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BEIJING, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, JA powered Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s step toward a more ecosystem-friendly future by supplying New Zealand’s largest rooftop photovoltaic (PV) power station in Auckland. The 5.3 MWp system, featuring JA’s high-efficiency modules from their deep blue series, is helping transform healthcare manufacturing toward greener, lower-carbon practices.

To support the Fisher & Paykel project, JA supplied and installed 8,273 modules — demonstrating its ability to deliver at scale and manage multi-party construction, both of which require precise scheduling and on-site coordination. This success was underpinned by JA’s extensive experience in global projects and its warehouse network, which further ensured high-quality, on-time delivery.
In response to the global energy volatility crisis, New Zealand faced the need to increase energy independence and accelerate low-carbon transformation. As the exclusive module supplier, JA offers high-efficiency modules that are fully adaptable to challenging rooftop environments. Accordingly, these modules deliver an annual average of 6,600 MWh of power generation, reducing carbon emissions by 486 tons per year. This data suggests the modules’ ability to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and set a standard for a sector-wide low-carbon transition.
Thus far, the DeepBlue series has operated with zero commissioning failures, achieving excellent power-generation efficiency and stable output. This reliability is rooted in JA’s position as one of the first PV companies to enter the New Zealand market and its willingness to listen and grow in line with local demand. In support of this, research on Chinese customs export data suggests that China’s PV exports to New Zealand rose to 365.5 MW at the beginning of 2025 and continued to expand to 735.5MW one year later. This suggests a growth of 101.26%, effectively doubling the market size. This surge unequivocally confirms JA’s strategic market foresight and the timing of its calibrated expansion.
Sunergise is New Zealand’s leading renewable energy developer and the EPC for this project; their CEO, Paul Makumbe, describes the collaboration with JA as “When you’re rolling out New Zealand’s largest rooftop solar, you need a partner who is reliable, who has the technical capability to deliver, has know-how and understanding of the challenges that you would face doing a project of this scale.”
Rooted in the global market, JA prioritized product reliability, delivering stability and commitment to full-cycle quality. The DeepBlue series high-efficiency module has proven its value by performing in complex environments worldwide. Moving forward, JA will continue to collaborate with global partners, supporting industries across sectors to accelerate low-carbon transformation — delivering reliable power for the journey ahead —and helping the world pave the way toward a zero-carbon future.
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Hundreds of Three Points residents gathered Wednesday in opposition of one company’s proposal that could turn 5,000 acres of rural desert into a solar farm.
The room was united in its opposition to the project and in its dissatisfaction with CG Three Points, a subsidiary of Spanish utility company RepSol, which many said has kept community engagement at a bare minimum.
CG Three Points sent landowners letters on July 31 informing them of potential plans to build a 500 megawatt solar farm and a 250 megawatt battery storage facility as soon as next year, the Star previously reported. Three Points is about 25 miles southwest of Tucson.
Wednesday night’s meeting was led by a self-assembled steering committee of the group calling itself Open Space Alliance Southern Arizona. The group’s leader is surgeon and rancher Doug Lowell, who ran a brief campaign in the Republican primary for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District in 2021, and Robert Contreras, who ran for Marana Town Council earlier this year but did not qualify for the ballot.
Doug Lowell listens to Robert Contreras brief the community members gathered for a meeting about a proposed solar energy generating farm in Three Points.
Lowell and Contreras took questions from the audience and asked for input on the group’s mission statement, as well as ideas for more formal organizing. Many cheered and clapped as attendees shared their grievances with the project, including negative impacts to wildlife and changing the character of the rural desert town.
Erik Andreasson owns 26 acres of land near West Hermans and South Avra roads. If the project is built, his property would be surrounded by solar panels on two sides. He has started researching legal avenues residents might have against the developer because of what a utility solar farm would do to the landscape, he said.
“I work in town a lot. My blood pressure drops about 10 points when I come out to my property. I can see Kitt Peak and see the stars and stuff at night. I don’t want to see solar panels,” he said.
Despite significant public concern, the company still hasn’t submitted any formal application to the county, said CJ Boyd, a representative of the Pima County District 3 office who attended Wednesday’s meeting.
Although the site is on state trust land, the company will first need county approval for rezoning or use permits, according to the Arizona State Land Department.
Leaders were frank about the challenges of grassroots organizing, like lack of funding, communication and the logistics of an unofficial petition. A few attendees bickered about the best ways of keeping people informed, arguing over whether social media or the community group’s website would reach more people.
Without the formality of a ballot measure, Lowell and Contreras told the group they needed to try to appeal to people outside of the region.
“We are, 1,000 votes out of 15,000 maybe, that vote in our district. What we have to do to get from here to killing the project … is to generalize the issue outside of our small community,” Lowell said.
RepSol representatives held a community meeting Aug. 12 at a local steakhouse. School health aide Sandra Freeman attended and said the meeting felt informal.
“I think they just expected people to go to the different boards that they had set up to ask questions, but if you don’t know what questions to ask, then, you know,” she said.
Several audience members also raised fears that solar energy generated at the potential site would be used to power data centers currently under development in Marana and the Project Blue site, but organizers said it’s still unclear.
“Linking the project to data centers is difficult from a factual point of view,” Lowell said.
Community members packed Serenity Baptist Church on Thursday evening for a meeting about a proposed solar energy generating farm in Three Points, a community about 25 miles southwest of Tucson.
In the letter, RepSol wrote the project will produce “affordable, renewable” energy, but has not released details on where the power will be connected to or what it will be used for. RepSol did not respond to the Star’s request for comment about planned power uses.
The total acreage for the project is 5,554 acres with a total estimated cost of $575 million. They plan to operate for 35 years, according to an application CG Three Points first filed with the Arizona State Land Department in 2021. As well as the solar array and battery storage infrastructure, the application includes associated access roads, underground electricity collection lines, and a substation.
The application lists no impacts to land, endangered species, or groundwater. The company wrote they have completed several environmental site assessments, including a native plant inventory, a hydrology study, site characterization, aquatic resources, and others. The environmental reviews are not included in the application.
Still, distrust remains, said IT consultant Joe Phebus, a member of the group’s steering committee.
“I think it’s a trend nationwide that these kind of projects are coming under the radar and being solved down communities’ throats with very little input,” he said.
Wednesday’s meeting of the opposition group ended with a loose agreement to meet monthly.
One of the crowd of a few hundred rises to speak at a community meeting Thursday evening concerning a proposed solar energy generating farm near Three Points.
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Swimming laps at city of Tucson pools will now cost up to $30 a month with a new monthly pass system starting in just a few weeks.
Pinal County joins several other Arizona jurisdictions that have cancelled contracts with Flock in the last year, including Flagstaff, Sedona,…
Former treasurer Brian Johnson is asking for damages amounting to $260,000, which is the salary he would have earned for the rest of his term …
Two men detained in connection to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie have filed a notice of claim against the Pima County Sheriff’s Department…
The intersection of East Fifth Street and North Alvernon Way to close for the weekend beginning Friday for ongoing road construction.
Community members packed Serenity Baptist Church on Thursday evening for a meeting about a proposed solar energy generating farm in Three Points, a community about 25 miles southwest of Tucson.
Doug Lowell listens to Robert Contreras brief the community members gathered for a meeting about a proposed solar energy generating farm in Three Points.
One of the crowd of a few hundred rises to speak at a community meeting Thursday evening concerning a proposed solar energy generating farm near Three Points.
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Oakland-based developer Orion Renewable Energy Group is facing pushback over its proposed $1.7 billion Persimmon Energy Center, a 1,000 MW solar and energy storage project spanning approximately 4,700 acres in North Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
The project, which has been in development alongside local landowner partners since 2019, is sited across rural and residential areas in Moss Bluff, DeQuincy, and Gillis. If completed, the facility would generate enough electricity to power roughly 200,000 average Louisiana homes annually.
Despite the project’s scale and projected economic output, local opposition has emerged. Louisiana State Representative Brett Geymann (R–District 35) has voiced opposition alongside nearby residents, raising concerns over land use, alterations to the rural character of the community, and potential impacts on local property values. Geymann argued that utility-scale industrial developments are ill-suited for areas that function primarily as residential bedroom communities.
In response to land-use and aesthetic concerns, Orion outlined several mitigation measures and community benefit initiatives on its project site. The developer plans to implement 50-foot retained tree buffers along adjacent property lines and public roads, supplemented by planted greenspace buffers featuring native trees and shrubs to screen the facility.
To address environmental and site management concerns, Orion plans to install wildlife-friendly game fencing around the perimeter to preserve local wildlife corridors, paired with customized ground cover vegetation to mitigate soil erosion and manage stormwater runoff.
The developer projects the facility will generate an estimated $470 million in local tax revenue over a 35-year operational lifecycle to fund emergency services, public schools, and parish infrastructure.
Additionally, Orion introduced a voluntary Solar Neighbor Program that offers annual disbursements to non-participating homeowners located within one-third of a mile from the project boundary. These neighbor payments will escalate by 30% every ten years and remain tied to the property deed across future ownership changes.
Before starting construction, the developer must provide funds to guarantee the site will be fully restored when operations end, and sign binding agreements with the parish to pay for any road damage caused by their construction traffic.
Developer Aypa Power has proposed the nearby Cajun Crescent Energy Center, a 375 MW, 2,000-acre project on the east side of Moss Bluff.
The surge in utility-scale project proposals across the state comes as Louisiana experiences unprecedented growth in data center development, driven by hyperscalers seeking low power costs and heavy utility support. Projects like Meta’s multi-gigawatt Richland Parish campus and multi-billion-dollar AI facilities from Amazon, Hut 8, and Applied Digital have placed immense pressure on the regional grid. To meet this skyrocketing demand, primary utility Entergy Louisiana has been aggressively procuring generation capacity, including gigawatts of new solar resources alongside natural gas expansion.
Development and permitting discussions in Calcasieu Parish remain ongoing as local officials and community members weigh the proposed 1 GW installation against regional land-use priorities.

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The company donated $7.2 Million to Navajo Technical University, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, and Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity as part of its commitment to the community.
SANTA FE, N.M., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SunShare, LLC (“SunShare”), the nation’s oldest community solar developer, in conjunction with CSolPower, LLC, a local New Mexico community solar company, is proud to announce the completion and energization of its first two community solar gardens in New Mexico. As part of its commitment to enhancing the lives of the communities in which it operates, SunShare is proud to announce it has committed more than $7 million in donations to Navajo Technical University, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, and Habitat for Humanity.

“People shouldn’t have to choose between putting gas in their car, paying for groceries, or paying their electricity bill. That’s why projects like this are so important. Juniper Sol is making the cost-saving benefits of renewable energy accessible to all, including renters and those who can’t afford the upfront installation of solar,” said Deb Haaland, Candidate for New Mexico Governor. “As we look to fight rising costs, we have an opportunity to expand creative and smart local projects like community solar.”
“Our nation’s electricity needs are rapidly growing, and the Juniper Sol project demonstrates how community-based solar can cost-effectively and quickly meet that demand. At the same time, these types of projects bring wide-ranging benefits, such as to the 2,000 families who are saving on electricity costs for the next 25 years with their subscriptions to this garden,” said David Amster-Olszewski, CEO and Founder of SunShare. “As we celebrate SunShare’s 15th anniversary with this dedication of Santa Fe County’s first community solar garden, SunShare is as committed as ever to advancing a clean and distributed renewable energy future.”
“SunShare’s support will strengthen our work to prevent violence, support survivors in New Mexico, and help create safer futures for Native women and children,” said Tiffany Jiron, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. “This partnership demonstrates how renewable energy can generate lasting benefits not only for the environment, but also for our communities.”
“This solar farm will generate clean energy, but this partnership has the potential to generate something just as important: opportunity,” said Dr. Elmer Guy, President of Navajo Technical University.
About the Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden:
To celebrate this exciting milestone with all its community partners, SunShare hosted a ribbon-cutting event at its Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden in Santa Fe. The six megawatt direct-current (MWdc) community solar garden reached commercial operation on July 1 and has started producing renewable energy. Additionally, SunShare’s Rockhound Sol Community Solar Garden, a 4.5 MWdc solar farm in Deming, NM, was energized on the same day.
The celebration brought together hundreds of local subscribers and community leaders from across the state, including:
SunShare remains resolute in its mission to drive positive change, advance clean energy solutions, and invest in indigenous communities. The company’s contributions exemplify the power of collective action and the potential of renewable energy to fuel transformation. To learn more about SunShare’s work in New Mexico, visit https://mysunshare.com/community-solar-nm/.
About SunShare
SunShare has been a pioneer in the community solar industry since 2011. SunShare earned its place as the first company to build and operate a community solar garden in a competitive market by breaking through legislative and regulatory barriers to pave the way for all citizens to have equal access to renewable energy. Since then, SunShare has led the way in transforming the energy industry with locally-generated solar power. SunShare has developed nearly 100 fully-subscribed community solar gardens across Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico. It has built one of the largest active residential subscriber bases in community solar, focusing on the individuals and families that community solar programs were created to serve. SunShare offers subscribers a choice for renewable energy regardless of homeownership, and without rooftop installation. Through innovations, the SunShare team is making solar an easy choice for thousands of citizens, businesses, and organizations to create a cleaner, brighter future. Learn more at mysunshare.com.
Media Contact:
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203.610.5879
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The average selling price of full black, back contact and monofacial tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules in Europe has continued to increase, as buyer sentiment has become slightly more pessimistic than in previous months.
This is according to the latest pv.index report from online solar marketplace sun.store, which has published its monthly update on European solar purchasing trends.
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As was the case in June, July saw month-on-month increases in the price of all three types of premium modules, with full black becoming the most expensive type of module, priced at an average of €0.138/Wp (US$0.16/Wp), an 8% month-on-month increase. Back-contact and monofacial TOPCon modules reported average prices of €0.135/Wp and €0.128/Wp, representing 4% and 2% month-on-month increases, respectively.
All three module types have seen a fairly sustained increase in prices this year, while the price of bifacial TOPCon modules has been more variable. Between December 2025 and May 2026, average price increased from €0.088/Wp to €0.125/Wp, even becoming more expensive than monofacial TOPCon in the latter month, but the price of bifacial modules has since dropped considerably. In July, the average price of bifacial TOPCon modules fell to 0.11/Wp; no other type of module has reported a price that low since February.
The latest module trends are shown in the graph above, which compares module price, by module type, to the PV Purchasing Managers’ Index (PV PMI), an assessment of optimism for the solar industry taken from sun.store users. The company notes that a score of 50 or higher indicates a general sentiment that the industry will grow in the future—so the majority of sun.store users do not expect the market to contract sharply—but the PV PMI has now declined consistently since May.
In May, the PV PMI score of 70 was the highest reported in over a year, but fell to 65 in July. This is still higher than the all-time low of 62 reported in December 2025, but is lower than both the 69 reported in January 2026 and the historical average of 67 across sun.store’s data.
Indeed, in January, 52% of respondents said that they expect to buy more modules in the coming months, but this fell to 46% in July. This sentiment perhaps reflects uncertainty across the European solar sector, as Europe’s operational solar projects have broken generation records this summer; in June, solar PV accounted for 25% of Europe’s monthly electricity generation for the first time ever, according to figures from Ember.
In its inverter index, sun.store’s latest report ranks Germany-based SMA Solar as the third strongest string inverter brand in the quarter ending in July, up from fourth place in the previous quarter. While Sungrow and Deye are the top string and hybrid inverter brands, reflecting the strength of the Chinese inverter manufacturing sector and its influence over European solar, the performance of European companies like SMA Solar will be integral if European solar developers are looking beyond China to source inverters.
This is especially relevant in the context of the European Commission’s ban on using EU funds for energy projects that use inverters made in China. Figures from Wood Mackenzie suggest that this ban could disrupt 14% of Europe’s inverter supply to the end of the decade.
A more positive outcome of this ban could be an increase in demand for inverters made in Europe, which already boasts a strong manufacturing sector. PV Tech Research’s Mollie McCorkindale wrote a piece for PV Tech at the end of July in which she noted that Europe has over 100GW of inverter manufacturing capacity currently in operation, and over 90% of this capacity is owned by companies headquartered in Europe.
Chief among these is SMA Solar, which has 40GW of manufacturing capacity in Germany, and the company has posted strong financial results in recent months. Its sales and earnings were up in the first half of this year, and in July raised its full-year financial guidance due to improved “market conditions”.

