JinkoSolar has announced that its self-developed N type TOPCon perovskite tandem solar cell has achieved a conversion efficiency of 34.82%, according to certification by the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The achievement exceeds the company’s previous record of 34.76% for a similar tandem cell architecture and marks the 33rd time that JinkoSolar has set a new world record for solar cell efficiency and module power output. According to the company, the latest efficiency milestone was driven by innovations across several key technologies. These include a dual layer composite passivation contact structure for N type TOPCon cells, multidimensional interface passivation technology, gradient crystallisation kinetics control strategies, and enhanced optical coupling and light management technologies. The result represents a significant step towards the large scale commercial deployment of perovskite tandem solar cells, a technology widely viewed as one of the most promising pathways for improving photovoltaic performance beyond the limits of conventional silicon based solar cells. JinkoSolar, which was the first photovoltaic manufacturer to achieve large scale mass production of N type TOPCon technology, continues to invest in both TOPCon technology development and next generation perovskite tandem cell research. The company said the new efficiency record further demonstrates the technical viability and industrialisation potential of combining TOPCon and perovskite technologies, supporting efforts to deliver higher efficiency solar modules for utility scale and commercial applications. Author: Bryan Groenendaal
6,900 solar panels land in Constantí, an energy leap that will not go unnoticed. This project could forever change the image of the municipality. The processing of a new photovoltaic plant is underway in Constantí, according to official data. With a volume of almost 7,000 panels, the initiative arrives at a time when renewable energy is gaining momentum in the Tarragonès region. The solar plant will occupy a strategic space within the Constantí municipality, integrating into rural areas that until now had been used for agricultural or forestry purposes. With 6,900 panels, the affected area will be notable, and residents are already beginning to ask how this will affect their daily lives. The panels, which will shine under the sun of the Costa Daurada, will change the appearance of part of the municipality. But not everyone sees the project negatively: for many, it is the gateway to cleaner energy and an opportunity to generate local employment. The 6,900 photovoltaic panels will enable the generation of significant energy capacity, enough to supply a good part of the region’s needs. This represents an important step toward energy independence and the reduction of pollutant emissions. This installation is expected to be part of a broader set of renewable energy projects in Tarragona and surrounding areas. The goal: for the territory to become a benchmark hub for green energy. The project is in the administrative processing phase, involving specialized companies and approval from the competent authorities. The path is not free of obstacles, but the will to move forward is clear. The residents of Constantí express diverse opinions: while some advocate for modernization and environmental respect, others fear the visual impact and loss of natural spaces. The debate is underway. The reality is that Constantí is about to experience a solar revolution. Who knows if next time you pass through the area, you will not only see fields but a sea of panels illuminating the region. Source of the article: Editorial | ACN Contenidos asistidos por IA Los artículos de Modernet Digital se redactan con la asistencia de motores de inteligencia artificial. Todos los contenidos están supervisados y validados por el equipo editorial. Imágenes y materiales gráficos Algunas imágenes publicadas han sido generadas íntegramente por IA o son recreaciones contextuales de imágenes reales. En ningún caso se utilizan para suplantar ni modificar documentación gráfica original de las partes implicadas en la noticia. Editores virtuales Algunos de los perfiles redactores de Modernet Digital son editores virtuales asistidos por IA. Se identifican como tales en su biografía. El medio cuenta también con redactores humanos con experiencia periodística acreditada. Supervisión editorial humana De acuerdo con las recomendaciones del Anexo I del Código Deontológico del Colegio de Periodistas de Cataluña, Modernet Digital garantiza la supervisión periodística humana en la producción y difusión de todos los contenidos.
