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Several commenters said winter performance was the real test.
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For one homeowner planning a large rooftop solar installation, the panels were the easy part. Multiple installers agreed on a 37-panel setup for an all-electric home with a heat pump and an EV, but battery recommendations varied sharply.
In a discussion on r/SolarUK, the poster said the property uses about 11,000 kilowatt-hours a year and had received proposals ranging from two or three Sigenergy batteries to a larger Hinen system, raising a common pre-purchase question: How much is enough?
The homeowner said several companies “all have agreed on 37 panels being the optimal amount for the space available and the sun path,” but battery advice varied widely.
Battery sizing can greatly affect both upfront costs and day-to-day savings.
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Commenters quickly pointed out that annual electricity use alone does not tell the whole story. 
One Redditor advised, “If you’re on an EV tariff and only charge during the ‘off peak’ hours deduct that from your annual usage — this gives you the annual consumption for your house only. Then divide the annual house total by 365 which gives you your average daily consumption.”
Batteries often serve two purposes at once: storing solar power generated during the day and shifting cheaper overnight electricity into more expensive daytime hours.
For homes with heat pumps, EVs, or both, a battery that is too small may run out during colder days, while an oversized system could sit underused for long stretches.
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Going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, especially when you can compare equipment and installer recommendations side by side. If you’re interested in pricing out your own system, you can explore EnergySage for free solar installation estimates and to compare quotes.
While panel count may be limited by roof shape and sun exposure, storage needs can depend on lifestyle, utility tariff structure, winter heating demand, export rules, and whether you charge an EV at home.
Several commenters said winter performance was the real test.
Another Redditor wrote, “Assuming you charge your EV during off-peak hours, it all comes down to how much does your heat pump consume on an average winter day.”
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Battery storage can also make everyday life easier by helping households ride through outages, reduce purchases during peak-rate hours, and keep essential appliances running during severe weather. It can also give homeowners more flexibility to store extra solar energy instead of selling it back when export payments are low.
Several commenters suggested modeling actual household demand in winter rather than relying only on annual totals.
Expandable systems let homeowners start smaller and add capacity later if real-world energy use ends up higher than expected.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. It also gives families more control over when they use their power, which can be especially valuable for homes with electric heating and vehicle charging. You can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
EnergySage also offers free tools that can help buyers avoid overpaying. For readers in the U.S., EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, those resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations, making its free comparison services especially useful toward the end of the shopping process.
Sizing is only part of the decision, especially for households also thinking about backup power, financing, and brand reliability. Battery options are widening, from no-money-down home systems to community and utility-scale plans in the U.K. and U.S.
• Homeowners using SunPower and Palmetto can add home backup batteries without upfront costs.
• Jackery has introduced a home battery system with automatic fire suppression and 100 safety safeguards.
• In England, residents raised £440,000 for the UK’s first community-owned battery storing surplus solar.
• A new U.K. proposal says neighborhood-scale batteries could cut energy bills by storing cheaper electricity.
Looking at how these projects are paid for and put to use can help homeowners decide whether it makes more sense to start with a smaller system they can expand later or buy more capacity up front.
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Households, businesses, and utilities could all feel the impact.
Photo Credit: iStock
Price has long been the main knock on solar panels made in the United States. They have typically been much more expensive than comparable panels from China.
That difference is shrinking, but the change seems to reflect policy as much as manufacturing.  
As a new video from creator The Electric Viking (@electricviking) revealed, federal support is lowering domestic costs, while the period of rock-bottom Chinese panel pricing may be fading.
Intertek CEA analysis highlighted in the video shows that the once roughly threefold price difference between U.S. and Chinese solar modules has tightened considerably.
Intertek CEA’s estimate puts a TOPCon panel from a fully integrated Chinese factory at under 12 cents per watt. Per The Electric Viking, a U.S. plant using American-made cells is still above 37 cents per watt before incentives. However, Section 45X credits of 7 cents per watt for modules and 4 cents per watt for cells would bring that U.S. cost down to roughly 21 cents per watt.
That would put U.S.-made modules within a small margin of panels produced in countries like Vietnam and India, the creator noted. Meanwhile, Chinese suppliers may be headed toward higher export prices as manufacturers contend with oversupply, losses, and policy shifts at home.
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“For American buyers, the cheap panel era is over regardless of origin, though,” The Electric Viking concluded.
Because solar is already among the cheapest options for adding new power in many regions, even modest changes in module pricing could matter. If the lowest-cost panels on the world market stop getting cheaper and start getting pricier, households, businesses, and utilities could all feel the impact.
The video also cited a separate U.S. policy move. Starting December 4, imported wafers, cells, and modules would face a 15% tariff, along with minimum prices of 22 cents per watt for cells and 38 cents per watt for modules. As The Electric Viking noted, that effectively bars cheaper imports from being sold beneath those thresholds in the U.S. market.
Still, some viewers noted that panel pricing is only part of the broader equation. 
“The price of panels isn’t the issue in the US,” one commenter opined. “It’s the cost of everything else that adds $20k to the price.”
Another commenter raised a broader concern about whether the narrowing gap reflects genuine competition.
“It’s not a true cost parity if it depends on subsidies and tariffs,” they asserted.
Washington is using both incentives and trade barriers to try to build out domestic solar manufacturing and improve the competitiveness of U.S. production. The Electric Viking said American module capacity could approach 60 gigawatts, with more growth possible by early 2027, though cell supply remains the main bottleneck.
Solar can still be a powerful money-saving tool, but the sticker price of panels is only one part of the total cost. Installation labor, permitting, interconnection, and financing often have a major effect on what a homeowner actually pays.
Even if ultra-cheap panels are fading, lower household energy bills can still make rooftop solar worthwhile in the right market.
“For the rest of us, the bigger news is that the cheapest panel on Earth is now rising in price, not falling,” The Electric Viking remarked.
The narrowing solar price gap is still evolving. China’s manufacturing scale drove ultra-cheap modules. In response, U.S. companies are trying to catch up by building more capacity at home, with technology and supply chains likely to matter as much as tariffs and tax credits in what comes next.
• China’s solar manufacturing expansion is reshaping global supply chains and pressuring U.S. producers.
• U.S. installers saw panel prices hit all-time lows, while broader system costs stayed stubbornly high.
• Heliene and Suniva struck a multimillion-dollar supply deal to expand American-made panels and cells.
• Chinese solar maker Trina unveiled a 907-watt panel that pushed module efficiency even higher.
• In Japan, researchers developed a solar cell that lasts 30 years, hinting at future competition.
The bigger question is whether rising panel prices are a short-term reset or the start of a longer-term shift in the global solar market.
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Texas targets misleading solar pitches after homeowner says panels failed, savings fell short  Yahoo
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What was claimed
There are thousands of square miles of solar panels on UK farmland.
Our verdict
This is wrong and in fact a substantial overstatement. The government’s latest estimate suggests around 81.9 square miles of UK land in total is occupied by ground-mounted solar panels.

“What we don’t want to see on farmers’ land is solar panels up and down the country. There’s literally thousands of square miles on farmland.”
During a Q&A at Reform UK’s party conference last week, party chair Lee Anderson claimed that solar panels cover “thousands of square miles on farmland” in the UK.
This is wrong and in fact a substantial overstatement. Most solar farms in the UK are built on farmland, but the total area of land estimated to be covered by them is much less than a thousand square miles.
In September 2024, ground-mounted solar panels covered “an estimated 21,200 hectares (52,000 acres)” or “around 0.1 per cent of the total land area of the UK”, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
21,200 hectares is equivalent to approximately 81.9 square miles, or about 0.1% of the total UK land area of 24,438,000 hectares.
The DESNZ told Full Fact this remains its latest estimate.
In July 2025 researchers at Lancaster University produced a slightly lower estimate of up to 17,364 hectares, or 67 square miles. They estimated that of this, around 10,118 hectares (39 square miles) may have previously been arable or horticulture land.
We’ve contacted Mr Anderson for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.
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The government’s UK Solar Roadmap sets out that under the government’s Clean Power Action Plan, “around 0.4% of total UK land” would be required for solar by 2030.
It’s worth noting that this figure is based on what the government describes as a “very unlikely” scenario in which all new solar capacity is developed as ground-mounted infrastructure, with no new rooftop solar.
The Lancaster University report estimates that under this scenario, a total of around 96,500 hectares (373 square miles) would be required for solar capacity. If all this was deployed on agricultural land, this would represent around 0.83% of total UK farmland.
Opponents of solar farm expansion have frequently cited a much higher figure of 655,000 acres (around 1,023 square miles) as the amount of farmland set to be covered by solar panels, which appears to be based on a report that claims this is the amount of land solar farms in the “pipeline” would cover by 2035.
The report cites the National Energy Systems Operator’s register of projects that hold contracts for Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC). This is a live database, so we’ve not been able to verify this exact figure, which the report says is from June 2025. But it’s worth being clear that many of the projects listed in this register will ultimately not be taken forward.
The 655,000 acres estimate is far higher than even the most ambitious scenario considered by researchers at Lancaster University, which it estimated would require 173,700 hectares of solar capacity (671 square miles) by 2050. And regardless, it’s still less than the “thousands of acres” claimed by Mr Anderson.
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As the cause of the Boyle Heights fire remains under investigation, the companies involved are using different words to describe what happened — and who should answer for it.
Camryn Rael
• 3 hours ago
In August 2024, a fire broke out around the rooftop solar panels at Lineage Logistics’ cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights, although its cause was not determined. Nearly two years later, on June 17, 2026, another fire began on the roof of the same 500,000-square-foot warehouse, eventually destroying the facility and leaving the surrounding community dealing with smoke, odors and pollution for months.
This time, Lineage is pointing to the solar system more directly. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the company alleges that faulty electrical connections caused the fire and that the companies responsible for the system failed to address known problems. The solar array was owned by Los Palos Street Operating, an Altus Power subsidiary, while Pearce Services served as its contractor. Lineage, which operated the warehouse but did not own or maintain the solar panels, says approximately 200 faulty connections had been identified by May, including about 10 near where the June fire began. The company alleges that it asked the solar companies to keep the system off until the problems were repaired, but that it was re-energized anyway.
Both companies dispute Lineage’s account. Pearce has said the cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation, while Los Palos has rejected Lineage’s claims and argued that Lineage, as the tenant, was responsible for what followed at the site. The fire itself burned for days, and LAFD did not fully contain the fire until June 24, seven days after its ignition. 
The aftermath created another question of responsibility. With the warehouse’s refrigeration system destroyed, food inside spoiled, contributing to odors and air quality complaints in the surrounding community. Lineage has said it expects to spend more than $100 million on cleanup, while city officials questioned whether the company should rebuild at the site or relocate.
In a recent press release, Lineage called it a “solar fire, not a warehouse fire.” A warehouse fire and a solar fire may describe the same physical event, but they carry different meanings and different consequences. One puts the building and the company operating inside it at the center of the description. The other puts the equipment on the roof, and the companies responsible for it, in the foreground.
The difference is subtle, but so is the language surrounding nearly every disputed part of the case. Lineage says the solar companies “caused” the fire. The companies named in the lawsuit emphasize that its cause has not been established. Lineage points to faulty connections that it says were known before the fire; the defendants dispute both the allegations and what those facts establish. Even the question of what happened after the fire is described differently depending on who is speaking.
The fire itself is not in question; what remains contested is how it is characterized. The words used to describe it bring different elements of the event into focus: the roof or the building, the solar equipment or the warehouse operation, the origin of the fire or the consequences that followed it.
The investigation will address what caused the fire, while the lawsuit will address what responsibility can legally be assigned. Until then, the facts are being argued not only through evidence but through the language used to frame them.
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LONG ISLAND POWER SOLUTIONS CALLS HOME BATTERY BACKUP THE MOST MEANINGFUL UPGRADE TO EXISTING SOLAR PANELS  einnews.com
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By Canary Media

By Canary Media
Canary Media
11 September 2026
This analysis and news roundup come from the Canary Media Weekly newsletter. Sign up to get it every Friday.
Summer is only just coming to a close, but this year’s top clean energy trendsetter is already clear.
At the start of 2026, you may never have even heard of balcony solar. The panels have long been staples in Germany, where residents quite literally hang them off their balconies and plug them into standard wall outlets, cutting their use of power from the grid and their electric bills. But in the U.S., only one state — Utah — had explicitly legalized use of the tech as of the beginning of this year.
It turns out balcony solar was just waiting for its moment in the sun — a moment that arrived in 2026 as Americans searched for ways to reduce their skyrocketing power bills.
More than two dozen state legislatures had introduced balcony solar bills as of February, and several started legalizing the systems throughout the year. Virginia became the second state to allow plug-in panels in April, and Colorado and states across the Northeast soon followed suit. Today, nine states have balcony solar laws on the books, and three have passed bills that await their governors’ signatures. 

The above map is set to keep changing in the coming months as state legislatures that deferred their measures start new sessions and get back to work.
Still, even if you do live in a balcony solar–supporting state, you can’t simply run out to an Ikea to buy panels like you can in Germany. Just a few vendors are selling plug-in panel kits in the U.S., given the nuances of state and federal electrical codes. Only time will tell if American solar makers decide to get in the game — and which state will be the next to join the plug-in panel crew.

Bipartisan love for a nuclear renaissance
America is coming around on nuclear power. Case in point? Both the Trump administration and Democrats in California are backing the industry’s resurgence.

This week, the Trump administration closed its third loan to help a shuttered nuclear power plant fire back up, offering up to $1.9 billion to NextEra Energy as the firm restarts Iowa’s Duane Arnold Energy Center. 

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Meanwhile in California, leaders are rethinking the state’s ban on reactor construction and considering whether to stop its only operational nuclear plant from shutting down in the first place. The Diablo Canyon plant was supposed to cease operations in 2025, but California lawmakers already extended its life once, through 2030, and may let it run through 2045. The effort has support from the Trump administration, too, with the DOE awarding utility Pacific Gas & Electric $271 million to help it keep Diablo Canyon operating.
Carbon capture finally moves forward in Europe
Two major carbon capture facilities came online in Europe this week — big steps forward for an industry that has floundered around the world.
The first facility, Europe’s largest of its kind, opened at Yara International’s ammonia plant in the Netherlands. The system will capture and liquefy as much as 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, which will be transported and stored beneath the seabed off Norway. A second, smaller carbon capture setup meanwhile opened in Germany. Cool Planet Technologies built the facility at a cement plant owned by materials giant Holcim, where it’ll capture as much as 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually to be reused in other industries.
Still, despite these wins, carbon capture firms have a long road ahead as they grapple with high costs, environmental and landowner opposition, and doubts about the tech’s viability as a climate solution.

