it’s your community and your backyard, balancing these processes so people feel like they’ve had a say without creating so many veto points that nothing can get done, I think is the trick. And it’s not easy to do.”
In February, Dearborn County, Indiana, officials paused solar development for a year after concern from residents over the proximity of solar panels near homes and potential environmental impact of panel materials.
Bobby Rauen, who lives near part of a proposed 1,200-acre solar project in that county, is among residents who petitioned for the pause. He said he hopes officials use this time to create better protections for residents living near potential solar projects. He said he was also concerned that farmland may not go back into production if solar panels are eventually removed.
A sign opposing a nearby solar development sits near a pasture, April 3, in Manchester, Ind.
After officials in Mahoning County, Ohio, halted Greier’s planned 675-acre, 150-megawatt project, he decided to help others who wanted solar on their land, saying he “didn’t want to be a victim.” As a member of the Renewable Energy Farmers of America, Greier, who primarily farms corn and soybeans, has shared his experience with lawmakers, advocacy groups and in communities debating green energy development.
He recently spoke to government officials at a public meeting in Richland County, Ohio, about 100 miles from his home. Advocates there got a referendum on the ballot this May to reverse the county’s ban on wind and solar projects.
Morgan Carroll, a lifelong county resident, has been working since last summer to rally support to drop the ban. Though she is not a farmer or landowner, Carroll said she supports the jobs and tax revenue these projects can bring and thinks the ban takes the decision away from residents — and may someday affect her two young children.
“I want them to be in a county that can provide jobs, can provide a good school for them,” she said. “I don’t want to have to move.”
Morgan Carroll, right, relaxes at home with her son, River, center, and husband, Hunter, left, March 10, in Shelby, Ohio.
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration moved up deadlines for utility-scale solar projects to qualify for tax incentives after the passage of a big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last July. Now, utility-scale solar projects have to be in service by the end of 2027 to qualify.
Last year, Lita Leavell and her husband, Joe, who operate a 1,000-acre cattle farm in Lancaster, Kentucky, had hoped to host a utility-scale solar project on about half their land that would have brought them an estimated $60,000 per year. Like Greier, the lease payments would have ensured the land could stay in their family.
Solar panels operate on a farm near homes, Jan. 14, in Lancaster, Ky.
But after a 2023 Garrard County ordinance restricting solar development, the energy company Leavell was working with decided to end the project.
Part of her county’s rationale for the ordinance was the federal government’s opposition to solar energy and the Trump administration’s desire to stop utility-scale projects on farmland, county leaders said during an August 2025 meeting. Leavell, who said she is a Republican, questioned why lack of federal support for green energy projects should affect her ability to pursue these projects on her own land. She and a group of six other landowners are suing to overturn the ordinance.
“The thing I guess that perplexed me so much is that there’s so many more worse things that could be next to you,” she said.
Carroll, who helped gather signatures for the referendum in Richland County, Ohio, found that when the debate over solar projects was framed as a property rights issue, people in the community were more receptive.
Greier also focuses on property rights when speaking on the issue. His farm is his retirement plan, and he should have the right to use it to support his family, he said.
“There’s families that are relying on this and looking for this,” he said. “And it’s been taken away, this opportunity.”
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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Wayne Greier hoped to sign a deal with a utility to host solar on his acreage for some $540,000 in annual lease payments. But his community bl…
Unable to play video
Solar panels operate on a farm near homes, Jan. 14, in Lancaster, Ky.
Morgan Carroll, right, relaxes at home with her son, River, center, and husband, Hunter, left, March 10, in Shelby, Ohio.
Wayne Greier, left, talks with his son, Blake, 13, right, as they move farm equipment, March 10, in Canfield, Ohio.
A sign opposing a nearby solar development sits near a pasture, April 3, in Manchester, Ind.
Wayne Greier poses for a portrait, March 10, in Canfield, Ohio.

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Durham firefighters were injured Monday afternoon while trying to put out a house fire.
The fire is at a home along Timberview Drive near Arborwood Drive. According to firefighters at the scene, dry and windy conditions made the fire harder to put out.
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Drought conditions have been a problem across the state in 2026. State data shows that 77% of the state is in severe rought and 17% is in an extreme drought.
Several Durham Fire Department fire trucks and firefighters responded to the scene.
Sky 5 flew over the house fire on Monday afternoon.
Hillandale Road was closed between Horton Road and Meadowcreek Drive as firefighters worked to put out the fire.
Firefighters told WRAL News that several things involving the home’s construction made it diffiult to firefighters to put it out. Of some of the problems firefighters faced, the home had a lightweight roof with solar panels on top.
“That makes it unsafe to be on and unsafe to be under, especially with the weight of the solar panels,” said division chief Bryan Baker.
Baker said the home also had limited upstairs access, with only one way in or out.
According to Baker, a firefighter had hand and arm burns. Baker said the house’s solar panel system shocked another firefighter. 
It is unclear if the solar panels played a role in starting the fire and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

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AB Energia, a leading solar EPC company, announced the launch of Arkannect, a new distributed solar platform focused on simplifying rooftop solar adoption for residential consumers and MSMEs across India. 
As part of this strategic initiative, the company has appointed Sagar Saxena as Chief Executive Officer of Arkannect, who will lead the platform’s growth, market expansion, and customer adoption, starting with the high-growth markets of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh.
Market data reveals that of the 22 GW of rooftop solar installed across India, nearly 60% is driven by the Industrial and commercial (B2B) sectors. However, the next wave of growth is emerging from the MSME and residential segments, which are poised for an accelerated 28% CAGR as decentralized solar becomes the new standard for Indian energy consumers.
Industrial expertise, scaled for consumer
Arkannect leverages AB Energia’s fully integrated in-house EPC capabilities to eliminate middleman markups and hidden costs. By managing everything from system design and financing to installation and lifetime maintenance, the platform provides a “single-window” experience for users in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. 
A dedicated mobile application further differentiates the platform, offering customers real-time visibility into installation progress and ongoing system performance. By combining a distributed network of local channel partners with centralized engineering execution, Arkannect ensures that industrial-grade quality is now accessible to the average homeowner and small business owner.
Leadership to drive Arkannect’s growth
The appointment of Sagar Saxena as CEO of Arkannect focus on building a strong leadership team to drive the next phase of distributed solar adoption.
Siddharth Bhatia, CEO and MD, AB Energia Solutions, said: “For years, AB Energia has delivered large-scale solar infrastructure for some of India’s most demanding industrial clients. We understand what it takes to design, install, and maintain a system that performs and performs reliably. 
“Rooftop solar adoption is gaining strong momentum across India, and residential consumers and MSMEs deserve that same standard of quality and trust but have rarely had access to it. Arkannect is our way of taking everything we have built in the industrial space and making it work for the homeowner and the small business owner. 
“With the launch of this platform, we are targeting a revenue of ₹700–1,000 crore over the next three years, as we scale our footprint across the country. Through AB Energia’s deep engineering roots, Arkannect is set to redefine what consumers should expect from a rooftop solar experience.
Sagar Saxena, CEO, Arkannect, added: Arkannect is built around a simple idea  making rooftop solar easy, transparent, and accessible for consumers. The interest is already there  what’s been missing is a single, trustworthy place to act on it. 
“Through Arkannect, we are building exactly that one platform, one point of contact, and one team accountable to the customer from the first conversation to the last maintenance visit. When a homeowner or a shop owner chooses Arkannect, we want them to feel that going solar was the easiest decision they made all year.
Strengthening India’s distributed solar ecosystem
India’s energy transition is increasingly being driven by distributed solar adoption, with rooftop installations expected to play a critical role in meeting the country’s renewable energy ambitions. 
By focusing on consumer education, transparent pricing, financing accessibility, and reliable after-sales support, Arkannect aims to bridge the gap between rising demand for solar energy, and the challenges consumers face in navigating the current market landscape.
With Arkannect, AB Energia aims to create a trusted and scalable platform that enables households and small businesses to participate in India’s clean energy transition while reducing electricity costs and carbon footprint.

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Envision Energy’s Behzad Naderi believes that Australia’s hybridisation rules are reshaping development and connection processes across the NEM.
Envision Energy’s global technical lead says the National Electricity Market (NEM) 2023 rule change requiring co-located battery storage with renewable energy generation is driving Australia ahead of major international markets.
Australia’s NEM has emerged as a multi-gigawatt proving ground for advanced battery storage technologies, propelled by regulatory frameworks that are helping the country compete for attention and investment with prominent markets in Europe, China and the US.
Speaking exclusively to ESN Premium at the Energy Storage Summit Australia 2026 in Sydney last month, Behzad Naderi, global technical lead for Envision Energy’s Future Grid Centre of Excellence, outlined how Australia’s hybridisation requirements are reshaping project development and grid connection processes across the NEM.
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“If you look at the rule change we have had since March 2023… a new plant, it has to be a hybrid plant, and what that hybrid plant means is that it has to have a battery energy storage system (BESS) sitting next to your wind farm or your solar farm,” Naderi explains.
The regulatory shift has supported Australia’s accelerating renewable energy transition; however, it has also created technical challenges associated with operating a grid increasingly dominated by variable generation.
The rule change essentially requires new projects to operate at very low short-circuit ratios, a condition that necessitates energy storage to maintain grid stability.
“The main intention is because we are predicting to have more, larger-scale wind and solar farms in Australia’s NEM. And it’s also now just happening, and I believe we are well ahead of other markets, and we are getting close to 100% renewable energy resources,” Naderi adds.
Australia’s position at the forefront of renewable energy integration becomes clear when comparing penetration rates and timelines with other major markets. While Australia is targeting 100% renewable energy by 2030, comparable economies are pursuing more modest goals.
“If we compare with the markets like Europe or China or the US, they are, I think, by 2030, aiming for a maximum of around 55%,” Naderi notes, highlighting the scale of Australia’s ambition relative to international peers.
South Australia is already demonstrating what high renewable energy penetration looks like in practice, regularly operating with renewable energy generation supplying the majority of demand for extended periods.
“If we look at the NEM, we do have a situation in South Australia where even we are more than 70% or 80% for a couple of hours, which means there is less synchronous generating units. There are fewer traditional synchronous generators, but we do have issues of reliability and security in the grid,” Naderi explains.
This operational reality is driving the urgent need for grid-forming battery storage technologies that can provide the voltage and frequency stability traditionally supplied by synchronous generators.
“That’s the time we say, without having a battery storage system, specifically those with grid-forming technology, it’s going to be impossible for us to keep the grid stable and secure,” he says.
Indeed, South Australia has emerged as one of the most progressive regions globally in the renewable energy transition. Back in 2024, renewables supplied 100% of the state’s electricity demand for a third of the entire year.
However, this reliance on variable renewable energy, particularly solar, has increased the need for energy storage. As such, numerous tenders have been proposed for the state, including a 700MW long-duration storage tender last year.
The hybrid plant mandate has introduced new considerations for project developers, particularly regarding the sequencing and integration of generation and storage assets.
Naderi emphasises that successful hybrid projects require simultaneous development of both components rather than sequential addition of storage to existing generation.
“When it comes to a hybrid plant, essentially, both of them should be progressing in parallel. We’re not talking about giving priority to one asset over the others. Both should be developed in parallel,” he says.
This perspective contrasts with the thoughts of Matt Baumgurtel, partner and new energy lead at law firm Hamilton Locke, who recently told ESN Premium that developers should be looking to build “battery-led hybrids”.
Naderi notes that this parallel development approach extends beyond construction timelines to encompass fundamental design decisions on system sizing and matching generation and storage capabilities.
“Based on the new system training rule change, you should be able to operate at very low shirt circuit ratio (SCR) conditions. What that means is you have to have a proper design for your wind farm or solar farm, and at the same time for your battery storage system, and that design means you should have a proper ratio defined for your storage system when it comes to the whole generation in your wind farm,” Naderi explains.
Naderi adds that the relationship between generation and storage in hybrid plants is complementary rather than hierarchical, with each asset’s capabilities designed to work in concert with the other.
“The capability we do have in both assets, whether it’s going to be wind, solar or battery storage systems, they fit each other. It’s very complementary,” he said.
While design and development of hybrid plant components should proceed in parallel, the commissioning sequence follows a specific technical logic driven by the fundamental role battery storage plays in providing grid stability.
Asked about commissioning priorities, Naderi clarified that storage systems must be operational before renewable energy generation can be connected.
“When it comes to the commissioning stage, the storage system should come first,” he says, explaining the technical rationale behind this sequencing.
“The reason why we are going to have a storage system, or a grid-forming storage system, is to provide voltage and frequency reference for our generating unit. And what a generating unit means is that it is wind or solar, which means it needs a voltage and frequency reference to operate.
“Without having those, it’s impossible to keep the stability of those generating units, and that’s why we need storage first, which basically replaces traditional synchronous generators, and then we can have our wind or solar plug into the national electricity market.”
This commissioning approach reflects the evolving role of battery storage, from a simple energy arbitrage or firming asset to a fundamental grid-stability service provider that enables renewable energy generation to operate in low-inertia grid conditions.
Looking ahead to the next several years, Naderi anticipates that hybrid configurations will become the standard project structure across the NEM, fundamentally changing the landscape of renewable energy development in Australia.
“I think the main key trend is we’re going to see almost every project to be a hybrid plant. That means for every project in the NEM, we should have a storage system sitting next to wind and solar. And this is going to be the trend,” he says.
This shift toward universal hybridisation will bring new complexities to the grid connection process, as projects must demonstrate compliance with increasingly sophisticated technical requirements.
“We expect to see some kind of complexity in the grid connection process, because having or making a hybrid plant, from a connection point of view, and achieving S5.3.4 letter, you probably need to have more effort, or have more negotiation with AEMO and the transmission network service providers (TNSPs),” Naderi notes.
The ultimate objective driving these regulatory and technical changes is achieving a fully renewable energy electricity grid while maintaining the reliability and security standards that have characterised Australia’s power system.
“I think the end of the story for us to achieve a 100% renewable energy grid is to have more hybrid plants and also having grid-forming technologies, which basically provide extended high current capability to mimic the behaviour of our traditional synchronous generator,” Naderi concludes.
Interested in Australia? Read Energy-Storage.news’ Energy Storage Summit Australia coverage and related content.