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Paraguay: Potential 300MWp Solar Project  BNamericas
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Rating agency ICRA estimates that renewable energy, including large hydropower, will account for more than 35% of India’s total electricity generation by 2029-30, up from 22% in 2024-25.
The renewable energy project pipeline remains healthy with more than 150 GW of projects under construction as on June 30, 2026, which are likely to drive the capacity additions in the near-to-medium term.
However, ICRA said that scaling up the share of generation from the RE capacity is contingent on the implementation of the ongoing project pipeline (where the projects are bid out and the PPAs are signed), development of adequate transmission connectivity infrastructure and timely bidding for new RE projects, along with signing of the PPAs by central nodal agencies.
Transmission infrastructure has lagged the growth in generation capacity, resulting in curtailment concerns, particularly for projects operating under temporary general network access (T-GNA).
Following the award of a sizeable RE capacity of 40.6 GW in 2024-25, the bidding activity slumped with only 14.7 GW capacity awarded in 2025-26 and the same continued in the current year with 4.7 GW awards till August 10, 2026.
Further, the unsigned PPA capacity remained sizeable at 40-45 GW as of April 2026.
“RE capacity addition is impacted by concerns over transmission connectivity infrastructure as increasing episodes of grid curtailments affect project returns. Around 37% of the capacity at the impacted substations in North, West and South operates under T-GNA and faces curtailment of 30-50% during solar hours,” said Girishkumar Kadam, senior vice president & group head – Corporate Ratings, ICRA. “Hence, timely execution of intra-state and inter-state transmission infrastructure and enhancement of storage capacity will be critical to protect project economics and sustain the pace of capacity addition, as the ramp up in the share of renewables in the generation mix.”
Storage is likely to emerge as an important enabler for grid stability as the share of RE rises. Decline in battery costs over the past decade has helped reduce the cost of energy storage, which coupled with the availability of viability gap funding and extended transmission charge waivers till June 2028, have given an impetus to battery energy storage system (BESS) adoption in India.
ICRA said BESS project awards have increased significantly over the past 12 to 18 months. Total awarded BESS capacity, including projects under construction and operational projects, stood at around 90 GWh as of June 2026.
Based on prevailing battery costs, ICRA estimates the levelized cost of storage for two- to four-hour BESS projects at INR 4/kWh to INR 7/kWh, compared with around INR 5/kWh for pumped storage hydropower projects. While BESS costs for four hours of storage remain higher than pumped storage projects, the execution risks and gestation period for the BESS projects are relatively lower.
However, aggressive bidding in standalone BESS tenders could put project economics under check, according to ICRA.
“The viability of the BESS projects remains critically linked to their capital cost. Based on the average battery cost of $70-75/kWh seen in the recent past, along with associated taxes/duties and cost of the balance of plant, the capital cost is estimated in the range of $110-130/kWh,” said Kadam. “However, expectations of a further decline in battery prices has led to aggressive bidding activity in the standalone storage tenders. Nevertheless, the reversal in price trends coupled with rupee depreciation against the dollar impacted the economics of some of these projects.”
Kadam said that at prevailing capital costs and interest rates, the cumulative debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) for some of the previously bid standalone BESS projects appears to be under pressure, with values in the range of 0.80-1.20 times. “While there has been some restoration of pricing power in the recent tenders, the ability of BESS projects to adhere to performance parameters such as availability, round trip efficiency, depth of discharge and degradation remain key monitorables, given the limited track record,” he added.
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One heatwave follows another, with new temperature records being set across Europe. Forests are burning and rivers are drying up, even in temperate climate zones. What until recently sounded like dystopia from a mediocre science fiction novel has, this summer, become a bitter reality. Europe is feeling the consequences of climate change.
As a result, demand for air conditioning systems and heat pumps capable of providing cooling is rising sharply. This is driving up electricity demand among households, public buildings, and commercial and industrial consumers. High energy costs are a growing concern, particularly as conventional energy supplies based on coal, gas and nuclear power come under pressure globally because of high temperatures and ongoing crises.
The obvious response would be to accelerate the energy transition and make renewable power generation a top priority. Yet governments remain largely silent, offering short-term measures to mitigate the effects of climate change without addressing the bigger picture. Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that demand for photovoltaic systems, while not declining, is not growing exponentially either. There are even indications that stagnant solar module sales are largely attributable to “pull-forward effects”: buyers in various regions anticipate a significant deterioration in investment and installation conditions next year, or possibly as early as the fourth quarter of this year.
Nevertheless, module prices have changed little, with some segments even seeing renewed declines. Production surpluses need to be cleared, putting pressure on market prices, particularly for modules intended for large rooftop systems and ground-mounted projects. In the index, these products are primarily represented by the “Mainstream” price category.
However, the basis for data collection had to be adjusted this month. Continued improvements in module efficiency meant that the previous 23% efficiency threshold separating the “Mainstream” and “High Efficiency” categories left almost no price points in the former. The dividing line has therefore been raised to 23.5% efficiency. For small-scale system modules, this corresponds to a nominal output of approximately 470 W. For utility-scale modules, the new threshold places modules above 635 W or 730 W, depending on the form factor, in the “High Efficiency” category.
As a result of the redefinition, modules with efficiencies below 23.5% have shifted from one category to the other, slightly skewing the reported price trends. Lower-efficiency products are typically offered at lower prices than higher-efficiency modules. Without this adjustment, the August price for high-efficiency modules would have remained at the previous month’s level, while less-efficient products would have shown a slight decline.
According to manufacturers, however, module prices are unlikely to fall much further this year for the reasons outlined above. Whether this forecast proves accurate depends, at least in Germany, on developments surrounding the new renewable energy law – EEG 2027 – and the “Grid Package” (Netzpaket) following the summer recess.
Numerous associations have already lodged complaints and called for extensive revisions to the draft legislation. Resistance has also emerged within the governing coalition, particularly among state premiers from federal states with large numbers of renewable energy installations and industrial companies active in the photovoltaic and wind sectors. If the federal government implements the measures outlined in the draft legislation without significant changes, it could lead to substantial job losses, reminiscent of the situation under then-Federal Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) in the early 2010s.
Uncertainty over the future of EEG is prompting some market participants to adopt a “wait-and-see” approach, while others are rushing to act. As a result, many installers’ order books remain well filled for the time being. How long this surge in demand for photovoltaic systems and energy storage will last, even through the holiday season, depends on how quickly subsidy-free business models gain traction.
Many installations are already financially viable without statutory feed-in tariffs. Mid-sized photovoltaic systems, however, often still rely on the EEG in its current form, at least as a fallback option. A sensibly designed transitional solution could significantly ease the situation — or so the industry hopes.
The USA and India are further regions where “pull-forward” effects—purchases made in anticipation of future changes—are influencing demand, and consequently module availability and pricing. In early August, the US government imposed minimum import prices and additional tariffs on polysilicon and other photovoltaic products from China, set to take effect on December 4, 2026. In the short term, this is triggering increased stockpiling and a resulting outflow of material specifically to that region. Similar moves to tighten existing domestic industry protection measures are also being reported from India; this, too, could lead to a rapid surge in imports from China and, consequently, localized supply shortages. The remainder of the year promises to be eventful, likely holding a few surprises in store for us—and not just regarding further weather-related volatility.
About the author: Martin Schachinger has studied electrical engineering and has been active in the field of photovoltaics and renewable energy for almost 30 years. In 2004, he set up the pvXchange.com online trading platform. The company stocks standard components for new installations and solar modules and inverters that are no longer being produced.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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Indian rooftop solar company Freyr Energy has launched a range of single-phase solar PV inverters for residential applications, with 3kW and 5kW models using silicon carbide (SiC) technology.
The Hyderabad-based company said the inverters, developed by Freyr Energy and manufactured by renewable energy and EV charging equipment maker Zenergize, have a stated maximum conversion efficiency of 97.8%.
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The on-grid inverters convert DC electricity from solar modules into 230V single-phase AC electricity for residential use. The units include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, with system performance monitoring available through Freyr Energy’s mobile application.
The company said the inverters have an IP65 enclosure rating and protection against short circuits, overloads, overheating and voltage surges. The products have also received Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification and approval from India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), according to Freyr Energy.
“During periods of low solar generation, such as cloudy conditions or reduced sunlight availability, the inverter continuously tracks the optimum voltage and current from the solar panels using maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technology to maximise energy generation under changing weather conditions,” Radhika Choudary, co-founder and director, Freyr Energy, said.
“The inverter seamlessly synchronises with the utility grid by matching its voltage, frequency, and phase, enabling surplus solar power to be exported whenever available. During periods of low solar generation, it automatically switches to grid power, ensuring uninterrupted and reliable energy supply in urban as well as rural regions.”
The inverters carry a 10-year warranty, while the company said a dust-resistant design and self-cleaning functionality are intended to reduce dust accumulation and maintenance requirements.
Freyr Energy said the new products are designed for operating conditions in Indian residential markets, where rooftop PV systems can be exposed to high temperatures, dust and fluctuations in grid voltage.
The launch comes as India’s residential rooftop solar market expands under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY). The government scheme is aimed at increasing rooftop solar deployment among households through financial support and other measures.
India’s cumulative solar capacity reached 164.8GW at the end of June 2026, with rooftop solar accounting for 17%, according to analyst Mercom’s latest report.
More than 3.3 million rooftop systems had been installed under the programme as of June 2026, adding over 12GW of capacity, according to government data. This was up from 9.5GW in March. The MNRE said monthly rooftop installations had risen from around 7,000 before the scheme was introduced to more than 300,000. The time required to add 100,000 beneficiary households had fallen from 118 days to fewer than eight.
More than four million households had benefited from the programme, while over 6.5 million applications remained in the pipeline. The government aims to target 7.5 million households by the end of 2026.
The programme also attracted international development finance. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved an US$850 million loan for the second phase of reforms supporting PMSGMBY, while the World Bank approved an US$890 million financing package for India’s national rooftop solar programme.
The rapid increase in installations have raised questions over financing, deployment capacity and whether the pace of growth could be sustained.
PV Tech Premium spoke with Gaurav Upadhyay, South Asia energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), about the development of India’s rooftop solar market, the impact of PMSGMBY, financing conditions and remaining challenges. Read the full interview here (subscription required).
India’s renewable energy transition, from solar PV and energy storage to grid integration, will be a key topic of discussion at the Renewable Energy India (REI) Expo, co-located with the Energy Storage Summit India (ESS India), in Greater Noida on 22-24 October 2026. For the full agenda and booking details, click here.

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Bradford celebrates $2.14 million solar energy project  Daily Advocate
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India weighs low-cost loans for renewable projects hit by power curbs, sources say  Reuters
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Imagine a display that harvests ambient light when it is not actively in use, offsetting some of its own energy consumption. The materials physics shows that this is possible, the same semiconductor material can, in principle, emit and absorb light efficiently. What has been missing is a device architecture that allows it to do both without reductions in efficiency of either application. A new study reports a perovskite diode that converts sunlight to electricity at 26.7% efficiency (a world record at the time of publication submission) and emits light at 31% efficiency, figures that would be high for a device designed to do only one of those things.
Read the Article here
EurekAlert!
The Brighter Side
 
 
Metal-halide perovskites are a class of materials named for their distinctive crystal structure, that have emerged over the past decade as some of the most promising candidates for next-generation solar cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). They are relatively inexpensive to produce, can be tuned to absorb or emit different wavelengths of light, and have shown efficiency levels that rival far more costly semiconductor materials. Yet despite sharing the same underlying material, perovskite solar cells and perovskite LEDs have largely been developed as separate technologies, because the physical requirements of each push device design in opposite directions. A collaborative study published in Joule by a team led by Michael McGehee at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Jixian Xu at the University of Science and Technology of China, now demonstrates that this conflict can be resolved, and that resolving it improves both devices at once.
The tension between perovskite LEDs and solar cells comes down to a question of thickness. An effective LED needs an extremely thin, discontinuous layer of perovskite, typically around 50 nanometers (roughly one thousandth the width of a human hair), because thin, slightly uneven films naturally scatter light outward, helping photons escape the device. A solar cell, by contrast, needs a layer roughly sixteen times thicker to absorb enough incoming sunlight and convert it into electricity efficiently. For years, this meant that researchers optimizing a perovskite LED were building something poorly suited to harvesting solar energy, and vice versa. Thanks to these different needs the two applications have followed separate architectural paths, and devices that attempted to do both tended to do neither particularly well.
There is a further complication. Even in a well-made perovskite LED device, much of the light generated inside never escapes. When a photon (a particle of light) is produced inside the material, it travels outward and hits the surface. If it arrives at too steep an angle, it is reflected back inside rather than escaping, a phenomenon governed by the physics of how light moves between materials with different optical properties. Once trapped, that photon bounces around until it is absorbed by a microscopic defect in the material and converted to heat, essentially wasted energy. Reducing these losses requires both giving trapped photons a better route out and patching the defects that absorb them along the way. These have typically been treated as separate engineering problems.
A useful way to think about what the team describe in this research is to consider what a texture does to a pane of glass. Smooth, flat glass transmits light reasonably well in one direction, but offers little control over what happens to light approaching from awkward angles. Some passes through, some reflects, and the behavior is largely determined by the geometry. A textured or patterned surface changes this: by introducing deliberate variations in the surface structure, light arriving from many different angles can be redirected more usefully, whether that means bending it inward toward an internal target (for a solar cell) or redirecting it outward toward an observer (for an LED). The same surface feature serves both directions of travel. The team’s approach works on a closely related principle, applied to structures far smaller than any surface texture visible to the naked eye, and with the added benefit that the material forming those structures also repairs the defects that were previously wasting energy as heat.
Building on earlier collaborative work published in Science in 2023, by McGehee and Xu, which demonstrated that porous alumina nanoplates (a form of aluminum oxide) could reduce energy losses at perovskite interfaces, the team set out to extend that principle into a more sophisticated architecture. The key advance was developing a method to assemble alumina nanoparticles into micrometer-sized islands (each around five micrometers across and half a micrometer tall) embedded within the perovskite device. The assembly process uses electrostatic attraction: two populations of alumina nanoparticles are given opposite surface charges, and when mixed, they cluster together naturally into porous, sponge-like islands. One population is treated with a negatively charged molecule (Me-4PACz) and the other population treated with a positively charged molecule (ODA). The team refer to these as e-Al₂O₃, where the “e” denotes “electrostatic” assembly.
The porous sponge-like structure is critical. Earlier approaches to introducing low-refractive-index materials (materials that are less optically dense than the surrounding perovskite) into LED devices tended to block the flow of electrical charge, undermining device performance. Because the e-Al₂O₃ islands are porous, the perovskite material can grow through them, maintaining electrical contact with the electrode beneath. The islands therefore redirect light without interrupting the charge transport the device depends on.
The surface treatments applied to the alumina nanoparticles were designed to serve a second, equally important function. The molecules used to give the particles their opposite charges are the same molecules known to passivate perovskite surfaces, essentially chemically neutralizing the defects where energy can be lost as heat. The surface recombination velocity, a measure of how quickly electrical charges are lost at interfaces, dropped from 20.2 cm/s in a flat control device to 1.4 cm/s in the e-Al₂O₃ device. This brings the rate of energy loss at the interface close to levels seen in high-performance silicon solar cells.
With defect losses suppressed to this degree, a useful secondary effect called photon recycling becomes significant. When a photon is generated inside the perovskite and would otherwise be trapped and lost, it now has a reasonable chance of being reabsorbed by the material and re-emitted, effectively getting a second, or third, attempt to find an exit. This would be counterproductive in a defect-rich material, because each reabsorption event would risk the photon being lost to heat. However, with defects minimized, photon recycling amplifies the benefit of the improved light routing, pushing external efficiency higher than the geometry of the device alone would predict.
Operated as a solar cell, the e-Al₂O₃ device achieved an externally certified stabilized power-conversion efficiency of 26.7%. At the time this work was submitted for publication this cell held the world record for the power conversion efficiency for perovskite devices (held between 05/2024 – 02/2025). Operated as an LED with the same 800 nm thick perovskite layer, the device reached an external quantum efficiency of approximately 31%, meaning roughly 31 out of every 100 injected electrons produced a photon that successfully escaped the device. Radiance (a measure of light output intensity) was nearly ten times higher than the flat control device. Across both operating modes, the e-Al₂O₃ devices also showed meaningfully improved long-term stability, retaining 95% of their initial solar cell efficiency after 1,200 hours of continuous operation, compared with 67% for the flat control.
The authors note that this combination of greater than 26% solar cell efficiency and greater than 30% LED efficiency in a single polycrystalline device is, across all photovoltaic materials, only the second time this has been demonstrated, the first being single-crystal gallium arsenide, a material that is substantially more expensive and more difficult to manufacture at scale.
The practical implication of a device that converts sunlight to electricity efficiently and emits light efficiently is not merely academic. Displays that harvest ambient light to extend battery life, or lighting systems that recover energy when not actively in use, become more plausible when the same device architecture serves both functions without meaningful compromise in either. More fundamentally, the work demonstrates that the long-standing separation between emissive and photovoltaic device design is not a physical inevitability but an engineering problem, one that careful co-optimization of optical and electronic properties can address.
         
