A new report shows that more renewable generation capacity – led predominantly by solar farms and hybrid solar-and-battery projects – reached financial close, and more large-scale battery energy storage was switched on across Australia in the first half of the year than across all of 2025. The Clean Energy Council’s (CEC) Bi-annual investment report: Large-scale renewable generation and storage (January-June 2026) also shows that five generation projects totalling 1.4 GW of new capacity and worth more than $2.8 billion (USD 1.97 billion) were commissioned and started operations during the first half of this year. The CEC said the rolling 12-month quarterly average for newly commissioned capacity has now reached 912 MW, up 56% compared to the same period 12 months ago, and the highest rolling average seen since Q1 2022. A further eight generation projects totalling about 1.9 GW began construction in H1 2026. In addition to the new generation projects, nine battery energy storage projects worth $4.3 billion and representing 2.3 GW / 7.1 GWh of storage capacity were also switched on in the first six months of the year, surpassing the 2 GW / 5.1 GWh added during 2025. The report also shows that more new generation capacity reached financial close across Australia in the first half of 2026 than in the whole of 2025 with 12 projects totalling 2.6 GW securing finance, compared with 2.3 GW across all of last year. Utility-scale solar drove the new commitments with 11 of the 12 projects solar or solar hybrids with one onshore wind project also reaching financial close. A further 13 large-scale battery energy storage projects totalling 1.6 GW / 6.5 GWh also reached financial close in H1 2026, including a record 6.3 GWh in the June quarter. CEC Chief Executive Officer Jackie Trad said the results show the resilience and growth of the clean energy industry in the face of difficult headwinds. “Australian sun and wind cannot be cut off by conflict overseas,” she said. “Each new solar, wind and battery investment helps make Australia more energy independent and economically resilient, shielding Australians from global fossil fuel price shocks and supply disruptions.” The CEC said there are now 141 renewable energy generation and battery energy storage projects worth around $32.5 billion are now funded or under construction across Australia. This includes 76 generation projects totalling 11.7 GW and 79 storage projects, either standalone or hybrid projects, equivalent to 12.6 GW / 35 GWh. Solar accounts for 53% of generation capacity at financial close or under construction, and Queensland, New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia all share approximately 27% of solar capacity either at financial close or under construction, Queensland holds the largest share of pipeline investment, accounting for $9.6 billion and 4.5 GW in projects that are currently at financial close or are under construction. NSW has the largest battery storage pipeline at 4.3 GW / 11.2 GWh. “Queensland is leading the nation in clean energy investment, showing what can be achieved when world-class renewable energy resources are matched with investor confidence,” Trad said. “But the story is bigger than any one state or territory; across Australia, investors are backing the technologies they know will power our economic future and strengthen our energy security.” Trad did however warn that clean energy investment is not immune to tougher conditions and said confidence appears to be softening, particularly for onshore wind, with investors naming approvals and transmission as their biggest obstacles. “With $32.5 billion worth of generation and storage projects now under construction or at financial close, maintaining this momentum will require predictable approvals, timely transmission and long-term revenue certainty to help more projects, including onshore wind, progress into operation,” she said. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
TCL SunPower, a unit of Chinese PV manufacturer TCL Zhonghuan, has introduced its new SunPower Origin solar panel series for residential rooftop applications. “The module format offers significant advantages, particularly on rooftops that are not perfectly rectangular or have obstacles such as chimneys,” the company’s Director of Product Management, Karin Alberto-Burkhardt, told pv magazine. “Its dimensions allow installers to fit more modules compared with conventional panels.” The new modules are based on the manufacturer’s eighth-generation back-contact cell technology and feature a fully black design. They are available in five versions, with power outputs ranging from 485 W to 505 W and efficiencies between 23.8% and 24.7%. The SPR-BE54-HD505, the most powerful module in the series, delivers 505 W and achieves a maximum efficiency of 24.7%. Its open-circuit voltage is 40.88 V and its short-circuit current is 15.58 A. The module has a maximum power voltage of 34.08 V and a maximum power current of 14.82 A. The smallest panel in the series, the SPR-BE54-HD485, has a power output of 485 W and an efficiency of 23.8%. Its open-circuit voltage is 40.45 V and its short-circuit current is 15.18 A. All five modules measure 1,800 mm × 1,134 mm × 30 mm and weigh 26.0 kg. They feature 2mm + 2 mm semi-tempered glass, a black anodized aluminum frame and an IP68-rated junction box with three bypass diodes. The modules have a maximum system voltage of 1,500 V and an operating temperature range of -40 C to 70 C. The panels have a temperature coefficient of -0.26%/C for power, a voltage temperature coefficient of -0.22%/C and a current temperature coefficient of 0.05%/C. Their maximum series fuse rating is 30 A. According to the manufacturer, the back-contact cells are patterned using lithography rather than laser processing, which the company claims reduces the risk of microcracks. TCL SunPower Global also said the modules are designed to improve performance under partial shading. The company claims that the electrical architecture of the 54-cell panel provides shading behavior equivalent to more than 16,000 bypass diodes, helping limit localized heating and maintain power generation in unshaded areas. The technology has received a Class A+ shading-resistance certification from TÜV Rheinland, according to the manufacturer. The modules are certified to IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 standards and have a Class C fire rating under IEC 61730-2 and UL 790. They have also undergone ammonia, dust and sand, and salt mist testing. The manufacturer offers a 40-year warranty covering the product, power output and service. It guarantees at least 99% of nominal output after the first year, with maximum annual degradation of 0.25% thereafter. Based on these warranty terms, the guaranteed output after 40 years is approximately 89.25% of the initial rated power. TCL SunPower Global said its historical installed base of more than 15 GW of back-contact modules has recorded a warranty return rate of 0.005%, based on an internal analysis conducted in June 2026. Alongside the residential series, the company has introduced a commercial version of SunPower Origin featuring 66 back-contact cells. The bifacial module measures 2,192 mm × 1,134 mm, delivers up to 615 W and offers bifaciality of up to 80%, according to the manufacturer. “We are targeting bifaciality levels of up to 85%,” Alberto-Burkhardt said. “The improved power density and module format also allow installers to fit more panels on commercial rooftops. These are important advantages when roof geometry and available space limit system design,” The new panels are available for ordering through TCL SunPower Partners across Europe, with initial deliveries expected before the end of 2026. 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: [email protected]. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Monday, November 2, 2026 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Wednesday, October 28, 2026 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Missed pv magazine USA Week 2026? Catch up on three days of expert discussions on U.S. solar manufacturing, distributed energy, and solar-plus-storage. pv magazine hosts its four-day virtual event on European solar and energy storage, exploring market opportunities, solar-plus-storage business cases, technical quality, and cybersecurity in the years ahead. Monday, October 26, 2026 10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Servotech Renewable Power System has unveiled its Sparkle Pro IP54 single-phase hybrid solar inverters for residential applications. The range comprises 3 kW, 4.2 kW and 6 kW models. The inverters manage solar power generation, battery storage (lithium-ion or lead-acid) and grid supply through a single system. The 3 kW and 4.2 kW models operate with 24 V DC battery systems, while the 6 kW model uses a 48 V DC battery configuration. The inverters support a maximum PV input voltage of 500 V and feature a built-in maximum power point tracking (MPPT) solar charge controller, with an MPPT operating voltage range of 40–500 V. They are compatible with both lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries. Additional features include lithium battery activation using PV or utility power. Designed with an IP54-rated enclosure, the Sparkle Pro series offers protection against dust ingress and water splashes. Other features include RS232, RS485, USB and dry-contact interfaces, an LED display, grid-feed-in capability and a noise-control algorithm. 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: [email protected]. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Monday, November 2, 2026 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Wednesday, October 28, 2026 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Missed pv magazine USA Week 2026? Catch up on three days of expert discussions on U.S. solar manufacturing, distributed energy, and solar-plus-storage. pv magazine hosts its four-day virtual event on European solar and energy storage, exploring market opportunities, solar-plus-storage business cases, technical quality, and cybersecurity in the years ahead. Monday, October 26, 2026 10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
The use of quality farmland for solar power sites has come under the microscope in the Lower North Island. A number of conversions are proposed across the region via the Government’s fast-track programme for infrastructure, housing and development projects with “significant regional or national benefits”. Consent to convert dairy land to solar farms was previously processed by councils, giving consideration to the Government’s National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land. This requires the country’s most productive land to be identified and managed to prevent “inappropriate” subdivision, use and development. Approval was granted in August, subject to conditions, to construct and operate a solar farm near Foxton across about 400ha. Two other applications for solar farms in the Manawatū-Rangitīkei region are going through the fast-track process, plus one in Taranaki. One is the proposed Rangitīkei Solar Farm near Marton, another covers 433ha at Bunnythorpe, and the third covers 150ha near Huirangi. In 2024, consent was granted to build a solar farm on about 180ha near Ōpunake in South Taranaki. Other solar developments include a proposed 450ha solar farm at Stratford and a 48ha project at Kaponga. Manawatū-Rangitīkei Federated Farmers’ Meat & Wool chairman Ben McDougall said much of this development in the Lower North Island was proposed for highly productive class 1 and 2 farmland. Acknowledging New Zealand needed more electricity and that solar energy had an important role to play, he said solar farms could be built relatively quickly, had comparatively low construction costs, and produced electricity without operational emissions. “Our concern is not solar energy itself, but where these developments are being located,” he said. “In our view, large solar farms should not be built on productive Class 1 and 2 