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M K Sunil Kumar is the deputy metro editor with The Times of India, Kochi. More than two decades into journalism, Sunil Kumar covers a slew of areas like civic issues, politics, culture, aviation and human interest stories. His articles shed light on various issues plaguing Kerala and Kochi city.Read More

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Nature Communications volume 16, Article number: 8986 (2025) Cite this article
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Perovskite/organic tandem solar cells are a promising strategy to surpass the efficiency limits of single-junction devices, yet their performance is restricted by recombination losses in the organic subcells. Here, we investigate these losses by tracking film evolution from the very initial stage of organic film formation. We strategically manipulated donor and acceptor ratios to modulate film growth characteristics, while employing in situ techniques to monitor the real-time crystallization dynamics. Our research findings underscore that the variance in donor content within the organic blend exerts a fine-tuning effect on the solution-to-solid transformation process. When the donor content is inadequate, the acceptor molecules tend to aggregate, disrupting molecular packing and lowering crystallinity. These morphological changes hinder exciton dissociation, thereby leading to charge recombination and deteriorating overall device performance. Optimizing film morphology and crystallization reduces recombination losses, enabling perovskite/organic tandem solar cells with a record 26.42% power conversion efficiency.
In recent years, as the efficiency of single-junction devices has progressively approached their theoretical limits, research on tandem solar cells (TSCs) has garnered increasing attention, emerging as a focal area of investigation. The bandgap of perovskite semiconductors can be broadly tuned through compositional engineering, making them ideal for tandem applications. Wide-bandgap perovskites are particularly suited to pair with narrow-bandgap subcells such as silicon, CIGS, low-bandgap perovskites and organic solar cells (OSCs)^1,2. Among the diverse array of tandem configurations, perovskite/organic TSCs have rapidly risen to prominence^3,4,5. A notable advantage of perovskite/organic TSCs lies in the excellent process compatibility between perovskite and organic materials, coupled with the orthogonal nature of their processing solvents. This characteristic effectively precludes mutual damage between the two material types during the device fabrication process, thereby facilitating the construction of high-efficiency tandem devices^6,7. By synergistically integrating the strengths of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and OSCs, the tandem cells employ wide-bandgap PSCs as the front subcells, tasked with capturing short-wavelength light. Conversely, narrow-bandgap OSCs serve as the rear subcells, specializing in harvesting long-wavelength light⁸. This complementary design paradigm enables a more comprehensive exploitation of the solar spectrum, effectively surmounting the performance limitations inherent in single-junction solar cells.
A multitude of strategies have been devised to enhance the efficiency of perovskite/organic TSCs, with a particular focus on optimizing film composition and device structures^9,10,11. Up to now, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite/organic TSCs has surpassed 26%, while their progress still lags behind that of other tandem architectures, such as perovskite-silicon and all-perovskite ones¹². The primary impediment stems from the relatively pronounced recombination losses incurred within OSC subcells, which contribute to the observed efficiency gap^13,14. In contrast to the free charge carriers prevalent in inorganic semiconductors, photogenerated electrons and holes in organic domains are typically confined as localized excitons. Given the substantial exciton binding energy, excitons have to traverse the interface between the donor and acceptor for dissociation and collection in OSCs. At this point, recombination losses would be inevitable.
In the OSC field, the amelioration of recombination losses has been extensively investigated, ranging from donor and acceptor synthesis to device fabrication^15,16,17,18. It is widely recognized that film morphology and crystallization are two key determinants. Specifically, an interpenetrating fiber network ensures more efficient exciton dissociation, while ordered molecular crystallization facilitates charge transport^19,20. On the other hand, during the formation process of active layers, the polymer donor can influence the growth dynamics of the interpenetrating network. Typically, the polymer donor precipitates first from the solution, followed by the subsequent crystallization and growth of the small-molecular acceptor around the polymer donor fibers^21,22. Consequently, the growth behavior of donor and acceptor materials constitutes the most direct determinant of the final film characteristics. A comprehensive understanding of the film growth evolution of donor and acceptor materials and its impact on the corresponding crystallization features is paramount for the amelioration of recombination losses, thereby enabling the realization of efficient organic subcells and corresponding perovskite/organic TSCs.
In this study, we conducted a systematic investigation into the influence of film evolution on the corresponding crystallization quality, recombination losses, and device efficiencies. Employing in situ techniques such as grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, we scrutinized the morphological evolution of the films. Concurrently, we examined the exciton/charge recombination losses under varying film conditions. Our findings revealed that the donor:acceptor (D:A) content plays a pivotal role in modulating the growth dynamics of the films and their crystallization quality, thereby altering the exciton dissociation and recombination behavior. By judiciously regulating the film characteristics, we effectively mitigated exciton recombination losses and enhanced the corresponding device efficiency. When different OSCs were employed as rear subcells in conjunction with wide-bandgap perovskite front subcells, a champion PCE of 26.42% was achieved in perovskite/organic TSCs.
The molecular structures of the polymer donor material D18 and the small-molecule acceptor BTP-eC9-4F are illustrated in Supplementary Fig. 1a. Supplementary Fig. 1b depicts the UV-vis absorption spectra of D18:BTP-eC9-4F blend films as the D:A weight ratio is varied from 1:1.2 to 0.2:1.2. With the decreasing content of D18 in the blend films, the absorbance of D18 within the 420-630 nm wavelength range gradually diminishes. The absorption peak of BTP-eC9-4F undergoes a progressive redshift, shifting from 810 nm at a 1:1.2 D:A ratio to 825 nm at a 0.2:1.2 ratio. This phenomenon is attributed to the aggregation of BTP-eC9-4F molecules²³. To elucidate the aggregation behavior of blend films with varying D18 contents, two-dimensional (2D) GIWAXS measurements were conducted²⁴. The measurement outcomes are presented in Fig. 1a. The out-of-plane (OOP) and in-plane (IP) line-cut profiles extracted from the corresponding 2D GIWAXS patterns are displayed in Fig. 1b, while the lattice parameters are summarized in Supplementary Table 1. All films exhibit a prominent out-of-plane (010) diffraction peak, indicating a preferred face-on orientation. As shown in the GIWAXS profiles, the intensity of the π-π stacking peak in the OOP direction gradually decreases with decreasing donor content. This phenomenon is primarily attributed to the reduction in film thickness (Supplementary Fig. 2). In the out-of-plane direction, as the donor content decreases, the crystalline coherence length (CCL) gradually shortens (with a CCL of 22.0 Å for the 1:1.2 film and 16.0 Å for the 0.2:1.2 film). This is likely due to inadequate interactions between the donor and acceptor, which hinder the effective assembly of molecules into long-range ordered crystalline structures. Simultaneously, in the IP direction, as the donor content decreases, the lamellar stacking distance reduces from 20.7 Å at a 1:1.2 ratio to 20.0 Å at a 0.2:1.2 ratio, and the CCL decreases from 59.9 Å at a 1:1.2 ratio to 28.8 Å at a 0.2:1.2 ratio. These findings imply that an excessive reduction in donor content compromises the molecular packing and the crystallinity quality of the blend films. To further investigate the evolution of molecular orientation, we examined the azimuthal intensity distribution of the (100) peak, where the edge-on and face-on regions were defined by the azimuthal angle (χ): 0° < χ < 30° corresponds to edge-on orientation, 30° < χ < 60° corresponds to random orientation, and 60° <χ < 90° corresponds to face-on orientation^25,26,27,28. Due to reshaping effects caused by the missing region in the reciprocal space of the 2D GIWAXS data, the intensity distribution curve was incomplete near 0°^29,30. By integrating the signal over 0-30°, 30-60°, and 60-90°, the relative proportions of edge-on, random, and face-on orientations were obtained (as shown in Supplementary Fig. 3 and Supplementary Table 2). With decreasing donor content, the edge-on fraction increases from 26.7% (1:1.2) to 35.2% (0.2:1.2), random orientation increases from 27.4% to 31.3%, while face-on orientation decreases from 45.9% to 33.5%. These results suggest that a reduction in donor content not only weakens crystallization driving forces but also disrupts favorable molecular orientations, particularly the face-on stacking that is often correlated with efficient charge transport and ordered domains. This dual effect ultimately hinders the formation of long-range crystalline structures within the active layer.
a GIWAXS patterns of D18:BTP-eC9-4F films with different D:A content. b OOP (solid line) and IP (dotted line) line cuts extracted from the GIWAXS patterns.
To better understand the microstructural morphology of the active layer, we conducted further characterization using atomic force microscopy (AFM) (Supplementary Fig. 4) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (Supplementary Fig. 5). The AFM results revealed that as the donor content decreases, the root mean square (RMS) roughness of the films progressively decreases, from 0.721 nm at the 1:1.2 ratio to 0.561 nm at the 0.2:1.2 ratio. TEM images reveal that the active layer at a 1:1.2 ratio exhibits pronounced fibrous structures, which gradually diminish as the donor content decreases. At a D:A ratio of 0.2:1.2, the fibrous aggregated domains become barely observable.
To further explore crystallization kinetic behavior during solution-solid film formation, in situ 2D GIWAXS measurements were employed^25,31. The OOP (010) peak of the blend film was analyzed under various D18 contents. According to Supplementary Fig. 6, this analysis aimed to track the evolution of π-π stacking distance and CCL throughout the film formation process. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the drying process is divided into four stages³², color-coded as follows: stage (I) solution state, stage (II) crystal nucleation, stage (III) crystal growth, and stage (IV) solid state. In stage I, no discernible (010) scattering peaks were observed. In stage II, as the solvent evaporates and the solution concentration increases, the donor and acceptor reach their solubility limit, initiating nucleation. This leads to the appearance of the (010) scattering peak. As solvent evaporation continues, molecular packing becomes more compact, leading to a gradual decrease in the π-π stacking distance. These results suggest that aggregates formed in an orderly manner during this stage. In stage III, at this point, most of the solvent has evaporated, crystallization is complete, and the π-π stacking distance stabilizes. Simultaneously, the movement and rearrangement of molecules lead to an increase in CCL. In stage IV, all solvents have evaporated, and the film morphology is stabilized, with all morphological parameters remaining constant. As the donor content decreases, the duration of each of the four stages shortens to varying degrees (Fig. 2f). For the D:A ratios of 1:1.2, 0.8:1.2, 0.6:1.2, 0.4:1.2, and 0.2:1.2, the duration of stage II remained relatively constant, with values of 1.25, 1, 1, 1, and 0.75 s, respectively. In contrast, the duration of stage III exhibited significant variation (5.5, 5, 2.75, 2, and 1.5 s for the corresponding ratios), indicating that the variation in donor content primarily influenced the crystal growth process. The slope of the CCL and the time taken for the solution to form a film can reflect the relative crystallization rate in the drying process³³. The crystallization rates of the CCL corresponding to the (010) peak were 1.7, 1.8, 3.3, 3.9, and 6.1 s⁻¹ for the corresponding D:A ratios. A steeper slope was observed with decreasing donor content, indicating faster CCL evolution in donor-deficient systems.
The d-spacing and CCL evolution of (010) peak for blend films with D:A ratio of a 1:1.2, b 0.8:1.2, c 0.6:1.2, d 0.4:1.2 and e 0.2:1.2 obtained from in situ GIWAXS measurements. f The abridged graph of the film-forming process.
To understand more comprehensively the dynamic evolution of molecular assembly, phase separation, and crystal growth during the transition of thin films from the solution state to the solid-state thin films, we further employed in situ UV-vis absorption and PL spectra characterization techniques. In situ UV-vis absorption spectroscopy was employed to investigate the growth evolution of blend films with different D18 content. The 2D contour maps of D18:BTP-eC9-4F (ratio change from 1:1.2 to 0.2:1.2) from solution to film status are presented in Supplementary Fig. 7 (The time point t = 0 denotes the moment when the signal first appears). The evolution of the absorption peak location represents the aggregation evolution of the donor and the acceptor^34,35. The first stage is the solvent evaporating stage, followed by the nucleation and crystal growth stage, and the final one is the dried film stage. The variation in the peak location of D18 was negligible with time changes (Supplementary Fig. 8a), indicating a fast domain formation feature of D18 molecules. On the contrary, as shown in Fig. 3a, the peak location of individual BTP-eC9-4F has a redshift from ~730 nm (solution state) to over 800 nm (film state) in the evolution process, indicating the domain formation speed of BTP-eC9-4F molecules is slower than that of D18 ones. From Supplementary Fig. 8b and Fig. 3b, the absorbance of both D18 and BTP-eC9-4F decreases sharply at the beginning period (solvent evaporates), and continues to decrease as time goes on, and finally reaches its solubility limit and then nucleates³⁶. Under extreme supersaturation, the BTP-eC9-4F absorption peak starts to redshift, indicating the onset of the crystallization process. To quantify this process, the peak locations of BTP-eC9-4F at the onset and completion of the nucleation and crystal growth stage were extracted with varying donor content, as shown in Fig. 3c. With decreasing D18 content, the crystallization process is initiated earlier and completed within a shorter period. To gain deeper insight into the crystallization dynamics, the nucleation and crystal growth stages in the in situ UV-vis spectra could be further separated into the aggregation/nucleation stage and the crystal growth stage³⁷. This allowed for quantitative comparison of the duration of molecular aggregation and crystallization across different D:A ratios. As shown in Supplementary Fig. 9, for 1:1.2, 0.8:1.2, 0.6:1.2, 0.4:1.2, and 0.2:1.2 blend films, the aggregation and crystallization duration were 0.20 s (0.15 s), 0.15 s (0.15 s), 0.10 s (0.15 s), 0.10 s (0.15 s), and 0.10 s (0.10 s), respectively. These results indicate that at higher donor content, aggregation occurs before crystallization, consistent with a phase separation-induced crystallization mechanism. At lower donor ratios (e.g., 0.2:1.2), the two processes become nearly concurrent, suggesting a shift toward a more simultaneous or competing regime. As for the implications on device performance, extended aggregation and crystallization durations (observed at higher donor content) are beneficial for forming favorable phase-separated morphologies with enhanced molecular order^38,39. After crystallization, as shown in Fig. 3d, the peak location of BTP-eC9-4F red-shifts progressively with decreasing D18 content, indicating a more tight molecular aggregation²³. These results indicate that the reduction of D18 content accelerated the aggregation of BTP-eC9-4F domains. The rapid nucleation and growth of BTP-eC9-4F acceptor influence the ordered aggregation of the blended films.
Time evolution of a peak location and b absorbance of BTP-eC9-4F in blend films from in situ UV-vis absorption. c Time evolution of nucleation and crystal growth extracted from the peak location of BTP-eC9-4F in films. (Symbol * and ** indicate the peak positions of BTP-eC9-4F at the onset and completion of the nucleation and crystal growth stage, respectively.) d Peak variation of BTP-eC9-4F in films with different content. Time evolution of e peak locations and f intensities of BTP-eC9-4F in blend films from in situ PL spectra.
In situ PL spectra were employed to investigate the evolution of phase separation during film formation. As the materials transition from a molecular state in solution to an aggregated state in the solid film, changes in PL intensity provide insight into aggregation-induced emission quenching⁴⁰. Supplementary Fig. 10 shows the time evolution of 2D PL contour maps of the acceptor peaks of blend films. According to the location variations of the acceptor in Fig. 3e, a more pronounced redshift of BTP-eC9-4F occurs at an earlier stage with decreasing D18 content, suggesting that acceptor aggregation initiates earlier. Similarly, based on the intensity variation of the acceptor in Fig. 3f, as the D18 content decreases, the BTP-eC9-4F intensity declines more rapidly, indicating an accelerated phase separation process between the donor and acceptor.
On the other hand, photoinduced exciton generation and diffusion, as well as carrier dissociation at the donor-acceptor interface, are crucial for the performance of OSCs. Given that all samples contain an equal amount of BTP-eC9-4F, the hole-transfer process, which is dictated by the properties of both the donor and acceptor and the phase-morphology characteristics, can be utilized to analyze how different donor contents affect carrier diffusion and separation. To this end, femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) spectroscopy was employed to study the hole-transfer dynamics from BTP-eC9-4F to D18 in devices with varying donor contents (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Fig. 11). For the blend films, a low-power 800 nm pump beam (<2 μJ cm⁻²) is used to selectively excite the acceptor, BTP-eC9-4F, enabling the identification of hole-transfer pathways. In the blend film with a D:A ratio of 1:1.2, as illustrated in Fig. 4a, b, strong ground-state bleach (GSB) peaks emerge in the long-wavelength region (570–880 nm) after excitation, while a slowly increasing negative signal appears in the short-wavelength region (500–630 nm). These correspond to the generation of acceptor excitons and the gradual hole-transfer process, respectively. A similar phenomenon is observed in blend films with different donor contents (Supplementary Fig. 11). Furthermore, kinetic traces at selected wavelengths (830 nm and 600 nm) are acquired to quantitatively assess the hole-transfer dynamics in the blend film with a D:A ratio of 1:1.2. As shown in Fig. 4c, the attenuation of the GSB signal at 830 nm (corresponding to BTP-eC9-4F) is accompanied by an increase in the GSB signal at 600 nm (corresponding to D18, as shown in Supplementary Fig. 12), indicating efficient hole transfer from BTP-eC9-4F to D18.
a Contour plots of the TA spectra of D18:BTP-eC9-4F (1:1.2) blend film pumped at 800 nm and b TA spectra at selected delay times. c TA traces of D18:BTP-eC9-4F (1:1.2) blend film probed at 830 and 600 nm wavelengths. d TA traces at 600 nm of D18:BTP-eC9-4F blend film with different D18 content. e The time constants and f fitting rate constant correspond to the hole transfer process of D18:BTP-eC9-4F blend films with different D18 content.
The hole-transfer kinetics extracted from the GSB signal at 600 nm in blends with different D18 content are shown in Fig. 4d. By fitting the GSB rise signal of the donor using a double-exponential function^41,42, the time constants (τ₁ and τ₂) and the relevant fitting parameters of the blend films are shown in Fig. 4e, f, respectively. The corresponding data are summarized in Supplementary Table 3, in which τ₁ and τ₂ are assigned to represent the ultrafast exciton dissociation at the D:A interface and the diffusion of the exciton in the domain, respectively. The values of τ₁ and τ₂ increase with the decrease of D18 content. In addition, the values of A₁ (the interfacial process) and A₂ (the corresponding diffusion-mediated process) change significantly. With the decrease of D18 content, the magnitude of A₁ decreases, and the magnitude of A₂ increases. It is because the D:A interface decreases with the decrease of D18 donor content in the blend film, which makes it difficult for exciton dissociation. At the same time, the decrease of D18 content means the larger acceptor domain, and thus the longer diffusion within the domain. Therefore, the proportion of donors in the blend film is essential for exciton diffusion and dissociation.
A series of OSCs with a typical structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/D18:BTP-eC9-4F/PDINN/Ag were fabricated. The ratio of D:A was adjusted from 1:1.2 to 0.2:1.2. The current-density versus voltage (J–V) curves of OSCs are shown in Supplementary Fig. 13a. Meanwhile, the detailed parameters of the devices are summarized in Supplementary Table 4. Clearly, by lowering the donor content from 1:1.2 to 0.2:1.2, the PCEs dropped from 19.01% to 7.86% due to the significantly reduced short-circuit current density ( J_SC)⁴³. The external quantum efficiency (EQE) spectra of OSCs are shown in Supplementary Fig. 13b. EQE values were distinctly reduced as the D18 content decreased, and there were larger drops in the D18 absorption range as compared with the drops in the BTP-eC9-4F absorption range. It resulted from the loss of photon harvesting.
To gain more insights into the differences in the photovoltaic performance for the devices with different donor content, we studied their charge dynamic process including the dissociation, transport, and recombination. The photocurrent versus effective voltage ( J_ph–V_eff) was plotted in Supplementary Fig. 13c, while charge dissociation efficiency (P_diss) and collection efficiency (P_coll) derived from the J_ph–V_eff curve were summarized in Supplementary Table 5^44,45. The P_diss/P_coll values are estimated to be 98.26%/91.58%, 97.67%/90.99%, 97.18%/89.49%, 95.57%/86.24%, and 91.40%/81.79% for the 1:1.2, 0.8:1.2, 0.6:1.2, 0.4:1.2, and 0.2:1.2 devices, respectively. Both P_diss and P_coll decreased gradually as the donor content decreased, which agrees with the J_SC and fill factor (FF) for the corresponding devices. It may be because the reduced donor content led to a decrease in the D:A heterojunction area and disrupted the donor network, ultimately hindering the dissociation, as well as charge transport and collection, which is consistent with the reported literature⁴⁶.
The dependence of J_SC and open-circuit voltage (V_OC) on light intensity (P_light) was tested to examine the charge recombination mechanisms in the OSCs^47,48. The slope of n in the function of V_OC∝nk_BT/qlnP_light (k_B is the Boltzmann constant, q is the elementary charge, and T is the temperature) is related to the nonradiative recombination loss of devices. The value of n close to 1 indicates that trap-assisted recombination is negligible. Extracted from Supplementary Fig. 13d, the fitted n values of 1:1.2, 0.8:1.2, 0.6:1.2, 0.4:1.2, and 0.2:1.2 devices are 1.02, 1.04, 1.07, 1.11, and 1.17, respectively, indicating a gradual increase in trap-assisted recombination with decreasing donor content in the OSCs. Moreover, the exponential factor α in the power law relationship of J_SC∝(P_light)^α can be used to estimate the bimolecular recombination loss. When the value of α approaches 1, it means charge carriers are efficiently extracted without bimolecular recombination. As shown in Supplementary Fig. 13e, the calculated α values for the 1:1.2, 0.8:1.2, 0.6:1.2, 0.4:1.2, and 0.2:1.2 devices are 0.99, 0.99, 0.97, 0.96, and 0.94, respectively, indicating an increasing degree of bimolecular recombination as the donor content decreases in the OSCs. According to the above results, it can be found that the D:A content in the blend film has a significant impact on the dissociation, transport, and recombination of the carriers.