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The energisation of the BESS project follows a strategic investment from energy company Alpiq.
August 20, 2026
Harmony Energy, a UK-based renewable energy developer, has energised a new battery energy storage system (BESS) project near Richmond, North Yorkshire.
The Skeeby Battery Energy Storage System, which is now ready to enter commercial operation, is a 35MW/70MWh project utilising Tesla Megapack technology. The site will be able to store power from multiple sources, including wind and solar PV, before releasing it back to the grid when demand is high.
The new BESS is the first of Harmony Energy’s sites to be energised following the company’s strategic investment from Swiss energy services and electricity provider Alpiq.
Peter Kavanagh, CEO of Harmony Energy, said: “Skeeby is an exciting milestone for Harmony Energy, not only because it brings another important battery storage project online, but because it is the first site to be energised since our strategic investment from Alpiq.”
“That investment gives us additional backing to accelerate the delivery of projects like this across the UK and Europe, while continuing to operate with the same team, brand and development expertise that have underpinned Harmony Energy’s growth to date.”
Related:Arenko’s Nimbus platform to manage 300MW BESS co-located with UK offshore wind project
Harmony Energy explained that the new site will also help to reinforce the UK’s energy security, as the nation pursues its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. By storing energy and releasing it back to the grid, the BESS will contribute to the transition to clean power, support grid stability, and provide consumers with lower costs as time goes on.
According to Harmony Energy’s announcement, the Skeeby project was designed with both biodiversity and community benefits in mind.
Biodiversity measures at the site include habitat improvements and new planting, and community initiatives include the Richmond Bike Park. The free-to-access bike park is anticipated to open later in 2026.
Read more about:
Catie Owen
Contributing writer
Since 2019, Catie has been writing news, interviews, client content and editing magazines. In recent years, her interest in sustainability has led her to pursue renewable energy as her primary beat. Having written primarily about solar energy and storage, Catie also enjoys covering the positive human impact of renewable technology.
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In a new report, IEA PVPS says conventional ground-mounted solar PV design assumptions may not accurately reflect BIPV, FPV, and agrivoltaic operating conditions 
Analysts believe performance assessment for integrated PV needs to consider application-specific technical, economic, environmental, and social factors 
They call for more representative testing and long-term field data to improve reliability assessments and design standards 
The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) has called for more application-specific approaches to designing and evaluating solar PV systems as solar deployment expands into buildings, water bodies, and agricultural land.
In its August 2026 Task 13 report, Optimisation of Photovoltaic Systems for Different Applications, IEA PVPS examines building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), floating photovoltaics (FPV), and agrivoltaics (AV). It says conventional PV design approaches, developed mainly for ground-mounted systems, are no longer sufficient for these applications.
Report writers explain that because integrated PV systems operate under different environmental conditions and perform multiple functions, their design must account for factors beyond electricity generation. Identified factors include durability, safety, environmental interactions, and stakeholder acceptance.
IEA PVPS said applying conventional assumptions can result in higher degradation, inaccurate energy-yield estimates and unsuitable component selection. Integrated systems can experience different thermal behavior, irradiance conditions, mechanical loads, and degradation pathways than ground-mounted PV.  
It offers the Flakkebjerg agrivoltaic test site in Denmark as a case study for application-specific challenges. The 998 kW system uses bifacial PERC modules on single-axis trackers. The report found that some crops, including rapeseed, grew taller than the trackers’ 70-cm ground clearance at ±55° tilt angles in the 2025 growing season. This could damage crops and cause power losses through shading. The project is therefore examining adaptive tracking and backtracking strategies. 
The challenges also vary by application. BIPV systems, for instance, must operate as both power generators and building components. These require compliance with structural and fire-safety requirements along with addressing issues related to restricted ventilation and partial shading.  
A 368 kW BIPV façade project in Amsterdam uses 1,735 colored frameless glass-glass modules across a 3,013 m² building façade. The system has to meet architectural and building-envelope requirements while operating in a maritime environment with high humidity and strong winds. The project therefore illustrates how module design, aesthetics, durability, and electrical performance must be considered together in BIPV, as per the report.
On the other hand, FPV systems face humidity, corrosion, biofouling, wind, waves, and other mechanical stresses. 
Agrivoltaic systems need to balance solar generation with crop production and farming activities. 
The report therefore recommends a broader set of performance indicators. Depending on the application, these can include energy yield per available area, self-consumption, dual-use value, land productivity, environmental interactions, and stakeholder acceptance, alongside conventional measures such as performance ratio and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). 
“Integrated PV systems are multi-purpose infrastructure, requiring a broader performance framework than energy yield or LCOE alone,” stresses IEA PVPS. 
IEA PVPS also highlighted limitations in existing testing and modeling methods. The standardized IEC 61853 energy rating methodology remains useful for comparing PV module performance, but its conventional reference conditions do not fully capture the operating conditions of BIPV, FPV, and agrivoltaic systems. The report therefore calls for application-specific mounting conditions, thermal modeling and further adaptations to energy-rating methods. 
Dedicated, application-specific R&D benchmarking facilities can help bridge the gap between laboratory testing and real-world operating conditions. While there has been some progress in the BIPV domain in developing international test facilities for benchmarking and performance evaluation of BIPV, the same remains limited for FPV and AV. 
The report says that there is a clear need for application-specific testing, improved modeling, and long-term field data for all three integrated PV applications. 
“Integrated PV systems require design approaches that go beyond those developed for conventional ground-mounted PV systems, and should be understood as multifunctional infrastructure rather than stand-alone energy assets,” the report said. 
The complete report is available for free download on the IEA PVPS website. 
TaiyangNews 2024

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Trashed solar panels will be a treasure worth up to $1 trillion  Anthropocene Magazine
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Freyr Energy drops new smart inverters with 97.8% efficiency  Manufacturing Today India
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6.86 MW Brooklyn project completes environmental permitting; construction expected to begin in Fall 2026
Project expected to generate C$3.86 million in lifetime electricity savings for the local community
Project expected to power the equivalent of 628 homes annually
TORONTO, Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PowerBank Corporation (Nasdaq: PBK) (Cboe CA: PBK) (FSE: 103) ("PowerBank" or the "Company"), a leader in independent energy development and asset ownership in North America, is pleased to announce that the 6.86 MW Brooklyn ground-mounted community solar project (the "Project") has completed environmental permitting. The Project is now prepared to proceed with construction, which PowerBank expects to begin in the fall of 2026. The Project is owned and funded by AI Renewable Flow-through Fund; PowerBank is the lead developer, earning development revenue with no capital required from PowerBank.
The total cost for the development and construction of the Project is expected to be C$14 million. It is eligible to receive up to C$2.639 million in tax credits through the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit offered by the Canadian federal government. In August of 2025, PowerBank announced that the Project received a C$960,000 grant from Net Zero Atlantic and an additional C$960,000 grant from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program offered by the Government of Canada has been approved.
Brooklyn is one of three PowerBank-developed community solar projects in Nova Scotia totaling approximately 12.44 MW DC, alongside the 3.15 MW Petpeswick and 2.43 MW Sydney projects. PowerBank has partnered with local Nova Scotia's trusted engineering firm, Trimac Engineering, to deliver the Projects. PowerBank has been at the forefront of community solar development in the United States with over 50 MW of community solar projects completed and is proud to be deploying its expertise in Canada as the community solar market develops there.
Over the lifetime of the Project, it is expected to generate approximately $3.86 million in electricity savings for the local community in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. These savings come with the additional benefits of local job opportunities, economic growth, local educational opportunities regarding renewable energy, improved grid reliability, and emissions reductions.
Community Solar is a cornerstone of Nova Scotia's bold commitment to achieve 80% renewable energy by 2030 and net-zero by 2035.
Unlike traditional rooftop systems, community solar allows renters, businesses, and homeowners to subscribe to the solar farm and receive bill credits and savings of $0.02/kWh, without installing any equipment. Project feeds directly into the local electricity grid and offers a flexible, accessible way for Nova Scotians to participate in the clean energy transition. As one of only four community solar contracts awarded under the program so far, the Brooklyn project contributes approximately 6.86 MW DC to the 100 MW AC of planned solar additions that will help reduce fossil fuel reliance and drive local economic development.
PowerBank's proven expertise, with over 100 MW of completed projects and a development pipeline exceeding 1 GW, underpins the project's execution. Strategic partnerships and institutional-grade development capabilities position PowerBank to deliver reliable, high-impact energy solutions. These capabilities are increasingly valuable as AI and data center growth place unprecedented demand on the North American grid.
About PowerBank Corporation
PowerBank Corporation is a vertically integrated and independent North American energy company helping to power the digital economy. The Company develops, builds, owns, and operates solar and battery energy storage systems that deliver reliable and resilient power to the electricity grid, commercial and industrial clients, and municipal and residential off-takers. As AI and digital infrastructure drive unprecedented electricity demand, PowerBank is uniquely positioned to deliver the speed, scale, and energy independence that the next generation of power consumers requires, without waiting years for permitting and grid interconnection. The Company has a potential development pipeline of over one gigawatt and has developed energy projects with a combined capacity of over 100 megawatts built. To learn more about PowerBank, please visit www.powerbankcorp.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information ‎within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking ‎statements") that relate to the Company's current expectations and views of future events. ‎Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, ‎objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the ‎use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "expects", "will ‎continue", "is anticipated", "anticipates", "believes", "estimated", "intends", "plans", "forecast", ‎‎"projection", "strategy", "objective" and "outlook") are not historical facts and may be ‎forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties ‎which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in ‎such forward-looking statements. In particular and without limitation, this news release ‎contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the Company's expectations regarding its industry trends and overall market growth; the services to be provided; the expected construction value of the Projects; details of the expected incentives for the Project; the number of homes expected to be powered, and the size of the Company's development pipeline. No assurance ‎can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking ‎statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These ‎statements speak only as of the date of this news release.‎
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of the experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In making the forward looking statements included in this news release, the Company has made various material assumptions, including but not limited to: obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals; that regulatory requirements will be maintained; execution of definitive agreements for suitable solar or BESS sites; that power is available to be sufficient to support a modular data center; general business and economic conditions; the Company's ability to successfully execute its plans and intentions; the availability of financing on reasonable terms; the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled staff; market competition; the products and services offered by the Company's competitors; that the Company's current good relationships with its service providers and other third parties will be maintained; and government subsidies and funding for renewable energy will continue as currently contemplated. Although the Company believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Whether actual results, performance or achievements will conform to the Company's expectations and predictions is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, including those listed under "Forward-‎Looking Statements" and "Risk ‎Factors" in the Company's most recently completed Annual Information Form, and other public filings of the Company, which include: the Company may be adversely affected by volatile solar power market and industry conditions; failure to execute definitive agreements for suitable solar or BESS sites; power availability may not be sufficient to support a modular data center; the execution of the Company's growth strategy depends upon the continued availability of third-party financing arrangements; the Company's future success depends partly on its ability to expand the pipeline of its energy business in several key markets; governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy support schemes for solar and battery storage power; general global economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our operating performance and results of operations; the Company's project development and construction activities may not be successful; developing and operating solar Project exposes the Company to various risks; the Company faces a number of risks involving Power Purchase Agreements ("PPAs") and project-level financing arrangements; any changes to the laws, regulations and policies that the Company is subject to may present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of solar power; the markets in which the Company competes are highly competitive and evolving quickly; an anti-circumvention investigation could adversely affect the Company by potentially raising the prices of key supplies for the construction of solar power projects; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; a change in the Company's effective tax rate can have a significant adverse impact on its business; seasonal variations in demand linked to construction cycles and weather conditions may influence the Company's results of operations; the Company may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows or have access to external financing; the Company may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future; the Company is subject to risks from supply chain issues; risks related to inflation and tariffs; unexpected warranty expenses that may not be adequately covered by the Company's insurance policies; if the Company is unable to attract and retain key personnel, it may not be able to compete effectively in the renewable energy market; there are a limited number of purchasers of utility-scale quantities of electricity; compliance with environmental laws and regulations can be expensive; corporate responsibility may adversely impose additional costs; the future impact of any global pandemic on the Company is unknown at this time; the Company has limited insurance coverage; the Company will be reliant on information technology systems and may be subject to damaging cyberattacks; the Company may become subject to litigation; there is no guarantee on how the Company will use its available funds; the Company will continue to sell securities for cash to fund operations, capital expansion, mergers and acquisitions that will dilute the current shareholders; and future dilution as a result of financings.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any ‎forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or ‎otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it ‎is not possible for the Company to predict all of them, or assess the impact of each such ‎factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to ‎differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-‎looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by ‎this cautionary statement.‎
SOURCE PowerBank Corporation
Select market data provided by ICE Data Services. Select reference data provided by FactSet. Copyright © 2026 FactSet Research Systems Inc.Copyright © 2026, American Bankers Association. CUSIP Database provided by FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved. SEC filings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2026 TradingView, Inc.

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French energy major Engie has signed a deal to supply power from a 61MW solar PV project to a data centre in Irving, Texas.
The agreement is a deal between Engie and data centre operator QTS (Quality Technology Services), which will purchase 48MW of power under a power purchase agreement (PPA). It will power QTS’ data centre operations near Irving.
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The deal runs parallel to a long-term PPA Engie has in place with the developer of the 61MW Lubio Solar project, ABEI Energy. The site in Kaufman County, Texas, is yet to begin commercial operations. Once it does, it is expected to produce around 150GWh of clean power annually.
QTS said the deal forms part of its work with Engie to “support renewable energy solutions tailored to the evolving needs of the data centre industry”. Data centres for AI operations are forecast to be a major driver of power demand in the US, with Big Tech firms like Google, Microsoft and Amazon making huge investments into power supply to enable their operations.
“Data centre customers continue to seek long-term, dependable renewable energy solutions that align with both operational and sustainability goals,” said Taymur Bunkheila, regional vice president, ENGIE North America. 
Engie is a major player in the global corporate PPA market. The company says it contracted 3.6GW in 2025 and has committed 13.8GW of supply since 2011. In recent times, this includes a 600MW PPA deal with tech giant Meta to power the company’s data centre operations in Texas.
You can read more of our global coverage of data centres here.