farmland; this is some of New Zealand’s most versatile and valuable land. “It grows vegetables and crops, feeds livestock, and produces high-quality pasture. “Once large areas are committed to solar generation, that productive capacity may be unavailable for decades.” While solar infrastructure may technically be removable, he said restoring land to its previous productive condition might not be simple, quick or guaranteed. McDougall didn’t blame farmers for considering these opportunities. “The returns being discussed can be far greater and more reliable than what many properties could earn through farming,” he said. “Faced with rising costs, uncertain commodity prices, weather risks, and increasing regulation, accepting a long-term solar lease may be an entirely rational decision. But what makes sense for an individual landowner may not necessarily be in the country’s long-term interest.” McDougall said New Zealand needed renewable electricity, but it also needed food production and resilient rural communities. Taranaki Federated Farmers’ president Nick Brown. “Solar farms should be directed first towards less versatile land, industrial areas, rooftops, car parks, and sites close to existing electricity infrastructure.” “Where highly productive land is considered, decision-makers should require a strong assessment of alternatives, cumulative regional effects, drainage, soil protection, reversibility, and eventual decommissioning.” McDougall said the concern was not whether New Zealand should build solar farms. “It is whether we are sacrificing some of our best farmland because solar development offers an attractive short-term return,” he said. “Once that land is gone from production, it may be very difficult to get back. “I fear we are being short-sighted and that today’s financial gain could become tomorrow’s long-term pain.” Taranaki Federated Farmers’ president Nick Brown had a “balanced view” on the situation. “While solar farms are a little bit unsightly, farmers have the right to lease or sell their land as they see fit.” While there might be spin-offs for the local community involved during the construction phase, Nick said expertise “from outside” was often used. “When using farmland, I would need to see a solid argument for the net benefit to the community,” he said. “There is real potential for it to get out of control. “Prime land is under threat.” While the fast-track process helps developers “get on with it”, Brown said this needed to be tempered with the benefits/effects of the particular project. He said the issue is one that Federated Farmers was monitoring closely. “It is front of mind.” National Federated Farmers board member and energy spokesman Greg Anderson said the organisation generally favoured an approach of private property rights, that was, landowners should be able to determine the most productive use of their land. “Concerns arise where solar farms impact neighbours, for example, reverse sensitivity issues [when the presence of one land use reduces what another can do, e.g., limiting fertiliser application]. “Or, where government policy favours one land use over another.” Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you Get more of the radio, music and podcasts you love with the FREE iHeart app. Scan the QR code to download now. Download from the app stores Stream unlimited music, thousands of radio stations and podcasts all in one app. iHeart is easy to use and all FREE
Indian PV manufacturer Emmvee has unveiled a TOPCon solar module featuring a four-cut cell design at Renewable Energy India Expo (REI) 2026. The module delivers 640–650 W, 25–30 W more power than conventional half-cut modules of the same dimensions, according to the company. Emmvee also showcased a 2,000 V DC solar module aimed at reducing balance-of-system costs. The quarter-cut TOPCon module has each solar cell divided into four sections, compared with the two sections used in conventional half-cut modules. Each section carries one quarter of the module current, reducing resistive losses in the cell interconnections. The module also uses cell overlap, or negative cell placement, to improve space utilisation and increase power output without increasing module dimensions, according to Emmvee. The module is designed with a lower temperature coefficient. This means the module loses less power as its temperature rises, helping maintain higher power output in hot conditions. The design is also expected to reduce heat generated within the module during operation. Another benefit is the improved performance under shading. The smaller cell sections help limit the area affected by shading and hotspots and thereby allowing the module to maintain approximately 85% performance compared with 75% for conventional modules. Also, over the longer term, the new module is engineered to retain its power-generating capacity better. Typically, half-cut modules have a power degradation rate of 1% in the first year and 0.4% annually from the second year onwards. The quad-cut module has a degradation rate of 0.35% in the corresponding time frame. It is designed to retain the same general electrical specification class as the existing half-cut product, according to Emmvee. Emmvee’s 2,000 V DC PV module allows more modules to be connected in each string, reducing the number of strings, cables, trenches and electrical components required across a project. This lowers installation time, labour requirements and balance-of-system costs. By carrying the same power at lower current, it also reduces energy losses that happens on DC cables, helping more of the electricity generated by the modules reach the grid. “The new module requires fewer inverters, and combiner boxes simplifying plant design and maintenance. In fact, it helps lower the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) by 1.8%,” stated the company. 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: [email protected]. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Monday, November 2, 2026 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Wednesday, October 28, 2026 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Missed pv magazine USA Week 2026? Catch up on three days of expert discussions on U.S. solar manufacturing, distributed energy, and solar-plus-storage. pv magazine hosts its four-day virtual event on European solar and energy storage, exploring market opportunities, solar-plus-storage business cases, technical quality, and cybersecurity in the years ahead. Monday, October 26, 2026 10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
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For many decades, scientists assumed that Mars was geologically inactive. While its surface is covered in features that attest to its volcanic past, all evidence seemed to indicate that Mars was geologically dead. This is consistent with the fact that Mars’ crust has no tectonic plates and instead consists of a single plate, making it a “Stagnant Lid” planet. However, with the arrival of NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) lander, indications that the planet was still “alive” began to accumulate. Beyond “marsquakes” caused by impactors, InSight detected evidence of tectonic activity from within. In a recent study, scientists at Imperial College London and Columbia University presented seismic evidence that a marsquake originated beneath Valles Marineris. According to InSight’s data, the event (S0976a) was caused by rocks slipping along fault lines deep within the crust. These findings suggest that faults formed billions of years ago, when Mars was much more active, are unstable enough to rupture under stress. The research was led by Jung-Hun Song, an Assistant Professor at Imperial College London’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering. He was joined by researchers from Columbia’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The study describing their findings was published in Nature Communications. One of two Mars InSight’s 7-foot (2.2 meters) wide solar panels was imaged by the lander’s Instrument Deployment Camera. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Like Olympus Mons and the Tharsis region, Valles Marineris is the Solar System’s largest geological feature of its kind, dwarfing similar features on Earth. The vast canyon system spans 3,900 km (2,423 mi) long, up to 600 km (373 mi) wide, and more than 9 km (5.5 mi) deep. Meanwhile, the largest Canyon system on Earth, the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, stretches roughly 505 km (313.5 mi) long, up to 113 m (371 ft) wide, and reaches a maximum depth of 6 km (3.7 mi). As Song explained: Valles Marineris is one of the most spectacular geological structures anywhere in the Solar System, but until now we didn’t know for certain that its faults are still active. Our study opens up exciting possibilities for discovering ongoing seismic activity on other planetary bodies that we might otherwise consider geologically inactive. The most widely accepted theory is that the valley was formed by rift faults created by tensional tectonic forces that pulled the crust apart. This process is believed to be related to the intense volcanic activity that formed the Tharsis Bulge during the Noachian to Late Hesperian periods (4.1 to 3.0 billion years ago). It is also theorized that the canyon was enlarged by subsequent erosion and the collapse of the rift walls, similar to the East African Rift. For their study, the team analyzed the S0976a seismic event that was recorded by InSight on August 25th, 2021. This was the only marsquake detected in Mars’s western hemisphere, and it originated on the opposite side of the planet. Previous studies placed the marsquake near the western part of Valles Marineris. However, its cause was unclear, with possibilities ranging from meteoroid impacts to landslides and other forms of mass movement common to Mars. Tharsis Montes, with Olympus Mons (upper left) and Valles Marineris (right). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The team built models to test these explanations, but they couldn’t reproduce the observed seismic waves. The researchers also consulted satellite images of the region taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) after the event, but found no evidence of an impact crater or landslides. The best fit was a strike-slip marsquake, in which blocks of crust move horizontally past each other along a steep fault about 20 to 40 km (12 to 24 mi) beneath the valley. Said Song: What makes the result compelling is that several completely different types of evidence point in the same direction. The seismic waves tell us that there was a sideways sliding motion on a fault well below the surface, while the geology seen from orbit shows a region crossed by long-lived fault systems. The results also match what scientists would expect if pre-existing fault structures slipped due to long-term cooling, volcanic stresses, and local effects associated with the canyon itself. They also add to the list of regions where InSight detected evidence of active faulting on modern-day Mars. This includes the Cerberus Fossae fissures and the southern part of Elysium Planitia, which suggest that stresses in the Martian crust do not follow a single planet-wide pattern. Lastly, the results show that four years after the mission ended because of dust buildup on its solar panels, InSight continues to provide valuable insight into the Red Planet. Said Dr. Doyeon Kim, an Assistant Professor in Earth and Planetary Science at Imperial and a senior author on the study: S0976a has turned out to be an extraordinary event, playing an important role in our understanding of the Red Planet. Its waves traveled through the core and helped us investigate the deepest part of Mars, and now they are telling us what happened at the source itself. From a single marsquake, we can learn both about the center of the planet and about an active fault beneath one of its most remarkable landscapes. Further Reading: Imperial College London, Nature Communications.