On the bright side: The U.S. solar industry installed 11.4 GW of capacity in the second quarter of the year, up 43% from the previous quarter and 45% from a year earlier as the industry raced to take advantage of soon-to-expire federal incentives. (SEIA)

Clean spending falters: The pace of global investment in cleantech is leveling off after years of steady expansion, with spending dropping 17% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. (Clean Investment Monitor)

Bad news for batteries: The Trump administration’s vague executive order cracking down on foreign-made grid components could pose problems for the U.S. battery storage industry, which has thrived despite federal clean energy attacks. (Canary Media)

Look who’s back: Global coal demand is on track to rise again this year as war in the Middle East shakes up oil and gas markets and a powerful El Niño increases the need for cooling power. (IEA)
Lost in translation: A new poll finds that 57% of American voters say renewable energy advocates exaggerate just how cheap wind and solar power generation has become — but less than a third cite clean energy as a driver of higher power bills. (Heatmap)
Virginia’s climate choice: While Virginia hasn’t backtracked on its ambitious emissions goals, unlike some other states, a top utility’s plans for a major gas plant could make meeting the targets impossible. (Canary Media)

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Kathryn Krawczyk is the engagement editor at Canary Media.
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This marks the launch of a portfolio-wide initiative designed to turn underutilised rooftop space across Prime Group’s self-storage portfolio into productive clean energy infrastructure.
Through the partnership with Wunder, Prime Group is deploying the solar energy systems it owns across its national Prime Storage portfolio, with Wunder providing ongoing management of the systems.
Initial deployments include projects in Rhode Island, Connecticut, California, and Maryland, where rooftop solar systems are being brought online, demonstrating how self-storage facilities can serve as practical, distributed energy assets, while avoiding new land development.
Many of the projects utilise state-based community solar programmes, which can allow power generated from Prime Group’s rooftops to be delivered to local residents at a discount to utility rates, with additional savings available for low- and moderate-income households. By utilising its rooftop assets, Prime Group expects the programme to facilitate lower energy costs for participating households while generating energy savings for its own operations.
“We believe on-site energy infrastructure has emerged as a compelling value creation strategy” said Robert J. Moser, Founder, Principal, and Chief Executive Officer of Prime Group. “As a longtime innovative owner and operator in the evolving self-storage sector, we are focused on initiatives that we believe can enhance asset performance and generate incremental income over time. This strategic partnership with Wunder supports the delivery of clean power to the communities we serve and supports our long-term portfolio strategy and broader strategic objectives.”
Wunder’s national solar deployment strategy for Prime Group’s portfolio is driven by local utility programmes and regulations, state-level incentives, and property-specific considerations. Each participating asset is systematically evaluated to identify an appropriate solution intended to support asset performance, support sustainability objectives, and create measurable community benefit. Across Prime Group’s portfolio of more than 330 assets, more than 100 projects are under development across nine states, totalling more than 38 megawatts of solar development.
“We are honoured to work with Prime Group’s forward-thinking team, who share a commitment to sustainability and operational excellence” added Dave Riess, Chief Executive Officer of Wunder. “For self-storage operators, solar can present an opportunity to accelerate clean energy adoption while potentially reducing operating expenses. We look forward to leveraging our expertise in energy infrastructure to build a strong partnership with Prime Group and support additional long-term value creation across their portfolio for years to come.”
As additional systems are energised, Prime expects the programme to contribute to reduced carbon emissions, expand access to renewable energy, and reinforce the role commercial real estate can play in advancing practical, community-focused sustainability solutions.
For additional information:
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Workers prepare the ground for what will become a solar farm north of Mapleton, North Dakota, on Sept. 11, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
FARGO (North Dakota Monitor) – A company building a solar farm west of Fargo has plans to add a battery storage facility and potentially a data center in the area.
Minnesota-based Geronimo Power says it has been working with stakeholders in Harmony Township to explore the potential development of a data center.
The company said the data center is expected to be powered by new power generation, which may include renewable energy, battery storage and natural gas.
Geronimo Power started construction on its Harmony Solar project north of Mapleton this summer.
Harmony Solar will supply about 200 megawatts of power. The company also is developing Harmony Storage, a battery site capable of storing 200 megawatts of power produced by the solar farm for up to four hours.
Geronimo Power did not provide an exact location for a data center, but the company’s website said it seeks to locate new data centers near its power projects.
Cass County Administrator Robert Wilson said he met with officials from Minnesota-based Geronimo Power on Wednesday, though specifics such as size and exact location were not discussed.
Geronimo did not provide details of the size or energy needs of a potential data center.
Data centers need large amounts of energy to keep banks of computers cool. A data center under construction at Harwood north of Fargo is expected to use as much as 280 megawatts of power at peak demand times.
Wilson said there will likely be further talks with Geronimo officials, but nothing was planned at this time. He said much of the discussion focused on road access.
“That’s really our role,” Wilson said.
He said the situation could be similar to the Applied Digital site near Harwood, where the company paid to add a turn lane to a county road and make improvements to ease traffic congestion during construction.
Wilson said zoning and permitting decisions would fall to Harmony Township officials.
Mike Blevins, zoning administrator with Harmony Township, said Thursday there are no applications submitted for a data center.
According to documents filed with the North Dakota Public Service Commission, the Harmony Township Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to its zoning ordinance on July 21, allowing for a battery energy storage system at the solar farm site.
The Public Service Commission on Wednesday set a public hearing for the battery project for 10 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Days Inn in Casselton.
Geronimo’s Harmony Storage anticipates starting construction in 2027 and being in operation by 2028. The 12-acre project about 3 miles north of Mapleton has a cost estimate of $249 million with an estimated lifespan of 30 years.
A noise assessment it filed says there are no noise standards in Cass County or with the state for battery storage projects, but the project would comply with the noise standards the state has set for wind farms.
This is the third battery storage project the commission has considered this year.
The Public Service Commission has siting authority over energy facilities such as solar farms, wind farms and battery storage sites, but not large power users such as data centers.
Data center development has become a top issue in North Dakota. A proposal for a statewide moratorium was rejected for consideration in the recent special legislative session.
Legislators debated a bill to ban nondisclosure agreements between data center developers and public officials and agencies. Lawmakers rejected the proposal, though the issue could reemerge in the 2027 legislative session that begins in January.
Opponents of data centers cite the potential for higher utility bills, water demand, noise, effects on health and loss of farmland.
Supporters say data centers provide jobs, property tax revenue and help meet growing demand for artificial intelligence.
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The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Board of Directors spent the majority of their monthly meeting Friday morning discussing the potential for solar energy in Lyon County.
Representatives of Evergy presented the information, specifically focusing on plans to build a solar farm near the Emporia Energy Center on Road 200. During the meeting, representatives covered a variety of topics including the scale of the project, potential safeguards and decommissioning plans once the project were to meet its end of its life.
According to the information provided, Evergy plans for the solar farm to be a 30-year project that could bring roughly $60 million in tax revenue over the course of those three decades despite a 10-year tax exemption. Evergy representatives also noted the project would create short-term jobs during the construction phase of the project and provide an additional source of energy production at a time when energy needs continue to rise.
RDA Board President Jeff Williams, following the meeting, clarified Friday’s presentation was simply for “Education” purposes, noting the six-month moratorium that remains in place on solar facilities and developments within Lyon County. That said, Williams noted energy production is a necessity for any community, saying it is the driving force for development.
Evergy representatives at Friday’s meeting declined comment to KVOE News afterward, but did note during the presentation that discussions on the project have been underway since 2022.
Should the project move forward as planned, Evergy anticipates construction could begin by mid 2027 and conclude by the second quarter of 2029.
In other business, Friday, Williams updated the board on the search for a new permanent RDA President and CEO, which has been underway for nearly three years since Chuck Scott left in early 2024.
Once a new president is found, Williams says the search may not stop there, noting they will likely begin a search for a new Vice President and he says both positions will need to be filled by individuals who can handle all levels and sectors of business, not just large industry.
Williams also says when it comes to a timeline, he is hesitant to set anything in stone, noting the last search effort never met any of the deadlines they set forth. That said, he is “hopeful” they could have someone ready to go before the start of the new year.
Also Friday, the board received an update on the city’s railroad corridor improvements project and held one executive session with no action taken.
The RDA Board of Directors will next convene in October for its monthly meeting.

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“The ROI break even point can be anywhere between 2-14 years.”
Photo Credit: iStock
One Texas homeowner considering a DIY solar setup laid out a dilemma that unfortunately sounds familiar to too many families. 
With power bills that have nearly doubled over the past five years, brutal summer heat, and frequent blackouts, they didn’t even know where to start on dealing with their power problems.
The homeowner shared their situation in Reddit’s r/SolarDIY community. The original poster explained that their fully electric house typically uses 1,200-2,100 kilowatt-hours a month, averaging about 1,750, while monthly costs have risen from around $180 to roughly $350.
They wrote, “Coupled with frequent power outages when the wind blows has us looking at a whole home system.”
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To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
The OP then proceeded to ask, “Do brands matter? Can I simply purchase a used set of panels on marketplace and then have the electrician help with the rest? What about batter[ies]?”
By the homeowner’s description, the co-op will permit a system installed by a licensed electrician, but the process includes a $500 application fee, export credits that are applied only once a year, and a $30 monthly charge even when no grid electricity is used. The property is also in Texas near latitude 32, has a central HVAC and a 260-foot submersible well pump, and has space for panels on the south and west roof slopes.
One commenter said there were too many unknowns to pin down payback more precisely, noting that “The ROI break even point can be anywhere between 2-14 years.”
Separately, one user cautioned against trying to save too much upfront, writing, “That kind of monthly usage I wouldn’t bother with used equipment if you are DIYing.”
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To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Still, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, especially when bills are rising as quickly as this homeowner’s have. If you’re trying to estimate costs before making a major decision, you can explore EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes. Those who do can save up to $10,000 on solar installations. 
And solar is no longer only about environmental benefits or resale value. In places dealing with extreme heat and an unreliable grid, it can also be about keeping air conditioning, refrigeration, and water systems running when paired with a backup battery.
Solar can look very different from one household to the next, especially when outages, high power use, and utility rules are all part of the equation. For some families, that means building around batteries and backup power. For others, the big lesson is that bill savings hinge on system design and how the local utility handles excess generation.
• After a hurricane, one homeowner found solar kept the lights on when the grid failed.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
• In Australia, a homeowner said a 20kW solar setup made blackouts invisible and bills profitable.
• Another homeowner turned excess generation into a -$500 energy bill after working with the utility.
Your backup needs, utility rules, and system sizing can shape whether the real payoff is outage protection, lower bills, or some mix of the two.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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Guidelines to encourage the comprehensive utilization of photovoltaic (PV) modules have jointly been released by six Chinese national authorities. These include Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Financial Regulatory Administration, and National Energy Administration.
Key tasks of the guidelines include refining relevant laws, regulations, policies and standards, boosting R&D of processing technologies, broadening application channels for related products, and strengthening support for key production factors. These will help foster organized development of China's comprehensive PV module utilization sector.
By 2027, the country will further raise green production levels of PV modules, effectively increase the proportion of recycled materials in production, and refine the evaluation criteria and inspection methods of module retirement, according to the guidelines.
In addition, breakthroughs in core technologies including surface structure disassembly, efficient separation of PV laminates, and component extraction will be achieved. The comprehensive utilization of retired PV modules will be further scaled up in key sectors including metal smelting, equipment manufacturing and building materials production.
A series of technical standards for the green design and comprehensive utilization of PV modules will be developed, a batch of leading enterprises in the sector will be fostered, and the cumulative volume of PV modules processed through comprehensive utilization will reach 250,000 tonnes.
By 2030, the technological and equipment level for comprehensive utilization of PV modules will be further enhanced with significantly strengthened industrial innovation and development capabilities, the guidelines noted. Application scenarios and methods for comprehensive utilization products will continue to expand, creating a strong capacity for using end-of-life PV modules. This capacity will feature close coordination across the industrial chain, rational production capacity layout, and the ability to address large-scale retirement waves.
Efforts should be made to advance the green design and manufacturing of the PV industry, improve the ease of dismantling and recycling of PV modules, and raise the proportion of recycled materials used in production, according to the guidelines. It calls for the orderly decommissioning of end-of-life PV modules, and guides relevant stakeholders to standardize the handover and delivery of waste PV modules.
The guidelines also stipulate the promotion of green and high-efficiency dismantling and utilization, encourage the development of non-destructive dismantling technologies, and support the extraction of silver materials from the metal grid lines of crystalline silicon solar cells.
Furthermore, the guidelines advocate promoting the coordinated development of the entire industrial chain for the comprehensive utilization of PV modules, and encourage PV module manufacturers, solar power station operators, and comprehensive utilization enterprises to actively extend their industrial chains.
Efforts will be made to optimize the environment for industrial innovation and development. Management measures for comprehensive utilization of industrial resources will be accelerated to clarify the responsibilities of all parties involved in the comprehensive utilization of waste photovoltaic modules. Policy support will also be strengthened.
Qualified PV industrial parks are encouraged to develop "waste-free zones." Support will therefore be given for collaboration among PV module manufacturers, comprehensive utilization product producers, and end-users to develop exemplary green and low-carbon industrial practices within the PV sector.
Enterprises in the PV module comprehensive utilization industrial chain will be supported to strengthen cooperation with internationally advanced companies. This will involve exchanges and learning from each other in areas such as technology, talent, and management model innovation. Ultimately, it would help improve their international competitiveness.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory letter to the Science and Technology Daily on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its founding.
​Recently, a resident of Chengdu city in southwest China used AI tools to create an intense weight-loss plan. He lost 20 kilograms in 45 days, and then fell into a sudden coma. When he was rushed to the ICU, doctors diagnosed him with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome: A combination of chronic sleep deprivation, irregular eating habits, and high-intensity exercise had disrupted his immune system.
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“It’s not about how much you produce — it’s about how much you pay (or don’t pay).”
Photo Credit: iStock
A South Texas homeowner says a carefully tracked solar-and-HVAC upgrade has made electric bills a nonissue — and the numbers suggest the project could pay for itself in about 4.5 years.
For the July-August period, the homeowner used separate charts to break down several key measures, including solar generation, lower household consumption, electricity bought from the utility, and overall system results.
In the Reddit post, the homeowner estimated the project has delivered about $3,700 in savings and could save roughly $4,900 per year, pointing to a payback period of about 4.5 years. They also said the revised tracking setup made those savings easier to understand.
Under an ERCOT buy-sell plan with Discount Power, the home purchases electricity at $0.166 per kilowatt-hour and earns $0.049 per kilowatt-hour for surplus solar exports. The system includes 32 IQ8HC units and 8 IQ8+ micros, and it does not use battery storage.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
According to the homeowner, the minisplit work accounted for the biggest drop in power use, with a heat pump water heater also providing a substantial reduction.
Tools such as EnergySage let you get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes in one place.
Lower power use from a minisplit and heat pump water heater can translate to cheaper cooling and hot water month after month, while rooftop solar helps offset what a household still needs from the grid.
Even while staying connected to the grid, the homeowner said excess solar production has outweighed the home’s remaining energy costs. As a result, the household has not had a utility bill.
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“It’s not about how much you produce — it’s about how much you pay (or don’t pay),” the original poster wrote.
Efficiency upgrades such as minisplits, heat pump water heaters, better insulation, and smart monitoring often improve solar economics by reducing the amount of electricity a home needs in the first place.
EnergySage’s free services can simplify comparing installers and equipment. Meanwhile, EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, these resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. It can also let homeowners keep more of the power they generate for use after sunset or when utility compensation changes. If you’re interested in that route, you can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
“The biggest savings was had from the Minisplit subproject. The heat pump water heater was another major consumption reduction improvement. The residual has more than been made up for by selling excess solar back to the utility — to the point where I haven’t paid a utility bill since January,” the original poster wrote.
This South Texas setup fits a common pattern: homeowners tend to get the best results when they lower energy use first, then use solar to cover what’s left. Location, timing, and battery storage can all change the savings picture.
• In Texas, timing and tax credits helped a dad secure a negative $7,000 utility bill.
• Across Australia, experts say fixing drafts before solar can unlock about $4,000 in yearly savings.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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Home/Firefighting
In March 2026, HelioVolta, a private company that provides technical services to safeguard renewable energy investments, published a white paper highly critical of photovoltaic (PV) rapid shutdown devices (RSD). In the document, HelioVolta identifies 74 thermal safety events since 2021 attributed to RSD (photo 1-3). According to the document, the research included inspections of more than 500 rooftop PV systems in the commercial and industrial (C&I) space.  

HelioVolta states that PV systems with RSD are 66% more likely to have critical safety risks than those without module-level power equipment (MLPE). The document goes on to identify resolutions for this safety concern, including removing these devices preemptively. This, in itself, would violate National Electrical Code (NEC) expectations for systems installed after 2014. To be clear, the document recognizes this option as not viable. The report also theorizes why RSDs are so problematic, citing the following: 
This report is both damning and frustrating on many levels. As a firefighter who recognizes the handwringing and assiduous work that went into creating the safety requirements afforded by RSD, it really hits home. I believe in the language captured in the NEC that speaks to the safety requirements for rooftop PV. And I understand the compounding nature of adding electrical shock hazards to an already perilous firefighter rooftop operation. 
I understand that the presence of RSD does not fully eliminate the electrical hazards inherent in rooftop PV systems. But the idea of rolling back even this margin of safety for firefighters, who are often forced to work in proximity to these hazards is, in my opinion, not viable. The fire service simply cannot support the unwinding of code language designed to enhance the safety of our members.   
But what the HelioVolta report reveals has merit. It is well written and well researched. They kept the guardrails narrow, limiting the research to rooftops systems in the C&I space, ensuring that the data field would be impactful. However, after reading the 17-page report, I arrived at a very different conclusion.  
There may be design flaws and unforeseen gaps within the technology itself. The report also cites installation problems and difficulties within the PV industry. Both issues are reflective of a maturing process inherent with technological advancements. These are what I call “innovative blind spots.” They are predictable and manageable. And they will not be the last problem this industry will encounter. The market response to this can drive innovation without hurting the overarching concept, which is to increase safety for firefighters.  
It is critical that we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The concept and intention of supporting firefighter safety is simply too important. Consider the Takata airbag fiasco. Problems with these safety devices resulted in the largest recall in U.S. history, affecting more than 67 million airbag inflators across more than 42 million vehicles. Globally, approximately 100 million inflators have been recalled to date. Despite this, we did not abandon the safety afforded by these devices, nor should we abandon the firefighter safety expectations captured in the NEC for rooftop PV systems.  
A couple of things jump outwithin this space: 
The operational expectations when working at a structure with PV energy hazards remains static (Figure1): 
The work that went into this white paper will aid in ensuring that this valuable technology matures in a way that we can all benefit from. I encourage you to reach out to members of the PV industry and strengthen your understanding and relations with these trade partners. Because safety is a responsibility that is best supported through open, familiar dialogue, and prescriptive code language.   
Rapid Shutdown Devices and Safety in Commercial Solar, HelioVolta, March 2026, heliovolta.com/resources/rapid-shutdown-devices-unintended-consequences.
Greene, C. G., and Granato, T., “Rapid Shutdown: The Photovoltaic Safety Feature You’ve Never Heard Of,” Fire Engineering, vol 178, issue 2, bit.ly/4cN9LMo. 
CHRIS G. GREENE is a captain (ret.) with the Seattle (WA) Fire Department and a national speaker on energy response hazards. He is the creator of Seattle Fire’s Energy Response Team and assisted in designing its “Energy One” response apparatus. Greene is a contributing author to Fire Engineering for energy emergencies and creator of the “Lithium-Ion Revolution” teaching platform. He was the 2017 Seattle Fire Officer of the Year, keynote speaker at the 2024 Washington State Energy Hazards and Lithium-Ion Battery Symposium, and keynote speaker at the 2025 TEEX Electric Vehicle and Stored Energy Summit. Greene is a technical panel member for UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute Safety of Batteries and Electric Vehicles. He represents the IAFF on the following NFPA standards committees: NFPA 12, 30A, 850, 855, and the NFPA 800 “proposed” Battery Safety Standards Committee.
Get the latest training and management insights for the fire service.