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Nature volume 656, pages 616–623 (2026) Cite this article
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Wide-bandgap (WBG) mixed-halide perovskites with high bromine (Br) content, which are used as the front-cell material in perovskite–organic tandem solar cells (TSCs), often exhibit initial halide-mixing inhomogeneity and light-induced halide segregation^1,2,3, limiting the performance of perovskite–organic TSCs. Here we introduce a photo-transformable additive, 4-[3-(trifluoromethyl)-3H-diazirin-3-yl]benzylammonium salt (TDB), into the WBG perovskite precursor solution to establish a two-stage strategy for stabilizing the mixed-halide phase. During crystallization, TDB improves the initial halide homogeneity by suppressing the rapid precipitation of the Br-rich phase and accelerating halide mixing upon annealing. During operational illumination, TDB undergoes transformation to form a new species with stronger adsorption on the perovskite grain-boundary surfaces, which inhibits the formation of iodide-related defects and suppresses defect-assisted carrier trapping and ion migration, thereby mitigating light-induced halide segregation^4,5,6. The representative WBG perovskite (bandgap energy (E_g) = 1.88 eV) solar cell had a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.01%, with an open-circuit voltage of 1.42 V, a fill factor of 85.13% and improved stability under illumination. By integrating the WBG perovskite solar cell into a monolithic perovskite–organic TSC, we achieved a PCE of 28.80%, with a certified steady-state PCE of 28.04%. The perovskite–organic TSC retained 90% of its initial PCE after 625 h of operation under the ISOS-L-1 protocol.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon request. Source data are provided with this paper.
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We thank the 1W1A-Diffuse X-ray Scattering Beamline of Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility for providing technical support and assistance in GIWAXS data collection; Enli Technology for QFLS measurement equipment; Shenzhen HUASUAN Technology for assistance with theoretical calculations; and N. Wu for assistance with solid-state ²⁰⁷Pb NMR measurements and data analysis.
The authors disclose support for the research of this work from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2024YFB4205200), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB0520102), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52173188), and the Key R&D and Achievement Transformation Plan Project of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (2025YFHH0021).
Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ruihan Wu, Shucheng Qin, Tianwei Zou, Xin Jiang, Senyao Wang, Siyu Zhuang, Yiyang Wang, Siguang Li, Minchao Liu, Yishun Feng, Yufei Gong, Haozhe He, Peiwen Liao, Jinyuan Zhang, Xiaojun Li, Lei Meng & Yongfang Li
School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ruihan Wu, Tianwei Zou, Xin Jiang, Senyao Wang, Siyu Zhuang, Yiyang Wang, Siguang Li, Minchao Liu, Yishun Feng, Yufei Gong, Haozhe He, Peiwen Liao, Lei Meng & Yongfang Li
East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Hongyu Li
Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Yu Chen
Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Novel Semiconductor Materials and Devices, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Yongfang Li
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L.M. and R.W. conceived the idea and designed the experiments. R.W. performed device characterization and analysed data. R.W., S.Q., T.Z. and S.W. participated in the fabrication and characterization of tandem solar cells. S.Z. and X.J. participated in device fabrication. S.Q. and H.L. performed DFT calculations and analysis. Y.W., S.L., M.L. and Y.F. participated in the photoluminescence and optoelectronic property analyses. Y.G., H.H. and P.L. synthesized the organic photovoltaic materials. Y.C. participated in the design and analysis of in situ GIWAXS experiments. J.Z. performed in situ photoluminescence measurements. X.L. participated in the data analysis and discussion. L.M. and Y.L. supervised the project. R.W., L.M. and Y.L. wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the work.
Correspondence to Lei Meng or Yongfang Li.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This file contains Supplementary Figures 1–47, Supplementary Tables 1–9 and Supplementary References.
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Wu, R., Qin, S., Zou, T. et al. Perovskite–organic tandem solar cells with a photo-transformable stabilizer. Nature 656, 616–623 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10869-x
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Published: 13 July 2026
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Issue date: 20 August 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10869-x
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Companies/ Energy Transition
Mark Segal August 20, 2026
Microsoft and clean energy company Qcells announced a significant expansion of their alliance, currently focused on solar panels, to the exploration of new approaches to address the key challenge of adding massive compute capacity required to support AI, without shifting the energy burden onto local communities.
The announcement follows an initial 2.5 GW solar panel and services agreement by the companies in 2023, which was subsequently scaled up to an 8-year, 12 GW strategic alliance in 2024.
The companies said that they are expanding their existing relationship in order to explore ways to pair AI infrastructure with new energy capacity. Rather than simply adding electricity demand to the grid, the proposed approach would develop new generation and flexible energy resources alongside Microsoft’s expanding data center footprint, helping support grid reliability while enabling future AI growth. The collaboration will support Microsoft’s Community-First AI Infrastructure initiative and Qcells’ growing role in developing the energy infrastructure that enables AI, the companies added.
Under the collaboration, the companies are exploring a “bring-your-own-capacity” (BYOC) model, under which Qcells would develop and build new energy capacity alongside Microsoft’s expanding data center footprint. The new capacity could be delivered directly to Microsoft or to the local utility serving the surrounding community, with Microsoft funding the power required for its operations.
The companies said that they are also exploring Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) that would combine thousands of residential and commercial batteries into a single flexible energy resource that can provide electricity to the grid during periods of peak demand. Participating customers would be able to use their batteries normally outside of grid events, while potentially benefiting from lower electricity bills and compensation for supporting the grid.
Qcells said that it plans to prioritize participation by income-qualified households in the VPP initiative, aimed at extending the economic benefits associated with AI infrastructure to communities where the infrastructure is built.
Microsoft, which has set a goal to become carbon negative by 2030, recently revealed that its GHG emissions jumped by 25% last year, driven by an accelerating AI infrastructure buildout, as well as a shift in the company’s clean energy strategy away from the use of non-additional renewable energy certificates and towards the development of new carbon-free energy sources. Earlier this year, the company announced a “Community-First AI Infrastructure” initiative, with commitments to ensure that its datacenter buildout doesn’t increase local electricity prices, replenishes more water than it uses, creates jobs for local residents, adds to local tax bases, and provides investments in local AI training and non-profits.
Andy Park, Global CEO of Qcells, said:
“Our relationship with Microsoft began with American-made solar manufacturing and construction. Now we’re exploring how we can build the energy capacity needed for AI while creating lasting value for the communities that share the grid.”

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A group of researchers led by China’s Nanjing University and PV perovskite specialist Renshine Solar has fabricated a perovskite solar module with an aperture area of 810 cm² and a record-breaking power conversion efficiency of 24.0%. “This result represents a world record for this perovskite module format,” corresponding author Ke Xiao told pv magazine. “It was confirmed by TÜV SÜD in China.”
The perovskite cells used in the modules were passivated with chemically stable lead carboxylate passivators (LCPs) based on lead dioleate (Pb(OA)₂), which the scientists said improved charge-carrier transport. They explained that conventional ammonium halide passivators (AHPs), used in combination with slot-die coating followed by vacuum chamber drying (VCD), often suffer from chemical, thermal or interfacial instability.
Unlike LCP-treated films, AHP treatment resulted in non-uniform deposits, macro-scale defects and pronounced photoluminescence (PL) heterogeneity, according to the researchers. By contrast, LCP treatment produced uniform, hydrophobic films with enhanced resistance to moisture, thermal stress and ultraviolet degradation.
The LCPs were applied to a perovskite film with a formamidinium iodide (FAI)-enriched surface. This enabled the formation of a chemically bonded, well-defined passivation layer that provided environmental protection while maintaining efficient charge extraction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed chemical bonding between the LCP and FAI-rich surface, while photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed that the carrier lifetime increased from 264 ns to 706 ns, indicating reduced carrier trapping and improved passivation.
The researchers used cells fabricated with this passivation approach to build the 810 cm² module, although they did not disclose technical details about its architecture.
Under standard test conditions, the module achieved a champion power conversion efficiency of 24.2%, while independent certification confirmed the above-mentioned efficiency of 24.0%. It also achieved an open-circuit voltage of 53.46 V, a short-circuit current of 0.436 A and a fill factor of 83.40%.
“It also maintained a stable 19.4 W output under maximum power point tracking (MPPT),” Xiao stated. “This marked the first perovskite solar module exceeding 800 cm² to surpass 24% efficiency.”
The research team also fabricated 150 modules with an area of 0.72 m², achieving an average power output of 144 W. The champion module reached a certified efficiency of 22.0% and an output of 158.4 W, representing a meter-scale efficiency record. It also maintained a stable output above 158 W for more than two hours under MPPT.
“We also found that, beyond efficiency, LCP dramatically enhanced module durability under standardized International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) testing,” Xiao added. “After 1,300 hours of damp-heat exposure, LCP modules lost only 2% of their initial efficiency, compared with 39% for ammonium halide passivator (AHP) modules. LCP modules also showed negligible degradation after 300 thermal cycles and retained 96% of their initial efficiency after 2,200 hours of MPPT operation. Under ultraviolet aging, they retained 95% of their initial performance, confirming strong resistance to multiple environmental stressors.”
The researchers also found that all LCP-modified modules surpassed the reliability requirements of IEC 61215. Field monitoring further showed higher specific energy yields than silicon tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules. “Overall, combining high-saturated-vapor-pressure (SVP) processing with chemically stable LCP passivation provides an industry-ready route to efficient, durable and scalable meter-scale perovskite photovoltaics,” they concluded.
The novel manufacturing process was described in “Lead carboxylates passivation for meter-scale perovskite solar modules,” published in nature.

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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
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Tuesday, August 25, 2026
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MyTendring is your self service portal to interact as a resident, you can:
An award-winning business centre in Jaywick Sands is taking a step towards a more sustainable future with the installation of new solar panels.
Work to fit the panels at the Tendring District Council-run Sunspot is set to begin over the next few days and will soon require scaffolding to be placed around the building for approximately six weeks.
Businesses will be able to continue trading as usual during this period, and customers and visitors are encouraged to keep supporting them.
The solar panels are forecast to generate savings on electricity bills
Ivan Henderson, TDC Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Tourism and Economic Growth, said: “Sunspot has been a huge success story since it opened, and this project will make the building a more sustainable place to work and visit.
“Businesses will be able to stay open as usual during the works, so I’d encourage everyone to continue supporting them during the installation.”
By generating some of its electricity on-site rather than relying solely on grid power, the building’s carbon emissions are expected to reduce by around 15 tonnes a year – equivalent to the emissions produced by driving approximately 50,000 miles in a petrol car.
Following a competitive tender process, Pyramid Eco has been appointed by the council to carry out the works. They are also a tenant at Sunspot.
Founded in 2011 by Michael Zohouri, Pyramid Eco delivers retrofit projects across London and the South East, but have their head office proudly based in Jaywick Sands.
Michael said: “My team and I care deeply about this community and we are looking forward to helping the council with these improvements to Sunspot.
“I am confident our local knowledge and expertise in retrofit will ensure this project runs smoothly.
“We will be working hard to ensure disruption to businesses is kept to a minimum.”
Roof maintenance, to be carried out by another contractor, will also take place during this period.
The solar panel project is being funded through the Community Regeneration Partnership, a £20 million investment programme from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, delivered locally by the council.
For more information on government-funded projects in the district, visit https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/government-funded-projects.
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The foundational data underpinning nearly every credible life cycle assessment (LCA) of PV solar electricity has just received its most comprehensive overhaul since 2020 — and in some respects its most thorough update in more than a decade. A new report from IEA PVPS Task 12, “Life Cycle Inventories of Photovoltaic Systems,” provides updated inventory data covering the full crystalline silicon supply chain for TOPCon and PERC cell technologies, CdTe thin-film modules, string inverters, mounting structures, and reference systems for residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations. The datasets are freely available through the IEA PVPS website and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences repository, and are fully compatible with the newly released open-source BAFU:2025 Swiss federal life cycle assessment (LCA) database.
For anyone conducting or commissioning a life cycle assessment, an environmental product declaration, a green finance disclosure, or a procurement-linked sustainability assessment of PV solar products, this report is the new baseline.
The centrepiece of this update is a large and well-documented dataset for monocrystalline silicon supply chains, assembled from 83 screened, factory-level life cycle assessments collected through France’s ADEME’s PV tender programme between 2022 and 2025.These data were originally collected in the context of the French photovoltaic tender process operated by ADEME and cover all relevant supply chain steps of selected PV module production lines. Data control and aggregation were performed by École des Mines de Paris, while expert review, analysis, aggregation and anonymization were carried out by Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) within the French Institute of Solar Energy (INES) and CERTISOLIS France introduced carbon performance criteria into its solar tenders as early as 2013 through the CRE2, CRE3, CRE4, and PPE2 frameworks. The data used by IEA PVPS Task 12 originate solely from the PPE2 framework and has  generated what is now the largest independently verified, factory-level LCA database for PV manufacturing available.
The 83 datasets retained after screening and consistency checks cover all key supply chain stages from polysilicon purification through ingot and brick production, wafer slicing, cell manufacturing, laminate production, and module assembly. Relative to global production capacity, they represent approximately 29% of polysilicon, 16% of wafer, 7% of cell, and 9% of module production — figures that the authors describe as representing unusually high market coverage for public PV LCI data. Of the 83 factories assessed, 82 are located in China, which reflects the actual structure of global c-Si manufacturing rather than any selection bias: China accounts for approximately 93% of global polysilicon production, 96% of wafer production, 90.3% of cell production, and 86.1% of crystalline silicon module production in 2024.
The CdTe dataset was provided directly by First Solar, which accounts for more than 90% of global CdTe module production. Both the Series 6 and Series 7 module platforms are covered.
The report notes that the c-Si datasets “may be slightly biased towards lower-carbon supply chains” — the hedging in that phrasing is deliberate and worth preserving. The 83 factories are largely export-oriented Chinese plants that may use more advanced, material-efficient processes than the broader global average, meaning the data could over-represent export-grade products rather than the full spectrum of global manufacturing. That is a representativeness limitation rather than carbon cherry-picking. Whereas Task 12’s LCI data may not best represent PV manufactured for the domestic Chinese market or a global production average, they are more representative of export-oriented production, which supplies most PV deployed outside China.
Crucially, the report also addresses the main mechanism through which a more direct carbon bias could enter the dataset — individual manufacturers reporting site-specific electricity mixes cleaner than their national grid — and adds that the Task 12 inventories apply country-average electricity mixes throughout the supply chain regardless of what individual manufacturers reported. This correction substantially limits the scope of any residual bias.
The practical guidance remains the same as the report itself provides: the datasets are well suited as generic background data, screening inventories, and harmonised reference benchmarks. For comparative LCA involving specific manufacturers or procurement decisions, foreground data from the relevant producers should be used wherever available, with the Task 12 inventories serving as reference points rather than substitutes.
For the first time, the Task 12 report introduces a parallel category of modelled rather than measured LCI data, developed by Fraunhofer ISE. These datasets represent a simulated, optimised monocrystalline silicon manufacturing site of 5 GWp annual capacity, modelling advanced production processes, such as closed-loop water management, waste valorisation, and detailed infrastructure accounting. They cover both PERC and TOPCon cell technology and include scenarios for circular production strategies — a revalorised waste scenario, a minimal liquid discharge scenario for PERC, and a rinse water recycling scenario for TOPCon.
The practical significance is considerable: compared with industry datasets from the 1999–2006 period that underpinned earlier LCAs, the simulated facility shows environmental impact reductions of between 11.7% and 94.3% across 14 of 15 impact categories assessed using the EU’s Environmental Footprint methodology. The authors stress that simulated and measured datasets are not interchangeable and should not be used as if they were equivalent. But for forward-looking studies — such as assessing technology roadmaps, analysing prospective manufacturing scenarios, or stress-testing procurement assumptions — the Fraunhofer ISE data provide a valuable complement to the industry-measured inventories. And in fact, the simulated LCI compares very closely to the empirical LCI in aggregated environmental impact scores, increasing confidence in both datasets.
The shift from PERC to TOPCon as the dominant c-Si cell technology is central to this update. TOPCon, which uses an ultra-thin tunnel oxide layer and doped polysilicon passivated contacts to achieve higher conversion efficiencies, is now rapidly replacing PERC across Chinese manufacturing. The report assumes efficiencies of 21.7% for p-type PERC and 23.2% for n-type TOPCon modules, reflecting 2024 commercial averages. Within TOPCon manufacturing, the report distinguishes between LPCVD and PECVD deposition routes for the polysilicon passivated contact layer, which have different energy and gas use profiles.
Multi-crystalline silicon does not appear in the update at all, given that the technology has effectively disappeared from the market and thus is relegated to the annex. CIGS and perovskite-silicon tandem datasets are similarly not updated, though the latter is flagged as a priority for inclusion once commercial-scale manufacturing data become available, with market entry expected as early as 2027.
The reference system architecture has also been revised. The previous 3 kWp residential reference system — long a standard in PV LCA communication — has been replaced with a 10 kWp residential system, reflecting the upward trend in actual installation sizes across major markets. Average residential system sizes grew from 2.65 kW in Australia in 2012 to 9.7 kW by 2024; US median residential system sizes rose from 5.2 kW in 2011 to 7.4 kW in 2023. The report now covers three reference systems: the 10 kW residential rooftop, a 250 kW commercial rooftop, and a 10 MW utility-scale ground-mounted system.
The report’s outlook section sets out a ranked set of priorities for the next revision cycle, distinguishing between areas of highest urgency and those of comparatively lower urgency.
The top priority is continued revision of crystalline silicon manufacturing data, which remains the dominant driver of environmental impacts in global PV electricity generation. Despite the substantial improvements this edition delivers for TOPCon and PERC, the market is diversifying rapidly: future updates are flagged to include silicon heterojunction, back-contact cells, and advanced TOPCon variants as soon as representative industrial data become available. Module-level inventories will also need updating to reflect ongoing changes in wafer size, wafer thickness, kerf loss, silver consumption, cell interconnection, and the growing prevalence of glass-glass and frameless module designs.
The second priority is commercially relevant emerging technologies, above all perovskite-silicon tandem PV, which remains absent from updated inventories pending the commercial-scale production data expected once the technology enters the market.
Balance-of-system datasets are the third priority, with particular attention called for on utility-scale systems increasingly designed around single-axis trackers, larger module formats, and higher DC/AC ratios. Rooftop BOS is explicitly flagged as a priority for the next revision.
For the PV industry and the broader ecosystem of developers, financiers, policymakers, and sustainability professionals who rely on LCA to evaluate and communicate the environmental case for PV solar energy, this report provides the most credible and transparently documented reference dataset currently available.
The full report and its corresponding LCI tables are available here.
Authory: Garvin Heath, Matthias Stucki, Michael Götz and Nouha Gazbour
Copy editor: Ignacio Landivar
IEA PVPS Task 12 aims to quantify the environmental profile of PV systems relative to other energy technologies and address critical environmental, health, safety, and sustainability issues to support market growth.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected].
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
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SA Power Networks, the electricity distribution network operating in the state of South Australia, has announced its annual curtailment test will take place next Tuesday (August 25).
A statement published on the network’s website describes the annual test as “like a fire drill for the grid” that ensures its ability to temporarily curtail rooftop solar generation.
“[The test] simulates a rare but urgent situation so we can confirm that all systems and people are ready to respond if an actual emergency occurs,” the statement adds.
Around 100,000 customers are expected to be impacted on the day, with the curtailment expected to last less than an hour. SA Power Networks says solar systems will ramp down to 0 kW before ramping back up, with customers expected to miss around 1.5 kWh of generation on average.
The network’s update explains that the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) can direct it to use curtailment to help keep the electricity system stable during a system security emergency. 
“AEMO monitors grid stability nationally and works to maintain system security – balancing electricity supply with demand,” the statement continues. “In South Australia, that balance can be challenging because we have more rooftop solar per capita than almost anywhere in the world.”
The government of South Australia passed legislation in 2020 requiring all solar systems installed after September that year to be able to be remotely disconnected during a system security emergency.
Curtailment is considered as one of the biggest challenges facing the development of Australia’s solar market, across all market segments. Analysis from February found South Australia typically sees relatively moderate curtailment through autumn and winter followed by a sharp escalation in spring and early summer.
Earlier this year, the Australian Energy Market Commission unveiled plans to modernize its distribution network planning, which it says will help to lower curtailment of rooftop solar.
According to figures shared by the International Solar Energy Society, the number of dwellings with rooftop PV in South Australia has now passed 50%.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
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Tuesday, August 25, 2026
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Thursday, August 27, 2026
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Across the vast Kubuqi Desert in northern China, millions of solar panels stretch across the sand, creating what has become known as the “Solar Great Wall” — one of the world’s most ambitious renewable-energy projects.
Located in the Ordos region of Inner Mongolia, the project combines massive solar-power generation with efforts to control desertification. The photovoltaic panels cover large areas of otherwise barren land, while vegetation is being planted beneath and around them to help stabilize the shifting sands.
The broader Ordos Central-Northern New Energy Base is planned to reach approximately 16 gigawatts of total capacity, including solar, wind and supporting power infrastructure. Once fully developed, it is expected to generate roughly 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
The project is part of China’s broader strategy to build enormous renewable-energy bases in its northern and western regions and transmit electricity over long distances to major population centers such as Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.
But the project is about more than electricity.
Solar panels can provide shade and reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation, creating more favorable conditions for certain plants. Vegetation can then help protect the soil from wind erosion and stabilize the desert surface. In this way, developers are attempting to combine renewable-energy production with ecological restoration.
The scale of the development is difficult to appreciate from the ground. From satellite images, the rows of photovoltaic panels form enormous geometric patterns across the desert.
Ordos is also home to another remarkable solar installation: a giant horse-shaped arrangement of photovoltaic panels known as the “Junma,” or “Galloping Horse.” The installation uses hundreds of thousands of panels to create an image visible from above and has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest solar-panel image.
China’s enormous desert solar projects reflect the country’s rapidly expanding investment in renewable energy. They also illustrate a distinctive approach to the energy transition: rather than relying only on small distributed installations, China is building huge renewable-energy bases in regions with abundant land and sunlight, connected to the country’s high-voltage electricity network.
The Kubuqi project therefore represents more than a field of solar panels. It is an experiment in using one of the world’s harshest environments to produce electricity while attempting to restore parts of the landscape.
If the project reaches its planned scale, the Solar Great Wall could become one of the most striking symbols of China’s transformation of its energy system — a vast industrial landscape where solar panels, transmission lines and newly planted vegetation meet the desert horizon.
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Jinko is set to participate in Intersolar South America 2026, taking place from August 25 to 27 at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo. The company’s participation comes as JinkoSolar marks its 20th anniversary, two decades after its founding in 2006. As one of the most important meeting points for the solar and energy storage industries in Latin America, the exhibition will provide an opportunity for the company to present its latest technological developments and connect with customers, partners and professionals from across the Brazilian energy sector.
At booth W4.34, one of the main highlights will be Tiger Neo 3.0, the latest generation of JinkoSolar’s Tiger Neo family and a further evolution of its N-type TOPCon technology. The new generation has been developed with a focus on higher efficiency, increased energy generation and strong long-term performance, responding to a market that is increasingly looking beyond a simple price-per-watt comparison and focusing instead on the overall value and economics of a photovoltaic system throughout its lifetime.
Technology will not only be displayed at the booth but also experienced firsthand. JinkoSolar will showcase its Anti-Dust module through an interactive demonstration, allowing visitors to test the solution with their own hands and see how its innovative design helps reduce the accumulation of dust and dirt on the module surface. The hands-on experience is designed to make technology more tangible and demonstrate how specific product innovations can help address real operational challenges faced by photovoltaic installations. Jinko’s technical team will also be available throughout the exhibition to discuss the technology and its potential applications across different project environments.
Alongside its photovoltaic portfolio, energy storage will play an important role in Jinko’s presence at Intersolar South America this year. The company will showcase its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) solutions, reflecting the growing importance of storage as the Brazilian energy market continues to evolve.
The increasing integration of solar generation and energy storage is opening a new chapter for the renewable energy industry, with storage expected to play an increasingly relevant role in improving flexibility, optimizing renewable energy generation and supporting the development of a more resilient electricity system. Through its combined PV and energy storage portfolio, JinkoSolar aims to bring its global technological experience to Brazil and support customers as new opportunities emerge across both sectors.
Beyond the technologies on display, Intersolar South America will also provide customers and partners with the opportunity to meet JinkoSolar’s full local team in Brazil. The delegation is leed by Alberto Cuter, Vice President of JinkoSolar for Latin America & Italy, alongside the company’s Sales Managers and representatives from Technical Service, Sales Support, Logistics and Marketing.
The presence of a multidisciplinary local team reflects Jinko’s strategy of providing support throughout the entire customer journey, combining commercial expertise with technical assistance, operational support and long-term collaboration with its partners in the Brazilian market.
Throughout the three days of the exhibition, booth W4.34 will serve as a meeting point for technology, knowledge exchange and collaboration. Customers, partners and industry professionals will be able to discover Tiger Neo 3.0, experience JinkoSolar’s Anti-Dust technology firsthand, explore the company’s latest energy storage solutions and engage directly with the local team.
JinkoSolar will be at Intersolar South America 2026 from August 25 to 27 at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, Brazil, booth W4.34.
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Editor: huaxia
2026-08-20 16:08:55