Swiss electrification company ABB has launched a new power conversion portfolio for the solar PV and battery energy storage system (BESS) industries. The new portfolio, dubbed ‘Proteus’, shares a name with a line of PV and battery inverters belonging to Gamesa Electric; ABB acquired Gamesa Electric last year. ABB noted that the new Proteus portfolio will include products for both the solar PV and BESS sectors. Get Premium Subscription Products for the former industry include 4.7MVA central inverters that ABB claims can deliver conversion efficiency of 99.45%, which are the same benchmarks set by the Gamesa Electric line of PV inverters. BESS products include bi-directional converter stations and “advanced control systems” that can facilitate services like grid-forming and black-start operation. “The global energy transition requires proven, scalable and reliable power conversion solutions,” said Daniel Gerber, business line manager of renewable power at ABB, who noted that the company has installed more than 120GW of power conversion capacity to date. While the company has not provided further technical details on its new products, it said that it would present its new Proteus solar inverter at next week’s Intersolar Europe event, to be held from 23-25 June in Munich, Germany. The acquisition of Gamesa Electric and launch of the Proteus portfolio is also significant as this marks ABB’s re-entry into the power electronics sector, from which it divested its remaining assets in March 2020. Following the Gamesa Electric acquisition, Gerber said that ABB would look to “capture growing demand” for products like inverters that are necessary to deploy solar PV on the scale necessary to facilitate the energy transition. This week, ABB described solar PV as “the most scalable and cost-competitive clean energy source”. The news also follows the passage of an important milestone for the European renewable energy sector: according to PV Tech Market Research, Europe now has more than 100GW of operational inverter manufacturing capacity. Earlier this week, PV Tech Market Research’s Mollie McCorkindale told PV Tech that Europe is “a world leader” in the technology, at a time where ABB is looking to re-enter the sector.
SolarEnergies.ca has published a new 2026 guide for Abbotsford homeowners, farm operators, and small businesses weighing solar panel installation under changing BC Hydro rebate and self-generation rules. The guide, titled “Solar Panels Abbotsford 2026: Cost, Rebates, Fraser Valley Roofs And Farm Loads,” focuses on the local mix that makes Abbotsford different from a standard urban solar market: suburban roofs, rural acreages, barns, shops, EV charging, heat pumps, and business-rate loads often exist side by side. The new resource comes at a practical moment for B.C. solar buyers. BC Hydro says solar PV projects in the province typically cost about $2,000 to $3,000 per kW DC installed, with a 10 kW residential system often falling around $20,000 to $30,000 before rebates. BC Hydro also lists residential solar rebates worth up to $5,000 for eligible systems, while business accounts use a separate program with solar rebates up to $10,000 and battery storage rebates up to $10,000 for qualifying projects. SolarEnergies.ca says those distinctions matter in Abbotsford because a barn roof, shop roof, farm meter, or mixed-use account can change the rebate conversation. “Abbotsford is a good example of why solar advice cannot stop at roof size,” Vitaliy Lano, owner of SolarEnergies.ca, stated. “A large sunny roof can still be a poor quote if the proposal ignores the meter, the load, the rebate category, trenching, or the way BC Hydro treats exported power. The goal of the guide is to help people ask better questions before money is on the table.” The Abbotsford guide explains that solar can make sense for higher-use homes with EV charging, heat pumps, electric hot water, shops, barns, or farm loads, but warns that the strongest designs are tied to real electricity use rather than the maximum number of panels that can fit on a roof. For rural and agricultural properties, the guide points readers toward structural review, service capacity, meter configuration, wire runs, and permit responsibility as early quote questions, not afterthoughts. The post also addresses new timing pressure in the B.C. solar market. Since June 1, 2026, BC Hydro says installations must be completed by a Home Performance Contractor Network member for solar and battery rebate eligibility. Starting July 1, 2026, new BC Hydro self-generation customers export excess generation at 10 cents per kWh under Rate Schedule 2289, with transition rules for existing net metering and rebate customers. SolarEnergies.ca says this makes self-consumption, system sizing, and quote assumptions more important for buyers comparing proposals. “The export rate does not mean solar is suddenly bad,” Lano commented. “It means the math has to be honest. Power used on site and power exported to the grid are not the same financial story. For Abbotsford homes and rural properties, that difference can shape the right system size.” The guide includes cost planning tables for 5 kW, 8 kW, 10 kW, and 12 kW-plus systems, plus a production section based on BC Hydro’s guidance that a typical 10 kW residential system in B.C. can generate about 10,000 to 12,000 kWh per year. It cautions that production and bill value are not the same thing. Actual savings depend on roof orientation, shading, seasonal production, rate structure, taxes, basic charges, direct on-site use, and how much electricity is exported. SolarEnergies.ca also highlights an often-missed local issue: permits. The City of Abbotsford says building permits help make sure construction meets structural, safety, land-use, and code requirements. The new guide advises readers to ask who handles the City of Abbotsford building permit, electrical permit, inspections, utility paperwork, and final documents before choosing an installer. “A clean solar quote should make the boring details visible,” Lano added. “If the proposal is vague about permits, service upgrades, roof structure, meter type, or battery backup circuits, that is not a small gap. Those are the details that protect the buyer.”