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Suniva, a US-based monocrystalline silicon solar cell manufacturer, has completed an $835 million capital raise of debt and equity from Lion Point Capital, Goldman Sachs Alternatives and five other investors. It funds the company’s second US cell plant, a 4.5 GW facility in Laurens County, South Carolina, representing an investment of about $600 million. Suniva’s existing plant in Norcross, Georgia already delivers 1 GW, so the addition takes total capacity to 5.5 GW. Completion is due in late 2027 with a full ramp in 2028, and the plant should create 564 jobs. Tony Etnyre, Chief Executive Officer of Suniva, said that the company expects to meet the growing need for a US-based source of cells.
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ICC Sydney Unveils the Largest Urban Solar Farm in the Southern Hemisphere  energynews.pro
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Submerged photovoltaics can provide a viable power source for underwater sensors, cameras, and communication systems.
Researchers at Yunnan University and Southwest United Graduate School have demonstrated functional underwater solar cells operating at a depth of 10 meters (33 feet) in the South China Sea.
The achievement smashes previous limits. Earlier attempts to harvest solar energy underwater stalled out in shallow waters under two meters deep, where sunlight is still plentiful but practical applications are scarce.
Combined with an estimated continuous operational lifespan of roughly 5.5 years, this technology could ultimately offer a reliable, long-term power source for remote oceanic systems. The study shows that submerged photovoltaics can provide a viable power source for underwater sensors, cameras, and communication systems in the future.
“Very few studies have been reported on underwater solar cells, and all of them are focused on very shallow water depths of only two meters or less, a scenario far from catering for requirements of practical application,” said Wen-Hua Zhang, the study author.
“This work presents the first functional validation of submerged solar cells practically operating at a water depth of up to about 10 meters, greatly broadening their application scope,” Zhang added.  
Standard commercial silicon solar cells are designed to capture broad terrestrial sunlight, particularly red/infrared rays. Underwater, silicon cells lose most of their efficiency. 
Typically, submerged solar cells struggle to harvest energy due to the rapid loss of sunlight intensity underwater, posing a hurdle for marine monitoring applications like aquaculture. To address this, Zhang’s team designed wide-bandgap solar cells optimized to capture the blue-to-orange light wavelengths that penetrate ocean waters best. 
By capturing ambient light beneath the waves, underwater solar cells present a transformative solution to the long-standing power limitations of marine technology. 
Generating 324 mWh of electricity in just two hours at a depth of 10 meters, these cells produce sufficient energy to recharge standard lithium-ion batteries. 
Submerged solar cells provide a self-sustaining power source for environmental sensors, monitoring cameras, and communication hardware far from the coastline, doing away with costly wired connections and constant battery replacements.
Tested under simulated conditions, these specialized cells proved exceptionally durable, retaining roughly 96 percent of their efficiency after 300 days of storage. Plus, the prototype cells showed almost zero degradation over 1,160 hours at a simulated depth of 10 meters off the Weizhou Islands in the South China Sea.
“What surprised us most was so much electrical energy our large-area modules generated under real-world conditions at 10-meter water depth for only two hours,” noted Zhang. 
“Moreover, we have achieved scaling from small‑area laboratory cells to large‑size modules. The combination of the laboratory investigations and the in-field experiments provides strong evidence for the operation of underwater photovoltaics,” said Zhang. 
Among the future challenges, these cells must pair high durability with crystal-clear light transmission to remain effective for long durations. Also, underwater solar deployment requires overcoming extreme conditions such as corrosive salt, high pressure, and water ingress. 
Next, the team plans to push deeper into the dark, testing how far down solar technology can go while laying the groundwork for standardized testing protocols for underwater photovoltaics.
The study was published in the journal Joule.
Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.
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Midsummer and Metalogika to Launch 20 MW Solar Plant in Indonesia  energynews.pro
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The Netherlands Installs 1.4 GW of Solar in 2025, Sharp Decline  energynews.pro
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Ohio-based solar appliance company GoSun, together with Indian manufacturer Moonrider, has launched a new electric tractor with optional solar charging.
“This new electric vehicle is engineered to replace traditional diesel-fuel tractors. The new vehicle combines high-torque electric performance with GoSun’s signature optional integrated solar charging technology, offering an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution for modern agriculture, homesteading, and property maintenance,” the companies said in a statement.
The tractor can be charged via a 220 V AC connection or an optional 1.1 kW solar array. It is equipped with a 24 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which the companies say provides about five hours of runtime on a full charge. The solar array can provide about 1.5 hours of additional runtime on a sunny day, according to the manufacturers.
An optional power generator is also available, enabling the tractor to function as a mobile power source for electric tools.
“Small-scale farming and property management have relied on noisy, costly diesel utility vehicles for far too long,” said Patrick Sherwin, founder and CEO of GoSun. “With our new All-Electric Tractor, we are empowering farmers and land managers to literally work in the sunshine—reducing operational costs while protecting the soil and air. Electric tractors are a key part of the future of farming.”
The tractor measures 2.27 m in height, 2.78 m in length and 1.04 m in width, and weighs 1,095 kg. It features four-wheel drive and has a rated power output of 27 hp. Its hitch has a lifting capacity of 750 kg.
The vehicle also uses a constant-mesh transmission with nine forward and three reverse speeds. Its rear power take-off (PTO) delivers 22.8 hp and operates at 540/540E. Other specifications include oil-immersed brakes, a dry single clutch, a 1.58 m wheelbase, 270 mm of ground clearance and a turning radius of 1.4 m.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Monday, October 26, 2026
10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its multi-day virtual event on U.S. solar and energy storage, covering domestic manufacturing, distributed energy and the growing role of solar-plus-storage in meeting AI-driven power demand.

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Minnesota-based Excelsior Energy Capital and global energy giant Enel have completed a $760 million transaction that sees the latter company acquiring two large solar projects from the former, totaling 810 MW DC in capacity.
The larger of the two sites is the 682 MW DC (525 MW AC) Faraday solar plant in Utah County, Utah, which reached commercial operation in September 2025 and is backed by a 20-year power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp under the Schedule 34 green energy tariff from Rocky Mountain Power (RMP). Through the tariff, the facility’s energy output is purchased by Meta to offset its energy usage in RMP territory. 
The second facility is the 127 MW DC (100 MW AC) Skyhawk solar plant in Obion County, Tennessee, which has been in commercial operation since 2023 and is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Similar to the Faraday Solar arrangement with Meta in Utah, the electricity and environmental attributes from Skyhawk Solar are delivered to Google through the TVA Green Invest program.
The two solar projects are part of a larger 1+ GW portfolio sale between the two companies that also includes 205 MW in wind capacity. A release from Enel states that the company expects to close the acquisition of the wind capacity in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approvals.
Although the release does not name a specific facility included in the portfolio, the Excelsior Energy Capital website lists the 204.7 MW White Creek Wind project as a current holding.
The transaction will see two of Excelsior’s funds selling their full interest in the plants. Excelsior co-founder and partner Alex Ellis had this to say about the transaction:
“The sale of Faraday and Skyhawk marks an important milestone for Excelsior. This transaction reflects our continued progress in realizing value and returning capital to our investors and it underscores the strength of the contracted renewable infrastructure we build, with a focus on assets backed by strong counterparties and long-term power purchase agreements. This is our largest exit to date, and it positions us well as we continue to grow the Excelsior Energy Capital portfolio.”
The total portfolio included in the sale adds a significant new tranche of capacity to Enel’s North American operations. Including the new capacity, the company’s stateside footprint features 13 GW of wind, solar and storage facilities, and its global renewables arm, Enel Green Power, manages a mix of 68 GW in capacity across the wind, solar, energy storage, geothermal and hydroelectric power sectors.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Monday, October 26, 2026
10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its multi-day virtual event on U.S. solar and energy storage, covering domestic manufacturing, distributed energy and the growing role of solar-plus-storage in meeting AI-driven power demand.

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US Commerce Department finalizes steep duties on solar imports from India, Indonesia, Laos  Reuters
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“With 2 and our current weather in the 100 degrees, I run out of battery by midnight powering only my house and AC.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A California homeowner trying to make sense of a massive electric bill sparked a revealing debate over what solar savings can actually look like under Los Angeles Department of Water and Power rules.
In a Reddit post, the San Fernando Valley resident estimated their home uses about 36,000 kilowatt-hours each year. They said roughly 16,000 kWh of that comes from charging two EVs and that their annual electric costs total around $12,400.
They wrote, “Modeled switching to TOU (R-1B) instead of staying tiered — even in a pessimistic ‘lots of afternoon AC usage’ scenario, TOU comes out several thousand dollars a year cheaper than tiered, given how much Tier 3 usage I’m carrying.”
Using Tesla‘s online configurator, the homeowner was quoted $83,499 cash for a 100% offset system made up of 57 panels, 23.94 kilowatts of solar, and two Powerwall 3 batteries.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
People in the comments generally thought the proposed solar size was reasonable for that level of usage, but many were skeptical that two batteries would be enough.
Part of that discussion centered on LADWP’s rate design. Commenters noted that the utility still uses full retail-rate net metering, so exported solar can provide more favorable bill credits than under NEM 3.0-style policies used by some other California utilities.
That matters most for homes with very high usage in expensive upper tiers, since solar can then offset some of the costliest electricity on the bill and potentially speed up payback.
Services such as EnergySage let you get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes before committing.
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In some cases, simply switching rate plans can cut costs before panels are even installed.
Commenters also emphasized that adding solar does not automatically place LADWP customers on time-of-use billing. Homeowners who want TOU must request the change themselves.
Examples from other LADWP customers varied. One Redditor with a smaller system said they were on pace for about a five-year payback with the federal tax credit, while another said their return-on-investment estimate improved from 11.5 years to 7.6 years as rate hikes and EV charging pushed more of their consumption into expensive tiers that solar could offset.
Battery sizing also came up.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
One commenter with two Powerwall 3 units said, “With 2 and our current weather in the 100 degrees, I run out of battery by midnight powering only my house and AC.”
Several commenters said whole-home backup for a large house with pool equipment, heavy air conditioning use, and EV charging would likely mean needing three or four batteries rather than two. They also pointed to possible permitting and fire-spacing complications for systems above 10 kilowatts.
For households with unusually high electricity use, the first step is to break down where that power is going and how the utility bills it.
In this situation, commenters mostly favored keeping EV charging on the main meter instead of shifting it to LADWP’s separate discounted EV meter, because rooftop solar can then offset those kilowatt-hours.
With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. You can also use EnergySage’s solar map, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, these resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. It can also help households keep critical appliances and cooling running when the grid goes down. Homeowners can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
As one commenter put it, “You absolutely need more than 2 pw3s.”
Another commenter said, “TOU switching is not much of a hassle; you simply request it, and they will come do it. Solar/NEM will not switch you to TOU on its own; you specifically have to request TOU at LADWP.”
Whether two Powerwalls can handle a high-usage Los Angeles home raises bigger questions: battery capacity, peak-rate timing, and the real cost of adding more equipment. The articles below dig into Tesla‘s growing storage footprint, the California cooling demand that can send bills soaring, and the incentives that may help trim upfront costs.
• Tesla has already surpassed half a million installations worldwide, underscoring how mainstream home batteries have become.
• In Los Angeles, the home of the future pairs efficient design with lower household energy demand.
• Across California, surging energy bills can add hundreds when afternoon air-conditioning demand spikes.
• In Queensland, homeowners can shave thousands off a Tesla Powerwall purchase through a government rebate.
• Federal policy could deliver $14,000 in home upgrades for households cutting energy use.
If you’re comparing solar panels, TOU rates, and backup batteries, these stories give a more grounded sense of both the possible savings and the upfront bill.
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Published 3:36 pm Friday, September 11, 2026
By Pamela Sleezer
A Missouri-based company has confirmed it is considering building a data center near Coffey Road in Moss Bluff.
Representatives for Azimuth Renewables, headquartered in St. Louis, confirmed that the company is considering building a data center on 1,100 acres of land that it has an option to purchase.
Representatives said plans are still in the early stages and that nothing firm has been decided yet.
The news comes as Moss Bluff residents and local elected officials have launched a firm opposition to a proposed solar farm in the same area.
California-based Orion Renewable Energy Group intends to request a variance from the Calcasieu Parish Planning and Zoning Board to build its proposed 4,700-acre solar farm that would include up to 2.5 million solar panels.
The proposed site is currently zoned as Agricultural and would require the committee approve a variance to allow industrial development, which is exactly what Azimuth officials will have to do if they choose to move forward with a data center.
While there has been no proven connection between the solar farm and data center, Louisiana State Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) says the news of the considered data center has added fueled to the fight against the solar farm.
“It absolutely has elevated the opposition to (the solar farm), because that would almost certainly open a gateway for the data center, if it happens,” he said.
This week, State Rep. Dewith Carrier (R-Oakdale), Chuck Owen (R-Rosepine), and Sen.  Jeremy Stine (R-Lake Charles) added their signatures to a letter to the planning and zoning board members imploring them to deny the rezoning variance request.
“This decision by the board will have consequences for decades and will set a precedent for future industrial variance applications — like a data center,” Geymann said. “Once you let one industrial development in the neighborhood, it will be hard to deny any others that come behind it.”
Sources tell the American Press Orion’s variance request could go before the planning and zoning panel as early as November.

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Life in Summerside returning to normal after ‘volatile few days’ of solar farm fire  CBC
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Summerside Sunbank fire has been burning for 5 days  CBC
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Cold storage warehouse operator Lineage is suing Altus Power, the company that operated a solar array on the building’s roof, alleging that Altus' negligence was to blame for the fire that ripped through the Boyle Heights warehouse and burned for a week in June.
"The record is clear: this was a solar fire," Lineage said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "Cold storage is not a risk to communities — it is an essential service that lowers food costs, expands food access and creates jobs."
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday and also names as a defendant Pearce Services LLC, a contractor that worked on the solar panels.
"Pearce Services disputes Lineage’s allegations that Pearce caused the warehouse fire. Investigation into the fire’s cause, origin, and reasons for its spread remains ongoing, and it is premature for anyone to draw conclusions," a Pearce spokesperson told Bisnow in an emailed statement. Pearce Services is a subsidiary of CBRE.
Altus Power also pushed back against claims that it was responsible for the fire.
“Lineage’s statement is riddled with misinformation in a blatant attempt to deflect blame for their role in this matter, including any damage caused by the release of substances from the warehouse, not the solar panel,” a spokesperson for Los Palos Street Operating, a subsidiary of Altus Power, told the Los Angeles Times.
Altus Power went public in 2021 through a merger with a CBRE-sponsored special purpose acquisition company. Altus went private in a 2025 transaction with TPG.
Lineage's lawsuit claims that it requested Altus and Pearce not reenergize the solar panels until specific safety tests could be done on them, but both companies did so anyway. The cold storage REIT also said that it is now mired in litigation on multiple fronts and estimates the fire will cost it more than $1B, all told.
The massive, multiday fire caused health hazards and prompted officials to declare state and local emergencies. After the flames were out, the spoiled food in the facility drew rats and swarms of flies to the neighborhood for weeks. Residents said businesses and their daily lives were immensely impacted.
“We can’t run away from it, it’s all around us,” a Boyle Heights resident told the LA Times in July.
Pending legislation was introduced in response to the fire and the conditions that followed that would allow communities to impose greater fines on operators that violate local rules, as well as require cold storage operators to maintain contingency funds to help support cleanup should a similar fire occur.
Contact Bianca Barragán at bianca.barragan@bisnow.com
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China’s MIIT has clarified how manufacturers should apply the five mandatory PV standards to be enforced from 2027 
The guidance sets different treatment for export products, but these must meet the standards when sold domestically 
MIIT has also detailed requirements for energy-use calculations, module testing, measurement traceability, and QR codes on labels 
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released guidance on five mandatory national standards covering the solar PV industry. It explains the requirements manufacturers must meet and the procedures they must follow to demonstrate compliance.  
The guidance covers which products can be sold domestically, how export products will be treated, and how manufacturers should handle products and contracts spanning the transition period. 
For background, China is set to enforce revised national energy efficiency standards covering key stages and products across the PV supply chain, from polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon to PV modules and inverters, starting January 1, 2027 (see China Tightens Energy Standards For Solar Manufacturing). 
Issued by the ministry on September 7, 2026, the frequently asked questions (FAQ) document covers the mandatory PV standards. While GB 29447-2026, GB 47835-2026, and GB 47834-2026 relate to the energy-consumption requirements for polysilicon, monocrystalline silicon, PV modules, and inverter efficiency requirements, GB 47739-2026 and GB 47740-2026 cover module safety and nameplate-marking requirements.  
While the government says it aims to fill a gap in the country’s energy efficiency standards for the solar PV industry and align them with relevant international standards, it is believed these standards may accelerate the retirement of inefficient production capacity. 
The MIIT describes the standards as important technical tools for regulating market competition and supporting production-capacity management in the PV industry. 
One key clarification from the ministry concerns products that do not meet the mandatory standards. MIIT says products within the scope of the standards must comply with the applicable requirements. Under Article 25 of China’s Standards Law, products that do not meet mandatory standards cannot be produced, sold, imported, or provided for distributed projects as well as large-scale projects. 
This requirement, however, is not binding for products meant for export markets. If such products are redirected to domestic sales, the mandatory standard requirements will apply. Exemption also applies to products used for research, testing, certification samples, direct maintenance of installed PV plants, or meant for commercial display without being sold in the market. 
Once the standards take effect in 2027, products must comply with the mandatory standards in force, regardless of when they were manufactured. 
The ministry advises companies to use the transition period to ‘rationally arrange production’ and clear existing inventory. The same principle applies to long-term contracts signed before the implementation of the standards.  
Companies are advised to review existing stocks and long-term orders, complete payments ahead of time where appropriate, and communicate with customers about contracts that cross the implementation date. MIIT recommends negotiating changes to technical terms where necessary. 
The ministry also provides guidance on calculating silicon wafer energy consumption. It separates wafer output into full-wafer and half-wafer comparable yields and explains how conversion factors are applied.  
It also clarifies that energy consumption calculations cover production-related departments and units, including offices, operations rooms, and changing rooms. Cafeterias, break rooms, and staff dormitories are also included in the comprehensive energy-consumption calculation.  
The document addresses mechanical-load testing for PV modules. It states that the test load should be based on the design load and the applicable safety factor. For example, where the design load is 2,400 Pa, the test load should be at least 3,600 Pa at the minimum safety factor. 
MIIT also explains how to verify rated power on a module nameplate. Before leaving the factory, modules are to be tested under standard test conditions. For crystalline-silicon modules above 250 W, the MIIT clarifies that the difference between measured maximum power and rated power should not exceed 5 W. For modules of 250 W or below, the permitted deviation is linked to the rated power. 
The FAQs further say that measurement traceability requirements are unified between the nameplate-marking and energy-efficiency standards. For PV module measurements, it points to the JJF unified traceability system. 
MIIT said that the nameplate-marking and energy-efficiency standards will use the same measurement system. This will enable consistent, comparable PV module test results and ensure traceability across laboratories and manufacturers.  
The guidance also addresses the QR codes required on module labels. MIIT says the QR-code link must remain normally accessible throughout the module’s expected service life. If the link becomes invalid, it will be considered a non-compliant QR-code link, with the manufacturer responsible for maintaining it. 
On testing frequency, MIIT says the efficiency standard does not require every production batch to undergo coupling environmental-load reduction testing. Companies can determine the frequency in-house as long as they ensure that the products meet the mandatory standards. 
The standards listed in the FAQ are scheduled to take effect in stages. The energy consumption standards for polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon products, along with the efficiency standard for crystalline-silicon PV modules and inverters, are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. The mandatory standards covering PV module safety and nameplate marking will take effect on June 1, 2027. 
TaiyangNews 2024