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows a photovoltaic power project in Taizhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The overall installed capacity of photovoltaic power-generating facilities in Jiangsu has exceeded 100-gigawatt mark to reach 100.08 gigawatts by the end of July 2026, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company. (Photo by Tang Dehong/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows a photovoltaic power project in Taizhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The overall installed capacity of photovoltaic power-generating facilities in Jiangsu has exceeded 100-gigawatt mark to reach 100.08 gigawatts by the end of July 2026, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company. (Photo by Tang Dehong/Xinhua)

Maintenance workers patrol a photovoltaic-aquaculture farm in Yangzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Aug. 19, 2026. The overall installed capacity of photovoltaic power-generating facilities in Jiangsu has exceeded 100-gigawatt mark to reach 100.08 gigawatts by the end of July 2026, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows maintenance workers patrolling an aquaculture-photovoltaic hybrid project in Yangzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The overall installed capacity of photovoltaic power-generating facilities in Jiangsu has exceeded 100-gigawatt mark to reach 100.08 gigawatts by the end of July 2026, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows an aquaculture-photovoltaic hybrid project in Yangzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The overall installed capacity of photovoltaic power-generating facilities in Jiangsu has exceeded 100-gigawatt mark to reach 100.08 gigawatts by the end of July 2026, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows a photovoltaic power project in Taizhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province. The overall installed capacity of photovoltaic power-generating facilities in Jiangsu has exceeded 100-gigawatt mark to reach 100.08 gigawatts by the end of July 2026, according to the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company. (Photo by Tang Dehong/Xinhua)

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A research team from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Chinese PV manufacturer DAS Solar have investigated how laser cutting affects the performance of back-contact TOPCON (TBC) silicon solar cells, in an effort to identify the dominant cut-induced loss mechanisms and determine practical design conditions that minimize efficiency degradation in cut-cell and module applications.
“Our work establishes practical design guidelines for industrial TBC cut-cell manufacturing and demonstrate that optimized gap-region cutting can substantially mitigate cut-induced recombination losses without additional edge-passivation processing,” UNSW Professor Martin Green told pv magazine. “It was done in conjunction with DAS Solar, reportedly the first to bring GW-scale TOPCon manufacturing into production with the work supported by DAS Solar and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The scientists explained that cutting full-size solar cells into half, third, or quarter segments minimizes resistive losses, which scale quadratically with cell length. While this practice is now standard in crystalline-silicon module manufacturing, laser scribing exposes raw, unpassivated edges and creates dangling bonds and process defects that significantly elevate carrier recombination and affect cell performance.
Through Quokka3 device simulations, the researchers evaluated half-, third-, and quarter-cell configurations, including realistic deviations in the laser-cut position within the designed gap regions. Quokka3 is a numerical solar-cell simulation software that models the electrical behavior of photovoltaic devices, including carrier generation and recombination, current transport, and distributed resistive losses.
“Our analysis showed that the efficiency loss caused by cut-induced edge recombination increases linearly with the ratio of cut-edge length to active cell area,” Green stated. “We also found that cutting in the gap between n-type and p-type contacts reduces the efficiency penalty by approximately 50% compared with cutting through the p-type contact region.”
Among the evaluated cut locations, gap-region cutting yields the lowest efficiency loss, because the cut edge is spatially separated from the heavily doped emitter and back-surface-field (BSF) regions. This separation limits the interaction between the newly exposed, unpassivated silicon surface and the carrier-selective junctions, thereby reducing edge-induced carrier recombination.
In contrast, emitter-region cutting causes the most pronounced efficiency degradation, as the laser-cut edge directly exposes the emitter space-charge region. This exposed junction is highly susceptible to recombination, allowing photogenerated electrons and holes to recombine at the cut edge and thereby reducing the effective carrier population available for collection.
Overall, the results demonstrate that placing the cut within the gap between the emitter and BSF regions provides the most effective strategy for suppressing edge-recombination losses and preserving TBC cell efficiency.
“The simulations also showed that cut cells exhibit larger efficiency losses under low irradiance due to increased resistive losses and recombination of diffusive hole transport, with an optimal post-cut gap width of approximately 0.3 mm being identified for minimizing the total efficiency loss,” Green emphasized.
As the light intensity decreases, TBC cut cells become more susceptible to edge-related recombination, as photogenerated carriers are more likely to diffuse laterally toward the recombination-active cut edges before being collected. At the same time, reduced carrier concentrations increase the relative impact of resistive losses, resulting in a higher effective series resistance associated with lateral hole transport. Consequently, the efficiency penalty caused by cell cutting becomes substantially more severe under low-light operating conditions.
The research work was presented in “Simulation of gap-region cutting for suppressing edge recombination losses in tunnel oxide passivated back-contact solar cells,” published in Solar Energy.
UNSW and DAS Solar previously collaborated on the fabrication of a TBC cell with a power conversion efficiency of 27%. The cell is based on a zero-busbar (ZBB) design, which the scientists said required significantly lower silver (Ag) content for metallization.
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A recent study shows sheep benefit from solar panel shade during hot weather. These animals experience significantly less radiant heat exposure and cooler body temperatures. This finding supports the growing trend of solar grazing in American agriculture. Sheep provide a natural, chemical-free mowing service for solar facilities. The practice offers a dual benefit of animal welfare and renewable energy development.
A representative image of sheep grazing and resting beneath elevated solar panels at an agrivoltaic farm. Image credits: ChatGPT

Sheep under solar panels. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

An agrivoltaic solar farm. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

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shine brightly
The factory is expected to open in 2029.
Electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla is considering building a new $10.1 billion solar cell manufacturing facility in Fort Bend County, according to documents filed with the Texas Comptroller’s Office.
If approved, the plant, called Project Sun City, would be located on a 3,050-acre site off FM 762 and FM 1994 in Richmond, Texas. Tesla aims to finish construction in 2028, with the plant being operational by early 2029.
The plant will manufacture photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and modules that can convert sunlight into electricity. PV Magazine reports that the facility is "the largest single manufacturing investment Tesla has proposed on paper."

Advisory and consulting firm Kroll submitted the documents to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and noted if an agreement regarding tax incentives isn't reached, the project will exit Texas.
Tesla has requested credits under the Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) Act. The incentive program aims to attract large, capital-intensive economic development projects by lowering the property taxes an entity must pay over 10 years if it meets requirements related to job creation and investment. For example, pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. recently announced that its forthcoming $2.3 billion Houston-area manufacturing site is a qualified project under the JETI program.
Kroll predicts that the facility would create 9,712 new full-time jobs, over 1,100 construction jobs and billions of dollars in future property tax revenue, the documents show. Additionally, it says the project will spur $1.1 billion in local business expenditures and that Texas would increase its GDP by approximately $107 billion as a result of the project activities.

Tesla opened its $200 million Megafactory in Brookshire, Texas, last year. The company is continuing its goal to deploy 100 gigawatts of solar manufacturing in the U.S before the end of 2028. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 100 gigawatts is equal to about 8 percent of the country's power grid capacity.
—
This story was first published on our sister site EnergyCapitalHTX.
powering houston's future
Global computer giant Apple Inc. unveiled its Advanced Manufacturing Center in the Houston area last week, marking the completion of the second of three facilities the tech giant plans to launch in the city by the end of this year.
The 20,000-square-foot training center will welcome small- and medium-sized businesses for free training and educational sessions to "help accelerate smart manufacturing across America," according to a release from Apple. The company opened a similar Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit last year.
The AMC is part of Apple's 500,000-square-foot site in northwest Harris County. It also features a massive manufacturing site for Apple’s advanced AI servers and Mac mini. The facility was originally slated to open in 2026, but Apple began producing its advanced AI servers ahead of schedule in 2025.

The company said it plans to begin manufacturing its Mac mini at the site this year. The move will bring production of the compact desktop computer to the U.S. for the first time.
“In less than nine months, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into this Houston facility. We stood up a factory, started production, and shipped the first advanced AI servers off the line. Today, we’re thrilled to open our new Advanced Manufacturing Center, a place where businesses, workers, and students can learn the same innovative processes that we use to make Apple’s most groundbreaking products. And we’re pleased to begin Mac mini production later this year,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “We believe in American workers and American ingenuity, and we are moving at an incredible pace because we want to build more than great products. We want to build the future of American manufacturing.”