The aforementioned analyses exhibit the relationship of film growth dynamics, crystallization features, recombination losses, and device efficiencies in the OSCs, guiding the optimization of perovskite/organic TSCs. Figure 5a illustrates the structure of tandem devices. The cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image (Fig. 5b) of the TSCs clearly illustrates that the perovskite layer and the organic active layer are distinctly separated by an interconnection layer (ICL) composed of PCBM/C₆₀/SnO_X/Au/PEDOT:PSS. In this research, a wide-bandgap perovskite was adopted to construct the front cell, and a PCE of 17.84% was attained in single-junction PSCs. The detailed data are presented in Supplementary Figs. 14 and 15 and Supplementary Table 6. Given the critical role of solar spectrum matching in determining the performance of TSCs, D18:L8-BO system with different bandgap was also employed as rear sub-cells (Supplementary Fig. 16 and Supplementary Table 7). TSCs with rear cells featuring different D:A ratios were fabricated. The corresponding results are displayed in Fig. 5c and Supplementary Table 6. The TSC with a D:A (1:1.2) rear cell exhibited the optimal performance, yielding a PCE of 26.42%, a V_OC of 2.242 V, a J_SC of 14.85 mA cm^-2, and an FF of 79.55%. In contrast, the TSCs with D:A (0.8:1.2) and D:A (0.6:1.2) rear cells exhibited lower PCEs of 24.37% and 22.90%, respectively. This reduction is primarily attributed to a notable decline in the FF, which aligns with the trend observed in the corresponding single-junction OSCs. It is worth highlighting that in single-junction OSCs, a decrease in the donor content results in a substantial reduction in the J_SC. However, in TSCs, the decrease in the J_SC is relatively less pronounced. The EQE spectra of the TSCs suggest that the photocurrents of the front and rear sub-cells are well-correlated with the measured J_SC. For further details, refer to Fig. 5d and Supplementary Fig. 17. Additionally, the stabilized power output curves reveal a stable power output of 25.91%, as shown in Fig. 5e. Finally, the operational stability of the as-fabricated perovskite/organic TSCs was also investigated. As shown in the Supplementary Fig. 18, the PCE evolution of encapsulated devices was monitored via maximum power point (MPP) tracking under continuous one-sun simulated illumination in ambient air (relative humidity of 50–80%) at 25 °C. The results demonstrate that the perovskite/organic TSCs retained 80% of their initial PCE over 250 h of operation, providing a solid foundation for further enhancement of device stability. In addition, the photovoltaic performance comparison with previously reported perovskite/organic TSCs is provided in Supplementary Table 8. The champion PCE of our device reaches 26.42%, which is among the highest reported for solution-processed perovskite/organic TSCs.
a Perovskite/organic TSC structure. b Cross-section SEM image. c J-V curves of perovskite/organic TSCs with different rear subcells. d EQE spectra and e stabilized power output curves of perovskite/organic TSCs.
In conclusion, we have unequivocally elucidated the pivotal role of precise modulation of polymer donor content within organic subcells in achieving high-efficiency perovskite/organic TSCs. Through the establishment of quantitative correlations between the key morphological and electrical parameters, including crystallinity, phase separation, and exciton recombination, it has been demonstrated that an optimized D:A stoichiometry substantially elevates the exciton dissociation yield and charge transport efficiency. Conversely, an inadequate donor loading disrupts the molecular ordering of the active layer, thereby degrading device performance. As a result, following the regulation of the film morphology and mitigation of energy recombination losses in OSC subcells, the PCE has been significantly enhanced. Ultimately, the perovskite/organic TSCs have achieved a remarkable PCE of 26.42%, underscoring the necessity of synergistically optimizing optical absorption and exciton utilization to maximize the performance of tandem devices.
D18, BTP-eC9-4F and L8-BO were synthesized in lab. PEDOT:PSS (Clevios PVP Al4083) was obtained from Heraeus. PDINN was obtained from Derthon. 4PADCB was obtained from TCI. Aluminum oxide nanoparticle (Al₂O₃ 20 wt% in IPA, diameter 15–50 nm) was purchased from Aladdin.
UV-visible absorption spectra were measured on a PerkinElmer UV-vis spectrometer model Lambda 750. TA spectra were recorded using an ultrafast spectrometer (Harpia-TA, Light Conversion). A Yb:KGW laser (1030 nm, 54 kHz, Light Conversion) was split into fundamental light beams: one was converted via an optical parametric amplifier to generate the pump beam, while the other, focused on a 5 mm sapphire, produced a probe beam (575–995 nm). The GIWAXS data were obtained at 1W1A Diffuse X-ray Scattering Station, Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF-1W1A). The monochromatic of the light source was 1.54 Å. The data were recorded by using the two-dimensional image plate detector of EIGER 1 M from Dectris, Switzerland. The in situ light absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra and light scattering spectra were performed on a multi-spectrometer (DU-200, Shaanxi Puguang Weishi Co. Ltd.). In situ spin-coating GIWAXS measurements were carried out using a Synchrotron-based temperature-controlled spin-coating platform, co-developed by Sichuan University, Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, and Beijing Zhongke Wanyuan Technology Co., Ltd. This system supports remote control of solution dripping, spin speed, and substrate temperature, and is compatible with various atmospheric environments through adjustable gas flow, thereby enabling in situ GIWAXS characterization during the film formation process. All the active layers are monitored by this system during the film-forming process while spin-coating. The in situ GIWAXS data were obtained at beamline BL02U2 and BL6B1 of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). The monochromatic of the light source was 1.24 Å. The data were recorded by using the two-dimensional image plate detector of Pilatus 2 M from Dectris, Switzerland. The sample-to-detector distance was set to 150 mm for in situ GIWAXS measurement. The transformation to q-space, radial cuts for the in-plane and out-of-plane analysis, and azimuthal cuts for the orientation analysis were processed by GIWAXS-tools.
Femtosecond transient absorption measurements, a Yb:KGW laser (1030 nm, 54 kHz, Light Conversion) is split into two fundamental light beams. One of the light beams is transferred to the optical parametric amplifier (Orpheus, Light Conversion) to generate a high-intensity pulse of a specific wavelength as the pump beam. At the same time, the other is focused on a 5 mm sapphire to generate low-intensity continuum light, employed as the probe beam. The pump and probe beams were spatially set at the magic angle (54.7°) and overlapped at the sample. The time delays between pump and probe beams were achieved using a delay stage monitor, and the transmitted probe light was collected using a charge-coupled device. The pump fluence was kept at <2 μJ/cm², unless indicated otherwise. For the film samples, the transient absorption experiment was done several times on several spots of the film for each sample, and the average was taken. Upon completion, no sample degradation was detected.
During the measurements, J_ph was calculated as the difference between J_L and J_D, with J_L and J_D representing current densities in light and darkness, respectively. V_eff was defined as V₀ minus V_bias, where V₀ corresponds to the voltage at which J_L equals J_D, and V_bias is the applied voltage. The charge separation and collection efficiencies can be individually evaluated by P_diss and P_coll, where P_diss = J_ph/J_sat, P_coll = J_max/J_sat, J_ph is the photocurrent density at which the applied bias voltage is zero, J_max is the photocurrent density at the maximal output point, respectively^45,49.
Organic solar cells with the structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/Active layer/PDINN/Ag were fabricated. The PEDOT:PSS solution was deposited onto the pre-cleaned ITO substrates, followed by annealing at 150 °C for 20 min. D18:BTP-eC9-4F (or D18:L8-BO) was dissolved in chloroform, and the concentration of BTP-eC9-4F is 5.4 mg/mL. Then, PDINN was dissolved in methanol (1.5 mg/mL) and spin-coated on the active layer. Finally, 100 nm was thermally evaporated through a shadow mask at a vacuum pressure below 3 × 10⁻⁶Torr. The effective area for each cell was 0.04 cm².
The structure of the perovskite devices is ITO/4PADCB/Al₂O₃/FAMACsPb(I_0.5Br_0.5)₃/ PCBM/C₆₀/ALD SnO_X/Ag. 4PADCB was dissolved in ethanol with a concentration of 0.4 mg/mL and spin-coated onto the pre-cleaned ITO substrates followed by annealing at 100 °C for 10 min. The diluted Al₂O₃ dispersion solution was spin-coated on the 4PADCB film at 5000 rpm for 30 s and heated at 100 °C for 10 min. The precursor solution was spin-coated onto Al₂O₃ film to form the FAMACsPb(I_0.5Br_0.5)₃ perovskite films, and CB was slowly dropped. The films were then immediately annealed at 105 °C for 15 min. After cooling to room temperature, 60 μL of PEABr solution (1.5 mg mL^-1 in isopropanol) was swiftly dropped onto the perovskite film and spin-coated at 5000 rpm for 30 s, followed by annealing at 105 °C for 5 min. PCBM was dissolved in CB (10 mg/mL) as electron transport layers and spin-coated. Then the 10 nm of C₆₀ was evaporated in the high-vacuum thermal evaporator. After that, 15–20 nm of SnO_X was fabricated by atomic layer deposition. Finally, 90 nm Ag was thermally evaporated through a shadow mark at a vacuum pressure below 3×10^-6Torr. The effective area for each cell was 0.04 cm².
After deposition of SnO_X, 1 nm Au was thermally evaporated, and then PEDOT:PSS was spin-coated as a hole transport layer for the organic subcell. Then, the organic films were spin-coated and PDINN solution was spin-coated on top as an electron transport layer. Finally, 100 nm Ag was thermally evaporated as a top electrode.
The J–V curves of the devices were measured in a glove box with an instrument from Enli Technology Ltd., Taiwan (SS-F53A) under AM 1.5 G illumination (AAA class solar simulator, 100 mW cm⁻² calibrated with a standard single crystal Si photovoltaic cell). EQE measurements were performed by a solar cell spectral response measurement system (QER3011, Enli Technology Co. Ltd), and the intensity was calibrated with a standard single-crystal Si photovoltaic cell before the test.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52303240 (D.O.), 52303239 (Y.L.), 51933001 (Z.B.) and 22475114 (Y.L.)), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2021QE138 (D.O.), ZR2022QB141 (Y.L.) and 2023HWYQ-087 (Y.L.)), the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF (GZB20240067) (G.R.), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2022M711737) (D.O.), and High Level of Special Funds (G03034K001) (L.Q.). A portion of this work is based on the data obtained at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF) and Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the beamline scientists at BSRF-1W1A, SRRF-BL16B1, and SRRF-BL02U2.
These authors contributed equally: Xinyue Cui, Guanshui Xie, Guangliu Ran.
College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-fibers and Eco-textiles, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Xinyue Cui, Yuqiang Liu, Qiumin Kong, Dan Ouyang & Zhishan Bo
School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
Xinyue Cui
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, SUSTech Energy Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Guanshui Xie & Longbin Qiu
School of Physics and Astronomy, Applied Optics Beijing Area Major Laboratory, Center for Advanced Quantum Studies, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Guangliu Ran & Wenkai Zhang
Beijing Key Laboratory of Energy Conversion and Storage Materials, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Xueqing Ma, Gendi Zhang & Zhishan Bo
College of Materials and Energy, Guang’an Institute of Technology, Guang’an, China
Hongxiang Li
State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, College of Polymer Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Hongxiang Li & Pei Cheng
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X.C., G.X. and G.R. contributed equally to this work. Y.L. and X.C. conceived the idea for the study and designed the experiments. X.C. performed the fabrication, testing, and data analysis of OSCs and perovskite/organic TSCs. G.X. performed the fabrication and testing of PSCs and the front subcells for the perovskite/organic TSCs, as well as the stability characterization and analysis of the tandem devices. G.R. and W.Z. carried out the TA characterizations and data analysis. X.M. conducted the fabrication and testing of OSCs. X.M. and G.Z. performed the TEM measurements. H.L. and P.C. provided the GIWAXS measurements. Q.K. contributed to the preparation of UV-vis absorption measurement samples. X.C. and Y.L. wrote the manuscript. Y.L., G.R., H.L., D.O., L.Q., and Z.B. supervised the project. All authors participated in discussions and commented on the manuscript.
Correspondence to Yuqiang Liu, Wenkai Zhang, Hongxiang Li, Dan Ouyang, Longbin Qiu or Zhishan Bo.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Communications thanks Ruijie Ma, Jiangang Liu, and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. A peer review file is available.
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Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
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Cui, X., Xie, G., Ran, G. et al. Organic film evolution and recombination losses in highly efficient perovskite/organic tandem solar cells. Nat Commun 16, 8986 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64032-7
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Published: 09 October 2025
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64032-7
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By JOSHUA A. BICKEL
CANFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Through the window of his combine, Wayne Greier watches his teenage son Blake drive a tractor across an empty field, towing a plow into position for another uncertain season of spring planting.
Greier would be worrying less if the solar farm he wanted on his land had come to pass. But local officials blocked it in 2023 under an Ohio state law, and Greier — facing a heavy medical debt — had to sell part of his land to stay afloat. The deal that was killed would have brought him about $540,000 in lease payments every year.
“It was our saving grace,” he said. “It wasn’t a scary picture that everybody likes to paint about solar and the loss of farmland.”
Local opposition to solar has long been an obstacle for green energy developers. But some communities are working to reverse local restrictions, citing the tax benefits and jobs the projects bring and the lease payments from energy companies that can provide stable income to farmers in a volatile industry.
When a solar company approached him wanting to build panels on part of his land, Greier, 42, and a sixth-generation farmer, hesitated. But facing $1 million in medical debt from a long battle with COVID and related complications, he saw a chance to save his farm.
Some in the community thought differently.
Greier said he and his family were ostracized as debate over the project played out in public meetings. His mental health plummeted. And the project was eventually blocked under a state law that allows counties to block construction of wind and solar farms on land they deem “restricted.”
“I was the one that was going to lose the sixth-generation farm. I was the one that couldn’t provide for my family,” he said.
President Donald Trump’s hostility to green energy has battered the industry by wiping away subsidies, loans and tax incentives. But even before his return to the White House, local bans on renewable energy were becoming more common. A 2025 study from Columbia University found that from 2023 to 2024, there was a 16% increase in local laws across 44 states that restricted such projects.
“Many communities want to decarbonize and probably theoretically support renewable energy,” said Juniper Katz, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts who focuses on environmental policy. But, she added, “When it’s your community and your backyard, balancing these processes so people feel like they’ve had a say without creating so many veto points that nothing can get done, I think is the trick. And it’s not easy to do.”
In February, Dearborn County, Indiana, officials paused solar development for a year after concern from residents over the proximity of solar panels near homes and potential environmental impact of panel materials.
Bobby Rauen, who lives near part of a proposed 1,200-acre (486-hectare) solar project in that county, is among residents who petitioned for the pause. He said he hopes officials use this time to create better protections for residents living near potential solar projects. He said he was also concerned that farmland may not go back into production if solar panels are eventually removed.
After officials in Mahoning County, Ohio, halted Greier’s planned 675-acre (273-hectare), 150-megawatt project, he decided to help others who wanted solar on their land, saying he “didn’t want to be a victim.” As a member of the Renewable Energy Farmers of America, Greier, who primarily farms corn and soybeans, has shared his experience with lawmakers, advocacy groups and in communities debating green energy development.
He recently spoke to government officials at a public meeting in Richland County, Ohio, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) from his home. Advocates there got a referendum on the ballot this May to reverse the county’s ban on wind and solar projects.
Morgan Carroll, a lifelong county resident, has been working since last summer to rally support to drop the ban. Though she is not a farmer or landowner, Carroll said she supports the jobs and tax revenue these projects can bring and thinks the ban takes the decision away from residents — and may someday affect her two young children.
“I want them to be in a county that can provide jobs, can provide a good school for them,” she said. “I don’t want to have to move.”
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration moved up deadlines for utility-scale solar projects to qualify for tax incentives after the passage of a big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last July. Now, utility-scale solar projects have to be in service by the end of 2027 to qualify.
Last year, Lita Leavell and her husband, Joe, who operate a 1,000-acre (405-hectare) cattle farm in Lancaster, Kentucky, had hoped to host a utility-scale solar project on about half their land that would have brought them an estimated $60,000 per year. Like Greier, the lease payments would have ensured the land could stay in their family.
But after a Garrard County ordinance was passed in 2023 restricting the development of solar, the energy company Leavell was working with decided to end the project.
Part of her county’s rationale for the ordinance was the federal government’s opposition to solar energy and the Trump administration’s desire to stop utility-scale projects on farmland, county leaders said during an August 2025 meeting. Leavell, who said she is a Republican, questioned why lack of federal support for green energy projects should affect her ability to pursue these projects on her own land. She and a group of six other landowners are suing to overturn the ordinance.
“The thing I guess that perplexed me so much is that there’s so many more worse things that could be next to you,” she said.
Carroll, who helped gather signatures for the referendum in Richland County, Ohio, found that when the debate over solar projects was framed as a property rights issue, people in the community were more receptive.
Greier also focuses on property rights when speaking on the issue. His farm is his retirement plan, and he should have the right to use it to support his family, he said.
“There’s families that are relying on this and looking for this,” he said. “And it’s been taken away, this opportunity.”
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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Policymakers should accelerate the deployment of renewables to capitalise on the low costs of these technologies and insulate national grids from power price fluctuations caused by global energy disruptions.
These are the main recommendations from the latest policy advisory document from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). ‘From Energy Crisis to Energy Security: Actions for Policy Makers’ uses the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as an example of how geopolitical and global supply chain disruptions can impact fossil fuel power prices and the economies that are reliant on these technologies.
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For instance, IRENA estimates that new solar PV and wind additions across the EU has reduced the demand for fossil fuels from areas in the Middle East that have been impacted by the conflict, saving the bloc €58 billion (US$67.8 billion) in additional fuel costs that would have had to be paid to import fossil fuels amid the conflict.
This echoes a similar conclusion drawn by trade body SolarPower Europe earlier this month, which found that Europe’s domestic solar capacity has saved EU countries over US$127.5 million a day since the start of the war by minimising the demand for fossil fuels.
The IRENA document makes a number of policy recommendations to facilitate further renewable energy deployment with this economic background in mind, split over short- (up to six months), medium- (up to one year) and long-term (up to three years) timeframes.
The short-term recommendations include deploying distributed renewable energy projects alongside solar-plus-storage projects for off-grid use, as these systems are much faster to deploy than utility-scale projects or traditional grid expansion work, and introducing “grants, subsidies or tax rebates” to make renewable energy a more compelling investment option.
PV Tech Premium heard earlier this year from SolarPower Europe about financial mechanisms, such as government auctions, and the role they have to play in making solar an attractive investment case for would-be financiers.
IRENA’s medium-term recommendations include fast-tracking current renewable energy and grid infrastructure projects, alongside incentivising battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments to improve overall grid resilience. The long-term recommendations include developing supportive policy frameworks to encourage renewable energy deployments in the long-term and supporting domestic and regional energy supply chains to minimise reliance on volatile global power prices.
“The current crisis clearly demonstrates the strategic case for renewables as a national security imperative”, said IRENA director-general Francesco La Camera. “There is an opportunity to prioritise actions that enhance long-term energy stability.
“Governments must urgently consider targeted interventions to steer investment and emergency responses towards accelerating the deployment of renewable power and the electrification of energy-consuming processes and sectors.”
In addition to the energy security angle, IRENA highlights the low cost of renewable energy generation, compared to fossil fuel alternative, as a key advantage of the technologies. As of 2024, 91% of new utility-scale renewable energy capacity has a lower levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) than the cheapest fossil fuel-based alternative. This is particularly true for the solar sector, where the costs of solar PV have fallen by 87% since 2010, and BESS, where costs have fallen by 93%.
Earlier this year, figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) found that the LCOE of fixed-tilt solar PV increased by 6% between 2024 and 2025. However, BNEF’s Jenny Chase told PV Tech Premium that this uptick was “anomalous”, and does not subtract from more sustained long-term trends that suggest favourable economics for solar and storage.