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As solar penetration rises, project developers are facing tighter grid availability, curtailment, and pressure on project economics, making flexibility and smarter plant design increasingly important. The TaiyangNews Virtual Conference on Solar & Storage Power Plant Developments will bring together developers, EPCs, procurement managers, and technology suppliers to discuss how battery storage, advanced trackers, high-power modules, hybrid generation, and other plant-level technologies are shaping the next generation of utility-scale solar projects.
Ayim De La Fuente, Product Manager at TrinaTracker, will discuss how to maximize energy yield through smart tracker operations.
The conference is scheduled from 09:30 to 13:00 CEST on Thursday, September 17, 2026. Register for free here.
Back-contact cell and module manufacturer AIKO has begun delivering ABC modules for a PV project developed by Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group in Hongshagang Town, Minqin County, Wuwei, Gansu province. Located in the Tengger Desert, the project will use 1.04 million ABC modules totaling 677.99 MW, supplied by AIKO, the sole successful bidder for the second module supply package. The company described it as China’s largest single-site BC utility-scale PV project to date.
AIKO said the modules’ Partial Shading Optimization feature has achieved a Class A rating under TÜV Rheinland’s partial-shading test standard, helping mitigate the impact of sand and dust shading. Their single-sided soldering process and steel-frame design are intended to improve resistance to mechanical loads and microcracking. A temperature coefficient as low as -0.26%/°C helps the modules maintain higher output for longer under high-temperature conditions. The company said these features are designed to support module performance under the desert’s harsh conditions.
CSP developer Cosin Solar has secured filing approval for a 350 MW molten-salt tower concentrated solar power (CSP) project in Golmud, Qinghai province. The project is part of Qinghai’s first batch of independent CSP projects for 2026 and will be built at the Wutumeiren East CSP Base. It will comprise a 350 MW molten-salt tower CSP system and associated facilities, with a heliostat field of at least 3.3 million m² and a 15-hour molten-salt thermal energy storage system.
The project will be Cosin Solar’s second 350 MW tower CSP plant in Golmud. The company is currently constructing its first 350 MW tower CSP project at the Wutumeiren PV and CSP Park in Golmud, which is scheduled to achieve full-capacity grid-connected operation in 2027 (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Huawei Digital Power has announced that its Smart I-V Curve Diagnosis solution has received Level 5 certification from the China General Certification Center (CGC), the highest level under the certification scheme. The company said it is the first solution in the industry to receive the certification.
The solution uses Huawei Digital Power’s latest SUN2000-460KTL smart string inverter for high-precision sampling, and a collaborative multi-expert-model diagnostic architecture at the plant level. The company claims it achieves 99% recall and precision in fault diagnosis and adds dedicated diagnostic capabilities for complex mountainous environments and smart scheduled-diagnosis functionality. It can quantify energy-yield losses associated with faults and automatically prioritize operation & maintenance (O&M) tasks. Huawei estimates that, under typical conditions, deployment at a 1 GW PV plant could reduce ineffective O&M work by 30% and increase power generation by 1%.
The SUN2000-460KTL inverter received Grid-Forming capability certification from TÜV SÜD last month (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) have issued a notice on cost accounting for industrial sectors facing pronounced disorderly low-price competition. The notice sets out the forms, basis, and requirements for cost accounting and provides guidance for the process.
Cost calculations should in principle be based on an operator’s individual cost of producing a specific product. Where individual costs cannot be determined, industry-average costs may be used as a reference, with an appropriate downward adjustment. Industry associations and other relevant organizations may calculate average industry costs with guidance from government and industry authorities. The NDRC said it will also promote the development of industry association standards for cost accounting while strengthening price monitoring and enforcement.
In the PV sector, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) issued and implemented the General Principles of Cost Accounting Models for the Photovoltaic Industry in July. The association standard covers four manufacturing segments: polysilicon, wafers, cells, and modules. It establishes three cost-accounting levels – cash cost, production cost, and full cost – and can be used by companies for cost self-assessments and internal identification of price-compliance risks.
TaiyangNews 2024

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“And it just sits on your roof for years, quietly saving you money with no fuss.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A reassuring solar story is catching attention in the U.K. after a homeowner said in a post on Reddit that their rooftop solar-and-battery system had been a “wonderful anticlimax” since going live.
The system was dependable, quiet, and free of surprises, thereby offering a useful counterpoint to the horror stories that can make home solar feel risky.
The original poster summed it up simply on the r/SolarUK subreddit. 
“No drama, no worries or power issues,” they wrote. “The only thing I would change is the paperwork side of it re export but that’s government and bureaucracy so no surprises.”
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
For that homeowner, the equipment was not the headache. The frustration came from the forms involved in exporting extra electricity, a sign that jumping through regulatory hoops can still be more irritating than the hardware.
Other Reddit users reported a similar pattern, saying their systems worked as intended and the bigger obstacle was dealing with grid paperwork and approvals.
One commenter said delays had cost them around £100 (~$135 USD) in export payments, illustrating how administrative holdups can eat into the financial upside even when the technology itself is functioning properly.
Nonetheless, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, especially when a well-sized system can reduce how much electricity you need to buy from the grid and potentially generate export credits. Homeowners who want to price out the opportunity can explore EnergySage as one resource.
FROM OUR PARTNER
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
The replies also showed two sides of solar ownership. Some people were happy to leave the system alone and let it lower their bills, while others joked about getting pulled into charts, settings, export plans, and custom software.
“… until you start getting in to settings, numbers, exporting data, strategies… ahem… I mean, it’s just set and forget!” they joked.
In practical terms, maximizing the tech can mean lower electricity bills, earnings from exported power, and more control over household energy use. For households pairing panels with batteries, it can also mean storing daytime electricity for later instead of buying more expensive power after sunset.
For homeowners comparing options, EnergySage can help the average homeowner save up to $10,000 on solar installations. By comparing quotes from vetted installers, households can land the best deals in their area.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
The original poster’s experience wasn’t unique to other Reddit users.
“And it just sits on your roof for years, quietly saving you money with no fuss,” a user remarked.
To make matters even easier, EnergySage’s solar map is also available for readers who want to explore solar options. It shows the average price on a state-by-state level, as well as available incentives. Put together, that can help readers get the best price and access all incentives.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off grid. Batteries can also help households hold onto cheap or self-generated electricity for later use instead of depending on the grid at peak times. Readers can explore EnergySage for home battery storage options.
The Reddit thread was a reminder that home solar tends to feel best when it’s boring and quietly lowering bills. The real headaches may come from paperwork, pricing, and policy. Those sticking points, including installation costs, tax credits, rule changes, provider trust, and scams can turn a simple upgrade into a hassle.
• EnergySage COO Charlie Hadlow broke down solar panel costs for homeowners weighing an installation.
• In California, homeowners said a major rule change made rooftop solar feel harder to reach.
• In the Philippines, concerns about trustworthiness of providers kept many households from installing panels.
• In Australia, residents flagged a brazen online scam promising homeowners ‘free’ solar panels.
A quiet, low-drama rooftop system often depends on a lot of consequential decisions before and after installation. For readers drawn to that “wonderful anticlimax,” the costs, incentives, and policy shifts around solar are still worth keeping an eye on.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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MANILA, Philippines — Australian-backed renewable energy (RE) company Philippine Aurion Solar Technologies Inc. has invested over P3.34 billion in a solar cell manufacturing facility at the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
In a statement, FPIP said that Philippine Aurion’s 1.3-hectare plant would produce solar cells intended mainly for customers in the United States and Europe.
As it expands in the country, Philippine Aurion is also looking to cater to other markets.
Philippine Aurion’s manufacturing operations will be supported by more than 500 local professionals and technical workers.
Beyond job creation, the firm’s manufacturing operations will enable the transfer of specialized manufacturing knowledge to Filipino workers.
In addition, the firm’s facility is expected to support RE manufacturing growth in the country.
“We are excited to establish our first manufacturing facility in the Philippines at FPIP. This investment reflects our confidence in the country’s growing RE sector and its skilled workforce and we look forward to contributing to the Philippines’ clean energy future,” Philippine Aurion president Huai Jin Yang said. 
Yutaro Kuryu, senior vice president for FPIP Industrial Business said that Philippine Aurion’s decision to set up manufacturing operations in the country reflects the type of investments that FPIP wants to attract. 
FPIP is targeting investments that bring new technology and long-term value to the country.
“As the Philippines grows as a renewable energy manufacturing hub, we are glad to support Philippine Aurion as they
build and scale their operations here,” he said. 
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People installing solar power systems with batteries on their homes, hoping to avoid the disruption of a power cut, are being told to check with the installer that the battery can provide that protection.
About 10 percent of those installed in recent years may not have the capacity to deliver it, industry experts say.
Kristy Hoare, managing director of My Solar Quotes, told RNZ this week that about half of people getting a quote for solar were including a battery. She said, although that could double the cost of the system, many people wanted them for energy independence or as a backup during outages.
But a spokesperson for Rewiring New Zealand said having a battery system that would flick on in a power cut was something that needed to be built into the installation process, and people would have to request it.
They needed to be able to disconnect from the grid in the event of an outage.
"Battery systems do this automatically in a lot of homes and buildings, but you need to ask for it specifically. The part is called an automatic transfer switch. It detects the grid going down and cuts you off from it. You have to be cut off because feeding energy back onto a dead grid is dangerous for the people working on it."
Gareth Williams, chief operating officer at Sustainable Energy Association of New Zealand, said it would be disappointing if people did not realise their system was not set up to cover a power cut because it was something that installers should discuss with customers. He said sometimes an extra piece of hardware was needed, and in all cases there would be additional costs to connect to the system.
Powerswitch general manager Paul Fuge.
Supplied / Consumer NZ
Powerswitch general manager Paul Fuge agreed.
"Any reputable installer should be discussing this with customers during the purchase and installation process, so it shouldn't come as a surprise after the system has been commissioned.
"It's also worth noting that batteries remain relatively expensive and can almost double the cost of some solar installations. For some households, the economics of adding a battery may not yet stack up. Regardless they may be willing to pay the additional cost because of the resilience and backup power a battery can provide, particularly in areas that experience frequent outages or where people are concerned about the impacts of natural disasters.
"As extreme weather events become more common and power outages potentially increase, we would expect to see more households installing battery systems for resilience as well as for any economic benefits they may provide."
Hoare said all solar battery models on the New Zealand market could now provide power during an outage.
Kristy Hoare, managing director of My Solar Quotes.
Supplied / My Solar Quotes
"A few years ago, some solar battery options completely lacked this function, but those models are no longer available."
She said some batteries required additional components and the system had to be specifically installed.
"Given how useful backup power is during an outage, and that the additional hardware is generally only part of the overall system cost, it would make little sense to install one of these batteries without enabling backup."
She said she would estimate about 90 percent of systems had backup power available.
"Going forward from this year, closer to 100 percent of batteries will have backup."
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The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued final affirmative determinations in its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations targeting crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules imported from India, Indonesia, and Laos.
Commerce reported a finding that manufacturers in all three nations dumped solar components into the U.S. market below fair value and benefited from government subsidies, resulting in material injury to the domestic solar manufacturing sector. The decision marks the conclusion of the Department of Commerce phase of the Solar IV trade litigation, originally brought by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade. Find an International Trade Administration fact sheet here.
In its final determination, Commerce established steep dumping margins and countervailing subsidy rates across mandatory respondents and all other producers in the targeted nations.
For Indian suppliers, Commerce calculated final dumping margins at 123.04% for all producers, alongside a countervailing duty rate set at 126.09%. Indonesian exporters face finalized dumping margins at 94.36% for all producers, with final countervailing duty rates ranging between 73.2% and 173.7%, depending on the specific manufacturer. For imports originating in Laos, Commerce set final dumping margins at 65.43% for all exporters, accompanied by countervailing subsidy rates established between 82.03% and 153.67%.
Unlike broader statutory actions like reciprocal tariffs or Section 232 national security measures, the trade measures are case-specific orders under the Tariff Act of 1930. The final antidumping and countervailing duties will stack directly on top of existing executive tariffs rather than replacing them.
The cases were initiated following petitions from the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, a coalition represented by lead petitioners First Solar, Hanwha Qcells USA, and Mission Solar Energy.
“America’s solar manufacturing sector is poised for a historic resurgence, with domestic module capacity up more than 750% since 2022 and cell production expanding as well,” said Tim Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley’s International Trade Practice and lead counsel to the Alliance. “But that progress is being harmed by dumped and subsidized imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos that have denied American producers a level playing field. Today’s final determinations are an essential step toward enforcing our trade laws and restoring fair competition for U.S. solar manufacturers and the workers they employ.”
Market context
While the Solar IV cases conclude, the market reality on the ground has already shifted. Cell procurement for U.S. module assembly has largely migrated away from the target nations, with primary cell volumes now originating in South Korea, the Philippines, and emerging African manufacturing hubs including Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Meanwhile, South Korean cell suppliers face their own trade headwinds following a separate trade petition filed by the coalition American Manufacturers for Energy Resilience.
These finalized duties also arrive alongside structural administrative changes reshaping solar procurement. Federal trade rules recently established Section 232 minimum import price floors across the supply chain, setting statutory minimum entry prices of $21 per kilogram for raw polysilicon, $100 per kilogram for ingots and wafers, $0.22 per watt for solar cells, and $0.38 per watt for modules.
With government-mandated price floors governing imported components, industry observers note that the legal foundation for future antidumping and countervailing duty cases may lessen significantly. Because minimum import prices administratively dictate the baseline cost of foreign solar goods, proving that domestic manufacturers suffer material injury from unfair undercutting or dumped pricing becomes substantially harder to substantiate under U.S. trade law standards.
Next steps
The determination follows the U.S. International Trade Commission final hearing held earlier this week. The proceedings now turn to the Commission for its final injury vote, scheduled for October 14, 2026, to determine whether dumped and subsidized imports from the three nations materially injure or threaten the U.S. solar manufacturing industry.
If the International Trade Commission vote is affirmative, Commerce will issue official duty orders on November 2, 2026, imposing the finalized cash deposit rates. If the panel finds no material injury, the proceedings will terminate and all cash deposits previously collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be refunded.
The Solar IV cases follow the implementation of Solar III duty orders in June 2025 targeting imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which saw shipments from those four nations fall from $12.2 billion in 2023 to $1.3 billion in 2025.
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Proposed Sunrise Solar project rejected by Kent planners  Bay to Bay News
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India’s Solar Capacity Crosses 168 GW As 2026 Installations Near 34.45 GW By August 2026  solarquarter.com
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By Bonner Cohen |
Is the world still transitioning to green energy in the era of Donald Trump and in the midst of, yet again, geopolitical unpleasantness in the oil-rich Middle East?
While climate activists bewail the Trump administration’s embrace of fossil fuels and its corresponding disdain for solar panels and wind turbines, a new report released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Energy and Environmental Research says greener days may yet be in our future.
The report, “Glass Half-Full: Building a Decarbonized U.S. Power Sector,” sees a green light at the end of Trump’s dark tunnel of dismantling Biden-era climate policies. Focusing exclusively on electricity generation over the next decade, the report uses a mathematical model to compare how much “clean power” will survive the Trump administration’s phase-out of wind and solar subsidies and its scuttling of other green-energy initiatives with what would have been produced under Biden-era climate policies.
According to the model, the energy transition is alive and well, with about three-quarters of the “clean electricity capacity” that would have come online under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and power plant regulations surviving the Trump onslaught. Yes, onshore wind power will take a hit, and other decarbonization initiatives will be delayed. But writing in The Washington Post, the MIT report’s author, Lily Bermel, a visiting fellow at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy, urged the “climate community” to continue pursuing “deep decarbonization.”  
But the headwinds that the vaunted transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is encountering show no sign of letting up. A recent report from the BlueGreen Alliance, a partnership between labor and environmental organizations, found that the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other Trump energy initiatives have already delayed or canceled 223 wind and solar projects representing at least $82 billion in capital investment and 111,000 green-energy jobs. While a few coastal wind facilities survive, since March, developers have canceled five leases for offshore wind projects in coastal California, New York, Maine, Louisiana, and North Carolina valued at over $3.9 billion.  In accordance with agreements developers negotiated with the Trump administration, most of that money will be redirected to oil and gas projects, geothermal development, and upgrading the power grid. 
Furthermore, “deep decarbonization” has been aggressively pursued in Europe, with disastrous results.
“From 2015-2025, the first decade of the Paris Agreement on climate change, global energy consumption rose by more than 14%, with sharply contrasting dynamics,” notes Samuel Furfari, professor of energy geopolitics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. “Europe’s decrease in energy use is no triumph of ecological heroics but rather the outcome of the assault of the EU Green Deal on competitiveness and its predictable deindustrialization and economic decline.”
Citing a recent Energy Institute report showing fossil fuels make up 86% of global primary energy consumption, with wind and solar accounting for just 3%, Furfari, writing in The Center Square, throws cold water on the idea of an energy transition. “The dominance of fossil fuels in the world energy system persists even as wind and solar, expensive and intermittent, expand. The world is undergoing an energy addition, not a transition, as new technologies supplement the growing capacity of legacy sources.”
Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy and once a champion of decarbonization, has responded to the recent Middle East energy bottlenecks by reducing its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from that troubled region (while increasing LNG imports from the U.S.), ramping up coal-fired generation, and restarting nuclear power plants.  Wind and solar power, along with battery storage, are being pushed aside.
Back in the U.S., Elon Musk’s SpaceX recently disclosed plans to develop a natural-gas power plant in Grimes County, Texas, where it is developing a massive new chip manufacturing facility.  
“Musk is relying on dozens of gas turbines to power data centers he says are necessary to train the artificial intelligence at the center of his business plans,” The Wall Street Journal reported. Texas abounds in wind turbines and solar panels, but they can’t produce the round-the-clock power 21st-century technology demands.
In addition to failing to meet the soaring global demand for affordable and reliable energy, what is billed as “clean energy” — in the MIT report and elsewhere — isn’t really clean. Wind turbines and solar panels may not produce carbon emissions, but they do create waste — lots of it. Disposal of giant wind turbines in landfills is often the only way to deal with equipment that is no longer serviceable.
“Blades are frequently buried in fragments in several landfills throughout the Great Plains, transforming sites in Wyoming, Iowa, and South Dakota into wind turbine graveyards.  By 2050, the cumulative decommissioning material from wind turbines could reach 133 million tons,” noted Ariel Cohen in Forbes.
Out-of-service solar panels, laden with lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals, pose their own environmental problems. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, by 2030, the nation could have as much as one million tons of solar panel waste on its hands.
These not-so-clean, weather-dependent energy sources will never be more than bit players in today’s fast-moving, technology-driven industrial revolution.
Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Bonner Russell Cohen, Ph. D., is a contributor to The Daily Caller News Foundation and senior policy analyst with the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT).
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Photo by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Board of Directors spent the majority of their monthly meeting Friday morning discussing the potential for solar energy in Lyon County.
Representatives of Evergy presented the information, specifically focusing on plans to build a solar farm near the Emporia Energy Center on Road 200. During the meeting, representatives covered a variety of topics including the scale of the project, potential safeguards and decommissioning plans once the project were to meet its end of its life.
According to the information provided, Evergy plans for the solar farm to be a 30-year project that could bring roughly $60 million in tax revenue over the course of those three decades despite a 10-year tax exemption. Evergy representatives also noted the project would create short-term jobs during the construction phase of the project and provide an additional source of energy production at a time when energy needs continue to rise.
RDA Board President Jeff Williams, following the meeting, clarified Friday’s presentation was simply for “Education” purposes, noting the six-month moratorium that remains in place on solar facilities and developments within Lyon County. That said, Williams noted energy production is a necessity for any community, saying it is the driving force for development.
Evergy representatives at Friday’s meeting declined comment to KVOE News afterward, but did note during the presentation that discussions on the project have been underway since 2022.
Should the project move forward as planned, Evergy anticipates construction could begin by mid 2027 and conclude by the second quarter of 2029.
In other business, Friday, Williams updated the board on the search for a new permanent RDA President and CEO, which has been underway for nearly three years since Chuck Scott left in early 2024.
Once a new president is found, Williams says the search may not stop there, noting they will likely begin a search for a new Vice President and he says both positions will need to be filled by individuals who can handle all levels and sectors of business, not just large industry.
Williams also says when it comes to a timeline, he is hesitant to set anything in stone, noting the last search effort never met any of the deadlines they set forth. That said, he is “hopeful” they could have someone ready to go before the start of the new year.
Also Friday, the board received an update on the city’s railroad corridor improvements project and held one executive session with no action taken.
The RDA Board of Directors will next convene in October for its monthly meeting.