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Leapting has signed an agreement with BluPine Energy to supply 2,000 G1 solar module cleaning robots for deployment across multiple solar projects in India, at REI Expo 2026. The company also launched its G1 PLUS intelligent cleaning robot and expanded O&M solutions. October 26, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey Evolving Climate Risks Are Reshaping RE Insurance: Amitabh Dewan, Policybazaar for Business Power Asset Management is Shifting from Capacity to Performance: Kota Bhanu Prakash Tunwal E-Motors’ Jhumarmal Tunwal Eyes Expansion in Emerging EV Markets GPI Targets 45 CBG Projects in Three Years, Says GPI Business Head Vipin Malhotra India’s Domestic Solar Cell Base to Mature by 2028–29: Ishver Dholakiya, Goldi Solar
Energies Media Underneath a row of tilting solar panels in Ohio, a cup of dried grass sits wedged against a steel beam. It was built taller than any robin nest has any obvious reason to be. The panels above it are not fixed in place. They rotate slowly through the day, chasing the sun east to west. And the nest moved with them while it was still being built. What made the birds build differently is the question the first section answers. A tracking array is not a static shelter. The support beams and tilting frames that hold the panels shift angle continuously to follow the sun, which means anything attached to those beams shifts with them too. So a robin building a nest on a tracker is not working on solid ground the way a nest in a tree branch assumes. The beam tilts every few minutes as the array follows the sun’s arc, and an egg sitting in a shallow, flat bottomed cup risks rolling toward the lower edge. The bird’s solution, researchers found, was architecture. Build the walls higher, and tilt the cup itself to counteract the panel’s own tilt. Ecologist Chelse Prather, who led the observations at the two Ohio sites, put the comparison simply once her team had measured both kinds of nests side by side. “People are interested in making that area underneath solar arrays into usable habitats,” she said. “So it’s really important to know who is using it and how they’re using it.” The first site held a fixed tilt array, panels locked permanently at a single angle, the kind that makes up much of the utility scale solar built across the Midwest. Prather, an ecologist at the University of Dayton, wanted to know how wildlife are using the habitats underneath two arrays in Ohio. The first site was a fixed array with panels that are locked in place. The second was a tracking array where panels tilt to follow the sun. Robins nested at both, tucking their cup nests into the gaps between support beams and cross bracing. But the nests on the tracking array stood out the moment the team climbed in to measure them. Chelse noticed that robin nests on the tracking array looked weird, and measurements confirmed that these nests were unusually tall and mounted to the support beams at odd angles. The research, carried out by Prather’s team and published as a peer reviewed paper, compared nest height and wall thickness across both array types over a full nesting season. They shared in the peer-reviewed journal Ecology and Evolution that American robins built their nests to compensate for the movement of tracking arrays, which tilt throughout the day to follow the sun. The team’s working explanation points straight at the mechanics of the structure itself. Prather said the team found the nests were warmer and taller, which helped those eggs to actually stay in. Prather’s team called the result a first. Prather believes this was the first study to examine nest architecture on solar arrays, a claim that matters since most new utility scale solar built in the United States over the past five years uses single axis tracking rather than fixed tilt. None of this proves the birds are worse off, and the researchers have been careful not to claim that. A taller, oddly angled nest is still a functioning nest. The open question is whether the extra building effort costs the birds something elsewhere, in time, materials, or exposure while they work the beam longer than they would a stationary branch. Altogether, the cohort observed 67 nests of the House finch, American robin and House sparrow species, a narrow slice of what now sits beneath solar fields nationwide. Land underneath utility scale arrays increasingly hosts far more than robins, from grazing sheep brought in for vegetation control to pollinator strips planted between rows. That trend is visible at sites like the Illinois solar site, where multi use land management has become standard practice. Even so, the tracker finding adds a mechanical wrinkle nobody had written down before. A beam that moves on a schedule is a different habitat than one that does not, and the only way to know what that difference does to a wild species was to measure the nests directly. For an industry already wrestling with how to use the ground beneath its panels, a wild bird solving an engineering problem its ancestors never faced is a small but genuine data point. It does not change where trackers get built, and nobody is proposing it should. What it does is add one more entry to the list of unplanned tenants showing up in solar fields, alongside the sheep and pollinator strips already reshaping how operators think about the acreage under the racking and wiring. Some of those tenants, like the plantings at a project similar in scale to a community solar site, were invited. The robins were not, and built around the machine anyway. Prather and her students’ research at the prairie continues with a project examining insect and plant ecosystems surrounding the same solar arrays, detailed in the university’s own account of the work. That answer, unlike the nest itself, has not been built yet. Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy. Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy. Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Sydney-headquartered Aeeris, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Early Warning Network (EWN), announced it has partnered with Array Technologies to expand the automated hail response capabilities of the manufacturer’s SmarTrack software platform in Australia. EWN’s real-time hail detection and forecasting systems – that combine Australia-wide radar coverage, meteorologist verification, and proprietary detection algorithms to identify hail risks for solar projects – have been integrated into Array’s SmarTrack hail alert response platform. Array said its SmarTrack software analyses the EWN intelligence and, coupled with automated tracker response, adjusts solar modules to maximum tilt protective angles ahead of severe weather, without the need for human decision-making. Aeeris Executive Chairman Henrik Thorup said the solution provides Australian solar farm operators with an automated, weather-response defence designed to mitigate one of the sector’s escalating operational risks. “As solar projects continue to be deployed across Australia, this advancement will better help to protect these valuable energy assets on the grid from the rising risks of damaging hail,” he said. “We look forward to working with Array to ensure that solar power continues to play a valuable role for the Australian power grid through the built-in resilience needed to be protected from hail threats.” Australia’s large-scale solar sector has scaled from less 350 MW of deployed capacity in 2017 to more than 13 GW by the end of 2025, and much of that build-out sits in regions prone to severe convective storms. Green transition underwriting business Tokio Marine GX (TMGX) recently identified hail as an escalating risk across that growing footprint. Francesca Lucia Falcone, Array’s business development director in the Asia Pacific, said as solar expands into hail-prone regions, EWN’s capabilities help Array provide solar farm operators with a clear way of showing insurers and financiers how they actively manage risk and support long-term asset longevity as the sector grows. “This integration greatly improves the bankability of these projects,” she said, adding that the collaboration complements Array’s existing architecture. Array said its trackers utilise an AC grid-powered motor and wired communications rather than relying on battery power and wireless communications, that can be disrupted by extreme weather. “Array’s approach to engineered simplicity combined with EWN’s hail intelligence platform unlocks new potential for Australia that will continuously benefit solar projects by equipping them with tools that make them adaptable when facing hail risks,” Falcone said. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
The first regular production solar-powered electric trailer refrigeration unit (TRU) in Australia has hit the road with a real customer. Family-owned transport giant Wickham Freight Lines took delivery of the revolutionary reefer just this week. Refrigerated trailers (reefers) are critical for hauling fresh food and flowers from the farm to your local market — the problem is that they pollute like crazy, powered by high sulfur, red-dye diesel-powered generators that run around the clock, even if the truck pulling them is fully electric. That constant diesel burn spews CO₂ and NOx into industrial and residential areas alike, and contributes significantly to fleets’ carbon emissions and noise pollution at a time when a number of municipalities are moving to regulate both. It is, as they say, “a real problem,” but Sunswap Endurance cracked it with a solar-powered reefer that can keep food and pharmaceuticals cold in transit without burning a drop of diesel fuel – and now, they have real customers. One of Australia’s largest privately owned trucking companies, Wickham Freight Lines decided to purchase the Sunswap Endurance solar trailer units following an initial trial, running from Sydney to Brisbane and back this past summer on a route covering a total of 1,670 km (~1,040 miles) over more than 30 hours of driving. After Wickham’s drivers finished the round trip with over 65% of the battery’s capacity still left, the purchase was a no-brainer. “I put the Sunswap Endurance into the fleet and told the team to stretch it — treat it as a normal unit,” explains Graham Keogh, director at Wickham Freight Lines. “We were genuinely impressed. I’m a true believer. I love the technology and I’m not a true tech person whatsoever. You can just see that it’s a winner … the performance, reliability and operational savings were beyond what we expected. For a business like ours, running a large fleet across the east coast, with a heavy focus on refrigerated and cold chain freight, this technology makes real commercial sense.” Sunswap Endurance first showed their new solar reefer unit at HVIA TruckShowX in Hunter Valley this May past. It’s compelling, insultingly simple technology and I, for one, hope this customer delivery is just the first of many. Let us know what you think of these guys, in the comments. Solar powered refrigeration truck looks like a natural combination. Cost of the solar is offset somewhat by not needing diesel tank, motor, and generator. Majority of savings probably come form not needing constant refueling (fuel + labor), or in not needing to overhaul the engine periodically. I would be very interested in knowing how quickly the system pays for itself. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More. Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast. I’ve been involved in the electric vehicle transition in one way or another since 1997, and have covered the industry as a journalist since 2008. You can catch more of my work on Quick Charge and The Heavy Equipment Podcast with Mike Switzer. NOTE: any opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal government, the State of Illinois, Electrek, or anyone else. Nothing here should be interpreted as a statement of official policy, legal guidance, or an endorsement unless expressly labeled as such. Establish office dominance with this super creamy blank key masterpiece that makes it easy. Find a reliable home solar and battery installer and save 20-30% compared to going it alone.