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MNRE doesn’t foresee supply constraints for solar cells and modules: interview
April 13, 2026
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
Tata Power Solar, Roofsol Energy, Mahindra Solarize, Kalpa Power, and HARTEK emerged as the top rooftop solar installers in India in 2025, according to Mercom India’s India Solar Market Leaderboard 2026. Together, these five companies accounted for nearly 23.6% of the total rooftop solar market. India added 7.1 GW of rooftop solar capacity in 2025, marking an 123.3% increase from 3.2 GW in 2024, as per Mercom India’s Q4 & Annual 2025 Mercom India Rooftop Solar Market Report.
In an exclusive interview with Mercom India, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), shares his views on the government’s policies and programs related to renewable energy development, the strategies to achieve India’s 2030 clean energy target, and steps to overcome challenges in land acquisition and right-of-way for solar and wind projects.
In a significant ruling upholding policy certainty in India’s renewable energy sector, the Rajasthan High Court held that the state government cannot retrospectively withdraw electricity duty exemptions promised under its Solar Policy 2019. The Court said that while the government has the power to change policies, such changes cannot operate retrospectively to take away accrued rights.
The Solar Energy Corporation of India invited proposals from scheduled commercial banks and financial institutions for ₹6.6 billion (~$71.1 million) in term loans for a 200 MW solar project being set up in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. The solar project has an estimated cost of ₹9.45 billion (~$101.75 million), including a ₹1.3 billion (~$14 million) subsidy and viability gap funding, totaling to ₹8.15 billion (~$88 million) from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It is expected to be completed by May 22, 2027.
MAHAGENCO Renewable Energy invited bids to select an agency to lease 700 acres of land and obtain grid connectivity and line right-of-way (RoW) clearance for the development of 175 MW (25 MW × 7) of solar power projects in Maharashtra. The scope of work includes leasing of land for 28 years and further extendable for 2 years, land development services, identifying existing 132/33kV OR 220/33 kV substation having sufficient power evacuation margins and 99% grid availability, and RoW clearance and executing pole line agreement for 33 kV line from land parcel to substation.
Adani Renewable Energy Middle East, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Green Energy, and Minerva Holding formed a joint venture (JV) company to set up renewable energy projects in India. The JV company will focus on developing, constructing, and operating renewable energy projects in India. Minerva is wholly owned by EPointZero.
Large businesses are increasingly turning to solar to take advantage of lower power costs locked in for a long term. One such example is Raviraj Corn Products installing a 2.63 MW solar project at its facility in Solapur, Maharashtra. The solar project, comprising 1.3 MW of ground-mounted capacity and two rooftop systems totaling 700 kW and 630 kW, is expected to save the company ₹28 million (~$302,700) in electricity expenses annually.
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An aerial view of newly installed solar arrays across Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District—part of a 3.1-megawatt solar photovoltaic system spanning 12 schools, helping power campuses with clean, renewable energy.
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Stardust Power Secures Lithium Supply for Oklahoma
Biosolids bill resurrected in State Senate
April 13, 2026