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“They can delete the spike error with homeowner approval.”
Photo Credit: Enphase
A solar monitoring app is supposed to make home energy use easier to understand. But for one Enphase owner, it did the opposite, showing nearly 900 kilowatt-hours of electricity use in a single day — far above the household’s normal range.
The strange spike reminds us not to delete unusual data before checking whether it reflects a real problem.
In a Reddit thread on r/solar, the original poster said they typically use 30 to 60 kilowatt-hours a day.
“We suddenly had one day that showed we used almost 900kwh in one day, more than the total used most months,” they wrote. “Is there any way to go back and remove that anomaly? It is skewing my total numbers for the year with almost an additional mega watt baked into my daily numbers.”
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Commenters urged caution before dismissing the reading as an app glitch.
“900 kWh in 24 hours is an average load of 37.5 kW running continuously, which is wildly different from your normal 30–60 kWh/day,” one user wrote.
Solar owners use app data to check system performance, household demand, and whether a utility bill makes sense. Bad readings can lead to bad conclusions.
For households considering panels, going solar is one of the best ways to save on home energy. You can explore EnergySage to get free installation estimates and compare quotes.
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Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Smart energy monitoring is only as reliable as the hardware and setup behind it. In the thread, several people said the homeowner should match the app against the utility meter and inspect the CT clamp, or current transformer, that measures power flow.
The original poster later added, “The utility bill was showing about 900kwh for the month. we go have CTs for monitoring the system. this is the only anomaly for a year.”
That made the one-day spike look even more suspicious, since the app appeared to log an entire month’s usage in a single day.
If the problem is only in the monitoring software, support may be able to correct the historical record. If the utility data also shows a true spike, though, it could point to a serious appliance issue, a wiring problem, or another hidden drain.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Rather than erase the outlier right away, commenters said to document it first. Suggestions included saving screenshots, comparing the date with utility meter or usage data, and studying the graph’s shape for clues that a sensor or configuration error—not real consumption—caused the reading.
One commenter said, “Give Enphase customer support a call and they can delete the spike error with homeowner approval.”
That could preserve accurate annual data without forcing the homeowner to guess at the cause.
Energy planning tools can also help consumers compare solar costs and incentives. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. EnergySage’s solar map shows average home solar system costs by state and details on incentives for each state.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup can help during outages, lower energy costs, and let homeowners keep more of the electricity their panels generate. You can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
As one commenter put it, “If the utility shows a normal day but Enlighten shows 900 kWh, then you’ve got pretty strong evidence that this is a monitoring/CT/data issue rather than real consumption.”
When solar data looks off, the next step is figuring out whether the problem is the app, the meter, or the bill itself. These articles look at that same issue, from homeowners comparing monitoring software with utility charges to others sorting through how solar and battery choices show up on real energy bills.
• In South Carolina, a solar homeowner saw 900 kWh from the grid on a $150 bill despite app-reported exports.
• One solar homeowner used a prepaid utility plan so effectively the bill dropped to -$500.
• Solar owners say full-home battery backup can make outages almost unnoticeable during grid failures.
They underscore the value of checking the numbers before deciding on support calls, system upgrades, or energy spending. For anyone trying to make sense of a strange spike, that context can make the next move a lot clearer.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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Solar Power World
By Billy Ludt | September 11, 2026
Noria Energy has brought Airon, a U.S.-made floating solar tracker system, to market. Airon is designed to generate more electricity within a similar project footprint and nameplate energy as a fixed-tilt floating system.
The Airon floating solar tracker from Noria Energy.
Noria plans to install its first commercial pilot Airon project in late 2026, in addition to its existing demonstration project, with shipments of its certified commercial product to customer sites expected to start in mid-2027.
“Floating solar can turn underused water surfaces into productive energy assets without competing for valuable land,” said Alex Mayer, CEO of Noria. “With Airon, we are bringing the energy-production advantages of solar tracking to the water – giving customers up to 20% more energy at the same installed cost as a fixed-tilt system. This makes floating solar more productive, scalable and commercially attractive.”
Most floating solar systems use panels installed at a fixed angle. Airon introduces horizontal single-axis tracking to the water, enabling panels to follow the sun throughout the day. Airon builds on established ground-mounted PV-tracker principles, but has been engineered specifically for conditions on water, where equipment must withstand wind, waves, changing water levels and anchoring loads. The tracker uses a low-profile design, passive stabilizers and automatic stowing during severe weather. Contractors can install the system using equipment and construction methods already familiar to solar engineering, procurement and construction companies, without specialized tools.
Airon is being developed for both utility-scale installations and distributed projects supplying electricity to nearby commercial, industrial, agricultural and public-sector customers. Noria has worked in floating solar since 2018, developing and testing its technology through progressively larger pilot projects.
Noria is developing Airon around a domestic supply chain and regional U.S. manufacturing network. Domestic sourcing is also designed to help support customers seeking to comply with applicable U.S. domestic content and foreign entity of concern requirements.
Floating solar remains an emerging U.S. sector, with permitting, insurance and operating standards still developing. But research led by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) found that global floating solar capacity surpassed 13 GW by 2022. NLR also estimates that federally controlled U.S. reservoirs alone could technically support hundreds of gigawatts of floating solar.
News item from Noria Energy
Billy Ludt is managing editor of Solar Power World and currently covers topics on mounting, inverters, installation and operations.

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India Perovskite Solar Cell Market Size & Outlook, 2025-2030  Grand View Research
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Suggested Citation: Biswas, Spandan and Aarathi Srinivasan. 2026. Advancing Solar Cell Manufacturing in India: Bridging Gaps in Cell Technology and Lowering Manufacturing Costs. New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
India’s solar module manufacturing capacity has expanded rapidly. However, domestic solar cell manufacturing capacities continue to lag behind, creating import dependence and supply chain vulnerabilities. To scale up, domestic manufacturers have to contend with high manufacturing costs while adapting to a rapidly changing technology landscape. Currently, higher costs for capital and consumables drive up Indian solar cell production costs in comparison to global counterparts, while structural challenges like import dependence, skill gaps, and lagging R&D lead to difficulties in developing indigenous capability.
This study proposes targeted actions for policymakers, solar cell manufacturers, equipment suppliers, and academia to make Indian solar cell manufacturing competitive on both cost and technology.
India has rapidly expanded its solar energy deployment over the past decade, emerging as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets. However, this growth in deployment has not matched the growth of domestic manufacturing across the supply chain. Such a mismatch risks creating supply chain vulnerabilities in downstream segments, such as module manufacturing and deployment, due to continued import dependence (Premier Energies 2024; Vikram Solar 2024; Waaree Energies 2024a). As of March 2026, solar module manufacturing is the most established supply chain segment in the Indian solar PV industry, with a manufacturing capacity of 173 GW (MNRE 2026b). In comparison, nameplate solar cell manufacturing capacity is only ~30 GW, forming only 20 per cent of the module manufacturing capacity (authors’ analysis from Waaree Energies 2025; MNRE 2025a; Sinovoltaics 2025; ETEnergyWorld 2024; MNRE 2026a). For the remaining 80 per cent, module manufacturing would have to depend on imported cells primarily from China. Figure ES1 demonstrates the gap in growth between module and cell manufacturing.
Figure ES1. Module manufacturing capacity has outpaced cell manufacturing capacity by more than five times, creating high demand for new cell production

Scaling up solar cell manufacturing is thus necessary to solve this issue and improve supply chain resilience. Such scaling up is also critical for increasing domestic value addition through solar manufacturing, as nearly 60 per cent (InfoLink Consulting 2025c) of the solar module cost is attributable to the solar cells.
However, domestic solar cell manufacturers face a global landscape marked by declining prices and rapidly evolving technology—the global cell technology landscape has shifted, with PERC (passivated emitter rear contact) being replaced by TOPCon (tunnel oxide passivated contact) as the commercially dominant technology within two years (2023 to 2025). In 2 Image: CEEW contrast to this evolution, domestic solar cell manufacturing remains PERC-based, and faces higher manufacturing costs compared to Chinese counterparts. As a result, domestic solar cell manufacturing faces risks of technology lock-in and lack of cost competitiveness.
Hence, vertical integration into solar cell manufacturing must be accompanied by the development of technological capabilities and the reduction of manufacturing costs to build long-term competitiveness. The objective of this report is to identify the key priority areas and strategic interventions that should be targeted by policymakers and domestic solar manufacturers to achieve this twin goal.
This study adopts a techno-economic lens to arrive at the key findings, drawing from secondary literature and stakeholder consultations. Further, the interventions have been mapped by considering domestic policies, actions taken by other nations, and their relevance to the identified gaps.
Figure ES2. Higher costs in consumables and depreciation make cell manufacturing ~40% more expensive in India than China

1. MNRE could develop shared infrastructure for machinery localisation, cell technology development, and upfront capital-cost reduction: A national framework should be created to bridge the gap between laboratory research, pilot-scale validation, and commercial deployment. The key priorities are as follows.
2. MNRE could offer one-time capital subsidy to PLI winners to bridge capital expenditure gaps: Based upon our calculation, a one-time capital subsidy of 15 per cent would assist in bridging the capital expenditure gaps between Chinese manufacturers and domestic PLI winners. Execution of the PLI-allocated manufacturing capacity would double the solar cell manufacturing capacity, from nearly 30 GW to 60 GW.
Figure ES3. Framework for developing machinery, technology, materials, and reducing upfront manufacturing costs

3. MNRE could develop skilling programmes and training centres to upskill process engineers and build domestic technological capacity: Scaling solar cell manufacturing will require a substantial increase in skilled process engineers and technicians. Dedicated training centres should be established in key manufacturing states, supported by industry partnerships and specialised curricula targeting process optimisation, equipment handling, and advanced cell technologies. The MNRE, in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), can take charge of curriculum and courses development, while the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) can then serve as stakeholders responsible for implementing the courses through establishing the dedicated training centres.
4. Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) could push for strategic asset acquisition and technology transfer in trade policy: MoCI can negotiate easing of regulations for acquisition of distressed foreign manufacturing assets and intellectual property through trade and investment negotiations. This will push private players to acquire distressed companies. Such acquisitions can accelerate technology upgrading, reduce capital costs, and enable faster entry into advanced cell technologies without duplicating global R&D investments.
By shifting policy focus from module-led expansion towards technology-driven, vertically integrated solar cell manufacturing, India can stabilise its domestic manufacturing base, reduce strategic vulnerabilities, and position itself as a competitive player in a diversifying global solar value chain. Timely and coordinated action across policy, industry, and academia will be critical to ensuring that today’s manufacturing scale translates into durable industrial leadership over the next decade.
The global transition to renewable energy has positioned solar photovoltaic (PV) technology as a cornerstone in addressing the trilemma of balancing energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability. Unlike fossil fuels, disruptions in the supply of renewable energy technologies such as solar PV do not immediately affect a country’s energy system, contributing to energy security (IEA 2024). The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of solar PV was around USD 61 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2024, much lower than LCOE from fossil fuel sources like coal, which is around USD 118 per MWh in 2024 (Lazard 2024), showcasing its affordability. Along with this, solar PV systems do not directly emit greenhouse gases during energy generation, making them an ideal alternative to fossil fuels for reducing carbon emissions.