Apple's Houston expansion is part of a $600 billion commitment the company made to the U.S. in 2025.
The company originally announced plans in February 2025 to open a 250,000-square-foot Houston factory, but doubled the facility's planned size about a year later. Apple has reported that the factory will employ thousands of workers.
“Houston is grateful to Apple for this significant investment in our city. The Advanced Manufacturing Center will create local jobs and will continue improving the quality of life of Houston residents," Houston Mayor John Whitmire added in the release. "The AMC also recognizes our city as a growing technology hub and solidifies Houston’s leadership in the manufacturing sector of the United States.”
The opening comes on the heels of New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. officially naming Houston home of its new $2.3 billion, state-of-the-art manufacturing site.
—-
This story was originally published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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Agrivoltaics systems, which ingeniously merge solar energy with agricultural practices, have demonstrated remarkable advantages, particularly amid arid conditions. In Germany, potatoes grown beneath solar panels thrived, revealing an impressive eleven percent yield increase during a drought crisis. Similarly, studies from the Sonoran Desert highlight both enhanced crop production and effective water conservation.
A representative image of elevated photovoltaic panels providing partial shade for potato crops during an exceptionally hot and dry summer. Image credits: ChatGPT

An aerial picture of an agrivoltaics solar plant in Germany. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons 

Underground potato growth. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons 

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3 min read | Updated on August 20, 2026, 13:23 IST
SUMMARY
Trading volume in MMTC shares on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) jumped by 38.2 times to 3.45 crore shares compared with an average volume of 9.02 lakh shares.
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Balrampur Chini Mills shares rose as much as 14% to hit an intraday high of ₹740. | Image: Shutterstock
The Indian equity benchmarks held on to gains in noon deals on Thursday, August 20, on the back of a broad-based buying interest. The SENSEX rose as much as 604 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,226 led by gains in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Axis Bank and Infosys.
As of 12:44 pm, the SENSEX was up 561 points at 77,470 and NIFTY50 index advanced 140 points to 24,219.
Trading volume on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) jumped by 38.2 times to 3.45 crore shares compared with an average volume of 9.02 lakh shares.
As many as 17.42 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 93,000 shares traded daily in the past two weeks.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced that the government is imposing up to a 15-day stockholding limit for bulk buyers of sugar in an effort to cool down domestic prices and curb quantity hoarding.
This new limit will be effective from September 1, 2026, and shall remain in effect until the end of day on November 30, 2026, as per the official announcement.
Trading volume on the NSE jumped by 13.7 times to 1.33 crore shares compared with an average volume of 9.66 lakh shares.
Trading volume on the NSE rose by 7.9 times to 76.57 lakh shares compared with an average volume of 9.73 lakh shares.
As many as 2.28 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 70,000 shares traded daily in the past two weeks.
Trading volume on the NSE soared by 5 times to 64 lakh shares compared with an average volume of 13.08 lakh shares.
A total of 5.96 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE compared with average two week volume of 1.14 lakh shares.
Trading volume on the NSE jumped by 4.2 times to 37.47 lakh shares compared with an average volume of 8.98 lakh shares.
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• Qcells is expanding from supplying Microsoft with solar panels and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to collaborating to provide energy capacity to the grid surrounding data centers, enabling data center growth.
• Qcells is also exploring building virtual power plants (VPPs) for Microsoft that aggregate residential and commercial batteries, including in income-qualified households, easing peak demand for utilities while lowering family energy bills.
Expansion of Qcells-Microsoft alliance
Artificial intelligence is creating a new challenge for the electric grid: how to add computing capacity without shifting costs onto the communities that host it. Today, Qcells announced they are expanding their existing relationship with Microsoft to explore ways to pair AI infrastructure with new energy capacity. Rather than simply adding electricity demand to the grid, the proposed approach would develop new generation and flexible energy resources alongside Microsoft’s expanding data center footprint, helping support grid reliability while enabling future AI growth. The collaboration supports Microsoft’s Community-First AI Infrastructure initiative and Qcells’ growing role in developing the energy infrastructure that enables AI.
 
Under a proposed “bring-your-own-capacity” (BYOC) model, Qcells would develop and build new energy capacity that could be delivered either directly to Microsoft or to the local utility serving the surrounding community. Microsoft would fund the power required for its operations, helping ensure that new data center demand is matched with new energy resources. Qcells would bring its expertise across energy development, engineering, procurement, construction, and grid orchestration to help turn Microsoft’s interest into new energy infrastructure.
 
The companies are also exploring Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) that combine thousands of residential and commercial batteries into a single flexible energy resource. During periods of peak demand, those batteries can provide electricity to the grid when utilities need it most. Outside of those events, participating customers would use their batteries normally while benefiting from lower electricity bills and compensation for supporting grid operations.
 
Qcells plans to prioritize participation from income-qualified households, helping to ensure that the economic benefits of AI infrastructure extend into the communities where it is built. Microsoft Fabric and Azure are the unifying data layers that enable secure coordination of these distributed energy resources (DERs) at scale.
 
“As AI transforms the economy, we have an opportunity to rethink how the energy infrastructure supporting it is built,” said Andy Park, Global CEO of Qcells. “Our relationship with Microsoft began with American-made solar manufacturing and construction. Now we’re exploring how we can build the energy capacity needed for AI while creating lasting value for the communities that share the grid.”
 
Qcells began working with Microsoft in 2023 through an agreement for 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of American-made solar modules and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services. In 2024, the companies expanded that alliance to 12 GW, creating the largest solar supply and EPC agreement of its kind. This new collaboration represents the next phase of that relationship as the companies explore new approaches to supporting America’s growing AI infrastructure.
 
 
About Qcells 
 
Qcells is a leading clean energy company delivering end-to-end solutions—from advanced solar cell and panel manufacturing to intelligent energy storage systems and large-scale EPC services. As the largest silicon-based solar manufacturer in the United States, Qcells is expanding American production capacity and strengthening domestic supply chains to support the growing demand for reliable, scalable energy solutions across the utility, commercial, governmental, and residential markets. Qcells operates a global manufacturing network spanning the United States, Malaysia, and South Korea, with a growing footprint in America that supports domestic energy deployment and job creation. The company’s Complete Energy Solutions combine high-performance solar technology, advanced energy storage, proprietary energy management software and flexible financing options—helping customers plan, build and operate projects efficiently and at scale. Qcells also advances long-term sustainability and system performance through solar recycling operations and next-generation cell technology R&D. With an expanding international presence across four continents, Qcells is committed to delivering high-quality products, dependable execution and long-term partnerships worldwide.
 
For more information, visit: https://qcells.com/us
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A team at the University of New South Wales has developed a fabrication approach that curbs tiny flaws in copper zinc tin sulphide photovoltaic material, yielding a new voltage benchmark for the technology and a certified conversion rate of 12.4%. The findings, appearing in Nature Energy and spearheaded by Scientia Professor Xiaojing Hao from the university’s photovoltaic engineering school, tackle a long-standing defect issue that has capped kesterite performance.
Hao, working with Dr Ao Wang and Dr Kaiwen Sun, observed that copper atoms migrate away from their intended positions during the initial phase of the high-temperature production process, creating impurities and atomic-scale structural irregularities. By reinforcing copper-sulphur bonds during that early thermal step, the group maintained a uniform distribution of the material’s components, markedly cutting down on defects that capture photogenerated charges and diminish cell voltage.
Kesterite, the compound also known as CZTS, consists of copper, zinc, tin, and sulphur—elements that are plentiful and relatively benign compared with certain competing thin-film semiconductors. This has made it a promising option for tandem solar devices, which pair two distinct materials to harness a wider portion of the sunlight spectrum than silicon alone. In contrast to some alternatives for the upper layer of such cells, CZTS avoids reliance on scarce or hazardous substances, even though its efficiency has lagged behind its theoretical ceiling.
Hao has previously outlined a stepwise efficiency plan for bringing kesterite to market, suggesting that hitting roughly 20% efficiency would signal a real opening for commercial adoption, with interim milestones of 15% and 17% necessary to foster confidence. She has also emphasized that cost remains the primary obstacle for any emerging photovoltaic technology, pointing out that silicon has undergone extensive cost-reduction efforts that rivals must match.
Hao has contrasted her team’s strategy for kesterite with the industry’s approach to perovskite, another prominent tandem-cell contender. While much perovskite work has prioritized high efficiencies first and addressed stability later, Hao has characterized her group’s method as beginning with the essential traits of an ideal material—one that is abundant, eco-friendly, and durable—and then building performance from that base. She anticipates silicon will continue to lead the photovoltaic sector, with kesterite’s main opportunity in tandem configurations rather than as a standalone substitute, alongside other candidates like perovskites, which UNSW is also investigating.
The 12.4% achievement follows a series of UNSW studies on kesterite cells. In January 2025, the same team reported a record 13.2% efficiency for high-bandgap kesterite devices by adding hydrogen during the annealing process, a method targeting a separate category of high-bandgap cells designed for tandem top layers, after years of results hovering near 11%. The current work, however, focuses on boosting voltage in conventional CZTS cells by managing defects during fabrication itself, rather than applying post-production treatments.
Hao has stated that the larger goal is to determine what might succeed silicon, which she views as nearing its theoretical efficiency limit, and to devise ways to produce more electricity per unit area in space-constrained settings. The defect-control principle from this study, the researchers note, applies beyond CZTS to other multi-element semiconductors being developed for future solar uses, where similar elemental movement during production can cause analogous flaws. This frames the work as a broader design strategy rather than a single material outcome, potentially relevant to other tandem top-cell options under exploration.
This research contributes to a wider solar materials initiative at UNSW. The institution has also announced the discovery of an atomic-scale self-repair mechanism in silicon cells exposed to sunlight, and has cautioned that the solar industry might deplete global silver reserves within five years absent broader adoption of commercial-scale module recycling, citing related studies on panel component reuse. Additionally, UNSW has obtained AU$6.52 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to examine how inverter-based resources interact with grid protection systems, highlighting the university’s involvement across various facets of Australia’s renewable energy research landscape.
Even with this progress, CZTS efficiency still trails commercial silicon cells considerably, and the technology’s commercial viability hinges on further advancements before it can be used in tandem cell production.
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Agastya Green Energy Limited, a part of Anubhav Agarwal Group, announced its expansion into Integrated 12 GW Ingot and Wafer manufacturing at the Orvakal Industrial Area in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh with a project cost of approximately ₹7,800 crore. The expansion will complement the company’s existing solar cell and module manufacturing capabilities.
The project will establish 12 GW each of integrated ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity, strengthening Agastya Energy’s domestic manufacturing capabilities and enabling greater domestic value addition within India’s solar manufacturing sector. The Pooja marks the commencement of this next phase of growth, which is expected to generate 3,500+ employment opportunities and further Agastya Energy’s vision of building an integrated and globally competitive solar photovoltaic manufacturing platform in India.
Mr. Anubhav Agarwal, Chairman, AAG (Anubhav Agarwal Group), said, “At AAG, our focus is on building businesses that contribute meaningfully to India’s growth and advance our vision to empowering India’s journey towards energy security. Our ₹7,800 crore investment in Agastya Energy reflects our long-term conviction in India’s energy transition and our commitment to building globally competitive manufacturing capabilities at scale. We believe that strengthening domestic manufacturing will be critical to meeting India’s growing energy needs, reducing import dependence and creating a resilient energy ecosystem for the decades ahead.”
We are grateful to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for its continued support and commitment to fostering a conducive environment for large-scale manufacturing and renewable energy investments. We extend our sincere appreciation to Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, Hon. Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh; Shri Nara Lokesh, Hon. Minister of Human Resources Development, Information Technology, Electronics & Communication, Real Time Governance of Andhra Pradesh; and Shri T. G. Bharath, Hon. Minister of Industries, Commerce and Food Processing. Their leadership, vision and encouragement have been instrumental in advancing industrial growth, strengthening investor confidence and enabling transformative projects that contribute to India’s clean energy future.
Mr. Piyush Bichhoriya, Director, Agastya Energy, said, “The expansion into Ingot and Wafer manufacturing marks a critical upstream pillar of Agastya Energy’s integrated solar manufacturing strategy, complementing our solar cell and module capabilities and strengthening our end-to-end PV value chain. It will deepen our presence across the solar ecosystem, drive greater domestic value addition, and create synergies across manufacturing, IPP and EPC. As we scale, our focus remains on efficient execution and building a future-ready platform to support India’s growing renewable energy needs. In many ways, this is our contribution to Powering the Age of India.”
Mr. Bernhard Rack, CEO, Agastya Energy, said, “The global energy transition is creating a strong need for resilient, scalable and globally competitive solar manufacturing. This expansion will strengthen Agastya Energy’s capabilities across ingots, wafers, cells and modules. It marks an important step towards establishing India as a leading hub for clean energy manufacturing.” 
The integrated facility will bring together ingot, wafer, cell and module manufacturing, enabling greater domestic value addition, manufacturing efficiency and deeper integration across the upstream and downstream segments of the photovoltaic value chain. The project comes at a time when India continues to strengthen its solar manufacturing and renewable energy ecosystem, with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) progressively strengthening the ALMM framework, including ALMM List III, for solar PV modules, cells and wafers. In this context, the facility aligns with the Government of India’s Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat priorities, while supporting the country’s broader ambitions for renewable energy, energy security and a globally competitive domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem.