The new Abbotsford solar guide also includes a SolarEnergies.ca calculator callout, installer comparison advice, and a reminder that available financing options may include 0% financing with $0 down payment depending on approval and program terms. SolarEnergies.ca can connect homeowners with certified installers who have completed more than 14,000 successful installs across Canada, giving readers a way to compare equipment, system size, warranties, financing, installation approach, and final numbers side by side. ### For more information about Solar Energies In Canada SEIC, contact the company here:
Solar Energies In Canada SEIC Vitaliy Lano 2368680609 admin@solarenergies.ca If you believe this article contains misleading, harmful, or spam content, please let us know.
Chinese PV module manufacturer JinkoSolar announced it achieved a power conversion efficiency of 34.82% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell. The company said the results have been certified by China’s Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In its previous attempts, JinkoSolar achieved a cell efficiency of 34.76% for the same device configuration. “This efficiency breakthrough is attributed to JinkoSolar’s innovations in multiple core technologies, including the dual-layer composite passivation contact structure for N-type TOPCon cells, multidimensional interface passivation technology, gradient crystallization kinetics control strategies, and enhanced optical coupling and light management technologies,” the company said in a statement. “This milestone marks a critical step forward in the industrialization of next-generation perovskite tandem technology.” No more technical details on the cell improvement were disclosed. Chinese manufacturer Longi holds the world record for perovskite-tandem solar cell efficiency, achieving 34.85% efficiency in April 2025. This cell device was developed in partnership with China’s Soochow University and was described in the paper “Efficient perovskite/silicon tandem with asymmetric self-assembly molecule,” which was recently published in nature.
Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
U.S. chemical company SABIC has introduced NORYL V0150TW and V0150IR2, two thermoplastics designed to replace metal and traditional polymers in photovoltaic components like microinverters, solar tracker boxes, and junction boxes. The NORYL V0150TW (absorptive) and V0150IR2 (transmissive) resins are formulated to allow manufacturers to shift from ultrasonic welding or adhesive bonding to laser welding. This shift eliminates curing-dependent bonding materials to reduce production cycle times and lower overall assembly costs. Compared to metal, these materials reduce component part size by up to 40%, cut weight by up to 35%, and lower overall material usage by up to 30%. The resins feature a thin-wall flame retardancy rating of UL94 V0 5VA at 1.5 mm, maintain mechanical integrity in operating temperatures up to 150°C, and provide up to 15 years of outdoor service life. The new NORYL grades are backed by the company’s global supply network, which relies on key polyphenylene ether (PPE) resin manufacturing and compounding hubs in Selkirk, New York, and Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands. Now globally available, these materials recently earned a Silver 2026 Edison Award for innovation.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Be part of the high-level European conference on solar and energy storage, exploring bankable BESS projects, warranties, and energy management for residential and C&I sectors Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy. Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way! We are participating in Intersolar 2026 again this year! Visit us at our Booth Hall 2 A2.250 to discuss the latest trends within the photovoltaic industry with the pv magazine team. June 23-25, 2026 | MUNICH, GERMANY
Save Share Havana, Cuba – In an electronics store in central Havana, Camilo Merejon carefully examines several photovoltaic systems displayed on the floor. Around him, customers move between solar panels, lithium batteries and solar-powered fans, comparing prices and asking sales staff for information. The 61-year-old taxi driver studies the price tags closely. A three-kilowatt solar system costs $3,678, while a 10-kilowatt installation exceeds $10,000. "To cover my basic needs, maybe three kilowatts would be enough" he says. "My Italian friends want to help me buy one, but it's extremely expensive." Like millions of Cubans, Camilo has grown accustomed to living without electricity for long periods. On the day he visits the store, his neighbourhood of Regla has been without power for 26 hours.