ISLAMABAD: Global energy investments are projected to reach $3.4 trillion in 2026, with $2.2 trillion allocated to clean energy and $1.2 trillion directed towards fossil fuels. Renewable power additions reached 692 GW globally in 2025 — accounting for 85.6 percent of all power capacity additions whereas Pakistan’s own peak national electricity demand is projected to scale between 28.6 GW and 43.1 GW by fiscal year 2035, states latest study titled “Energy Transition: What It Means, What the Evidence Shows, and What It Implies for Pakistan” by PIDE. The research emphasises that the global energy shift is a comprehensive socio-technical system change rather than a simple fuel switch. Globally, weighted-average levelised costs in 2025 dropped to about USD 33/MWh for onshore wind and USD 44/MWh for utility-scale solar PV, with more than 90 percent of new utility-scale renewable projects undercutting the cheapest new fossil-fuel alternatives. Furthermore, four-hour battery installation costs have decreased to roughly USD 140/kWh. However, the report cautions that deployment statistics alone are insufficient metrics for success. For Pakistan, the brief outlines severe structural complexities, including imported fuel exposure, circular debt, constrained electricity grids and limited fiscal space. According to the Revised Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2025-2035, Pakistan’s gross electricity demand is forecast to grow from 137,025 GWh in 2025 to 180,605 GWh by 2035. The study further stresses that Pakistan’s policy approach requires a holistic coordination of supply, demand, transmission networks, markets, financing and institutional capabilities. The brief warns that expanding renewable generation capacity without concurrent grid stabilisation, financial restructuring of utilities and targeted social protection will lead to an incomplete transition. Instead, success must be evaluated based on long-term affordability, system reliability, energy security, financial sustainability, and industrial competitiveness.
Tesla is known for making electric vehicles such as the best-selling Model Y. However, the company doesn’t just focus on EVs, and it previously expanded to developing solar panels for homes. Using what used to be referred to as the Tesla Solar Roof, you could make your entire roof an array to power your home, electronics, and appliances. But while it may look nice, it may not have been worth the price. In fact, earlier in 2026, Tesla stopped making its Tesla Solar Roof and has since discontinued it. It previously offered Tesla Solar Panels as well, but now solely focuses on them. Investing in several Tesla Solar Panels would effectively make your roof one powered entirely by Tesla, so it’s not that far off from the original concept. The key difference is that the Tesla Solar Roof used individual roof tiles as solar panels, whereas Tesla Solar Panels are conventional, individual panels that slot into place next to one another and generate energy by harnessing the power of the sun. There is a major tradeoff you may see if you do purchase these, however. They have the capability to reduce your monthly bill as they use the sun’s energy to power your electronics, but the solar panels themselves can be quite expensive to install. For the cost alone, a solar roof may not be worth the money you pay upfront to get solar power for your home. Tesla’s solar systems are sized according to household requirements, but are typically split into three tiers for its rooftop solar panels. They will set you back anywhere from $8,400 to $13,000, and differ by the number of panels you can install on your roof. The first tier includes up to four panels, while the other two come with up to 10. That cost is lower than the roof tiles, but it is still quite a high price to pay for solar. The Tesla Solar Panels produce some pretty good wattage per square footage (totalling 420 W each), look nice on your home, and have a lengthy 25-year warranty. However, they include a lower wind rating than that of the Tesla Solar Roof, cannot be set at an angle without additional mounting rails, and customers’ complaints on Reddit say that the panels can break easily and have hardware issues. Solar roofs are a big investment, so it’s worth taking the time to know what you are getting into and not make any mistakes. If you are looking to invest in a full solar roof or solar panels for your home, there are several companies that offer them aside from Tesla. For an entire roof made out of solar technology, the company SunStyle offers an array similar to that of the old discontinued Tesla Solar Roof. However, the company does not list a price on its website, but a Reddit post states that it can cost somewhere around $300,000, which is much higher than the price of a Tesla roof. Individual panels may not cost near as much, and they are made by several companies around the globe. Gaf is one such solar panel manufacturer that produces what the company calls a Timberline roof built with solar energy. They are individual shingles that can harness the energy of the sun to provide power to your home. All of the solar-powered roofs and panels mentioned here are options to choose from. Whether Tesla’s are right for you depends on your home and your needs. There are several other solar roofs and solar panels you can select, but these are a few we focused on as alternatives. It is best left up to you on your needs and budget to determine what works best for you. You could even try out solar power without making any modifications to your home or roof.
Partly cloudy. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Partly cloudy. Low near 50F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Updated: October 25, 2026 @ 11:29 pm Bhavin Misra assembles a Craftstrom Solar plug-in kit at his home Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Bhavin Misra assembles a Craftstrom Solar plug-in kit at his home Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Putting solar panels on a home can cost tens of thousands of dollars. New York is restoring a program that could knock about $3,000 off the price for lower- and moderate-income Upstate homeowners. The Affordable Solar Residential Incentive is expected to reopen before the end of the year for customers of National Grid and other Upstate utilities. Once panels are installed, a typical Central New York homeowner could save about $1,200 a year at today’s energy prices, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks. We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Global solar module prices remained stable during the week of October 15 to October 21, with no changes recorded across major market segments, according to InfoLink Consulting’s latest weekly spot price update. The firm said limited trading activity and cautious procurement continued to restrain price movement across the supply chain. In China, actual delivery prices for TOPCon modules stood at about RMB0.65/W to RMB0.73/W for utility scale projects and RMB0.68/W to RMB0.76/W for distributed projects. BC modules were priced at approximately RMB0.75/W to RMB0.77/W for utility scale projects and RMB0.78/W to RMB0.81/W for distributed installations. Outside China, the average price for TOPCon modules held at US$0.114/W. InfoLink reported that prices for high efficiency modules were adjusted downward, while overall international module pricing showed little movement. Upstream, polysilicon prices were largely stable. Reference prices remained at about RMB40/kg to RMB43/kg for recycled polysilicon and RMB40/kg to RMB41/kg for granular polysilicon. Although reports of lower priced material emerged during the week, InfoLink said market inquiries and feedback had not confirmed actual transactions at those levels. Wafer prices also held firm. Transactions were recorded at RMB0.95/piece to RMB1.00/piece for 183N wafers, RMB1.03/piece to RMB1.05/piece for 210RN wafers and RMB1.10/piece to RMB1.15/piece for 210N wafers. Demand from Chinese utility scale projects supported 210N wafers, while procurement elsewhere remained largely tied to immediate project needs. Chinese cell prices showed no material change. Average prices were RMB0.30/W for 183N cells, RMB0.31/W for 210RN cells and RMB0.295/W for 210N cells. Outside China, the average price for 182P cells remained at US$0.047/W, while Chinese export prices for 183N cells held at US$0.046/W. Regional dynamics remain important for buyers and project developers. In the Middle East, continuing conflict is disrupting shipments and causing logistics delays across most projects, keeping transaction volumes low and leaving recent prices unclear. In Europe, module prices remained steady. In the United States, InfoLink expects the latest Section 232 announcement to put upward pressure on both imported and domestically manufactured module prices once the measures take effect, with the minimum import price acting as a price floor. In India, prices for a small number of recent orders edged higher, mainly because buyers increased stockpiling in response to the United States measures. The increases were more evident for projects not covered by the Domestic Content Requirement, while prices for Domestic Content Requirement projects changed only slightly because demand is largely driven by the domestic market. For African solar buyers, the update suggests that mainstream TOPCon module pricing is likely to remain stable in the near term, although logistics risk in the Middle East and policy related cost pressure in the United States could affect sourcing decisions and delivered project costs. Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Learn about EMA’s leadership, milestones and accomplishments. Explore the career, scholarship and internship opportunities available in EMA. VISION, MISSION AND VALUES Forging Towards a Clean Energy Future for Singapore CAREERS Learn How You Can Be A Part of the Exciting Energy Sector Discover how the Singapore Energy Story sets the vision towards a net-zero energy future. Gain insights on the power behind Singapore’s economy and our daily lives. Discover ways to enhance energy efficiency and lower your carbon footprint. Explore how EMA ensures a reliable and secure energy supply for everyone. Learn about the intricacies of Singapore’s energy market structure and operations. FEATURE STORY A Look Inside Singapore's Electricity Market REGIONAL POWER GRIDS Importing Low-Carbon Electricity ENERGY GRID Find Out More About VirtuaL Power Plants Learn how global fuel disruptions affect Singapore’s electricity prices and explore ways to reduce energy costs. Get tips on buying electricity and protecting your family from electrical hazards. Learn about purchasing gas and safeguarding your family against gas hazards. Access information on installing solar panels at your home and selling excess electricity to the national grid. Consumer Information Energy Prices in Singapore: What You Need to Know ELECTRICAL SAFETY All Homes Must Have A Residual Current Circuit Breaker Stay up-to-date with the latest regulations, policies and frameworks governing the energy sector. Learn about the licences that EMA issues to different stakeholders in the energy sector. Read about the Codes of Practice and Circulars that EMA publishes to regulate the energy sector. WORKER LICENCES Applying for an Electrical Worker Licence? Get all the latest news and announcements by EMA. Stay informed about EMA’s flagship events.