Imagine a $500 million solar project being stalled because it cannot locate customers who want the electricity it would generate.
Fortunately, the developers of the Dutchman Renewable Power Project in Wyoming didn’t follow through with a “build it and they will come” mentality. Their project proposed for Converse County, Wyoming, where Douglas is the county seat, was supposed to begin construction two years ago, but nothing’s been built because the firm cannot locate a buyer for the produced power.
The project had been viewed as a significant addition to the state’s growing renewable energy footprint, particularly in a region more commonly associated with oil, gas, and coal production. However, without secured power purchase agreements (PPAs) or firm commitments from utilities or corporate customers, the project has been unable to move forward.
Developers at BrightNight LLC announced the delay this week and confirmed to county commissioners they not only didn’t have a way to connect the power to be generated to the grid, but didn’t have customers.
The lack of grid interconnection adds another layer of complication. Even if buyers were secured, the project still faces hurdles in transmitting electricity to market, an issue that has become increasingly common across large-scale renewable developments in the U.S.
As a result, construction isn’t expected until sometime in 2027. They originally planned to begin building the solar farm two years ago, underscoring how quickly market conditions and infrastructure challenges can derail even well-funded projects.
The Cowboy State Daily reports it’s not the first solar farm proposed in the state that was stalled for a lack of customers.
The paper recalled a Goshen County project developed by Cowboy Energy of Sheridan. After investing millions of dollars over three years, Cowboy Energy lost its investment partner, Portugal-based Greenvolt Power, because a buyer for the power could not be found.
These setbacks highlight a broader issue facing the renewable energy sector: building generation capacity is only one piece of the equation. Developers must also secure long-term buyers and ensure access to transmission infrastructure. Without those elements, even large-scale projects with significant financial backing can sit idle.
In Wyoming and other energy-producing states, the mismatch between generation capacity and market demand continues to challenge developers. Until transmission constraints are addressed and more buyers commit to renewable energy contracts, similar delays could continue to impact projects across the region.
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Zambia Advances Energy Security With Landmark 100 MW Solar Project In Chisamba  SolarQuarter
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A donor-acceptor integrated polymer for efficient organic solar cells  Science | AAAS
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An aerial view of newly installed solar arrays across Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District—part of a 3.1-megawatt solar photovoltaic system spanning 12 schools, helping power campuses with clean, renewable energy.
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Developers highlight the need for policy reforms to streamline land acquisition
April 13, 2026
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
Consumers are increasingly shifting to solar open access due to rising electricity costs, corporate decarbonization goals, and the need for predictable long-term energy pricing. India added 7.8 GW of open access solar capacity in 2025, a marginal increase from 7.7 GW the previous year. Challenges arising from land acquisition were among the reasons why the growth was largely flat.
Open access developers say acquiring land for projects is hampered by fragmented ownership, unclear titles, regulatory delays, and conversion challenges. Securing contiguous, litigation-free land near substations is cumbersome and time-consuming.
To overcome these challenges, developers call for digitized records, faster approvals, the creation of land banks and renewable energy zones, and the promotion of floating solar, where feasible.
According to Surendra Kumar Sharma, Head, Project Development at Jindal India Renewable Energy, developers in many states spend six to 12 months only on land aggregation and conversion, which extends project timelines.
“In many regions, land parcels are small and owned by multiple farmers, making aggregation time-consuming and negotiation-intensive with unrealistic demand.”
Soubhik Das, Senior Director and Regional Business Head – East at AMPIN Energy Transition, illustrates additional challenges. “Land records are often incomplete or outdated. In some cases, the land has already been sold, but no one knows about it. In other cases, landowners have already passed away, but there is no official update on land ownership. Updating ownership within families also takes time.”
Another substantial challenge is the limited availability of contiguous land parcels. “Developers require land parcels that are sufficiently large, contiguous, legally unencumbered, and supported by clear titles, with no government, forest, prohibited, or disputed land in between,” said Manish Mehta, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Sunsure Energy.
Transmission Challenges
Open access developers are increasingly shifting projects to semi-rural or remote areas where land is more accessible and cost-effective.
However, this shift often raises transmission infrastructure costs, increases evacuation distances, and creates right-of-way challenges. Higher transmission costs can affect overall project economics, particularly in open access projects where tariff competitiveness is critical for C&I consumers.
Mehta noted that land near major demand centers is scarce and expensive, making it difficult to develop large-scale renewable projects closer to them. Developers are therefore increasingly setting up projects in resource-rich yet remote regions. This also leads to grid delays and evacuation constraints, which further increase the cost for renewable energy projects.
Delivery Schedules
Mehta explains why timely land acquisition is important for the financial closure of open access projects. “Timely delivery of power defines customer value; the earlier a project is commissioned, the earlier savings begin. Any delay in land directly defers that value.”
Sharma stated that C&I customers typically expect strict delivery schedules under power purchase agreements, and any delay in securing land can create uncertainty about project execution timelines. Lenders also prefer projects where land ownership or lease documentation is substantially secured before financial closure.
Multi-pronged Procurement
To overcome land acquisition problems, developers leverage a combination of in-house expertise, local partnerships, and technology-driven tools.
Mehta said external aggregators play a critical role in identifying land, facilitating local engagement, and enabling consolidation. Sunsure’s in-house teams undertake legal due diligence, title verification, and compliance alignment.
Das, whose experience mainly covers India’s eastern states, said AMPIN is undertaking land acquisition mostly through in-house efforts. He stated that land aggregators can provide leads, but developers often encounter numerous issues when following up on them.
According to Sharma, developers are adopting multiple strategies, such as early land banking, partnering with experienced local aggregators, using geographic information system-based land-screening tools, and prioritizing sites near existing substations.
Strategic engagement with local communities and district authorities is also critical.
Mehta explains that companies such as Sunsure identify potential land parcels early on, engage more deeply with local aggregators, and ensure parallel progression of legal and commercial processes.
Floating Solar as an Alternative
Some state governments are recognizing the benefits of floating solar projects and are developing policy frameworks to support their efficient implementation.
Das notes that although floating solar projects are a viable alternative under land constraints, they come with some issues. He said such projects require studies, reports, and other processes, which can be expensive. Selecting suitable water bodies and maintaining suitable water levels can also pose challenges.
Mehta concurs, stating that floating solar projects can be promising options but cannot be considered full alternatives to ground-mounted solar. Such projects require large, stable water bodies, which are scarce and often under government control, amid evolving policies on private participation. However, floating solar can complement ground-mounted projects where policy support is clear and infrastructure is conducive.
Sharma said floating solar projects provide a promising complementary solution, particularly in states with large reservoirs and water bodies. These projects help reduce land pressure while improving solar efficiency due to the cooling effects of water surfaces. However, their scalability will depend on policy support, reservoir permissions, and sufficient grid access.
Shrinking Project Sizes
Sharma notes that developers are increasingly setting up smaller, distributed projects of 10-50 MW in some states, rather than large single-site projects, to optimize land use and leverage multiple substations for evacuation, particularly in open-access projects serving multiple C&I clients.
“In some cases, land constraints influence project sizing, with developers planning capacity based on land that is available, legally usable, and practically aggregable rather than on the ideal project size. As a result, projects are being developed at smaller capacities, in phases, or through cluster-based models instead of a single large site,” said Mehta.
Initiatives by States
State-level policies and infrastructure play a critical role in developing open access renewable energy projects.
Das notes that some states have an established ecosystem for open access, where developers can more easily access land and connectivity.
Sharma said states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Karnataka have historically been favorable to open-access projects due to abundant land availability and relatively supportive policy frameworks. However, further digitization of land records and faster approval mechanisms could significantly improve project development timelines.
The impact of state-level initiatives varies on the ground, according to Mehta. For example, Uttar Pradesh has worked on two key fronts: developing evacuation infrastructure in the Bundelkhand region, where land availability is relatively better, and permitting the use of agricultural land for solar projects without requiring conversion to non-agricultural use, which significantly eases execution.
Maharashtra and Karnataka have similarly streamlined and simplified the process for obtaining non-agricultural approvals.
Suggested Policy Changes
Developers recommend digitizing land records, standardizing policies, and speeding up approvals to reduce delays. They also suggest creating land banks, enabling faster land conversion, implementing single-window clearances, and developing pre-approved renewable zones near substations.
Additionally, they propose identifying low-quality land, offering incentives, strengthening community engagement, and rationalizing distribution company charges to create a more supportive investment environment for renewable energy projects.
Parth Shukla
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© 2026 by Mercom Capital Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Neuchâtel-based CleanTech startup LightSeeds has obtained €162k (CHF 150k) from Venture Kick to accelerate the commercialisation of its dedicated vertical solar system, with a strong focus on business development – enabling LightSeeds to move from early market traction to scalable commercial deployment.
Operating in the fast-growing global solar market, the company focuses on unlocking the potential of vertical infrastructure by turning unused surfaces along roads, railways, and commercial and industrial buildings into scalable energy assets at competitive cost.
“Venture Kick has been a key support for LightSeeds. Beyond the funding, the process helped refine the business model, validate the target market, and accelerate the move from technology to commercial deployment,” says CEO Laure-Emmanuelle Perret.
Within the funding activity in 2025-26, LightSeeds sits within a wider flow of funding into solar and adjacent clean-energy businesses.
Comparable examples include Solarock in Paris, which raised €7 million to expand its residential and SME solar offering through a franchise network; enshift in Zug, Switzerland, which secured €18.5 million to scale integrated energy-transition solutions and stands out as the clearest same-country comparator; GRYD Energy, which raised €1.1 million to grow its subscription-based solar and battery model; feld.energy in Munich, which raised more than €10 million to scale Agri-PV systems; Alight in Stockholm, which secured €46 million to finance a solar park in Finland; and TerraSpark in Luxembourg, which raised over €5 million for space-based solar applications.
Taken together, these rounds amount to over €87 million, showing that capital has continued to move across multiple parts of the solar market, from infrastructure and utility-scale projects to Agri-PV and alternative delivery models.
Against that backdrop, LightSeeds’ funding is modest in size but consistent with an early-stage commercialisation round aimed at moving a specialist solar technology from initial traction towards broader deployment.
Founded in 2024 by Laure-Emmanuelle Perret and Pierrick Duvoisin, who bring over 30 years of combined experience in photovoltaics, industrial design, and public-private innovation, the CleanTech startup has assembled experts in technology, industrialisation, and business development to scale its solution internationally.
According to the company, conventional solar panels rely on heavy, fragile glass modules that are prone to breakage and costly to install. These limitations restrict their use, particularly on vertical surfaces such as roads, railways, and industrial building walls.
As a result, large areas remain unused for solar energy generation, while installation and maintenance costs continue to limit broader adoption.
LightSeeds looks to address this challenge by developing ultra-light, unbreakable photovoltaic systems designed for vertical deployment. Its integrated solution combines glass-free modules with a modular mounting and anchoring system, enabling fast installation with minimal tooling.
By reducing weight, complexity, and breakage risk, the technology reportedly lowers total installation costs and carbon footprint while opening new applications for solar energy in urban environments.
The startup targets the global vertical solar market, with a potential exceeding €433 billion (CHF 400 billion) across infrastructure, industrial, and commercial applications. Its dual strategy serves B2B clients, including industrial buildings, warehouses, agricultural operators, and installers, and B2G projects, such as highways, railways, and urban infrastructure, with ongoing projects and a growing pipeline in Switzerland and early European markets.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/04/swiss-solar-startup-lightseeds-secures-e162k-from-venture-kick-for-vertical-pv-rollout/