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Residential solar installers face a challenging reality: with the sunset of the Section 25D tax credit at the end of 2025, margins on cash sales are smaller than ever, and working with third-party ownership (TPO) financing providers adds complexity to all facets of the business, including sales, design and installation.
The additional work of complying with TPO record keeping processes also involves other businesses in the solar industry, like module manufacturers and distributors. Maintaining compliance with domestic content requirements and restrictions on doing business with foreign entities of concern require precise levels of materials management and inventory control that are well suited to an automated system. 
A new startup called Wave Sales is now offering an agentic AI platform that aims to address those issues and more: streamlining and adding value to the residential solar sales process, providing integrations with other popular platforms and planned future interfaces with distribution, finance, permitting and more.
Wave Sales is the creation of co-founders Colin Walsh and Vu Nguyen. Walsh brings years of experience in residential solar lending and lead generation through his time at Wave Solar, SolarReviews and Mosaic. Nguyen brings over a decade of experience building AI agents at places like Google and Capital One.
Walsh also previously served as the chief revenue officer at Amara NZero, parent company of solar distributor Sungry Solar, whose CEO Neel Desai is on board with Wave Sales as an advisor and customer.
In addition to Sunrgy, the company’s early customers include solar and energy storage installers across the United States. While its platform is specially designed with the solar sector in mind, Wave Sales is also taking on other home services providers like HVAC and roofing companies as customers.
While internal sales staff are often initially skeptical of automation because of fears the AI might take their leads (if not their jobs), Walsh says early adopters have quickly come to view the system as a collaborative teammate.
“You can build trust in a low-risk way with your team where they see it as an assistant, and actually, they start referring to it by name,” Walsh says. “’Sunny helped me close that deal’ or ‘Sunny booked an appointment on the calendar.’ The assistant becomes kind of like a teammate. You can throw more work at the teammate… it’s like a multiplier as you gain trust in the system”.
At one early customer, team members were wary of the AI until the agent began qualifying inbound web leads and live-transferring close-ready deals directly to representatives. Walsh notes that sales reps rapidly embrace the platform once they see it doing things like reviving stalled leads, recovering no-shows and capturing business during nights and weekends.
Another way of building a human-to-bot camaraderie with customers is through the customization options available. Clients can choose one of 3,000 available voices — or even use a custom voice print. 
Desta Rudolph, CEO of early customer Independent Energy, says the custom voice print is an essential tool in Hawaii, where his company installs residential and commercial solar. 
“This isn’t our first experience trying an AI agent,” Rudolph explained in a video interview with Wave Sales. “When people heard that voice that our [old] agent had, they hung up immediately. There’s a way that people speak in Hawaii. We have a very particular way of saying things in places: street names; city names. And to have that very, very local, genuine sounding voice…I was sold at the point that I heard its voice.”
Wave Sales says its technology addresses the limitations of standard AI bots by using a proprietary memory layer to maintain important information about customers. Walsh explained that most AI bots reset after a single interaction, losing context if a call drops or escalates. 
Wave Sales attempts to solve this with a proprietary memory layer designed for agents that act autonomously over time. This means the agent remembers its previous interactions with a caller. In the case of a residential solar customer, the agent maintains details about the progress on their installation. 
During the months-long process of a home solar installation, the agent that booked an initial appointment can later answer customer questions about permitting or post-installation warranties, using the full context of the project history without requiring the customer to repeat themselves. And if that customer calls back in the future to seek customer support, the agent will have the information it needs to ensure their needs are met quickly.
By supporting sales staff, capturing customers who call on off-hours and automating these “long-horizon” workflows, Wave Sales claims its platform can reduce soft costs by $1,000 to $2,000 per installation.
Walsh says Wave Sales is working on connections with industry-specific tools to help streamline operational workflows. The company recently signed a partnership with OpenSolar to explore integrations that allow agents to perform actions within users’ workspaces, such as looking up projects and accelerating the pre-appointment quoting process.
“We’re excited to partner with Wave Sales and introduce OpenSolar Pros to AI Agent services,” says Andrew McGuigan, general manager of the Americas at OpenSolar. “As installers look for new ways to improve efficiency and customer experience, AI services like these can help free up teams to focus on increasing sales and growing their business.”
Additionally, the company has held discussion with Google about using its Solar API to detect existing arrays from satellite imagery. The integration could provide installer teams with a way to target their response to inquiries toward offering service or repairs and selling add-ons like battery storage to customers with existing solar.
Looking ahead, Walsh predicts a shift in how homeowners procure these services, from manual web searches and phone calls toward tasks delegated to personal AI assistants. Wave Sales aims to be the booking gateway for this exchange.
“There’s inevitably going to be a world in the future where agents are booking home services appointments in addition to humans,” Walsh says. He imagines a future in which a human might start a transaction by saying something to their own AI agent like “Hey, I need to install solar in my house, and I want you to find me the best-rated solar installer that’s near me.”
In that situation, the Wave Sales agent would be the intermediary between the homeowner’s agent and the installer (or installers), managing rules about calendar availability, service performance and more to give validated results back to the agent that originates the request.
“That’s the future of this tool,” Walsh said. “It’ll be able to communicate with both humans and personal AI assistants, [connecting] agents that need tasks done with all the folks in the clean energy industry. We’re aiming to be the agent-to-agent layer within the clean energy industry.”
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POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Residents near Downey have spoken out about the new draft ordinance for Land Use and Development, stating their concerns for the integrity and fairness of the document when it comes to allowing renewable energy sources into the area. Bannock County Commissioners, Balanced Rock Power attorney Dustin Manwaring, and several locals supporting the new ordinance have discussed their reasoning why south Bannock County may be the right place for an industrial solar farm.
The History
In 2024, surrounding counties were faced with developers interested in Idaho land for renewable energy resources including solar, wind, battery storage and others. Bannock County didn’t have an ordinance in place to govern such projects and went into action drafting regulations.
Originally, a moratorium was put in place for 180 days while county commissioners and the Planning and Development Council worked to draft an ordinance. The county also held public hearings and workshops, but commissioners couldn’t agree on a particular ordinance, and ended up banning industrial solar projects all together.
Dustin Manwaring, attorney for Balanced Rock Power has had a seat at the table throughout the process for the new ordinance, and explained the last two years have been full of multiple drafts and changing decisions. He said the county decided to combine all of the land use ordinances into one, larger document for a comprehensive rewrite.
“There’s been a lot of effort at this point that has gone into this from the county’s perspective,” Manwaring ensured. “There’s been a lot of opportunity to show up and provide input.”
The public input doesn’t stop here, as the county will provide notice for future public hearings on the new 2026 Land Use and Development Ordinance (LUDO) in the coming months.
“Not having an ordinance to me is a limitation on a private property,” Manwaring said. “It’s to say you can’t use it at all, we have some state code in place that says you can’t limit the utilities development of an energy resource.”
The Area
The area most appealing for energy resource developers in Bannock County is near Downey, adjacent to the Populus Substation. Transmission lines included in the Gateway West project run in from Wyoming and connect through Idaho to Oregon. There’s also a south and north line that comes up from Utah and connects at the Populus Substation.
Looking at a map for energy development, companies are likely to want parcels closest to the energy source.
“It’s a huge opportunity for Bannock County to do this right,” Manwaring said. “The future land use map is designated in that area to be industrial or at least light industrial and commercial district.”
He added that county commissioners, along with the P & Z Council, are looking at the future of development in Bannock County and what could bring positive growth to the area. Without a specific project in mind, the new draft ordinance serves as a guide, with regulations to ensure any future applicant abides by Bannock County development standards.
Bannock County Commissioner Jeff Hough echoed that sentiment, stating, “Bannock County is open for business, we just want it to be the right kind of business,” and said the same goes for a potential AI data center on county land.
“We intially looked for robust transmission infrastructure,” said Melanie Falls, Vice President of Development at Balanced Rock Power. “But in addition, we look for relatively flat, constructible land, low impacts and conflicts, and a jurisdiction that will work with us to responsibly site the project.”
She added the land near Downey is mostly held by landowners that are ranchers and farmers who determined the land for the project is no longer viable for their operations. They instead see the long term revenue coming from the solar project as a way to continue sustaining their farmland on other properties.
The Opposition and Easing Concerns
Several local farmers in Downey have testified why they disagree with the new ordinance and feel the ban should stay in place. To read more on their story, click HERE.
Manwaring clarified the purpose of an ordinance is to protect the property owners and ease fears about their home value and rights to land use.
“Those closest to it [the development] have the most reason to be concerned and that’s fair and usually the way it is,” Manwaring said. “But that’s why we have ordinances. We have them to protect property owners and make sure that if you’re applying for a permit, that you check the boxes and that you’ve protected everybody around you.”
Many of the locals who oppose overturning the ban and rewriting the LUDO believe it’s in support of a particular project from Balanced Rock Power. Manwaring shot down that misconception, stating the rewrite doesn’t approve a particular project, it’s simply the preventive and first step in the process of ensuring each development in Bannock County is safe and catered to the county’s regulations.
The new ordinance also doesn’t automatically give permits to companies who apply with development proposals. They will be conditional use permits, much like the process one company has had to apply for in the City of Pocatello regarding an AI data center.
Another common concern among residents is the decrease in their property value should an industrial solar farm come into the area near their property.
“The facts don’t support that,” Manwaring said. “They don’t support that there’s a devaluation in land value, so they can make that accusation and we can show all day long that that is not what happens actually next to these projects.”
Idaho is also a net importer of electricity, meaning the state pulls in more power than it produces to go out across state lines. The default when it comes to these projects is that power will go where it’s needed and where it is bought and sold. It will go to the closest area first where it’s needed and out further if neccessary with a demand and purchase.
Similar backlash has occured decades ago when wind turbines suddenly became commonplace to see dotting the hills across Idaho. There have been changes to state policy over time to address public concerns such as the flashing lights on windmills at nighttime, catering to the public’s opinions on interference with their property. The same will go for the new LUDO for Bannock County when it comes to other renewable energy resources. Manwaring ensured the county is committed to public hearings and adjustments they believe are best for the county and its residents.
“We can’t be a ‘no’ county,” he said. “We’ve got to be part of the solution, if we want to have business and opportunities here. We have to figure out how to get more energy online, that’s critical to the development.”
Whether there’s a concern over wildfire danger, solar panel lifespan and removal, or others, Manwaring says the new LUDO addresses each concern in the renewable energy resources section. “The county isn’t ready for the right kind of development until you have a condition in place for each one of those concerns,” he said. “That’s where I think the county is trying to get to.”
“Currently, the estimated lifespan of a solar plant is about 40 years,” Falls said. “That’s based on today’s technology. Most ordinances provide regulations around decommissioning and have requirements so that the land is returned to its previous state.”
She explained the goal is to have a successful and useful life of the project, get the facilities removed and utilize their crews to return the land back to its original position. When asked if farmers could return the land to its original farming and ranching use following leasing to a solar plant, Falls said that it is possible.
No “Leaked” Documents
Locals opposing the ordinance also felt a sense of distrust with their county commissioners when one group discovered the draft ordinance had been shared with third party interests throughout the drafting process over the last two years. Immediately, Commissioner Hough and Bannock County made the document public.
Manwaring explained the use of the term “leaked” is incorrect in this context, ensuring that it is common practice for counties and cities to seek outside expertise from developers when drafting new ordinance.
“The ordinance was shared with a range of stakeholders in advance of broadly sharing the document with the public,” he said. “This provided early input and expertise from community members, industry and local government stakeholders. It is common practice for counties to seek input from renewable energy developers, along with other parties that have expertise.”
In Power County, the council asked Renewables Northwest to help draft their ordinance and held a workshop to hear from energy experts. Nothing about the collaboration between Balanced Rock Power and Bannock County Commissioners is unlawful.
“Even when that accusation came out, the commissioners immediately published it, to make sure if there was even an appearance of that, they’ll correct it,” Manwaring said. “There was always going to be a draft coming out, it was going to have public hearings, it would’ve corrected itself anyway. But I think they did a good job of making sure there’s just no appearance of that because it’s just been a long process.”
He added countless drafts have come out over the past two years. He said it’s become harder as time goes on to continue drafting as the county receives pressure from opposing citizens.
“It’s just very normal for a developer that has an active interest in the county to be the one at the table,” Manwaring said. “But they’re trying to bring folks in from all sides and make sure they are getting that input.”
Manwaring added on the topic of the accusations to the county commissioners that he believes they’ve done everything possible to keep the entire rewrite process fair, and correct immediately when accusations are brought up. “I don’t know what more to ask of them,” he said. “These are incredibly difficult and contentious decisions to make. They’re doing their very best to get through the process and to make it fair.”
The Project
Manwaring confirmed Balanced Rock Power’s involvement in the ordinance rewriting process, as the county has sought its expertise in renewable energy development and the company seeks to apply for a conditional use permit. Developers spend significant money in the preliminary phase before an ordinance in Bannock County is even set, including Balanced Rock.
“They want to work in ordinance so that they can get to the application phase,” he said. “There’s been other developers interested but not willing to put forth the effort, not willing to spend and invest. So there’s a lot of committment there from them from the start.”
The project, in early proposal stages by Balanced Rock, is called the Harmon Solar Project. It’s a 300-megawatt solar photovoltaic project with battery energy storage.
“It’s proposed to be on 2,600 acres of private property,” said Melanie Falls, Vice President of Project Development at Balanced Rock. “Of the 2,600 acres we anticipate a little more than it has to be covered in solar panels and related infrastructure. The remaining acreage will be set aside for wildlife corridors, setbacks, utility easement and roads.”
Falls added that based on the current proposal, a lot of the project won’t be visible from neighboring property lines primarily as a result of the topography of the site and low lying nature of the solar arrays.
“We also have a toolbox to work with alongside the county to further refine the location of the facilities to minimize impacts as much as possible,” she said.
Balanced Rock has a portfolio of approximately 5.5 gigawatts under advanced developments in renewable energy projects countrywide. Falls explained that each project is different depending on the jurisdiction, whether it’s private property or is near a substation, etc.
She said when working with land owners, Balanced Rock puts in front of them financial terms to give them a sense of whether or not leasing their land for solar panels would be financially worth their while. Commercial negotiations follow if a land owner is interested.
“Solar projects tend to be a passive use of land, they don’t produce much noise,” Falls said. “They have no odor and have very limited onsite activity. So long term, they’re quiet neighbors.”
Benefits to Solar Power in Bannock County
Residents in the area rightfully ask, “What benefits are there to a solar farm in my county?” There are several direct benefits provided by those involved in the ordinance writing process.
“They pay a kilowatt hour tax on the energy produced to the state of Idaho,” Manwaring explained. “It’s centrally assessed by the State Tax Commission. It comes out proportionally to the individual taxing districts in Idaho. The School District down there, the Library District, the Fire District down in the south county area will get an increased proportion coming back to them from these projects.”
Idaho has limitations that require benefits to come back to taxpayers in the form of tax relief. This means that if new funds come in from a project like the proposed solar farm and go back to a local district, they have to pass the savings on to property taxpayers.
“They can’t create a new line item in their budget and go buy something new, they have to pass on that savings to the property owner,” Manwaring explained. “It’s a significant benefit coming back in the whole to the county and to the property tax benefits.”
Secondary benefits to the project mostly include build out and overall growth to the county. The power generation from the solar farm would drive future growth of other industries in the area. It’s called co-locating a project, meaning building out a commercial or industrial district based on a neighboring development like a power-generating plant. Manwaring included more jobs and economic opportunity in the list of potential benefits to a renewable energy resource project in south Bannock County.
Talking to farmers was and continues to be a top priority for parties involved in this rewriting process. Manwaring says he’s heard all kinds of testimony, including those who wouldn’t be in the area on their property without the help of leasing their private property to a renewable energy company.
“One farmer in Power County told me he didn’t know how they would’ve made their land payment on their farm this year without that additional income,” Manwaring said.
Southeast Idaho Energy and Property Alliance (SEIEPA) and the Portneuf Resource Council are two local organizations working to pass the energy portion of the new ordinance. Board member Linda Engle emphasized several major benefits to allowing solar farm companies the ability to apply for Bannock County land.
“It preserves agricultural land for future generations, and solar power can be built on unused land and or low quality land and it brings a steady income for farmers in the area,” Engle said. “By leasing their land, it brings a reliable, long term income that in some cases will simply keep the farm alive.”
SEIEPA has 250 local residents who have already signed in support of the 2026 Land Use and Development Ordinance. Some are farmers who are struggling because their land is less productive than it once was and see leasing to solar companies as their way to stay afloat.
“The new ordinance also regulates many community concerns like safety, decommissioning, wildlife issues, fire and so on,” Engle said. “Every project will still have to have a conditional use permit evaluation.”
Engle reiterated that solar farms are quiet, non-permanent structures that could bring economic opportunities to the Downey area.
What Now?
Several weeks ago, the county planning development staff presented the latest draft of the ordinance to the commissioners. Throughout this week, the council is making technical corrections and tidy up the comprehensive LUDO document. Once the final version is ready, notice will be posted for public hearings and the draft published for everyone to see.
The Council will hold a hearing to take public comment and feedback and make recommendations. The county commissioners then have to hold a second public hearing in which the commissioners have the final say.
Bannock County is hoping to have a final ordinance approved by October of this year. According to Balanced Rock Power, their application for the Harmon Solar Project will be submitted as soon as they determine how their project aligns with the new ordinance. They will still have to seek approval for a conditional use permit from the county before any construction or further project approval processes could begin.
“As soon as the ordinance is finalized and approved, then we’ll have a roadmap of what our application needs to look like,” Falls said. “It’s hard for us to have everything pulled together until we know exactly what the requirements are.”
Balanced Rock Power wants to encourage residents to go to their website to learn more about the project. At harmonsolarproject.com, there is available information about the solar farm proposal as well as an email to send questions.
“We’re really interested in engaging in open and honest conversation, and we love to meet with folks who do have concerns to see if there’s a way for us to make adjustments to really adjust those concerns,” Falls said.
She also reiterated that approval of this new LUDO doesn’t de facto mean the Harmon Solar Project, or any other project, is automatically approved. The question at hand isn’t whether Balanced Rock is building a solar farm in Downey, rather, will the new ordinance be passed in the next few months that reopens Bannock County’s doors to industrial business ventures?
Local News 8 will continue following this story as it progresses and more details become available following public hearings for the new 2026 LUDO.
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Thursday, August 20, 2026
Australia’s largest gas pipeline company APA Group has unveiled plans to build a new large off-grid solar and battery project, underpinned by a deal to supply a mix of firmed renewables and gas to a copper, gold, and silver mining operation in remote regional Queensland.
APA said on Thursday that it had reached a final investment decision to build, own and operate the 72 megawatt (MW) Sybella Creek Solar Farm (SCSF) and the 52 MW 104 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) in Mount Isa.
The ASX-listed gas giant, which owns and operates more than 15,000 km of pipelines, says it will invest $259 million in the project, underpinned by an Energy Supply Agreement (ESA) with Ernest Henry Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of Evolution Mining, until mid-2046.
It will be the group’s second solar farm in the region, following on from the completion of the 88 MW Dugald River solar farm in 2024.
APA says that together with the company’s existing gas-fired Diamantina Power Facility, the solar and battery systems will provide “a holistic, lower emissions energy solution” for Ernest Henry’s operations, and improve its reliability at a lower cost.
“The BESS will enhance network reliability and resilience for Ernest Henry Operations, and more broadly, mining customers and the local community across the North West Power System,” the company says.
APA, like other vertically integrated energy companies, is increasingly moonlighting in the development, generation and supply of renewable energy, with a growing portfolio of contracted power generation including 342 MW of wind, 356 MW of solar and 75 MW of BESS, and a development pipeline of more than 1 gigawatt (GW).
“Our approach is to invest in reliable generation capacity while progressively integrating more flexible [gas power generation], renewable energy and energy storage solutions over time to support both system reliability and lower emissions intensity outcomes,” the company said.
“We also progressed engineering studies into remote microgrids (solar and battery systems) to replace diesel and gas electric alternators.”
The company has also marked the first full year of operation of the 45 MW solar farm and 35 MW BESS installed next to its Port Hedland gas-fired power station in Western Australia, and says it is in the process of adding more solar capacity at that project, as well as new reciprocating gas engines. 
APA CEO and managing director Adam Watson stressed that the gas giant – which also has 884 MW of gas power generation assets in its portfolio and is co-developing the 400 MW Brigalow gas peaking plant in Queensland – says its push into solar and battery storage driven by economics and customer demand.
“Very importantly … you don’t get any of these projects off the ground if your customer’s not generating a lower levelised cost of energy,” he told a webcast with analysts and media following the company’s results announcement.
“A thing that we’re really proud of is that we’ve got to deliver a customer with a solution, lower their cost, provide them with a really attractable renewable outcome, and have that firmed by the Diamantina Power Station.”
“In addition to supporting further efficiencies in the operation of the [existing gas plant], this project diversifies our customer base, supports ongoing earnings growth and will further improve energy security in Mount Isa,” Watson said in a separate statement.
“The project also builds further momentum in our remote power generation growth strategy.”
APA says construction of the Sybella solar and battery project is expected to start later this year, with project completion targeting mid-2028. And Watson says that it’s likely to be just the first in a range of projects that will use renewable energy and battery storage to help power mining and other remote operations.
This would fit with what is rapidly becoming the norm for remote mining operations, led by examples like the Bellevue gold mine in remote Western Australia, whose solar, wind and battery backed power supply has achieved average renewable shares of well above the 80% it targeted, often reaching into the 90% an average 93.8 per cent over February.
As Renew Economy has reported, a number of different off-grid mines are achieving very high level of renewables – usually much higher than predicted – with Lynas Gold achieving a record 95.7 per cent renewable share over the entire March quarter at its Mt Weld lithium mine.
Another lithium miner, the Kathleen Valley facility operated by Liontown Resources, has also achieved high share of renewables above 80 per cent on a consistent monthly basis, shielding it from the recent surge in diesel prices.
A key difference for APA is its existing gas generation platform and its designs on powering data centres, as well as traditional miners.
“When you think about about our remote strategy and use Sybella, which we announced today, as an example, that is a behind-the-meter solution,” Watson told the webcast on Thursday.
“So we are able to bring renewable power generation to the market with a battery and firmed by an existing facility.
“We’ve got a real skill set and capability in being able to bring that together efficiently and effectively for our customers. We’ve got multiple sites that are very attractive for behind-the-meter solutions that can either be used for power generation to support our power generation customers, or it can be used for data centres,” Watson said.
“We’re not trying to suggest that we’re just going to come and build something and connect you into the grid. We’re saying that we’ve got a lot of land, where you’ve got the supply of gas and the supply of electricity traversing, and yeah, that may be attractive for a data centre.”
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Sophie is editor of Renew Economy and editor of its sister site, One Step Off The Grid . She is the co-host of the Solar Insiders Podcast. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
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A research group from Germany and Austria has successfully manufactured slot-die-coated semitransparent organic PV (STOPV) modules with an aperture area of 210.25 cm².
The STOPVs incorporate a near-infrared-reflecting back electrode and a metal-free top electrode. Such devices have previously achieved light utilization efficiencies (LUEs) of up to 6% at the laboratory cell scale, but performance has typically declined substantially when scaled to larger modules.
“The novelty of our development lies in the innovative cell stack, and further, the successful upscaling to modules on areas larger than 200 cm2,” said corresponding author Uli Würfel to pv magazine. “Positively surprising was the fact that we could advance from small-area spin-coated cells to slot-die coated modules on these larger areas of more than 200 cm2 almost without any loss in performance.”
To fabricate the large STOPV modules, the researchers used 16 × 27.5 cm² glass substrates and created 116 monolithically interconnected cell stripes, each 1.25 mm wide.
The cell was fabricated with the stack glass | titanium dioxide (TiO₂) | silicon dioxide (SiO₂) | titanium dioxide (TiO₂) | aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) | silver (Ag) | aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) | zinc oxide (ZnO) | PV-X Plus | poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT) (HTL-X) | poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT) (SCA2003).
Glass served as the substrate and the TiO₂ and SiO₂ layers formed the optical dielectric stack. The AZO | Ag | AZO layers constituted a transparent, near-infrared (NIR)-reflecting electrode, while ZnO served as the electron-transport layer. PV-X Plus was theorganic absorber. PEDOT:PSS served as the hole-transport layer (HTL) and PEDOT: PSS (SCA2003) served as the metal-free top electrode.
The back electrode was deposited by sputtering, while the ZnO electron-transport layer, PV-X plus absorber, and two PEDOT: PSS layers were deposited by slot-die coating. Three laser-scribing steps were used to pattern the layers and form the monolithic series interconnection, after which the modules were annealed at 110 C for 10 minutes. The manufactured modules underwent current-voltage (I–V) testing at different illumination intensities, optical transmission and reflection measurements, and defect analysis using illuminated lock-in thermography (ILIT) and electroluminescence (EL) imaging.
In addition, long-term stability testing was conducted separately on smaller 11.4 cm² rigid modules fabricated on glass substrates with distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) back electrodes that were aged under continuous illumination for more than 1,000 hours. Separate 11.4 cm² flexible modules fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates with DBRflex electrodes were subjected to bending tests up to 1,275 cycles around a 15 mm-diameter rod. 
The testing showed that the module with the highest LUE of 4.0% was reached with a photoactive layer thickness of 60 nm, reaching a power conversion efficiency of 9.3% and an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 43.2%. The flexible, smaller cells achieved average LUEs of 4.1%, an efficiency of 7.9%, and an AVT of 52.1%.
“The next steps are to enhance visual transmission further and to transfer these results to roll-to-roll manufacturing technology,” said Würfel. “There, the deposition techniques used in this work remain the same (i.e., sputtering for the near-infrared reflecting electrode and slot-die coating for all other layers), but the substrate is flexible, and the coating process is continuous.”
The module was presented in “Toward scalable semitransparent organic photovoltaics: Slot-die-coated 210-cm2 modules with visible transmission of up to 50% and LUE up to 4%,” published in Joule. Researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the University of Freiburg, and Austria’s University of Innsbruck have participated in the study.