Modular solar specialist 5B has executed a purchase order with 1414 Degrees to deliver 70 MW of its prefabricated Maverick solar units for the initial stage of the Aurora Energy Precinct project being developed in South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf region. The Aurora project, planned for a 16 km² site near Port Augusta, combines large-scale solar generation potential with battery energy storage and proposed grid connections to supply firmed renewable power to the National Electricity Market (NEM) and behind the meter to data centres and other major energy users. The initial 70 MW solar PV development forms part of Aurora’s Stage 1 project, alongside an approved 140 MW / 280 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). Adelaide-based 1414 Degrees, which was originally founded as a long-duration thermal energy storage (TES) company, said 5B’s technology was selected for its compact layout, which promises to accommodate more solar capacity per hectare, supporting the Aurora project’s potential for about 2 GW of PV capacity. “The Maverick layout allows us to accommodate considerably more solar capacity within the available land, supporting staged expansion alongside storage, connection infrastructure and customer demand,” 1414 Degrees Executive Chairman Kevin Moriarty said. The Maverick system is a ground-mounted solar array of up to 90 pre-wired PV panels that are fitted to frames that can be unfolded accordion style. The frames come preassembled on concrete blocks that replace conventional mounting structures, allowing for rapid installation on site. 5B said the solar panels, cabling and connections are factory-assembled and tested before transport to site, which reduces on-site assembly work. The initial 70 MW deployment will cover 42 hectares within Aurora’s approved 200-hectare solar development footprint. 1414 Degrees said its assessment indicates the Maverick layout could accommodate more than 300 MW of solar PV capacity across that footprint and “supports the indicative precinct-wide potential of approximately 2 GW of solar PV capacity.” 5B said the Maverick units for the Aurora project will be manufactured at the company’s production facility in Adelaide and transported to the precinct for installation. Moriarty said the execution of the purchase order is a major milestone for the Aurora project. “Placing this order is a further step towards delivery of Aurora’s initial 70 MW solar development,” he said, adding that the company is now “progressing power purchase agreements, infrastructure partnerships and financing for project delivery.” 1414 Degrees, which assumed full ownership of the Aurora project earlier this year, said it has already secured approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator for connection of the 140 MW / 280 MWh BESS and commercial transmission access negotiations for the proposed 275 kV connection are advancing. The company is also progressing a proposed 33 kV connection pathway to support earlier data centre development and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In July, 1414 Degrees entered into a heads of agreement with an unidentified Australian data centre operator for the proposed development of up to 1 GW of AI data centre infrastructure at Aurora. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Get the latest news and updates from Dawn Muhammad Nazam pulls his smartphone from his kurta pocket, opens the YouTube app and plays a tutorial. “It’s not that difficult, you know,” he says. “It’s just two wires: one is hot, and one is cold.” That’s how he installed solar panels a year ago for his tubewell in Qila Mian Singh, Punjab. His neighbour Salim Mehr, clarifies, “When it’s installed, then everyone gets the experience. Everyone knows which wire is which, which button to press, how much to run it on, how many units are showing up, how much electricity there is.” This is the part of Pakistan’s solar revolution that didn’t make it to international headlines. News feature after feature marveled at an energy transition motivated less by climate worries and more by the state’s persistent inability to provide electricity people could rely on and afford. (China’s untrammelled ability to provide cheap imports was a decisive factor.) It made sense that rich city households were rigging up, but what was driving the wildfire uptake across the countryside where, according to thinktank Ember Energy, 73% of panel owners are now located. Turns out there are two unexpected mechanisms at work: the effect of seeing a Chaudary install it and the ease of figuring out how to do it. Muhammad Imran and Muhammad Rizwan, for example, living half a province away from each other, had identical experiences with their solar PV installation. They asked the shopkeeper how to do it, watched a couple of TikTok videos, and did it themselves within an hour. All Obaid Ullah needed was TikTok to set up his single panel at his kiryana or corner shop. “It’s not a problem,” he says. “It’s very easy.” The panel, which is propped up with a stick, now powers a small cooler at his store. Spending several months across the rural countryside in Punjab, Zainaab spotted solar panels propped up on bamboo sticks, lying down amidst wheatfields, and spoke to people who brought them there. Travel for this research involved eight districts split evenly between North and South Punjab. She interviewed thirty-four people, mostly rural residents, especially large-scale (landlords) and small-scale (tenant and self-owned) farmers. She also spoke with solar panel importers and distributors, members of the Ministry of Energy and the Prime Minister’s Solarization Committee. The research confirmed many prior insights, including, most prominently, the breakdown in trust in the state’s ability to fix the electricity grid and the resulting death spiral from utility bills. But two other findings stand out: the demonstration effect of rich landlords installing solar on their land and the ease with which such panels can be installed using social media. Even though they are critically influencing the rural uptake of solar, both dimensions have been curiously underexplored. Landlords as brokers Most new technologies find their first wave of adopters in well-off urban dwellers. Those with high rates of education, mobility, and wealth have both the knowledge of new technologies and the financial bandwidth to adopt them. For Pakistan, this meant that solarization’s initial home was in the DHAs and Bahria Towns of the country. The residential make-up of these housing societies includes a cross-section of Pakistan’s elite, a central faction of which is the traditional landlord. These are families that have historically owned large swathes of cultivated land, and their incomes primarily come from the rents they accrue from large-scale farming in these rural areas, where they employ labourers, rent land to tenants and still maintain kinship ties. As part of the elite, they were also participants in the first wave of early adopters; many of them bought solar PV systems for their residential properties in Lahore, Multan and other urban centers. Some of these installations were well before solar prices had fallen to the level they have now. Anees Khawaja, a textile business tycoon and landlord based in Multan, first installed a 22-kW system in 2010, when, “it was the costliest solar. As well as the most inefficient…[but] Every year when we grow into solar, we get a better option available. So, this is here to stay.” Muhammad Mujahid, CEO of Innovo Corporation (which distributes several major solar panel brands across Pakistan), also identified landlords as the “first movers” with a “herd behaviour” following. What sets these landlords apart from the rest of the affluent class is their spatial fluidity between rural and urban areas. Aided by improved roads and communication infrastructure in Punjab, their economic, social and political bases transcend the urban-rural divide. Mohsin Iqbal, owner of Sharifabad farm in Okara, maintains a permanent family residence in Lahore but regularly commutes to Sharifabad. This is common practice for landowning families who travel frequently to rural areas where they maintain kinship and patronage ties through baradari networks and agricultural holdings. After having adopted solar in their urban houses and finding it cost-effective, the natural next step was to ease the financial burden everywhere, including in their rural farms served by diesel-powered tubewells. This meant bringing the physical solar panel and accompanying technical know-how to farms and villages before it had even fully permeated through the various class strata in large cities. In this way, these landlords became the unexpected agents of technology diffusion in rural areas. Mohsin Iqbal followed the same trajectory. His son Abdullah convinced him to install solar panels in their house in Model Town, Lahore. The system slashed their bills in half, which prompted them to solarise Sharifabad’s infrastructure too. The Iqbals had always provided free housing to labourers on their farm. Now, this now comes with free electricity too, as all the rooms are solarized. This has led to an influx of families converging on the 2,100 acre farm. Shahida’s family is one of them. She moved from nearby Dipalpur to the Iqbal farm. She has never been more than an hour’s journey away from her village but does not see solar PV (photovoltaic) as an alien technology but a fundamental part of her understanding of life and work. Solar adoption by landlords had a powerful demonstration effect on surrounding poorer communities, who were now exposed to a purportedly transformative technology at the very moment they needed an off-ramp from grid and diesel-based electricity. This exposure came through the most trusted channel possible: a kinship network whose members had already seen the technology work and could vouch for its benefits firsthand. Both information and demonstration effects were thus in play. Farmers heard it was beneficial and saw the proof themselves. Solar distributors are well aware of this phenomenon. Farukh Gilani, a Lahore-based distributor, put it bluntly: “A ‘shehri babu’ [city boss] can’t impress them [farmers]… they will not trust you. They will only trust the people in their locality, even if they are wrong, so if landlords do it, they do it; otherwise, no.” He was right. Every small-scale and tenant farmer interviewed had travelled somewhere to see the panels and check their efficacy before buying their own. Muntazar Mehdi from Kundal Khokhran explained: “Some people a bit far away had installed it too… I went there and saw it. They told me that it was a very good job… So, I saw it and came here and installed it too.” In the village of Moazam Makhdum, Khadam Hussain said, “I saw that everyone