Solar PV installations have surged worldwide, with annual solar PV installations rising from 51.8 gigawatts (GW) in 2015 to an estimated 507.2 GW in 2024 (IEA 2025b). This has been driven by rising solar PV module manufacturing capacity, which has grown from nearly 120 GW in 2015 to 1,379 GW in 2024 (IEA 2025b), as shown in Figure 1. While manufacturing capacity has grown to support higher deployment, annual solar PV deployment remains less than half of total capacity across the solar supply chain. This imbalance has led to oversupply, driving down average market prices for each component, as shown in Figure 2.

Manufacturing growth is largely driven by Chinese producers who, by capitalising on government incentives, have achieved economies of scale, resulting in the solar PV supply chain becoming heavily concentrated in China. Out of the total global manufacturing capacity, 92 per cent of polysilicon production, 98 per cent of ingot and wafer production, 91.8 per cent of solar cell manufacturing capacity, and 84.6 per cent of solar module assembling capacity are located in China (SolarPower Europe 2025). Despite the manufacturing overcapacity in China, the declining prices have also affected profitability of Chinese manufacturers such as Jinko Solar, LONGi, JA Solar, and Trina Solar, who are locked in fierce competition to retain market share amidst the issue of manufacturing overcapacity. The fall in polysilicon prices, while reducing the cost of production, has undervalued the inventories of Chinese manufacturers. This has led to heavy investment in technological innovations to outperform peers in terms of efficiency and manufacturing costs. The development of such technological innovations has been captured in the next subsection.
1.1 A dynamic market: Solar cell efficiencies rise due to ever-evolving technology market
Solar PV technology can be categorised as either silicon-based or thin-film-based. Globally, silicon-based solar PV is the dominant technology, with a market share of nearly 97.5 per cent, while thin-film technologies make up the rest (Fraunhofer ISE 2024). The supply chain for silicon-based solar PV modules consists of producing polysilicon from metallurgical grade silicon, melting polysilicon to make ingots, slicing them into wafers, utilising the wafers to make solar cells, and assembling the solar cells into modules using bill-of-material (BOM) components such as solar glass, encapsulant materials such as ethylene vinyl acetate sheet (EVA) and polyolefin elastomer (POE), backsheets and junction boxes. Due to its prevalence, this report exclusively focuses on silicon-based PV technology.
Solar cell technologies are constantly evolving in terms of efficiency, costs, and market share. Among silicon-based cells, the different cell technologies that have been commercialised are passivated emitter rear contact (PERC), tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon), heterojunction (HJT), and different variants of Back Contact (BC) on either TOPCon or HJT, termed as XBC. There have been changes in wafer technology too, with the industry shifting from multi-crystalline wafers to monocrystalline wafers. The commercialisation and gradual development of these different cell technologies have been reflected in increasing photovoltaic conversion efficiencies. The photovoltaic conversion efficiency refers to the percentage of incident solar energy a solar cell or module can convert into electrical energy, and it has risen from a meagre 14 per cent in 1977 to nearly 27.8 per cent in 2025 (Green et al. 2025). The improvements in photovoltaic conversion efficiency offered by advanced solar cell designs contribute to a lower LCOE (Wang et al. 2011) which acts as an incentive for the industry to focus on manufacturing and adopting these solar cell technologies.
Rapid R&D and commercialisation have led to solar cell efficiencies rising from 21.7% in January 2023, to 24.5% in June 2025, across different evolving technologies globally.
Global manufacturers are pushing for continuous technological innovation to push efficiencies up for solar cell technologies, and this is captured in Figure 3.

PERC, which dominated the global market till 2023, appears to be the most stagnant technology in terms of efficiency improvement. Since 2023, TOPCon has taken over as the leading commercially available technology, with an estimated market share of nearly 60 per cent (VDMA 2025). This has been due to both the higher efficiencies promised by it, and its similar manufacturing cost to PERC. This evolution in market share is captured in Figure 4. While HJT and XBC exhibit higher cell efficiencies than TOPCon, they have low market shares due to their higher manufacturing costs. However, they are predicted to grow in the future, making up nearly 50 per cent of the global market post 2030 (VDMA 2025).

The eventual rise of HJT and XBC cell technologies is predicated on their achieving cost competitiveness with TOPCon. Beyond the current commercially available technologies, alternative technologies such as tandem perovskites are also predicted to enter the global market post 2030. Tandem perovskites have the potential for solar cell efficiencies higher than conventional silicon-based solar cells (PV Magazine 2024), and are yet to reach maturity.
The change in market share for each technology thus depends on their efficiencies, their scale of maturity, and how complex the manufacturing process is. The transition from PERC to TOPCon was facilitated by the similarities in their manufacturing processes, and similar capital expenditure—the average capital expenditure for PERC and TOPCon are USD 34.5 million per GW (CRISIL 2024) and USD 33.5 million per GW (CRISIL 2024; APVI 2024), respectively. In contrast, while HJT has fewer process steps, it has a much higher average capital expenditure, at USD 72 million per GW (CRISIL 2024).
Compared with silicon-based solar cells, the futuristic tandem perovskite cells are estimated to have lower production costs. The capital expenditure for setting up a perovskite manufacturing plant is estimated to be one-fifth of the capital expenditure required for a silicon solar manufacturing plant (Rethink Energy 2024a). Further, perovskite manufacturing processes operate at much lower temperatures than conventional silicon solar manufacturing, meaning lower energy consumption and operating costs (Mitsui & Co Global Strategic Studies Institute 2024). Lower energy consumption also entails a lower emissions profile associated with perovskite manufacturing. Further technical details and description of all the solar cell technologies mentioned (PERC, TOPCon, HJT, Back Contact, and perovskite) are provided in Annexure 3.
The historical and predicted changes in market share reveal the dynamic nature of solar cell technology, with Chinese manufacturers focusing on technological breakthroughs to increase conversion efficiency, while optimising for cost. Indian manufacturers thus must now contend with this dynamic technology landscape while competing with historically low market prices. The next subsection will detail how the domestic solar PV sector has evolved in terms of deployment, manufacturing, and technology.
1.2 How has India fared within this sector?
The Government of India has set a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of achieving 500 GW of cumulative electric power generation from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, and solar photovoltaic sources are expected to contribute 292 GW (over 50 per cent) to this target (CEA 2023).
Supply-side policies such as Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme have incentivised domestic manufacturers to carry out vertical integration across the solar PV supply chain. Demand-side policies include domestic content requirement (DCR) schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Uthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) and Pradhan Mantri-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which require domestic solar cells and modules to be used for rooftop solar PV installations and distributed renewable energy installations.
Additionally, similar to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List I, which acts as a non-tariff barrier for domestic modules against imports, the government plans to implement the ALMM List-II from June 2026 to create demand for domestic cells (MNRE 2024a).

As of February 2026, India’s installed solar capacity stands at 140.60 GW (MNRE 2025c), and the annual solar PV installation in FY 2025 was 23.83 GW, as given in Figure 5. Thus, around 151.4 GW needs to be installed over the next four years to meet the NDC target, which entails an annual average deployment of nearly 37.85 GW.
While deployment rates are short of the required installations, module manufacturing capacity enlisted in ALMM List-I reached 173 GW in March 2026 (MNRE 2026b). However, 80 per cent of this would be dependent on imported solar cells from China as the domestic solar cell manufacturing capacity stands at 29.66 GW (Waaree Energies 2025; MNRE 2025a; Sinovoltaics 2025; ETEnergyWorld 2024; MNRE 2026a), as shown in Figure 6. This gap in the domestic module and cell manufacturing capacity needs to be bridged in a timely fashion to reduce industry’s exposure to supply chain vulnerabilities, as well as ensure compliance with upcoming policy mandates like the ALMM List-II.

Domestic cell manufacturing is mainly PERC-based, with a few manufacturers producing TOPCon. Previously dominant BSF (back surface field) solar cell technology, has very minor production share now. A breakdown of the manufacturing capacities for different cell technologies has been provided in Figure 7.

Out of 29.66 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity, BSF accounts for 0.43 GW, PERC for 14.76 GW, TOPCon for 8.5 GW, HJT for 1.72 GW, thin-film (cadmium telluride) for 3.3 GW, while around 0.9 GW is unknown—not clarified by solar cell manufacturers. A detailed manufacturer-wise breakdown is provided in Annexure 1. Recognising the global trend of the rising importance of TOPCon, several Indian manufacturers have announced expansion plans to set up TOPCon-based manufacturing facilities—amounting to nearly 22 GW—by March 2027. A detailed manufacturerwise breakdown of such expansion plans has been provided in Annexure 2.
The government has also imposed a Basic Custom Duty of 20 per cent and Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC) of 7.5 per cent on imported solar cells, to protect domestic cell manufacturing (Ministry of Finance 2025). Further, on 29 September 2025, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommended antidumping duties up to 30 per cent on imported Chinese solar cells (DGTR 2025). If the ADD is levied, the cumulative tariff of 57.5 per cent would lead to an increase in the price of imported cells from USD 0.039 per Wp (InfoLink Consulting 2025b) to nearly USD 0.06 per Wp, which is near the lower end of the domestic solar cell price (nearly USD 0.07 per Wp), as of November 2025 (CRISIL 2025). While the duties make imported Chinese solar cells comparable to domestic solar cells in terms of price, domestic solar cell manufacturing remains more expensive than Chinese cells, and the removal of duties would ultimately lead to non-competitiveness. Therefore, domestic solar cell manufacturing currently faces a twin-problem of higher manufacturing costs and a lag in adoption of current mainstay solar cell technology.
57.5% import tariffs on imported solar cells have narrowed the gap with domestic market prices – yet, higher production costs and technology adoption lag constrain capacity expansion and competitiveness.
1.3 Twin problem of high manufacturing costs and technology lag
To reap the benefits of indigenisation, the twin problems of higher manufacturing costs and technological lag must be addressed, and for that, their causes must be identified. The research objective of this report is to identify what causes these two problems and identify strategic interventions that policymakers and domestic manufacturers can carry out that would solve them. Due to the dominance of silicon-based solar cell technology (97.5 per cent of the total market share worldwide), the report focuses on costs, components, technology, and machinery aspects of silicon-based solar cell manufacturing only.
Overcoming these challenges will help the domestic manufacturing industry achieve indigenisation of solar cell manufacturing, leading to supply chain resilience. Furthermore, this would enable Indian manufacturers to capitalise on the prevailing ‘China Plus One’ sentiment in international markets, and become a significant player in diversifying global solar supply chains. This would help domestic manufacturers to expand their export markets. Historically, more than 97 per cent of India’s solar exports across FY 2023, FY 2024, and FY 2025, have been geared towards the United States (Sharma, Gulia and Garg 2024). However, due to 18 per cent tariffs being levied on Indian exports to the USA (Ministry of Commerce 2026), along with ongoing anti-dumping duties (ADD) and countervailing duties on Indian solar cells and modules by the US Department of Commerce and US International Trade Commission (USITC) (USITC 2025), this export market has now come under threat. Vertical integration, starting with the production of solar cells, would also aid in the creation of new jobs, stimulate investment, and create market opportunities.
We carried out a comprehensive literature review to identify the current solar cell technology landscape. This included identifying the cost-drivers of solar cell manufacturing in Chapter 2, and identifying key technological issues for domestic solar cell manufacturers in Chapter 3. We further complemented findings from the literature review with stakeholder consultations, and identified the specific factors contributing to high domestic manufacturing costs and persistent technological lag. Finally, we have provided key recommendations that will help policymakers and stakeholders navigate these challenges to establish a resilient and future-proof solar cell manufacturing industry. We drew up these recommendations by considering existing domestic policies, comparing what policy measures other nations have taken, and the key gaps identified from the analysis.
Prices for components across the solar supply chain have hit historic lows, as detailed in Figure 2. Market prices of Chinese solar cells were around USD 0.038 per Wp (Infolink Consulting 2025c) in November 2025, much cheaper than domestically manufactured solar cells, which can have market prices as high as USD 0.07 per Wp. Even after the implementation of a total of 57.5 per cent of duty (BCD and ADD) on imported solar cells, the price of imported solar cells is in the range of 0.06 USD per Wp, which is still cheaper than the price range of domestic solar cells. The market price of solar cells is determined by both supply and demand, and the production cost of solar cells. As 91.8 per cent of global solar cell manufacturing capacity is concentrated in China, the supply side price dynamics are influenced by Chinese manufacturers.
However, this pricing regime is beginning to shift. China’s decision to phase out value-added-tax (VAT) export rebates for solar wafers, cells, and modules from 1 April 2026, after an earlier cut in late 2024, has already raised export and domestic pricing along the entire supply chain, and is shifting sourcing and trade patterns worldwide. China previously reduced the export tax rebate for PV products to 9 per cent from 13 per cent in December 2024, as part of its broader efforts to curb overcapacity and deflationary price wars amid international trade tensions (PV Magazine 2025a; Reuters 2026). Spot-price data now reflects this, with rise in mono-PERC cell prices to averages near USD 0.047 to 0.056 per Wp (InfoLink Consulting 2025c). It is expected that cell prices will increase along with modules once rebates are removed. Project equipment and panel procurement costs are also expected to increase by 9 to 15 per cent (MERCOM India 2025a) in the short term.
While these developments may narrow the price differential at the margin, the structural gap between Chinese and Indian manufacturing costs remains substantial. For Indian manufacturers to compete sustainably, irrespective of short-term price corrections driven by Chinese policy, it is essential to reduce domestic production costs. This makes it imperative to systematically analyse and elucidate the differences in the cost structures of solar cell manufacturing in India and China. The subsequent sections, therefore, break down the key drivers of production cost in both geographies.
2.1 Breaking down cost drivers of Chinese and Indian solar cell manufacturing
The first difference between domestic and Chinese manufacturing set-up is the level of vertical integration. Leading Chinese manufacturers are vertically integrated across wafer, cell, and module production (InfoLink Consulting 2023), while Indian solar cell manufacturers have to depend on imported wafers. As Chinese manufacturers are vertically integrated, their cost of manufacturing solar cells does not include the cost of wafer sourcing.
The cost of manufacturing solar cells includes costs due to capital expenditure (which, when accounted for across the lifetime of a manufacturing facility, are termed as depreciation), consumables (such as wafer, silver paste, and other chemicals), labour, electricity, overheads, and other costs, such as maintenance of the manufacturing facility, overheads such as R&D, and costs due to shipping and tariffs (APVI 2024). Figure 8 provides a comparison of cost-of-manufacturing TOPCon solar cells in Chinese and Indian manufacturing set-ups. Given that TOPCon is the currently dominant solar cell technology and is expected to have a market share of at least 50 per cent till 2030, cost of manufacturing estimations for Chinese and Indian set-ups are based on TOPCon solar cell technology (VDMA 2025).

Consumables for the Indian estimate include both wafer and silver paste, while consumables for the China estimate include only silver paste. Other consumables, such as the chemicals in which wafers are dipped, form a very miniscule portion of the total costs, and hence are not included in the calculation. Further, depreciation for capital expenditure for Chinese set-ups is based upon literature, while depreciation for Indian manufacturing set-ups is calculated on the basis of capital expenditure estimation announced by Indian manufacturers in their draft red-herring prospectus (DRHP) documents. The depreciation calculation is shown in Annexure 5.
Consumables and capital expenditure are the major cost drivers that make Indian solar cell manufacturing more expensive than Chinese solar cell manufacturing. The next sections will explore the reasons behind this.
2.2 Cost attributed to various consumables
1. Wafer
For domestic solar cell manufacturing, wafer consumption is the highest cost driver, as shown in Figure 9. Domestic cell manufacturers depend on imported wafers, predominantly from China, which has 95 per cent of the global wafer manufacturing capacity (IEA 2024). The concentration of wafer manufacturing in China makes it vulnerable to disruption, and entails that a majority of the value addition for the domestic solar supply chain is situated outside. For example, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale hit Myanmar on 28 March 2025, affecting China’s wafer production areas, particularly regions like Sichuan, Ningxia, Yunnan, and Inner Mongolia (InfoLink Consulting 2025b). The earthquake caused equipment issues such as wire breaks and furnace explosions, affecting production output, supply-demand balance, and thus leading to a 5–10 per cent increase in wafer price (JA Solar Tech 2025). Policy changes, including the lapse of the BCD exemption on imported silicon inputs and un-diffused wafers from 1 April 2026 will impact the cost of imports, leading to a direct cost escalation for Indian solar cell manufacturers (Ministry of Finance 2026). The measure compresses profit margins and structurally favors vertically integrated domestic producers with wafer capacity.