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Jakson Group has expanded its energy solutions portfolio with the launch of rooftop solar kit and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Jakson Group
Jakson Group has expanded its energy solutions portfolio with the launch of rooftop solar kit and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The company has introduced BESS solutions for residential and commercial applications in four variants: 3 kVA for outage support, 5 kVA for daily home needs, 10 kVA for larger households, and 15 kVA for complete power freedom. The company said these solutions are compact, safe, zero maintenance and designed to support cleaner living.
Jakson also unveiled an all-in-one rooftop solar kit designed in compliance with MNRE and IS standards. Conceived as a system-in-a-box, it includes high-efficiency solar PV modules, PV Inverter, DC and AC distribution boxes with LED indications, MC4 connectors, lightning arrestor and earthing kit.
In addition to solar and storage solutions, the company launched a genset product for small commercial establishments and residential applications, a mobile light tower, and electric three-wheelers. It said its genset product is built to offer fuel efficiency and silent operation, and is well suited for bungalows, shops and ATM booths where reliable backup power remains essential.
Sameer Gupta, Chairman, JAKSON, said, “At JAKSON, our mission has always been to power progress through innovation. With FY26 revenue of over INR 9,000 crore, JAKSON today has both the scale and the responsibility to shape future-ready energy solutions. This portfolio expansion reflects our commitment to building an integrated energy ecosystem that is reliable, responsible and aligned with the evolving needs of customers in India and global markets.”
Sundeep Gupta, Vice Chairman, JAKSON, said, “The market today is looking for energy solutions that are efficient, dependable and future-ready. With this expanded portfolio, JAKSON is strengthening its position as a diversified player serving evolving customer needs across sectors.”
JAKSON Mobile Light Tower (MLT) has been engineered to deliver dependable performance in demanding environments while lowering environmental impact. The company said that “designed for quick transportation and easy relocation, it offers durability in harsh weather conditions, a runtime of 40 to 50 hours, and a lifespan of 50,000 hours. The product is ideal for applications across defence, infrastructure projects, construction sites, disaster relief operations and outdoor events.”
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
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The last date to submit bids is May 14, 2026
April 13, 2026
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited bids to set up 4.455 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects (Tranche IX) across India under the renewable energy service company (RESCO) model.
The scope of work includes obtaining a no-objection certificate from the distribution company (DISCOM) for grid connectivity, and the complete design, engineering, supply, storage, civil works, erection, testing, and commissioning of the rooftop solar projects, including operation and maintenance.
The projects will be installed at the Central Sanskrit University in Bhopal, Thrissur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Puri, Sringeri, Agartala, Bhalwal, Kangra, and Devprayag. The rooftop systems will also be installed at the Regional Passport Office, Bhopal; Visva-Bharati University, Birbhum; the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram; and the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bhagalpur.
The last date to submit bids is May 14, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day.
The successful bidder must submit a performance bank guarantee at the rate of ₹3,375 (~$36.22)/kW for Category A projects and ₹3,715 (~$39.87)/kW for Category B Projects. The selected bidder must also pay service charges of ₹1,350 (~$14.49)/kW for Category A Projects and ₹1,485 (~$15.94)/kW for Category B projects.
The earnest money deposit, net worth, and working capital requirements are given below:

Developers should promote only commercially established and operational technologies to minimize technology risk and achieve timely project commissioning.
For Category A, the projects must be commissioned within seven months. For Category B, the projects must be commissioned within nine months.
SECI has set a ceiling tariff of ₹5 (~$0.054)/kWh for this tender.
The solar modules used in the projects should be from the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-I, and cells should be from ALMM List-II.
The module mounting structure should be designed to withstand a wind speed of up to 160 km/hour. During execution, the solar module mounting structure should be installed without chipping or damaging the rooftop surface. The solar modules shall be Mono PERC-bifacial type.
Responsibility for obtaining connectivity and the necessary approvals for grid connection and net metering will rest with the developer.
The developer should maintain generation so as to achieve annual energy supply corresponding to Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) within + 10% and – 15% of the declared value till the end of 10 years from the commissioning date, subject to the annual CUF remaining minimum of 15% or 13.5%, and within +10% and -20% of the declared value of the annual CUF thereafter till the end of the power purchase agreement (PPA) term.
If the developer fails to supply the minimum energy corresponding to the declared annual CUF within the permissible lower limit of CUF, the developer will be levied a penalty at 50% of the PPA tariff for the shortfall in energy terms.
In January this year, SECI invited bids to install 5,665 kW rooftop solar projects under the RESCO model on 14 government buildings (Tranche-VIII).
Last year, SECI invited bids to install 3,640 kW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects spread across 11 government institutions in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Uttarakhand (Tranche IV).
Subscribe to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker for timely updates on all solar tenders issued by various agencies in India.
Rakesh Ranjan
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© 2026 by Mercom Capital Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.
There was some debate about solar versus fuel generators.
Photo Credit: iStock
As intense storms and aging grid infrastructure make power outages more frequent, many U.S. homeowners are looking for ways to secure their home energy. That’s why one individual took to Reddit after disagreeing with their father about the best way to make their family’s electricity more resilient. 
The user said they’re advocating for solar panels, but their dad is pushing back and “insisting on a generator.” They were concerned about that option because liquid fuels have a limited shelf life and would eventually run out.
“If our electrical grid went out, how … would we get the gas for it?” the original poster asked. “[We] can’t stockpile gas because it doesn’t last too long.” 
However, the OP admitted that they “know nothing” about energy security and have just recently begun diving into disaster and emergency prepping. “Can anyone tell me who is right and who is wrong?” they asked. 
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
While gas generators can be cheaper to install up front, investing in solar panels paired with battery storage — including an automatic transfer switch that activates in a blackout — is one of the most effective ways to prepare for outages while lowering long-term energy costs. Plus, as the OP outlined, you don’t have to worry about the costs or hassle of refueling a generator when you have solar. 
If you’re curious about the best backup option for your home, consider connecting with a comparison solar and battery shopping company like EnergySage. It offers free tools to snag quick installation estimates for solar panel installations and makes it easy to compare quotes without giving your contact info to anyone until you pick one. 
Luckily, the prepping community on Reddit was happy to share their thoughts on the family debate.
“I have both and would like to weigh in,” one user wrote. “Panels are great. I have them on my main house as well as on the detached garage/apartment. I don’t have a power bill and I make roughly $800 annually from the power company on the excess electricity I generate versus what we use.” 
FROM OUR PARTNER
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
They continued by mentioning that, with a solar panel array, a battery system is vital to powering your house when the sun goes down — although, as they pointed out, home batteries can have a high upfront cost compared to generators. 
While home batteries can be an investment, you may be surprised by the local incentives available in your area to reduce the costs of installation. In fact, the average homeowner who works with EnergySage experts to find the best deal and incentives can save up to $10,000 on upfront costs. 
Which of these savings plans for rooftop solar panels would be most appealing for you?
Save $1,000 this year 💸
Save less this year but $20k in 10 years 💰
Save less in 10 years but $80k in 20 years 🤑
Couldn’t pay me to go solar 😒
Click your choice to see results and earn rewards to spend on home upgrades.

While there was some debate in the comments about solar versus fuel generators, most agreed that panels and batteries offer long-term benefits and energy security. 
If this conversation sparked your interest in solar or battery backups, make sure to take advantage of EnergySage’s services to find the best deal in your area. 
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
It even offers a helpful mapping tool to show you the average costs of solar panels and lucrative incentives on a state-by-state basis. 
To fully take control of your home’s power, or even cut ties with the grid, pairing batteries with your solar array is a good option. EnergySage advisors can help you here, too, by getting you information on the most effective battery options and a competitive installation estimate based on your home and budget. 
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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India’s top solar state has renewable projects of about 60 GW awaiting transmission links  Reuters
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Photo: VoltaroEnergy from Pixabay
Published
April 13, 2026
Country
Romania
Author
Igor Todorović
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Published:
April 13, 2026
Country:
Romania
Author
Igor Todorović
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Local authorities in Romania – from communes consisting of a village or two to the capital Bucharest – are investing in solar power to save on electricity costs. Projects have been piling up, helped by administrative reforms and, especially, incentives and European Union funding. Including other small facilities installed by businesses, institutions and even churches, photovoltaics have made prosumers the country’s main energy transition pillar. However, some endeavors amount to several megawatts, like in Timișoara.
Sector 3, one of the six administrative units in Bucharest, is conducting a large-scale green energy program. It aims to place solar panels on all state-owned pre-university education entities.
The municipal authority counts on reducing costs and increasing its energy independence, as it cited the context of the continuous rise in prices of utility services. In case there are no alternatives, the transition to renewables production for self-consumption becomes an economic necessity and not just a sustainability option, the announcement reads.
An optimally-sized PV system can cover a significant part of energy consumption, reducing dependence on the electricity grid and stabilizing costs in the long term, Sector 3 pointed out. It is using EU funds for 13,000 solar panels on the roofs of kindergartens and schools, for 5 MW in total.
The other part of the program is for rooftop solar for one hundred multi-apartment buildings that would undergo energy efficiency upgrades. The installations would generate electricity for staircase lighting, elevators and other joint needs of households.
A commune, comună, is the lowest local authority unit in Romania. It is followed by oraș, which is the status of more than two hundred towns and cities. A municipality (municipiu) is a larger city. There are just over a hundred of them. Bucharest is the only one divided into administrative sectors.
Casimcea commune in southeastern Romania, in Dobruja (Dobrogea), hosts a number of renewable electricity plants and projects. Mayor Gheorghe Țilincă recently praised such investments, in a statement to DobrogeaNews, highlighting the development of rural areas.
He revealed that the commune itself is working on a project for a solar power plant.
“After the feasibility study, we will go through the necessary steps to finance this photovoltaic park of the commune, which will cover the electricity needs for its own consumption and bring benefits, consisting of reducing electricity costs borne by the institution’s budget, using green energy and reducing CO2 emissions, increasing the degree of energy independence,” Țilincă explained.
Investments and projects with European funding are the benchmarks of sustainable development, Casimcea’s Mayor Gheorghe Țilincă says
There are already 135 wind turbines in operation, he noted. Verbund Green Power Romania has 88 in its Casimcea wind park, of 226 MW. Interestingly, the company is expanding it into a hybrid power plant. It would comprise a PV park of 60 MW in peak capacity, with Simtel as a contractor, and a battery energy storage system of 48.3 MW and 76 MWh.
“In today’s global situation… we need energy produced here in Romania more than ever,” Țilincă stressed. The owner of the land where a wind turbine is spinning can receive EUR 5,000 to EUR 7,000 per year, while renting a surface for PV parks costs EUR 1,500 to EUR 1,800 per hectare per year, he added.
“In my opinion, investments and projects with European funding are the benchmarks of sustainable development,” the mayor underscored.
Notably, projects have been emerging in Romania for hybrid power plants consisting of wind and solar power, especially in Dobruja, alongside local renewable energy hubs, like the area of Crucea and Pantelimon.
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Romania
13 April 2026 – From village communes to the capital city, local authorities in Romania are investing in photovoltaics, which implies substantial savings
Albania
13 April 2026 – Sineng Electric, based in Wuxi, China, said it has powered a battery energy storage system (BESS) of 24 MW and 48 MWh in western Albania
Region/EU, Serbia
13 April 2026 – Belgrade Energy Forum – BEF 2026 has expanded its partner network and is welcoming another group ranging from renewable energy giants to industrial associations.
Croatia
10 April 2026 – The Čemernica wind farm is planned to be built in the municipality of Dicmo and the city of Trilj, near the coastal city of Split
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By JOSHUA A. BICKEL
CANFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Through the window of his combine, Wayne Greier watches his teenage son Blake drive a tractor across an empty field, towing a plow into position for another uncertain season of spring planting.
Greier would be worrying less if the solar farm he wanted on his land had come to pass. But local officials blocked it in 2023 under an Ohio state law, and Greier — facing a heavy medical debt — had to sell part of his land to stay afloat. The deal that was killed would have brought him about $540,000 in lease payments every year.
“It was our saving grace,” he said. “It wasn’t a scary picture that everybody likes to paint about solar and the loss of farmland.”
Local opposition to solar has long been an obstacle for green energy developers. But some communities are working to reverse local restrictions, citing the tax benefits and jobs the projects bring and the lease payments from energy companies that can provide stable income to farmers in a volatile industry.
When a solar company approached him wanting to build panels on part of his land, Greier, 42, and a sixth-generation farmer, hesitated. But facing $1 million in medical debt from a long battle with COVID and related complications, he saw a chance to save his farm.
Some in the community thought differently.
Greier said he and his family were ostracized as debate over the project played out in public meetings. His mental health plummeted. And the project was eventually blocked under a state law that allows counties to block construction of wind and solar farms on land they deem “restricted.”
“I was the one that was going to lose the sixth-generation farm. I was the one that couldn’t provide for my family,” he said.
President Donald Trump’s hostility to green energy has battered the industry by wiping away subsidies, loans and tax incentives. But even before his return to the White House, local bans on renewable energy were becoming more common. A 2025 study from Columbia University found that from 2023 to 2024, there was a 16% increase in local laws across 44 states that restricted such projects.
“Many communities want to decarbonize and probably theoretically support renewable energy,” said Juniper Katz, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts who focuses on environmental policy. But, she added, “When it’s your community and your backyard, balancing these processes so people feel like they’ve had a say without creating so many veto points that nothing can get done, I think is the trick. And it’s not easy to do.”
In February, Dearborn County, Indiana, officials paused solar development for a year after concern from residents over the proximity of solar panels near homes and potential environmental impact of panel materials.
Bobby Rauen, who lives near part of a proposed 1,200-acre (486-hectare) solar project in that county, is among residents who petitioned for the pause. He said he hopes officials use this time to create better protections for residents living near potential solar projects. He said he was also concerned that farmland may not go back into production if solar panels are eventually removed.
After officials in Mahoning County, Ohio, halted Greier’s planned 675-acre (273-hectare), 150-megawatt project, he decided to help others who wanted solar on their land, saying he “didn’t want to be a victim.” As a member of the Renewable Energy Farmers of America, Greier, who primarily farms corn and soybeans, has shared his experience with lawmakers, advocacy groups and in communities debating green energy development.
He recently spoke to government officials at a public meeting in Richland County, Ohio, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) from his home. Advocates there got a referendum on the ballot this May to reverse the county’s ban on wind and solar projects.
Morgan Carroll, a lifelong county resident, has been working since last summer to rally support to drop the ban. Though she is not a farmer or landowner, Carroll said she supports the jobs and tax revenue these projects can bring and thinks the ban takes the decision away from residents — and may someday affect her two young children.
“I want them to be in a county that can provide jobs, can provide a good school for them,” she said. “I don’t want to have to move.”
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration moved up deadlines for utility-scale solar projects to qualify for tax incentives after the passage of a big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last July. Now, utility-scale solar projects have to be in service by the end of 2027 to qualify.
Last year, Lita Leavell and her husband, Joe, who operate a 1,000-acre (405-hectare) cattle farm in Lancaster, Kentucky, had hoped to host a utility-scale solar project on about half their land that would have brought them an estimated $60,000 per year. Like Greier, the lease payments would have ensured the land could stay in their family.
But after a Garrard County ordinance was passed in 2023 restricting the development of solar, the energy company Leavell was working with decided to end the project.
Part of her county’s rationale for the ordinance was the federal government’s opposition to solar energy and the Trump administration’s desire to stop utility-scale projects on farmland, county leaders said during an August 2025 meeting. Leavell, who said she is a Republican, questioned why lack of federal support for green energy projects should affect her ability to pursue these projects on her own land. She and a group of six other landowners are suing to overturn the ordinance.
“The thing I guess that perplexed me so much is that there’s so many more worse things that could be next to you,” she said.
Carroll, who helped gather signatures for the referendum in Richland County, Ohio, found that when the debate over solar projects was framed as a property rights issue, people in the community were more receptive.
Greier also focuses on property rights when speaking on the issue. His farm is his retirement plan, and he should have the right to use it to support his family, he said.
“There’s families that are relying on this and looking for this,” he said. “And it’s been taken away, this opportunity.”
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Copyright 2026 Twin Cities. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.