Since the beginning of 2026, Cuba has been facing one of the worst energy crises in recent history. Long dependent on Venezuelan oil, the island now struggles with fuel shortages and an ageing electrical grid weakened by decades of underinvestment. Across much of the country, blackouts last more than 12 hours a day. Faced with this reality, Cubans are adapting however they can. But the crisis is not affecting everyone equally. Those with savings, successful private businesses or financial support from relatives abroad are investing in solar panels and lithium batteries. Others are turning to charcoal and homemade stoves. The energy crisis is creating a new fault line within Cuban society.
On the side of a dusty road in Cotorro, on the outskirts of Havana, bags of charcoal are stacked beside homemade stoves built from metal sheets. Cars occasionally slow down and pull over to buy charcoal. Amora Rodriguez sells charcoal seven days a week and says she has never seen so much demand. "More and more people are buying it because of the power outages " she says. "Things are becoming increasingly difficult." A bag of charcoal costs around 2,500 Cuban pesos – roughly $4 at the informal exchange rate, or nearly half an average monthly salary. "People have to find alternatives," she adds. The trend is particularly visible in Havana's working-class neighbourhoods and across the rest of the country. While some residents of central Havana still benefit from a piped gas network, most Cubans rely on gas cylinders and with current shortages, they have become increasingly difficult to obtain. Instead, many families have turned to charcoal for cooking. Inside their home in Cotorro, Cari and Idalberto Espinoza prepare lunch. In the kitchen, a pressure cooker sits atop a charcoal stove while thick smoke slowly rises towards the ceiling. "We have very little gas, so we're forced to cook with charcoal," says Cari. The couple only began using this method a few months ago. "It takes longer and produces a lot of smoke. But we don't have a choice," she said. "Most people cook with charcoal here now."
Several kilometres away, along Havana's iconic Malecón waterfront, a different reality is taking shape. Under the midday heat, workers move large photovoltaic panels across the roof of the Fuego Lento restaurant overlooking the sea. Several floors below, customers eat lunch while technicians drill, bolt and connect the new installation. Josecal Duarte, one of the technicians overseeing the project, has witnessed demand surge. "More and more people are importing solar panels and batteries. They're buying them for their businesses, for their homes, to survive." A 615-watt solar panel costs about $160 before transport and installation. Most homes and businesses require several panels, along with lithium battery systems capable of storing electricity generated during the day. Inside the restaurant, owner Aris Lopez Torres says she spent years searching for ways to keep her business afloat. First came a generator, then lithium batteries, but rising fuel prices and increasingly frequent blackouts quickly exposed the limits of both options. "It was either this or close the restaurant," she says. "Without electricity, we can't do anything." The photovoltaic installation will not cover all of the restaurant's needs, but it allows essential equipment to keep operating. "The refrigerators are the priority," she explains. "We're only using one air conditioner out of three now. It's survival economics because the situation is very serious." Across the capital, solar installation companies and battery retailers are struggling to keep up with demand. "Demand keeps growing," says Mario Perdomo, who works for MIDICAS, a company that installs solar systems throughout Cuba. "People want to be prepared when the power goes out," adds Elizabeth Diego, a saleswoman in central Havana. For a large part of the Cuban population, however, these technologies remain out of reach.
Some institutions are also trying to adapt. In Havana's El Cerro district, a retirement convent has begun a modest transition towards solar energy. Thanks to donations from churches in Florida, it has installed a few photovoltaic roof panels and acquired several rechargeable solar lamps. In the convent courtyard, Sister Concepción Sánchez places one of the lamps in the sun so it can recharge before nightfall. But the system remains far from sufficient. "We are only beginning a small solar project, within our means," she said. "We need more panels but they are very expensive." On the day of the interview, the convent had already been without electricity for 20 hours. "We do what we can. This is a very large place, and the energy generated by the panels is not enough."