Wafer sizes have kept increasing, with a predicted market shift from M10 wafers, which have a dimension of 182 mm x 182 mm, towards G12 wafers and G12 rectangular wafers, which have a dimension of 210 mm x 210 mm and 210 mm x 182 mm, respectively (VDMA 2025). The shift to larger and rectangular wafers has led to greater power output of solar cells, and provided flexibility for manufacturers to produce solar cells of varying sizes, tailored to their module size requirements. Due to rapid changes in wafer size and shape, and changes to equipment required to process the wafers, manufacturers face uncertainty (VDMA 2025).
2. Silver paste
Silver paste is made using silver particles, glass frit, and an organic binder, and is produced by mixing, rolling pulp, and other processes (Maysun Solar 2023b). The process of making silver paste requires optimisation of the size and shape of silver paste particles, and has strong intellectual property protections (CEEW 2022). For a TOPCon solar cell, keeping aside the cost of importing wafers, silver paste consumption can contribute at least 20 per cent of the entire cost outside China (APVI 2024).
Import dependence for silver paste
Domestic manufacturers are completely import-dependent for sourcing silver paste from a few regions like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore1 , predominantly under two HS codes2 : 71069290 and 71159010 (Ministry of Commerce 2025). The total value of commodities imported under these two HS codes are showcased in Figure 10 and Figure 11. The description of each of the HS codes are:
• 71159010: Other articles of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal.
• 71069290: Silver (including silver plated with gold or platinum), unwrought, semimanufactured, or powder form.

1. According to stakeholder consultations.
2. The Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, generally referred to as ‘Harmonised System’ or simply ‘HS’ is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). It comprises more than 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by an eight-digit code, arranged in a legal and logical structure, and is supported by well-defined rules to achieve uniform classification (World Customs Organization 2025).

Analysis of import share changes across years for commodities under both HS codes reveals that imports under HS code 71069290 are distributed across multiple countries, as shown in Figure 12. This suggests that the HS code encompasses a range of commodities beyond silver paste. Given that silver paste is primarily sourced from China, the presence of significant import shares from other countries indicates the inclusion of other materials under this classification.

In comparison, imports under HS code 71159010 have consistently been dominated by China over the years, as illustrated in Figure 13.

Overall, the difference in import volume and import share between the two HS codes signals a lack of clarity in classifying conductive silver paste into HS codes, which causes a lack of traceability of silver paste imports for solar PV manufacturing.
Cost contribution of silver paste to solar cell manufacturing
As of February 2026, front-side silver paste for fingerprinting, front-side silver paste for busbars, and rear-side silver paste were priced at USD 2,473 per kg (Shanghai Metals Market 2025b), USD 2,566 per kg (Shanghai Metals Market 2025a), and USD 1,712 per kg (Shanghai Metals Market 2025c), respectively. For Indian solar cell manufacturers, silver paste effectively costs 24 per cent more than Chinese competitors. This is due to a combined effect of import duties on silver paste, and subsidies granted to Chinese manufacturers upon sourcing silver paste from Chinese players. Assuming a 13.5 mg per Wp (VDMA 2025) consumption of silver paste for TOPCon solar cell, the base cost contributed by silver paste alone for cell manufacturing is USD 0.0314 per Wp. Further, silver paste imported to India under the two HS codes is subject to a 10 per cent customs duty (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs 2025), raising costs to USD 0.0345 per Wp. In comparison, Chinese manufacturers benefit from subsidies of approximately 11.5 per cent on silver paste sourced domestically (APVI 2024), reducing their effective cost to USD 0.0278 per Wp. A comparison of these silver paste costs, base price and post-duty cost in India, and subsidised cost in China, is presented in Figure 14.

The removal of import customs duty on silver paste can bring the cost differential between Indian and Chinese players down from 24 per cent to 13 per cent.
Rising silver demand due to solar PV
Apart from rise in silver costs due to import dependence, there is a demand-supply imbalance, leading to rise in prices. At the end of 2025, total silver demand across various applications was 32,554 tonnes, eclipsing total silver supply at the end of 2025, which was 29,217 tonnes (The Silver Institute 2025). Further, silver demand from solar PV applications reached 17 per cent of total demand in 2025, rising from 8 per cent in 2016, as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15 shows silver demand overtaking the supply, coinciding with the rise in silver demand from solar PV, which may entail a potential risk from rising silver prices. A long-term solution would be to either reduce silver paste consumption, or explore alternative materials to lower costs.
Technological advances in the reduction of silver paste consumption
One of the technical advances underway is the shift from multi busbar (MBB) technologies, which consist of nine busbars per solar cell of the thickness of 0.3 to 0.4 mm, to smart multi busbars (SMBB), which consist of 16 to 20 busbars per solar cell, enabling the usage of finer busbars of the thickness of 0.24 mm (Maysun Solar 2023a). Finer busbars reduce silver paste use, minimise shading, and lower electrical resistance, leading to lower costs and higher efficiency. A further shift from SMBB to zero busbar (0BB) technology is expected, as it eliminates the need for busbars by connecting the silver fingers with the ribbons attached to the modules, further reducing silver consumption, shading, and electrical resistance. Zero busbar technology can reduce silver paste consumption by 30 per cent, but is currently in the early stages of industrialisation, optimising the exact process of connecting the ribbons to the silver fingers (Maysun Solar 2024).
Assuming a silver consumption of 13.5 mg per Wp for TOPCon, a 30 per cent reduction through 0BB technology will lead to a reduction in silver consumption to 9.45 mg per Wp. This leads to a 30 per cent reduction in silver paste cost, pushing it down to USD 0.0242 per Wp and USD 0.019 per Wp for Indian and Chinese players respectively. However, R&D for such technologies are being led by Chinese manufacturers; Indian manufacturers lag behind in research and development due to a lack of industry and academia collaboration, a lack of R&D investment, and focus on scaling up commercialised technologies.

The market share for both SMBB and 0BB technologies is expected to increase from approximately 45 and 5 per cent respectively in 2024 to approximately 50 and 45 per cent in 2035 (VDMA 2025), with a decrease in the market share for MBB technologies from 50 to nearly 5 per cent in 2034 (VDMA 2025), as shown in Figure 16. Implementing advanced busbar technology in domestic cell manufacturing requires sourcing suitable equipment as well as developing the technical expertise to operate it. Chinese manufacturers are a step ahead in commercialising such technologies due to their close collaboration with their equipment suppliers, thus ensuring higher performance and, in this particular case, lower costs.
Another novel method of reducing silver paste consumption is replacing silver paste with a mixture of silver and copper paste (Taiyang News 2023a). In such pastes, copper particles are coated with silver, reducing the amount of silver required. These pastes, now entering commercialisation, are primarily aimed at HJT solar cells, which consume more silver than TOPCon cells (Taiyang News 2023a). Currently, hybrid silver and copper paste metallisation ratios of 20 per cent and 70 per cent are commercially available for HJT solar cell manufacturing (Taiyang News 2025a).
Adopting novel technological innovations such as 0BB and hybrid silver-copper pastes, can reduce silver consumption by 30% and 80% respectively.
3. Chemical consumables
The chemical consumables used in solar cell manufacturing consist of hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrogen fluoride (HF), nitric acid (HNO3 ), potassium hydroxide (KOH), deionised water, and gases such as Diborane (B2 H6 ) and Silane (SiH4 ). Hydrochloric acid, hydrogen fluoride, nitric acid, and potassium hydroxide are used in surface damage etching and texturing, the initial steps of solar cell manufacturing. Chemicals such as deionised water are required in edge isolation, performed after emitter formation through diffusion (Taiyang News 2023b). Chemical gases like diborane and silane are used as feedstock material for emitter formation and passivation layer deposition. According to stakeholders, these gases are imported from outside, stored in bottling plants, and then transported to manufacturing facilities in tankers. Transportation and storage of these chemicals increase the indirect costs through warehousing and tanker requirements, creating a logistical challenge. For example, silane is an explosive chemical which must be stored offsite, and transported at USD 0.09 per km per tonne. This cost gets embedded into the overall manufacturing cost.
Table 1 compares the capital expenditure3 estimated from analysing the DRHP documents of two domestic manufacturers, Vikram Solar (Vikram Solar 2024) and Premier Energies (Premier Energies 2024). The original tables have been attached in Annexure 4.

From Table 1, the average capital expenditure for establishing TOPCon cell manufacturing facilities is around USD 70 million per GW. In China, estimated capital expenditure for TOPCon cell manufacturing facilities can range from USD 25 million per GW (APVI 2024) to an average of USD 42 million per GW (CRISIL 2024). Thus an average of USD 33.5 million per GW of capital expenditure can be considered, which is nearly 48 per cent of India’s capex. Hence, Indian manufacturers require almost double the capital expenditure to set up solar cell manufacturing facilities compared to Chinese manufacturers. As the capital expenditure incurred for equipment and machinery significantly varies in India and China, the depreciation calculated based on their useful life under the straight-line method will also significantly vary. As depreciation is a revenue expenditure, it will affect the profitability of the company.
Stakeholder consultations reveal that the lower capital expenditure in China is due to the country’s larger manufacturing facilities, with dozens of GWs (Renewable Energy Institute 2024), leading them to reach economies of scale quicker. India’s largest solar cell manufacturing capacity is 5.4 GW, and the average size of a facility is around 2 GW (Sinovoltaics 2024), leading to longer time to achieve profitability. Additionally, Chinese manufacturers benefit from lower infrastructure costs, lower equipment costs sourced from Chinese manufacturers with no shipping costs, and subsidies for capital expenditure for building, civil works, and land, all of which reduce capital expenditure.
Domestic solar cell manufacturing faces the following challenges, based on the analysis carried out in this report.
The challenges portrayed in the previous chapter elucidate how domestic solar cell manufacturing is at risk of technological lag and non-competitiveness in terms of price. To address these challenges, we put forward four recommendations. These are drawn up for a period of 10 years, from 2026 to 2035, as estimated changes in market share are available till 2035 from literature (VDMA 2025).
Developing shared infrastructure for solar cell technology development would help in supporting indigenisation of solar cell manufacturing equipment, accelerating lab-scale innovations for solar cells and metallic pastes to commercial-scale manufacturing, and reducing capital expenditure associated with commercial-scale cell production.
Shared infrastructure can consist of expensive equipment such as advanced deposition tools, metrology equipment, reliability test facilities, and utility infrastructure, that individual firms or universities may not be able to easily afford. Firms would leverage processes, machinery, and technology developed through shared infrastructure, scaling them from pilot to commercial production. Such a framework will allow industries to participate in R&D without each firm spending on R&D individually, provide timely feedback on manufacturability, yield, and cost, and ultimately shorten the time period between proof-of-concept and commercial production.
The framework would enable the following four recommendations, that feed into the overall targeted roadmap that has been sketched out.
Further analysis of the investment needed, the targets, and additional policy support for these have been explained in the next sub-sections.
Along with creation of shared infrastructure, the MNRE, in collaboration with the MHI, can establish a dedicated ‘capital goods for solar cell manufacturing’ programme under the National Capital Goods Policy. The National Capital Goods Policy was established to boost the production of essential capital goods, such as machinery and equipment, across industries. In the fiscal year 2024–25, INR 184 crore or USD 21 million was allocated for the schemes being supported by the National Capital Goods Policy. Out of this, INR 134.55 crore or USD 15.8 million were released for utilisation in sub-schemes (Press Information Bureau 2025), which consisted of setting up centres of excellence and common engineering facilities, augmenting existing testing and certification centres, etc.
Figure 18. Due to favourable policy support, capital goods production across all subsectors has increased, with total production increasing by 72%

Due to such policy support, the production across all the eight different sectors has increased between the fiscal years 2019–20 and 2023–24 from USD 12.71 billion to USD 21.87 billion, as shown in Figure 18. Similar to these sectors, key equipment required in solar cell manufacturing, such as wet chemical tools, diffusion furnaces such as PECVD, LPCVD, ALD and PVD, and screen printers, can be included in the scheme by creating a separate sub-section under capital goods.
Stakeholders stated that one entire equipment line can produce 1.2 GW of solar cells annually. Given 30 GW of solar cell manufacturing is currently present, this would require production capacity of at least 25 equipment lines. Estimates suggest that an additional 86 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity maybe commissioned by 2030 (PV Tech 2025), which would require nearly 70 equipment lines. Hence, a total of 95 equipment lines of production capability may be required. Domestic solar cell manufacturers spend an average of USD 41.5 million for sourcing one equipment line (Premier Energies 2024; Vikram Solar 2024), ensuring a market opportunity for local equipment producers from USD 1 billion to USD 4 billion.
A comprehensive EU-India free-trade agreement was concluded on 27 January 2026 (European Commission 2026). The agreement creates a platform to speed up supply-chain diversification, bilateral clean-tech manufacturing, and bankable European investments into India’s fast-growing solar market, supporting both equipment trade and joint technology development. The growth of Indian solar cell manufacturing presents a USD 1 billion to USD 4 billion market opportunity for solar cell equipment, incentivising foreign technology leaders in equipment manufacturing to set up production in India, and thus facilitating technology transfer. For the EU, accessing India’s rapidly expanding module capacity offers a non-Chinese supply source for certain components. For India, easier access to European high-quality balance-of-system (BOS) equipment and specialised components (high-efficiency cells, industrial PV glass, smart inverters) will support larger, higher-value projects.
India should strategically leverage the Memorandum of Understanding signed by National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) and SolarPower Europe (NSEFI 2025) to accelerate solar cell manufacturing equipment localisation and technology transfer. The platform can be used to attract European equipment manufacturers to establish production facilities in India, supported by structured knowledge-exchange and regulatory facilitation. To ensure market uptake, the government should introduce a preferential sourcing mechanism for domestically manufactured solar cell equipment, aligned with the PLI framework, enabling PLI-supported manufacturers to procure localised machinery. This would simultaneously increase domestic value addition, reduce import dependence, and create a viable market for local equipment manufacturers.
To compete in international markets, it is important for Indian solar cell manufacturing to become a technology leader from 2030 onwards. Given the predicted rise in market shares of highefficiency technologies such as XBC and HJT, and the potential commercialisation of perovskites post-2030, policy support for research and development for these technologies would be crucial. The policy support should consist of the creation of at least one pilot-scale (100 MW) cell manufacturing centre for each cell technology, led by premier academic institutions and solar cell manufacturers, to accelerate the commercialisation of advanced technologies. Localising foreign equipment will support the initiative by providing equipment for pilot lines, and aiding the development of new machinery for next-generation technologies.
Indian academia and manufacturers have shown interest in development and eventual commercialisation of tandem-perovskites. In December 2024, Waaree announced a strategic CSR relationship with IIT Bombay for R&D on perovskite solar cell technology (Waaree Energies 2024b), while in September 2022, Reliance acquired a 20 per cent stake in Caelux, a US-based enterprise that works on R&D and the commercialisation of solar perovskite technologies (MERCOM India 2023a). Further, in 2023, a perovskite start-up from IIT BHU called P3C acquired fund-raising of USD 250,000, with a further commitment of USD 3 million on a successful trial. The start-up seeks to demonstrate and develop flexible perovskite solar cells (Perovskite-info 2023). Despite the presence of R&D interest across academia and industry, no pilot mass production lines have been commissioned. In the absence of swift action, the Indian solar industry may fall behind other countries and China. Hence, prudent policy action that leads to establishing the first pilot perovskite facilities is essential.
According to stakeholder consultations, establishing one pilot scale facility of a 100 MW can require USD 100 million. Hence, the establishment of three pilot-scale cell manufacturing facilities may require around USD 300 million, and this would have to be funded by the domestic industry. In return for funding the establishment of pilot-scale facilities, successful technologies can be picked up for commercial production by industry players through patent-sharing or IP-sharing agreements. MNRE could act as a nodal agency, bringing industry players and the academia under the same umbrella. MNRE can further select the manufacturers who would contribute to financing pilot schemes and patent-sharing agreements, on the basis of those who have experienced revenue growth and showcase interest in adapting new solar technologies. Labscale activities related to tandem-perovskite solar cell development are taking place in India, and such a platform may help in eventual commercial production of these solar cell technologies. For example, a lab-scale tandem perovskite solar cell with 30 per cent efficiency was developed by ART-PV (Advanced Renewable Tandem Photovoltaics), a start-up incubated at IIT Bombay under the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE) (Taiyang News 2025b). The relevant ministries should also leverage the EU-India agreement to co-fund pilot lines for advanced cell architectures, joint certification labs to mutually-recognise performance and reliability testing.
Policy action taken in this regard should support the development of solar cell technologies in the following phases:
India’s total silver supply and reserves are sufficient to meet additional silver demand from solar PV in 2030, as showcased in Figure 19, if silver paste production is localised and commercialised. Therefore, strong policy support for pilot-scale activity can set the stage for the commercialisation of domestic silver paste production. Additionally, reducing silver paste usage through developing either copper-silver paste hybrids or innovative metallisation methods such as smart busbar and zero busbar metallisation, can be a way forward for reducing cost-of-manufacturing. These technologies can be developed only after building domestic silver paste manufacturing capability.
Figure 19. Indian silver supply and reserves can meet demand from solar cell manufacturing