around me had installed it. All their bills were forgiven.” This process was witnessed firsthand during the interviews, when Mohsin Iqbal stepped away to explain how solar works to a spectating labourer who then said he was considering installing solar PV in his own home. For a small minority of tenant farmers, their landlords simply gifted them solar panels. These are cases of ‘paternalistic adoption’ where richer residents financially support poorer kin and tenants purchase assets, which solar panels are now seen as. Ghulam Fareed, who rents five and a half acres of land in Muzaffargarh, said his landowners bought him eight solar panels six months ago. They showed up with the panels, lay them on the ground and said, “it’s for our ease. It will be for the water, they said,” and taught him how to connect them to his tubewell. The gift came with no strings attached as his rent has remained stagnant. He now sleeps in a straw shed beside the panels to guard them from thieves. Muzamil from Garhmor had a similar experience, stating, “No, we didn’t install it. The chaudary [landowner] installed it. It’s his land. He just saw the system and saw it works well…He installed it in his home too.” Husain Shayq, Washington Post’s Pakistan correspondent, did not find this pattern surprising. In his story on the solar-powered transformation of Dhaku, a village in East Punjab, he noted that many interviewees were donating panels to poorer neighbours, explaining how, “The important thing was that the landlords or comparatively well-off people were willing to help by giving small loans to other[s], whatever they can do… maybe it’s part of their customs, their traditions.“ When pressed further, donors such as Anees Khawaja and Mohsin Iqbal both insisted that this was simply the gracious thing to do. Landlords, it seems, have played an unexpectedly critical role in facilitating wider solar adoption in rural Punjab. Solar and social media As solar adoption gained pace, so, too, did solar’s social media presence. YouTube and TikTok are replete with thousands of videos that provide information on brands, determining the size of the system one may need, and, most significantly, step-by-step guides to connecting panels to existing wiring, setting up their elevated structures and maintaining their efficacy. These are all in local languages like Urdu and Punjabi, and receive millions of views. Distributors like Farukh Gilani and Malik Waheed, based in Multan, create some of this content as advertising for their distribution companies. An example is Kamal Solar House, a distributor based in Multan, which has 122,000 followers on TikTok and posts content explaining different solar options almost daily. However, the majority of this content comes from electricians who post installation and maintenance tutorials. Usman Jutt Technical is one of these electricians, who has posted multiple series of step-by-step videos teaching solar panel installation in Punjabi on TikTok. This channel has 201,800 followers, and its last three videos have a combined viewership of 10.5 million views. These creators are based all over the country. AJ Electric on YouTube posted a tutorial installing a 6kW solar system in Taxila which amassed 800,000 views. Moreover, a Pakistan-based channel called Solar Power Easy Tutorials Hindi Urdu has gained over 30 million views and 261,000 followers. There is thus a thriving community of creators who actively disseminate this information. Viewers of this content are diverse. The audience includes everyone from solar customers to rural electricians. “Every single electrician has become a solar installer,” said a major energy company’s CEO in an interview, essentially proposing that an entire class of technical experts has trained itself online. His proposal was validated by the interviewees too, almost all of whom (barring those who hadn’t installed it themselves) had employed local electricians to do it for them. Sabir Ali’s installation in Kundal Khokhran was done by “boys from the village” who had learnt how to do it online. Not only is there an abundance of local installers, but the democratization of solar has allowed consumers like Muhammad Nazam and Muhammad Rizwan to become installers themselves, further reducing the financial load of moving to solar. These videos are instructive for another reason. Produced by local people in local languages, they breed a comfortable familiarity with a technology that might otherwise feel alien. Access to a smartphone and the internet has effectively collapsed the distance between a technical expert and a small-scale farmer based in Kundal Khokhran, Muzzafargarh or Layyah, helping solar spread at an exponential rate. Therefore, while a landlord makes the benefits of solar technology visible, social media is what makes it usable. In the absence of formal training programs or even a consistent roll-out model from the state, the supply chain for this technology has organized itself into a contained, self-sufficient institution that can effectively localise this frontier technology. Farmers first see a neighbour’s tubewell running on solar and learn to trust that it works. They can then go home, pull out a smartphone and learn how to reproduce it. The offline and online networks reinforce one another. Each new installation becomes both proof for the next potential adopter and another site from which technical knowledge can spread. Solar has been truly life changing for many in rural Pakistan. Several respondents interviewed for this research had gone hungry to save money for electricity bills. They now call solar “God’s blessing”. The widespread adoption of solar in rural areas offers many lessons, foremost among them the power of informal networks and social media. These have allowed communities to organise so efficiently that getting an advanced technology like solar PV from a factory in China to a two-acre farm in Punjab is now, simply, a game of two wires. Zainaab Basil recently graduated from Oxford University, having completed her M.Phil in Development Studies. Adeel Malik, who supervised Zainaab’s research, is associate professor of development economics at the University of Oxford and Globe Fellow in the economies of Muslim Societies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Zainaab Basil recently graduated from Oxford University, having completed her M.Phil in Development Studies Adeel Malik is associate professor of development economics at the University of Oxford and Globe Fellow in the economies of Muslim Societies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
Infrastructure Swarajya Staff Oct 23, 2026 | Updated 03:02 PM GMT+5:30 Save & read from anywhere! Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app. Vikram Solar Limited is set to begin manufacturing solar cells at its 9 gigawatt (GW) facility in Gangaikondan, Tamil Nadu, in December 2026, marking a major step in the company’s efforts to reduce dependence on imported solar cells and establish an integrated domestic manufacturing chain. In a regulatory disclosure on Friday (23 October), the company said its N-type TOPCon solar cell manufacturing facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park in Tirunelveli district was on schedule to produce its first cells in December. The full 9 GW capacity will be commissioned in phases thereafter. The facility, among India’s largest single-site solar cell manufacturing projects, will eventually supply high-efficiency cells for the majority of Vikram Solar’s module production, reducing its reliance on imported components. The company also plans to expand the plant’s cell manufacturing capacity to 12 GW. The project forms the second phase of Vikram Solar’s integrated manufacturing roadmap at Gangaikondan, where a 6 GW solar module manufacturing facility was inaugurated in August 2026. The third phase involves setting up a 9 GW ingot and wafer manufacturing facility, which has received board approval and is targeted for FY2028-29. Once completed, the nearly 200-acre campus will bring together ingot, wafer, cell and module manufacturing, enabling the company to control more stages of the solar photovoltaic supply chain domestically. The facility is being developed through Vikram Solar’s wholly owned subsidiary, VSL Green Power Private Limited, and is expected to generate more than 2,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. According to the company’s announcement, the domestically manufactured cells will support solar modules supplied to utility-scale and rooftop projects, including installations under the PM Surya Ghar and PM-KUSUM schemes where domestic content requirements apply. Vikram Solar also intends to seek enlistment under the government’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II for cells produced at Gangaikondan. Highlighting the importance of backward integration, Vikram Solar Chairman and Managing Director Gyanesh Chaudhary said Indian solar module manufacturers, including his company, had historically built their businesses around imported cells. He said the Gangaikondan project would change that dependence for Vikram Solar by bringing cell manufacturing in-house, with the company’s longer-term roadmap extending from wafer production to finished modules. The development comes as India seeks to strengthen domestic solar manufacturing capacity and reduce reliance on imported components across the renewable energy supply chain. Please click here to add Swarajya as your preferred and trusted news source on Google Join our WhatsApp channel – no spam, only sharp analysis Comments ↓ About Swarajya Igniting an Indian renaissance. Published since 1956. Swarajya is a publication by Kovai Media Private Limited. Useful Links Useful Links Participate Stay Connected