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Distributed energy infrastructure company Dimension Energy has raised $857 million in additional capital to expand its distributed solar platform. The financing includes a $200 million increase in its corporate credit facility and a $657 million construction-to-term debt and tax equity package. This financing will support 29 distributed solar projects totaling 149 MW across Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The company said the additional capital will help move projects from development into construction. Dimension Energy currently has more than 600 MW of distributed energy assets operating or under construction and aims to reach 1 GW of operating assets by 2028. 
EDF power solutions North America has signed two 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Nevada utility NV Energy for the Winston Energy Project in Lyon County, Nevada. The project will combine 400 MW AC of solar PV with a 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). Commercial operations are targeted for October 2029. EDF said the project will supply electricity to NV Energy customers. On completion, it is expected to generate closer to 1,110,000 MWh annually. 
ENGIE has signed a 48 MW AC solar PPA with data center company QTS to supply renewable electricity to the latter’s data center operations in Irving, Texas. The agreement is linked to a separate long-term PPA between ENGIE and independent power producer (IPP) ABEI Energy for power from the Lubio Solar project in Kaufman County, Texas. The 61 MW AC Lubio Solar Project is expected to generate about 150 GWh of electricity annually once operational. For ABEI, the deal is its first renewable energy transaction with ENGIE in the US. 
“By partnering with ENGIE, we’re able to support reliable, renewable energy procurement while simplifying delivery through our retail supply arrangement. Collaborations like this help us align clean energy procurement with the operational needs of our data centers,” said QTS Vice President Energy and Sustainability, Travis Wright. 
US tax equity investment firm Foss & Company has closed around $150 million in Section 48E tax equity investment for a portfolio of distributed energy projects in Illinois. A joint venture (JV) between Summit Ridge Energy and Apollo Global Management owns this portfolio. It includes community solar projects eligible for Domestic Content, Energy Community, and Low-Income tax credit adders. The transaction is among the first announced tax equity deals under the new Section 48E Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit framework and required the companies to address Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). More than half of the projects are expected to participate in Illinois’ Adjustable Block Program, supported by 15- or 20-year renewable energy credit streams, stated Summit Ridge.  
Brookfield, a global investment firm, and La Caisse, a Canadian institutional investor, have completed the acquisition of Canadian renewable energy producer Boralex. The buyers acquired all outstanding Boralex Class A shares for CAD 37.25/share in cash, following the previously announced agreement (see North America Solar PV News Snippets). Boralex will continue to operate as an independent company following the acquisition. As a result, Boralex’s shares have been delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Boralex has about 3.8 GW of operating wind, solar, hydro, and battery storage assets across Canada, France, the US and the UK. 
US-based perovskite-silicon solar manufacturer Tandem PV has acquired Oregon-based nexTC Corporation, bringing its thin-film metal oxide coating technology, intellectual property (IP) and expertise in-house. The move, Tandem PV explained, aims to give the company greater control over a key manufacturing process as it scales toward commercial production. nexTC specializes in solution-based transparent oxide coatings that help manage charge transport in tandem solar cells while allowing sunlight to reach the underlying silicon layer. Tandem PV said the technology is important for module efficiency, durability and manufacturability. nexTC Founder and CEO Cory Perkins will join Tandem PV following the acquisition. Tandem PV recently launched its 65,000 sq. ft. commercial demonstration factory in Fremont with close to 40 MW annual nameplate capacity (see Tandem PV Opens 40 MW Perovskite-Silicon Fab In US).  
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The California legislature moved several high-profile clean energy bills through key fiscal committees before the final floor votes of the legislative session.
The legislative action comes as state energy prices continue to escalate. California electricity rates doubled over the past decade, driving interest in distributed generation, virtual power plants, and small-scale mobile hardware.
Several major bills advanced out of committee, while a data access bill stalled in the Senate.
Plug-in
Senate Bill 868, authored by Senator Scott Wiener, advanced out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and heads to the Assembly floor. The legislation clears regulatory hurdles for plug-in balcony solar systems up to 1,200 W. The bill allows residents to plug small systems into standard household outlets, bypassing traditional utility interconnection applications and local permits.
A single 400 W balcony system can cover roughly 14% of an average apartment’s electricity usage, saving about $250 per year, said analysis from Environmental Working Group. The bill sustained extensive amendments in committee that advocates are currently analyzing.
Community solar
Assembly Bill 1813, authored by Assemblymember Christopher Ward, passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and moves to the Senate floor. The bill reforms the state’s stalled community solar landscape by directing regulators to value community solar and storage using the California Public Utilities Commission’s Avoided Cost Calculator.
The calculator itself remains a focal point of industry debate. While rooftop solar installers criticized the CPUC’s use of the Avoided Cost Calculator under NEM 3.0 for slashing residential export credits, community solar advocates view applying the tool to front-of-the-meter projects as a necessary step forward. Under AB 1813, pairing solar with battery storage allows projects to discharge during peak evening hours, capturing the higher values defined by the calculator to make community solar financially viable.
A recent study from UCLA showed that the state built the calculator tool a decade ago but regulators refused to use it for community solar valuation, leaving projects without a workable compensation framework. Grid modeling from Aurora Energy Research indicates deploying 5.4 GW of community solar and storage over 20 years under this model would generate $6.5 billion in systemwide electricity cost savings.
San Diego Community Power and Peninsula Clean Energy endorsed the bill, dismantling the primary “cost shift” argument raised by investor-owned utilities. Utilities routinely claim that community solar bill credits shift grid maintenance costs onto non-participating customers. However, endorsement from two major Community Choice Aggregators, whose explicit mandate is to protect consumers from rising electricity costs, signals that the bill’s valuation model effectively protects non-subscribers while driving down systemwide rates. 
Virtual power plants
Two Virtual Power Plant bills authored by Sen. Josh Becker advanced out of Assembly Appropriations. Senate Bill 913 requires the CPUC to establish a valuation framework for behind-the-meter battery storage systems exporting energy to the grid during peak stress. The bill pairs with a pending CAISO proposal that allows customer-sited batteries to qualify for Resource Adequacy based on their full export potential, rather than limiting valuation strictly to on-site load reduction.
“SB 913 is an important step because fleets of customer devices are currently only allowed to participate in the RA market to the extent those devices reduce the consumption of each individual customer,” said CALSSA Executive Director Brad Heavner. “By design, the change will ensure rate reduction because these resources would only be chosen in the market when they are available at lower cost than competing resources.”
Senate Bill 905 establishes a grid utilization metric to measure the load factor on distribution circuits, exposing where existing capacity can host additional load without physical grid expansion.
“Expanding the size of grid equipment to serve a small number of hours of higher usage wastes ratepayer dollars,” said Heavner. “Instead, we can get more out of the grid we already paid for by harnessing batteries and appliance controls in the hours when usage peaks.”
The VPP advances follow state lawmakers allocating additional funding to the Demand Side Grid Support program, extending participation through the 2026 season after available funds nearly ran out.
“Today’s votes in the Assembly Appropriations Committee are a big win for Californians,” said Brandon Garcia, California Director at Advanced Energy United. “SB 913 and SB 905 are about giving consumers more control over their energy use and making better use of the grid we already have. Californians think now is the time to get these smart, affordable solutions across the finish line, with 70% supporting the use of personal or community energy devices to lower bills and 51% supporting the state better managing the electricity it has to address electricity challenges.”
Smart meters
While four clean energy bills moved forward, Assembly Bill 1787 failed to pass out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill would have required utilities to provide real-time smart meter data access to consumers.
“At the same time, it’s incredibly disappointing that the Senate Appropriations Committee failed to pass AB 1787,” said Garcia. “It’s reckless to leave consumers in the dark about how much energy they’re using and when they’re using it. 82% of voters agree and support utilities giving consumers access to their energy data, yet lawmakers just passed up an opportunity to give the voters what they want.”
The active bills face final floor votes in their respective chambers before heading to the governor’s desk.
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Scalable fabrication of perovskite solar modules is hindered by processing inconsistencies and moisture-induced degradation. Although classic coordination solvents form thermodynamically stable intermediate phases with lead iodide (PbI₂) under inert gas atmospheres, they are highly hygroscopic in ambient conditions. Moreover, due to minimal entropy change, this phase is difficult to remove during annealing, leading to micropores and unwanted phases. Here we introduce an enthalpy–entropy competition strategy for scalable, humidity-tolerant perovskite printing, in which dimethyl sulfoxide/N-methylpyrrolidone is replaced by N-butylpyrrolidone. N-butylpyrrolidone forms strong carbonyl–PbI₂ coordination at ambient temperatures (enthalpy-driven), yet readily dissociates on heating (entropy-driven), facilitating easier formamidinium iodide embedding and intermediate-phase protection. The strategy yields perovskite solar modules with certified power conversion efficiencies of 23.97% in a 100-cm² rigid module and 19.71% in a flexible counterpart. Encapsulated devices retain 80% of initial performance after 1,440 hours under the double 85 condition (85 °C, 85% relative humidity), demonstrating outstanding operational durability.
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All the data in the paper were derived from our group experiments and are therefore available. These data are published alongside the paper. Source data are provided with this paper.
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A portion of this work is based on the data obtained at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF) and SSRF. We thank the 1W1A-Diffuse X-ray Scattering Beamline of BSRF (https://cstr.cn/31109.02.BSRF.1W1A) and BL16B1, BL02U2 and BL03HB of SSRF for providing technical support and assistance in GIWAXS data collection.
We thank the following for support: National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant nos. 2024YFF1401100 and 2024YFB3815200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant nos. 52527804, 52573277, 52403323 and 22461142139), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (grant no. 20242BAB24002), Hebei Province Central Guidance Fund for Local Science and Technology Development (grant no. 254Z4301G), Nanchang University Interdisciplinary Research Funding Program (grant no. 202505300006), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (grant no. JCYJ20241202124937050) and the State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials.
These authors contributed equally: Zhaoyang Chu, Junliang Li, Jiaju Gao.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Film Energy Chemistry for Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory, Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
Zhaoyang Chu, Junliang Li, Jiaju Gao, Sihao Li, Zongyi Gu, Yihuan Xie, Yaling Luo, Xiangchuan Meng, Xiaotian Hu & Yiwang Chen
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Fluorine and Silicon for Energy Materials and Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
Baojin Fan & Yiwang Chen
College of Chemistry and Materials, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, China
Zhi Xing & Yiwang Chen
College of Materials and Energy, Guang’an Institute of Technology, Guang’an, China
Hongxiang Li
Key Laboratory for Advanced Optoelectronic Integrated Chips of Jiangsu Province, Peking University Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, Nantong, China
Xiaotian Hu & Yiwang Chen
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X.H. and Y.C. directed and supervised the project. Z.C. and X.H. conceived of and designed the experiments. Z.C. and X.H. completed the writing of the paper. Z.C., J.L., Y.X., Z.G. and J.G. fabricated the PSMs. Z.C., S.L., B.F. and Y.L. fabricated the PSCs. Z.C., J.L., J.G. and H.L. characterized the GIWAXS. Z.C., Z.X., Z.G. and X.M. characterized the various photoelectric properties. All authors contributed to discussions and finalizing the paper.
Correspondence to Xiaotian Hu or Yiwang Chen.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Synthesis thanks Yonghua Chen, Jingrui Li and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Alexandra Groves, in collaboration with the Nature Synthesis team.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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Chu, Z., Li, J., Gao, J. et al. An enthalpy–entropy competition strategy enables moisture-stable and scalable perovskite photovoltaics. Nat. Synth (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01142-0
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Received: 21 December 2025
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Published: 17 August 2026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01142-0
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