A pilot-scale facility capable of developing and testing silver pastes with 99 per cent accuracy, 95 per cent confidence interval, and a population ratio of 50 per cent, would require a testing sample size of around 2,256.25 solar cells per day, which is equivalent to 18,050 W of solar cells per day (as one solar cell has wattage of 8 Wp). Thus, a pilot-scale facility of the scale of 6.6 MW per year and production capability of 89 kg silver paste per year (as the average silver paste consumption for TOPCon solar cells is 13.5 mg per Wp) would be required for research and development of indigenous silver paste. Such pilot-scale facilities would allow for testing of the final product over multiple production cycles, enabling industrial process validation.
Lab-scale activity is currently present for development of silver paste, as evidenced by the presence of ‘AnyD’, a lab-scale start-up that develops conductive silver paste for PV applications, among other things. This start-up was established at IIT Bombay in 2023 (AnyD Materials 2023). Upon determining the technology and financial requirements, pilot-scale centres co-led by industry and academia should be established to scale up and commercialisation. MNRE, along with industry players, can create a financing mechanism for indigenous silver paste production. In the long term, support should be extended to R&D on silver-copper paste hybrids to reduce manufacturing costs.
Action taken by industry, academia, and policymakers for indigenous silver paste development should thus contribute to the following achievements.
Alongside the development of indigenous silver paste, a distinct HS code should be established for imported silver paste used in solar cell manufacturing, and import duties should be eliminated in the short term to help reduce manufacturing costs. From 2026 to 2028, the HS code classification should be clarified, and import duty on silver paste should be removed entirely. By 2030, duties can be gradually reintroduced, starting with a 5 per cent rate in 2028, increasing to 10 per cent by 2030. From 2030 to 2035, the 10 per cent import duty should be maintained to provide continued support and protection for domestic silver paste production, encouraging long-term self-reliance.
Shared infrastructure for capital machinery localisation can be further mobilised to create an industrial ecosystem. Industrial parks, where equipment would be localised by European equipment manufacturers and domestic solar cell manufacturers, can provide equipment at lower costs to domestic manufacturers. This would be balanced on the equipment manufacturer’s side by a long-term partnership agreement that ensures providing products at a lower cost does not affect their market opportunity.
The industrial parks can be located in already existing clusters of solar manufacturing, in states like Gujarat or Tamil Nadu. They should also house shared utility facilities accessible to solar cell manufacturers. Such utilities would include chillers, compressors, diesel generators, gas cabinets, chemical delivery systems, a centralised ultra-pure water plant, compressed dry air systems, effluent treatment plants capable of handling aggregate chemical loads, a highcapacity substation to provide electricity to multiple facilities, and process cooling water systems. Utilities can contribute 30 to 40 per cent of the total capital expenditure of setting up solar cell manufacturing facilities (Vikram Solar 2024; Premier Energies 2024). Shifting to an operational model where manufacturers pay only connection charges and usage fees, rather than capital expenditure, would help them scale-up faster, access economies of scale, and produce solar cells competitively.
Similar support for shared facilities for other industrial sectors already exists in India, including for electronic component manufacturing (MeitY 2020), textiles (Ministry of Textiles 2025), MSMEs (Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises 2022), and food processing parks (Ministry of Food Processing Industries 2020). State industrial development corporations under state governments can co-finance and build shared utilities and provide regulatory fast-tracks for establishing industrial parks, while MNRE can act as a central nodal body to oversee the strategic framing of the scheme. Special Purpose Vehicles and private developers would execute and operate such facilities, and recover the shared utility costs via connection fees and usage tariffs under PPP models.
A total of 48.30 GW of solar cell manufacturing has been enlisted under PLI tranches I and II, out of which 17.62 GW of solar cell manufacturing has already been established (Biswas and Kale 2025). While the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme does give financial support for domestic solar manufacturing (MNRE 2022), it is a post-production and post-sales incentive based on the performance of solar modules, and hence does not help manufacturers bridge the upfront capital expenditure gap. To ensure the establishment of the remaining 30.68 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity, one-time capital subsidy should be provided to PLI-enlisted manufacturers. This would add on to the nearly ~ 30 GW of present solar cell manufacturing capacity — hence execution of PLI-supported projects can double the solar cell manufacturing capacity to nearly 60 GW.
There has been a precedent set for capital subsidies in other domestic industries. The Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) offered capital subsidies of up to 25 per cent to promote domestic electronics manufacturing, including solar PV components (MeitY 2019). This significantly reduced the upfront capital investment and encouraged manufacturers to expand their value chain. Further, the Electronic Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY 2026), combined production incentives and capex subsidies.
The PLI-supported manufacturers should be given a capital goods subsidy of 15 per cent. The disbursement of the PLI is dependent on the number of sales, local value addition, and the technology of the modules sold (on grounds of efficiency and temperature coefficient), by a particular manufacturer. For an average manufacturing facility of 2 GW, assuming a utilisation rate7 of 30 per cent, the total amount disbursed through PLI (for the sale of modules of efficiencies more than 21.5 per cent) is at nearly USD 51.1 million, calculated in Annexure 7. This is with the assumption that all the modules that are produced at the assumed utilisation rate are sold. The capex for the same manufacturing facility will be USD 140 million, as the capex per GW is USD 70 million, as shown in Table 1. Hence, out of the 140 million, a PLI support manufacturer has to spend only USD 88.9 million in setting up a 2 GW project, entailing a capital expenditure of USD 44.45 million per GW. This is still not enough to lower capital expenditure to Chinese levels, which is around USD 33.5 million per GW, with a differential of nearly USD 11 million per GW. This differential is nearly 15 per cent of the per GW capex, hence such a subsidy would assist in bridging the gap. The subsidy can be provided to the manufacturer over five years, as that is the depreciation time for the production equipment for solar cell manufacturing (APVI 2024).
Targeted support towards only PLI-enlisted manufacturers is recommended as they have already committed towards establishment of manufacturing capacity. For non-PLI enlisted manufacturers, the previous recommendation of capex reduction through shared utility and equipment infrastructure is applicable.
Several manufacturers of equipment and machinery across the world are in financial distress, with largely negative EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation) and reduced cash balances. Indian firms such as Waaree and Reliance have taken advantage of such situations to acquire manufacturers like Meyer Burger (MERCOM India 2025b) and REC silicon (Ornate Solar 2021), respectively, which has enabled technology transfer.
These firms, despite financial instability, possess advanced cell and module technology knowhow, state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery, and well-established production facilities that can be acquired at a fraction of their original cost during insolvency or restructuring proceedings. By acquiring such assets, Indian companies can rapidly upgrade their technological capabilities without the heavy capital expenditure normally required for new R&D or high-cost equipment leasing. Such actions can help support the creation of pilot-scale lines, similar to how Reliance is operating the sole HJT solar cell manufacturing facility, after its acquisition (MERCOM India 2025c). MoCI can negotiate easing of regulations for the acquisition of distressed foreign manufacturing assets and intellectual property through trade and investment negotiations. This will push private players to acquire distressed companies. Such acquisitions can accelerate technology upgrading, reduce capital costs, and enable faster entry into advanced cell technologies without duplicating global R&D investments.
This approach not only reduces the per-unit cost of solar cell manufacturing but also accelerates domestic production of high-efficiency modules under initiatives like Make in India and the PLI scheme. Moreover, leveraging the existing R&D knowledge and patents of these distressed firms can help Indian manufacturers achieve global quality benchmarks while driving cost competitiveness across the value chain. In the long run, such strategic acquisitions could position India as a hub for integrated, low-cost, high-efficiency solar manufacturing, reducing dependence on imports and strengthening its role in the global renewable energy market.
Trade and investment negotiations can include provisions to facilitate technology transfer, investment cooperation and investor protections that make cross-border acquisitions (including of distressed firms) easier. Most countries regulate mergers and acquisitions through insolvency and bankruptcy laws, foreign investment or merger control regulations, and competition laws. In most cases, there should be no restriction in acquiring foreign assets through court-supervised sale process subject to disclosure and approval by insolvency administrators. While such is the case, incorporating clauses in trade and investment agreements can simplify the process.
National curriculum and courses targeting skill development across the various levels of expertise should be developed in coordination with industry stakeholders, educational institutions, and the government. Such skill development training centres can be located in states which are already solar manufacturing hubs, such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Industry stakeholders such as foreign equipment manufacturers can be specifically targeted to impart training and contribute to course developments related to tooling, process optimisation and process engineering.
Programmes with varying durations should be developed, targeting different participant profiles. These can include short-term certificate courses for upskilling existing employees and Bachelor’s or Master’s programmes for imparting advanced knowledge of process optimisation and process engineering, thus training future process engineers. The MNRE, in collaboration with the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), can take charge of the development of the curriculum and courses. The Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) can then serve as the stakeholders responsible for implementing the courses in selected academic institutions across the country.
Further upskilling can be implemented by cross-border, systemic skill training. Similar activities have been carried out in the automobile manufacturing industry through a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme, signed in 2016 between the MSDE and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), carried out by Maruti Suzuki (Maruti Suzuki 2021). MNRE can similarly leverage existing bilateral agreements with countries such as Germany, which have expertise in solar manufacturing due to the presence of R&D organisations such as Fraunhofer ISE and ISC Konstanz, and equipment suppliers like Rena.
In conclusion, India’s solar cell manufacturing sector faces a global landscape shaped by falling prices, rapid technological shifts, and evolving trade dynamics. Our analysis underscores that while India has made significant progress through policy instruments such as the PLI, ALMM mandates, and tariff protections, structural challenges persist in technology indigenisation, costcompetitiveness, and ecosystem readiness. Addressing these gaps requires a coordinated, multidimensional strategy that integrates industrial policy, trade diplomacy, research and development, and skill creation.
Our proposed recommendations align with this strategy and interlink with each other. Together, these recommendations form an integrated industrial strategy anchored in a national framework that links research, manufacturing, capital goods, skills, and trade policy into a single execution framework. Shared national hubs create the backbone for machinery localisation, pilot manufacturing of advanced cell technologies, and metallisation R&D, while firm-led spokes translate these innovations into gigawatt-scale production. Building shared utility facilities at such hubs would also enable reduction of capital expenditure incurred by domestic manufacturers, helping them become cost-competitive. A targeted capital subsidy would ensure that PLI-enlisted manufacturers can complete planned capacity additions. Parallel investments in specialised skill development ensure that process capability keeps pace with technological ambition. In combination, these measures transform the domestic solar cell manufacturing ecosystem from purely capacity expansion into a coordinated, technology-led industrial system capable of sustained global competitiveness.
Expanding domestic cell manufacturing would ensure supply chain resilience and higher domestic value addition – solar cells contribute nearly 60 per cent of the total module cost. By scaling up, reducing manufacturing costs, and accelerating technology adoption, India's solar cell manufacturing can support both domestic energy transition and build a globally competitive solar ecosystem.
Import duties on silver paste drive up consumable costs. Lack of economies of scale and limited access to subsidised infrastructure drive up capital expenditure. These two factors together lead to higher manufacturing costs.
Domestic manufacturers are dependent on imported equipment. This results in manufacturers remaining dependent on the know-how required to carry out installation and process optimisation. This results in slower commissioning of facilities for newer advanced cell technologies such as TOPCon. The lack of know-how also results in limited ability to upskill process engineers and technicians, who are critical for scaling up cell manufacturing capacities. In addition, weak public and private solar R&D leads to constraints in the timely adoption of next-generation technologies.
Establishing shared manufacturing infrastructure to reduce utility costs, localise equipment, and shared pilot-scale R&D facilities would be essential to become cost and technology-competitive. Further, targeted capital subsidies, developing dedicated skilling programmes, and strategic technology transfers would complement these measures.
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Ancient Egyptian civilization blossomed in the scorching desert thanks to the Nile River, which delivered fresh water and annual dumps of nutrient-rich sediment. Clever engineering moved H2O so efficiently that farmers were able to churn out huge surpluses of staple crops like wheat, which fed the Roman Empire.
Thousands of years later, the African nation’s farmers — like so many others around the world — are grappling with water shortages and ever-fiercer temperatures, which threaten to wilt their crops.
So like their ancestors before them, they’re innovating, this time with a burgeoning technique known as agrivoltaics: By covering fields with solar panels, farmers generate clean electricity and shade crops, reducing evaporation, and mitigating heat stress.
Two pilot projects in Egypt — from a variety of funders and partnering organizations — are testing how the technology might fare in small farming communities and on a larger scale in the country.
“There is no perfect guideline on how to get there, so I imagine many projects like ours will be trying out different things,” said Gofran Chowdhury, head of innovation at the renewable energy company 3E, one of the partners in the campaign.
Researchers around the world are finding that instead of solar panels stopping plants from flourishing, what with all that shade, they can supercharge growth. Many plants evolved to grow in the dappled light of the forest floor, for instance, and struggle under full sun.
The partner groups and farmers in Egypt are experimenting with different arrangements of panels, like a checkerboard. This doesn’t generate as much electricity as a sprawling solar farm, with row after row of solid panels with few gaps, but it lets more sunlight reach the crops.
At the same time, the panels’ shade reduces water loss from the soil. Other researchers in the deserts of Nevada have found that this hydrological protection helps a rare plant there thrive.
And up in Colorado, scientists are growing crops on rooftops under panels, finding that this uses a third as much water than if the plants weren’t shaded. (Agrivoltaics also provides relief from the relentless amount of sun on a rooftop, and shields the plants from high winds up there.) They’re also experimenting with transparent solar panels, which let light through while still producing power.
Really, every crop is going to have different needs, hence the variety of projects in Egypt and beyond. Early results from experiments are promising: On those Colorado rooftops, cucumbers are growing to the size of baseball bats. Not that anyone is going to force Egyptian farmers to grow cucumbers — they’ll keep cultivating what they’ve always cultivated.
“We want to adapt and see what is the community doing right now,” Chowdhury said, “and trying to see if we can support them with that adaptation.”
All the while, the program’s organizers will collect data on the performance of plants and panels, which will inform how to deploy agrivoltaics elsewhere.
Maged El-Said, founder of Habiba Community, which runs a regenerative farm in South Sinai, said that it’s still too early to tell what crops will do best under the panels installed in May. But one early candidate seems to be watermelon. “Honestly, it’s growing well for the first time,” El-Said said.
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The community will also have to decide what model works best as they decide if farms should adopt agrivoltaics individually, or band together in groups. There’s also the question of who should get the clean electricity, and what it should be used for. For now, it’s helping run irrigation equipment, but could also potentially power desalination plants for purifying the region’s brackish water.
With that additional H2O, more places could support agriculture and agrivoltaics — a self-reinforcing cycle. Ultimately, the simple application of solar panels promises to make agriculture more resilient as temperatures continue to climb.
Whatever the model that works best for a given community, agrivoltaics obviates the tension between using land to generate electricity and using it to make a living growing crops. “I have the solution that I can have both,” El-Said said. “Well, why not?”
Featured Image: Michael Förtsch/Unsplash
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“The question is no longer whether solar can power India’s electricity system, but how quickly it can scale.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images
India is building a solar project so massive that it’s starting to look like an entirely new kind of landscape — a huge grid of panels stretching across the salt flats of the Rann of Kutch.
By 2029, the site is expected to host nearly 60 million panels across roughly 280 square miles, transforming a remote desert into one of the biggest clean energy hubs on the planet.
The Khavda solar park in western India is on track to become the world’s largest solar power project, with a planned capacity of 30 gigawatts. That’s roughly 30 times the output of a typical coal or nuclear plant and enough electricity to power a country the size of Austria, according to Yale Environment 360.
India’s installed solar capacity has been rising about 40% a year, topped 150 gigawatts in March, and could double again by 2030.
Analysts say India may become the first major economy to industrialize mainly on solar power instead of relying first on coal, oil, or gas. As Ember’s Kingsmill Bond put it, “China built on coal; India is building on sun.”
Khavda, which is being led by the Adani Group, had reached 9.4 gigawatts by April, and the site uses robots to clear salt and dust from the panels at night without using valuable freshwater.
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Energy demand there is rising quickly. If most of that growth were powered by coal, it would mean more climate pollution, more dangerous air, and higher health costs in a country that already deals with severe urban smog.
Solar offers a different path: cheaper electricity, less dependence on imported fuels, and cleaner air for millions of people, along with lower power costs over time for households, improved grid access, and support for cleaner transportation.
India is already electrifying major parts of daily life. Its rail network has been almost fully electrified over the past decade, and electric rickshaws now account for around 60% of new sales, cutting fuel costs and tailpipe pollution in crowded cities.
There are still major challenges. Coal remains dominant, the grid still can’t move all the solar power where it’s needed, and huge projects can threaten wildlife habitat near the India-Pakistan border.
India is investing heavily to make all of that solar power more useful. The government has set aside more than $100 billion for transmission expansion through “Green Energy Corridors” meant to carry electricity from sunny western regions to population and industrial centers.
Storage is also getting a major push. New pumped-storage hydro projects and cheaper batteries are helping solar supply power after sunset, and the government now requires new solar farms to include battery storage. At Khavda, Adani is assembling a battery system able to send more than a gigawatt to the grid for three hours each evening.
“The question is no longer whether solar can power India’s electricity system,” said Ember’s global electricity analyst, Kostantsa Rangelova, “but how quickly it can scale.”
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