When I first saw that some EVs come with power outlets inside the cabin, I longed to own one. Not anymore. I’ve solved that problem with my existing car, and I’ve gained more in the process than I expected. This is thanks to a tiny solar generator and the panels that power it. Some newer vehicles come with AC power outlets intended for charging laptops, tablets, Nintendo Switch consoles, and any number of portable gadgets. Yet while this is a nice upgrade, it’s a premium one that isn’t yet standard on most vehicles. When you do get this option, you can only expect one or two outlets, and you may only be able to pull 150 watts or so. This is not a power outlet as capable as the one in your home. Fortunately, portable power stations have offered a cheaper solution. I have an Anker SOLIX C300 that I toss into the backseat of my car whenever I go on an extended road trip. This tiny solar generator has three AC outlets on the front and contains a LifePO4 battery that stores around 300Wh of power. The built-in inverter can output up to 300 watts. This is more than enough for most of our road trips. For the record, the USB-only model is just as easy to recommend. If this is more power than you need, I still recommend packing at least a power bank capable enough to charge a phone, tablet, or gaming handheld before you drop money on a solar panel. While you can attempt to charge devices directly using solar, due to the intermittent way panels generate power, and their need to bake in direct sun, it’s better for your devices if you charge a battery and let that battery power your hardware. Portable solar panels come in a wide range, from tiny 30W panels able to charge a portable power bank all the way up to 500W panels intended for massive solar generators. For my C300, I pull out a 100W Anker SOLIX PS100 portable solar panel. Like most 100W portable solar panels, these are lightweight and small enough to easily slide into a trunk, though you may want to put them on top of any luggage you may have with you. A panel this size can easily top up our C300 in a few hours if we’re making an extended stop at a park, lounging by a river, or resting at the beach (I’ve also learned the hard way that this is the fastest solar panel a generator this size can handle). Smaller solar panels come in all kinds of packages. SHARGE makes a panel intended to roll out and dangle from the back of a backpack, charging up a power bank. Many panels like this transfer power directly via a USB-C connection. If you’ve never checked out camping lights, I recommend you give them a look. You never have to set foot in a tent to find ample uses for such creative portable lighting. I’ve picked up a light now known as the BioLite Solar Flexlight that I keep in my glove compartment at all times. This light has a long tail that can wrap around my wrist or dangle from my neck, keeping my hands free to focus on any kind of emergency situation I may find myself in. It’s much safer to shine down into my car’s engine than my phone, which I prefer to use without a case and would get absolutely brutalized if I dropped it. There’s also an emergency strobe light feature we could turn on if we found ourselves in a worse situation, stranded at night or off-road. The light makes this list because of the solar panel on the back, which is one of the two options available for charging. The other is a USB-C port that sends power directly to the built-in internal battery. If you do keep it in the glove compartment as I do, don’t expect it to last as long as it would if you kept it in the house — especially if you live somewhere that gets as hot as it does here in the southern US. Lithium-ion batteries don’t appreciate the brutal temperatures experienced inside a car. Better to keep the light in your everyday carry instead. With that said, mine is still going strong after being here for a couple of years. Now that electric cars are commonplace, solar-powered vehicles seem like the next logical leap. Yet as I’ve learned from embracing rooftop solar, cars require far more power than most of us think. The limited number of panels that could fit on the roof of a car could trickle-charge a vehicle over the course of a week, but it could hardly keep up with the demands of a road trip. That dream remains many years away. We want to hear from you. Share your perspective in the comments below, and please keep the conversation respectful. Your comment has not been saved This space is open for discussion. Be the first to share your thoughts.
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Aresearch team from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has compared the performance of east-west ground-mounted PV systems with that of conventional single-axis trackers (SATs), finding that east-west installations can experience up to 40% lower rates of certain degradation mechanisms. “We investigated how improved thermal modelling can provide more accurate predictions of PV module operating temperatures and associated degradation rates, with a particular focus on the innovative Maverick east-west ground-mounted systems developed by Australian company 5B,” corresponding author Bram Hoex told pv magazine. “Heat transfer coefficients for the east-west system were found to be comparable to those of single-axis trackers, indicating similar cooling characteristics. However, east-west systems operate at lower module temperatures due to reduced plane-of-array irradiance compared with tracking systems.” The Maverick system is a prefabricated, relocatable ground-mounted PV solution designed for rapid deployment with minimal on-site labour. Each modular unit comprises up to 90 solar panels mounted on frames that unfold in a concertina configuration, with modules tilted at 10 degrees. The system features preconfigured electrical connections, a compact footprint, high power density, and minimal ground penetration requirements, making it suitable for sites with limited usable land or challenging terrain. Its modular design also allows deployment on previously underutilized land, such as mine waste rock dumps. In 2024, the technology was deployed in a 16.9 MW solar installation comprising 342 Maverick units at the Jundee gold mine in Western Australia. The UNSW researchers explained that the system’s low tilt angles enable greater ground coverage and higher energy density per unit of land, while its prefabricated design simplifies installation. However, accurately predicting the performance of such systems requires improved thermal models, as module temperature affects both electricity output and long-term degradation. Conventional models often overlook factors such as wind direction, mounting configuration, thermal inertia, and radiative heat exchange with the sky. To address these limitations, the researchers developed a transient thermal model incorporating sky radiation and validated it against field measurements. The team analysed monitoring data collected between September 2022 and June 2023 at a 5B Maverick test site near Bungendore in southern NSW. The installation uses JinkoSolar PV modules rated at 315 W, with module temperatures monitored using thermocouples and local weather conditions recorded by a nearby weather station. The researchers collected irradiance, ambient temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and electrical output data to develop and validate five thermal models of increasing complexity. These incorporated wind-dependent heat transfer, radiative exchange with the sky, and transient temperature effects. The models were calibrated against field measurements, with ERA5 climate data used to improve estimates of longwave radiation. The researchers then simulated the thermal performance of Maverick and single-axis tracking systems at two Australian locations: Bannerton in Victoria and Clare in Queensland. The simulations used bifacial Longi modules and SMA inverters, with different DC-to-AC ratios for the two mounting configurations. The team assessed two degradation mechanisms: thermal degradation caused by temperature fluctuations and photodegradation associated with ultraviolet exposure, temperature, and humidity. It also mapped expected degradation rates across Australia to investigate the influence of regional climatic conditions. The analysis showed that incorporating radiative heat exchange with the sky and transient temperature effects significantly improved simulation accuracy, particularly at night and during rapid temperature fluctuations. The improved model was validated against measurements from multiple modules at the Bungendore test site, demonstrating consistent performance across different orientations. The simulations indicated that Maverick modules generally operate at lower temperatures because their fixed orientation results in lower plane-of-array irradiance. Single-axis trackers receive more sunlight and generate higher energy yields per module, but their greater irradiance exposure also increases operating temperatures. The researchers found that higher operating temperatures, combined with increased ultraviolet exposure, resulted in greater thermal degradation and photodegradation in tracking systems. Both degradation mechanisms were most pronounced during summer, when temperatures and irradiance levels peaked. Simulations across Australia indicated that Maverick systems were less susceptible to both mechanisms, with particularly pronounced differences in thermal degradation in southern and southwestern regions. The researchers also noted that inverter clipping and power curtailment could accelerate degradation by increasing module temperatures. They concluded that the lower degradation rates associated with fixed east-west mounting systems could make them particularly attractive for remote installations, where maintenance and replacement costs are higher. “Our work demonstrates that PV mounting configuration directly influences module reliability, not just energy yield and installation costs,” Hoex said. “It also highlights the importance of accurately modelling module temperature when predicting long-term degradation and lifetime energy production.” “Our findings also provide a framework for integrating temperature-dependent degradation into PV system simulations, moving beyond conventional fixed annual degradation assumptions,” he added. “Moreover, they suggest that low-tilt east-west configurations could offer additional benefits through reduced degradation, complementing their advantages in land utilisation and deployment costs.” The findings are presented in the study “Accurate Modeling of Module Temperature for Ground-Mounted PV and Its Impact on Degradation,” published in the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics. In previous research, UNSW scientists found that single-axis tracking PV systems experience higher ultraviolet-induced degradation than fixed-tilt installations. The researchers developed a global UV irradiance model showing that trackers can receive up to 1.5 times more UV radiation than fixed-tilt systems in high-irradiance regions, resulting in degradation rates nearly twice as high. The study also highlighted the influence of temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions on module degradation, particularly in tropical and desert environments. 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: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment Monday, November 23, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, November 5, 2026 10:00 am – 11:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