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Vikram Solar Crosses 10 GW Milestone, Strengthens Role In Global Clean Energy Growth  SolarQuarter
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Solar power is considered one of the most promising routes to green energy, thanks to the sun’s almost inexhaustible power output. However, adopting it can be difficult, especially if you’re trying to do it in any large form. That’s because solar panels traditionally take up a lot of space, and you need to make sure they have ample exposure to the sun, or else they won’t generate a good amount of power. In places like South Korea, the act of removing large swaths of trees has become somewhat commonplace as solar installations have expanded, but a new type of solar installation called a solar tree could help mitigate this and do more than just generate energy; it could also help save the forests.
According to a new study published in Scientific Reports, setting up traditional solar installations typically eliminates roughly 98% of forest coverage. However, a new design which features panels attached to tall poles that can be blended into the forest canopies could help mitigate this exponentially, leading to a preservation of 99% of the forest cover while still providing an equal capacity for power generation. The new method has been tested both through simulations that used 3D geospatial information, as well as physical test conditions where actual versions of the solar trees were placed in forests located along the South Korean coast.
One of the biggest reasons we’re seeing wider adoption of solar energy is to help in the world’s efforts to control our losing fight against climate change by minimizing how much we rely on fossil fuels. That’s because the drilling of fossil fuels, as well as the burning of energy-producing materials like coal, can add to the greenhouse gases that fill our atmosphere. The problem with replacing all of these other methods with solar, though, is that solar energy takes up a lot of space, as we noted above. While scientists have been coming up with ways to work around this — like blending farming and solar energy installations, a practice being called agrivoltaics — we’re still seeing new solutions pop up, like the solar trees being used over in South Korea.
While it is true that solar installations can be placed on top of houses and buildings, which is definitely a practice we already see, when you’re creating these arrays to generate energy for a larger grid, you need more space to build them. That’s because the more panels you have, the more solar energy you can capture, and that means more electricity can be generated. However, in heavily forested areas, using standard solar array setups means you’ll need to deforest large swaths of land, which means fewer trees to help act as carbon dioxide sinks, not to mention the widespread effects doing so will have on the ecosystem in that area.
This more confined approach to solar energy gathering sees the panels being installed atop tall poles. This mitigates the damage done to the ecosystem and keeps the forest from being destroyed. And because the researchers involved with it are already reporting promising results that show they can generate an almost equal amount of energy, having to deforest large plots of land does not appear to be required anymore.
The offshore wind parks in Europe are also doing a lot for local ecosystems, so being able to mimic something similarly helpful for the environment using solar energy could help provide more opportunities for solar arrays to pop up around the world without disrupting the local wildlife and natural climate-change controllers like trees. Considering wind turbines can take up to a decade to really pay off, being able to lean into the pros of solar energy sooner could make it more appealing for large energy projects.
A 2021 study from the U.S. Department of Energy found that solar power has the potential to provide at least 40% of America’s electricity by 2035, if we follow the right path. And the addition of solar arrays like the solar trees being used in South Korea could be a good way to compliment the already existing larger arrays we’re seeing go up across the country, and around the world. Finding new solutions like this is a huge step forward that will hopefully open new doors for how we approach green energy opportunities.

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Citicore activates 125-MW solar farm in Pangasinan  Inquirer.net
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On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, AIUB Community of Engineering Students (ACES) organized a technical session at the Media Studio of American International University–Bangladesh (AIUB). The session was held from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM, and explored advanced solar technologies, highlighting innovative photovoltaic materials and their real-world applications to bridge research and practical renewable energy solutions.
The event commenced with a formal inauguration by Prof. Dr. ABM Siddique Hossain (Professor and Dean, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB), who briefly addressed the topic and highlighted the importance of advancing solar technologies in achieving sustainable energy solutions. The session was conducted by Dr. Ihteaz Muhaimeen Hossain (Process Commissioning Engineer, Bühler Alzenau GmbH), where key concepts related to perovskite solar cells, including their structure, efficiency improvements, fabrication techniques, and future prospects, were discussed in detail. The presentation highlighted the advantages of perovskite materials over conventional solar technologies and their role in advancing sustainable energy systems.  
An interactive Q/A session was held afterward, allowing participants to engage directly with the speaker, clarify their queries, and deepen their understanding of the topic. Toward the end of the session, a token of appreciation was presented by Dr. Mohammad Abdul Mannan (Professor and Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering, AIUB) as a gesture of gratitude for the speaker’s valuable contribution. He also delivered a short closing remark, appreciating the session and encouraging students to explore emerging technologies in the field.

American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) Where leaders are created
info@aiub.edu
+88 02 841 4046-9; +88 02 841 4050

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Researchers create massive solar cells capable of producing both electricity and heat  Yahoo Tech
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DIHOOL 2-Pole DC Molded Case Circuit Breaker – 300 Amp, 500VDC For Solar Panel PV Systems & Battery Banks  RuhrkanalNEWS
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An ongoing collaboration between Australia’s Halocell Energy and U.S-based Sofab Inks finds that perovskite modules incorporating Sofab’s Tinfab electron transport layer maintain approximately 100% of their normalized efficiency after 1,300 hours under accelerated combined light and damp-heat testing.
Image: Sofab Inks
Australian solar cell developer Halocell Energy and U.S. startup Sofab Inks have found perovskite devices incorporating Sofab’s novel metal oxide nanoparticle inks demonstrate high levels of durability.
Halocell and Sofab Inks announced a strategic partnership in mid 2025 to accelerate innovation in perovskite PV technology, coinciding with the launch of Halocell’s Ambient Module series. The partnership sees Sofab Inks supply Halocell with its nanoparticle inks, with Halocell also continuing to formulate and manufacture its own, proprietary perovskite inks.
Jack Manzella, COO & co-founder of Sofab Inks, told pv magazine that since the partnership began, the University of Louisville spinoff has worked alongside the Halocell technical team to qualify and validate its material in Halocell’s devices. 
Modules incorporating Sofab Inks’ Tinfab electron transport layer have demonstrated approximately 100% normalized efficiency after 1,300 hours under accelerated combined light and damp-heat testing of 1,000 lux illumination, 85% relative humidity and 65 C. Control devices using commercially-available charge transport layers dropped by around 20% normalized efficiency under the same testing conditions.
“Stability remains a critical barrier to the commercialization of perovskite solar cells, so this represents a meaningful step forward,” Manzella told pv magazine. “Halocell is one of the few perovskite companies actively selling modules today and the added stability benefits of our materials strengthen their commercial offering.”
Manzella explained that Sofab’s nanoparticle inks are designed to replace fullerene-based materials such as C60 as the electron transport layer, particularly in PIN architectures and tandem applications. “They perform the same function but offer improved thermal and environmental stability, are compatible with scalable manufacturing techniques like slot die coating, and are based on lower-cost, abundant materials, making them better suited for commercial-scale manufacturing,” he said.  
Halocell has now begun to ship modules using Sofab’s Tinfab electron transport layer to partners for evaluation, with current focus on uses in IoT devices, wireless sensors and small indoor electronics.
“Halocell plans to expand its offerings into terrestrial and drone applications and we are excited to grow alongside them,” Manzella added. “Looking ahead, we are focused on joint development efforts aimed at scaling to larger area modules and production volumes.”
In January, Halocell signed a memorandum of understanding with Queensland advanced materials company Lava Blue to collaborate on scalable, Australian-made specialty chemicals used in printing perovskite solar modules.
Last October, Sofab Inks announced its tin oxide electron transport layer material was used in a 22.2%-efficient mini perovskite solar module measuring 30 x 30 cm.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
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University of Kerala, an India-based public university, has developed a 21.18% efficient lead-free solar cell at its Photovoltaics Research Laboratory. Professor Jayakrishnan R, who heads the university’s department of physics, said the cell uses tin, rubidium and cesium in a perovskite structure instead of toxic lead. The findings were published in ACS Applied Engineering Materials, a journal brought out by the American Chemical Society. The reported work emerged from MSc student Sooraj S’s dissertation, with contributions from Adithya Nath R and Arya Narayanan. The technology is liquid-processed and compatible with advanced printing techniques, which the article said can support lower-cost manufacturing for small and medium enterprises. The report added that the cells can generate more electricity from rooftops and smaller plots in land-scarce India, while supporting decentralised solar manufacturing and aligning with the Keralam’s Net-Zero 2050 ambitions.

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The project will feature solar panel canopies installed over existing parking areas, transforming them into dual-use infrastructure that generates clean energy while providing shaded parking for the campus community. Planning and design are currently underway, with construction anticipated to begin in August 2026.
Once completed, the system is projected to produce approximately 2.38 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power the equivalent of about 270 Hawaiʻi homes each year. The project is expected to support the UH System’s broader net-zero energy goals, contributing to both systemwide sustainability targets and supplying an estimated 50% of the net-zero energy needed to power the UH West Oʻahu campus. The next phase of the university’s efforts to become fully net-zero is the replacement of its chillers with new high efficiency units and control systems. That upgrade is planned for fiscal year 2027.
The solar canopy will span multiple parking lots across campus and include an industrial-scale battery storage system designed to enhance operational resilience. In the event of a power outage, the system will be capable of supporting critical campus functions, an especially important feature within Hawaiʻi’s isolated island electrical grid.
“The new PV system is designed to offset 100% of the campus cooling load, significantly reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels while lowering greenhouse gas emissions,” said Miles Topping, director of energy management for the UH System. “Producing clean energy while providing shade just makes sense, it’s the right thing to do, and it also strengthens our resilience as a community.”
All campus buildings at UH West Oʻahu are LEED-certified and incorporate energy-efficient systems, each supported by approximately 100-kilowatt solar installations. The campus also utilizes rainwater catchment systems for irrigation and benefits from proximity to public transportation, including on-campus bus and rail service.
The project is being delivered through a combination of funding sources, including roughly one-third campus funding, one-third state capital improvement program funds, and one-third federal tax incentives.
Project management is led by the UH Office of Project Delivery and the UH West Oʻahu Office of Planning and Design. The team also includes local industry partners Elite Pacific Construction and RevoluSun.

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Solar Power World
By Kelly Pickerel | April 13, 2026
Glass and glazing system supplier Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) Group announced it has completed a demonstration experiment producing float-glass from recycled solar panels
Cover glass from solar panels was separated and extracted at Tokuyama’s recycling center in Hokkaido, Japan, and NSG Group then conducted a manufacturing trial using the recovered glass in a raw material mix at its float furnace in Chiba, Japan. The trial assessed product quality and the impact on the manufacturing process. NRG says the results confirmed that the recycled material can be incorporated under defined conditions, demonstrating the feasibility of horizontal recycling into float-glass.
These efforts support the “Vision 2025 for Achieving Carbon Neutrality in the Glass Industry by 2050” announced by the Flat Glass Manufacturers Association of Japan last December, which aims to build a waste glass recycling system.
NSG Group operates multiple glass production facilities in the United States, including a float line in Rossford, Ohio. The line at Pilkington North America, a member of NSG Group, supplies glass to First Solar, a solar panel manufacturer operating in nearby Perrysburg, Ohio.
Kelly Pickerel has more than 15 years of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World. Email Kelly.

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