by Tom Lam The US-Iran conflict, alongside subsequent oil price spikes, is forcing developing countries like Nigeria and Sri Lanka to rapidly overhaul their energy strategies. Both nations are increasingly leaning on solar power despite significant financing and infrastructure hurdles, according to reports by Bloomberg and Agence France-Presse. In Nigeria, small-scale solar capacity has surpassed the electricity delivered by the national grid, Bloomberg reports. High fossil fuel prices and an influx of affordable Chinese solar technologies have accelerated a mass shift away from traditional petrol and diesel generators. At the Alaba International Market in Lagos, West Africa's largest electronics bazaar, solar panels and lithium batteries have replaced generators as the dominant storefront items. However, the green transition is stymied by a massive financing gap. Equipping a three-person household costs roughly US$4,500 (HK$35,100) which is about seven times the price of a new petrol generator. Also, local borrowing rates hover around 27 to 36 percent, locking many lower-income households out of the renewable boom and forcing consumers to adopt a gradual "fuel stacking" approach, where they keep their generators while transitioning to solar. The bulk of the US$8.5 billion spent on small-scale solar across sub-Saharan Africa last year was paid upfront. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, which imports all its oil and gas, has been hit hard by shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. AFP reports that the government has at times spent up to 30 percent of its foreign exchange reserves in a month on fossil fuel imports. To mitigate this financial bleeding, energy minister Anura Karunathilaka told AFP that Sri Lanka aims to generate over 70 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, targeting a 388 percent jump in solar capacity by 2029. Yet, this aggressive push requires heavy infrastructure investment that the fragile economy struggles to support, as the state seeks crucial investments to build five major transmission lines and expand battery storage to stabilize the national grid. 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
Hit enter to search or ESC to close. UdaipurTimes, October 23, 2026 | Solar Panel Systems: Rising electricity costs have encouraged many households to consider solar power for their homes. Government subsidy support can make solar adoption more accessible for eligible residential consumers. However, you need to complete several stages before receiving the benefit. The process starts with registration and continues through application submission, feasibility approval, vendor selection, installation, and inspection. Knowing each stage can help you prepare the required details and avoid delays. If you are considering a rooftop solar system for your home, let’s understand how to apply for the subsidy through the official portal and complete the process correctly. Steps to Apply for a Rooftop Solar Subsidy Through the PM Surya Ghar Portal The application process involves six key steps, from creating your profile to redeeming the subsidy after inspection. Step 1: Create Your Profile on the PM Surya Ghar Portal Start by visiting the official PM Surya Ghar portal and begin the registration process. Enter your active mobile number and verify it using the One-Time Password (OTP) sent to your phone. Once verified, provide your name, state, district, and other required details. Next, enter your email address and complete the email verification using the OTP. After checking your information, click on ‘Save’ to create your profile. Keeping your contact details accurate can help you receive important updates about your application. Key takeaway: Use an active mobile number and email address that you can access throughout the application. Step 2: Decide Whether Your Vendor Will Submit the Application After registration, a vendor selection pop-up will appear on the portal. You will need to decide how you want to proceed with your application at this stage. Select ‘Yes’ if you want the vendor to fill in the application on your behalf. If you prefer to manage and submit the application yourself, select ‘No’ and continue with the process. This choice can determine how you complete the next stages of your rooftop solar system application, so select the option that suits your preference. Key takeaway: Choose the application route that matches how you want to manage the process. Step 3: Apply for Your Rooftop Solar System Once your profile is ready, select ‘Apply for Solar Rooftop’ on the portal. You will need to enter details such as your state, district, Distribution Company (DISCOM), and consumer number before proceeding. Click ‘Fetch Details’ to retrieve the available consumer information and automatically pre-fill the relevant fields. Review the information carefully, click ‘Next’, complete the remaining application fields, and submit your request. Providing accurate information at this stage can make the application easier to process and help prevent issues later. Key takeaway: Review all pre-filled information before submitting your application. Step 4: Select a Vendor After Feasibility Approval After submitting your application, you need to wait for feasibility approval. This confirms that the proposed rooftop solar system can proceed based on the applicable requirements and electricity connection details. Once you receive the approval, you can select a vendor through the portal. You will also need to provide your bank account details so that the subsidy can be transferred to you after the required stages are completed. Check your bank details carefully before submitting them. Incorrect information could affect the subsidy disbursement process. Key takeaway: Check your bank information carefully before submitting it. Step 5: Get the Rooftop Solar System Installed After selecting a vendor, the installation of your rooftop solar system can be completed as per the approved application. Once the plant has been installed, the vendor submits the relevant installation details to you, the consumer. You need to review these details and complete the required verification. After your verification, the vendor submits the installation information to the DISCOM for further processing. Carefully checking the information at this stage gives you an opportunity to identify any discrepancies before the application moves ahead. Key takeaway: Verify the installation details before they are forwarded for DISCOM processing. Step 6: Complete DISCOM Inspection and Redeem the Subsidy The DISCOM conducts an inspection of the installed rooftop solar system. The inspection details are subsequently submitted to you through the relevant process. After the inspection has been completed, you can proceed with redeeming the subsidy through the portal. The subsidy claim is then submitted to the National Programme Implementation Agency (NPIA) for further processing. Keep checking your application status after the inspection. If any action is required from your side, completing it promptly can help move the subsidy process forward. Key takeaway: Monitor your portal status and complete any pending action after the inspection. Complete Your Rooftop Solar Subsidy Application With Confidence Applying for a rooftop solar system subsidy involves several stages, from creating your profile to completing the DISCOM inspection. Accurate personal, consumer, and bank details are important throughout the process. You should also review vendor-submitted information and complete verification requirements on time. Start your application through the official PM Surya Ghar portal and track its progress after submission. If you need professional assistance, solar companies like Eastman Auto & Power Limited can help you explore suitable solar solutions. Following each stage carefully can make the subsidy application easier to manage. Disclaimer: This Post is not written or produced by UdaipurTimes writers/journalists. UdaipurTimes follows ASCI guidelines for Online Advertising. The information may involve financial or health risk and UdaipurTimes does not endorse or promote any claims made in this post.
Follow UdaipurTimes on Facebook , Instagram , and Google News UdaipurTimes.com (UT) is an online-only ‘Local’ News website and Blog covering extensively the latest news and events in and around Udaipur primarily and also that of other districts in Southern Rajasthan, viz. Chittor, Bhilwara, Banswara, Dungarpur, Salumber, Pratapgarh, etc.. However, interesting, motivating, thought provoking and useful information from outside the city is also made available to our readers. Read more!
Poland has changed its grid-connection rules to make it easier for households to pair PV systems with larger batteries, through an amendment to its Renewable Energy Sources Act that also revises the energy law. From Dec. 1, the rated power of a battery connected with a micro-installation will not count toward the micro-installation’s installed power, as long as the battery’s power is no more than 2.2 times that of the PV system. Combined grid feed-in from the PV system and battery must also stay below the micro-installation’s installed power. Under the previous rule, storage power was excluded only if it did not exceed the PV system’s power, effectively a 1:1 ratio. Above that, the battery’s power counted toward the microinstallation’s installed power. The limit applies to rated power in kilowatts, not storage capacity in kilowatt-hours. A 10 kW PV system could therefore be paired with a battery of up to 22 kW, and the provision does not limit energy capacity. Owners will need export controls to keep feed-in below the PV system’s rating. If either condition is not met, the battery’s power counts toward installed capacity as before. The amendment also requires electricity sellers to give prosumers more detailed monthly information, including grid imports and exports in kWh, the value of exported electricity and their prosumer deposit. It changes rules for energy cooperatives and introduces an auction system for biomethane plants above 1 MW. The act itself does not provide battery subsidies. The Sejm passed the act on Sept. 4 by 380 votes to 2, with 53 abstentions, and the Senate approved it without amendments on Sept. 24. In a government scenario in which 20% of new net-billing prosumers install batteries at up to the new limit, connected storage power would reach about 3.7 GW by the end of 2029. Poland pulled back building rules in June that industry groups said would have restricted home and business battery storage. Separately, the Ministry of Climate and Environment has launched a PLN 1 billion ($256.9 million) home storage subsidy, with applications opening Oct. 20. It covers up to 30% of eligible battery costs, capped at PLN 800 per kWh, for batteries of at least 10 kWh. Storage already accounted for 60% of applications under the sixth round of the Mój Prąd rebate program. 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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October 7, 2026
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