After crossing Havana Bay by ferry, Camilo returns home to Regla. The electricity supply has still not come back on. Daylight enters through the open windows, but the fans are silent and the appliances remain off. His taxi has been parked for weeks. A litre of petrol costs about $10 on the black market – unaffordable for many Cubans. "I had to stop working," he says. "At my age, nobody is going to hire me." At home, he relies on a small rechargeable battery to charge his phone and, occasionally, those of his neighbours, but he knows that a complete solar installation remains beyond reach without outside assistance. "You can save money for years and lose everything because of this crisis," he said. Just a few hours earlier, he had been studying the solar panels on display in central Havana. For some Cubans, they represent an escape from the blackouts, but for others, they remain unattainable. Sitting in his apartment after more than 20 hours without electricity, Camilo sees no immediate solution. "I don't see the end of this problem " he says. Follow Al Jazeera English:
Free-On-Board (FOB) China M10, 210R, and G12 wafer prices remained stable at $0.138/pc, $0.147/pc, and $0.169/pc, respectively, unchanged from the previous week, according to the OPIS Global Solar Markets Report released on June 13. Wafer market fundamentals continue to mirror those of the polysilicon sector, with bearish sentiment, weak demand, and ongoing inventory accumulation remaining the dominant themes, according to market participants. Based on manufacturers’ production schedules, industry sources estimate wafer output reached nearly 50 GW in May and could increase further to approximately 55 GW in June. A market participant noted that the increase in production is primarily being driven by vertically integrated manufacturers and major specialized wafer producers. Leading first-tier wafer makers are generally maintaining utilization rates below 50%, while financially weaker specialized manufacturers are operating at extremely low levels. Market reports have also emerged suggesting that some producers have begun selling portions of their ingot-pulling equipment as part of efforts to address financial pressures. On the export front, industry participants said demand has softened in recent months because significant volumes of wafers were shipped to bonded warehouses in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa ahead of China’s export tax rebate cancellation, which took effect on April 1. These earlier shipments have reduced the urgency for immediate procurement. Nevertheless, a leading wafer manufacturer expects demand from overseas markets to improve in the second half of the year, particularly as domestic cell manufacturing capacity in India ramps up. Overseas manufacturing expansion has not been smooth across all regions, however. A manufacturer that had previously announced wafer manufacturing plans in the Middle East is reportedly facing challenges and delays in advancing the project due to financing and partnership-related issues. Still, improving geopolitical conditions in the Middle East are beginning to support expectations for smoother logistics and project execution elsewhere in the region. One market source highlighted a Middle Eastern solar cell manufacturing project that began initial production earlier this year. The facility reportedly operated at low utilization during the first half of 2026 due to production ramp-up challenges and geopolitical conflict. However, following an easing of tensions, the project is now targeting a much higher operating rate by the third quarter. Suppliers supporting the project have already received corresponding orders and have begun arranging shipments, the source said. As the facility gradually matures and expands production, it is beginning to establish a new trade flow for internationally traded wafers, potentially creating additional demand channels outside traditional markets, the source added. This pv magazine Webinar+ will provide a detailed market analysis of how geopolitical developments are creating regional pricing disparities across the photovoltaic value chain, from polysilicon to modules and critical materials such as soda ash, EVA, and POE. More information OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data, and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals, and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly Report. 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]. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Be part of the high-level European conference on solar and energy storage, exploring bankable BESS projects, warranties, and energy management for residential and C&I sectors Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy. Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way! We are participating in Intersolar 2026 again this year! Visit us at our Booth Hall 2 A2.250 to discuss the latest trends within the photovoltaic industry with the pv magazine team. June 23-25, 2026 | MUNICH, GERMANY
Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Nature Photonics (2026) Cite this article Although organic solar cells have surpassed 20% power conversion efficiency, a persistent trade-off between open-circuit voltage and fill factor (FF) prevents them from closing the gap with inorganic technologies. Here we investigate this trade-off across a wide range of devices and identify an FF limit arising from field-dependent free-charge generation. This limit becomes more severe as voltage losses are minimized, thereby imposing an open-circuit voltage–FF trade-off. To quantitatively describe this limit, we develop an analytical model for field-dependent charge generation, revealing that the underlying cause is the field-sensitive charge-transfer process between excitons and charge-transfer states. This sensitivity originates from the field-induced charge-transfer state energy variations, mainly caused by the Stark effect. Guided by this physics-based model, we highlight that a long exciton lifetime is one of the practical and effective methods to overcome the FF limit. Organic solar cells (OSCs) have recently achieved impressive power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of >20% (refs. 1,2). These advances mainly benefit from the mitigated competition between open-circuit voltage (VOC) and short-circuit current density (JSC)3,4,5,6,7 in OSCs based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Despite a thorough understanding and notable improvement in VOC and JSC, the third parameter, the fill factor (FF), which is equally important for PCE, is not well understood for OSCs. A critical question is whether there is a trade-off between the VOC and FF8,9,10. The FF in solar cells is complex, as it is influenced by multiple processes and quasi-equilibrium states that vary with voltage. Some technologies show an improved FF with a higher VOC, attributed to decreased free-charge (FC) recombination losses, as observed in solution-processed perovskite solar cells11,12,13. In silicon solar cells, by contrast, the FF–VOC trade-off arises from the interplay between contact recombination and contact resistance14,15,16. Therefore, the FF–VOC relationship is a critical area of research across all solar cell technologies, especially for high-efficiency ones that are close to a Pareto frontier. The trade-off between the FF and VOC in OSCs was not a primary concern until the recent development of NFAs. During the fullerene period, the voltage loss was a major limiting factor for the PCE of OSCs17,18. The recent advancements in NFAs have substantially reduced the voltage losses, but the improved VOC has introduced concerns regarding the FF8,9,10. Whether there is an intrinsic FF limit in OSCs and how it correlates with voltage losses are fundamental questions for exploiting the full potential of organic semiconductors. To understand the fundamental limits of the FF in OSCs, we systematically investigate its correlation with voltage losses across a diverse set of devices. For OSCs with VOC losses ranging from 0.5 eV to 1.1 eV and FF values spanning from 0.27 to 0.80, we find that the FF of OSCs is not only dependent on the transport properties that determine the FF in conventional semiconductors but is also influenced by geminate recombination losses. Focusing on representative low-voltage-loss NFA systems, we probe FC generation and recombination under different voltages, and develop an analytical model that establishes field-dependent FC generation as a pivotal factor for FF losses. We attribute the field dependence to the field-induced variations of charge-transfer (CT) state energies caused by the Stark effect. Our findings converge on a critical conclusion: suppressing exciton (Ex) decay is the key to overcome the FF limitations and unlocking the full potential of OSCs. For solar cells with ideal extraction and without resistive losses, the analytical relationship between the FF and the VOC can be described by19 and where νOC is the normalized VOC and nid is the ideality factor (Supplementary Note 1 provides the full parameter definitions). For nid = 1 (Fig. 1a, solid curve), the FF increases with increasing VOC, suggesting that a higher VOC would yield a higher FF. We summarize the VOC and FF data of diverse solar cells from the literature (Fig. 1a). Silicon and perovskite solar cells are close to the theoretical limit due to their efficient charge generation and collection. By contrast, OSCs show dispersed data, with VOC from 0.52 to 1.11 V and FF from 0.27 to 0.80, reflecting their diverse optical, energetic and transport properties. a, Intrinsic FF limit as a function of VOC for single-junction solar cells is illustrated by the solid curve (nid = 1) and the dashed curve (nid = 2). The blue square represents a silicon solar cell. The red square represents a perovskite solar cell. The black dots represent OSCs. b, VOC axis is converted to voltage losses for a bandgap-independent comparison. The red points (1–4) are PM6:Y11, PM6:Y1, PM6:IEICO-4F and PTO2:Y1, respectively, selected for investigation. c, Illustration of the interaction between charge carriers and Exs in OSCs. FC recombination via the formation of CT states (6) or Exs (3) followed by decay to the ground state ((2) and (4)) competes with charge separation following the path (1)–(5)–(7) that leads to photocurrent generation. To compare devices with different optical gaps, we converted VOC to voltage loss (Eopt/q − VOC) and replotted the data in Fig. 1b (extraction of Eopt is shown in Supplementary Fig. 1 and the values are listed in Supplementary Data 1). Although the data remain scattered, two key trends emerge. First, the upper limit of the FF increases as voltage losses decrease, as indicated by the upper guide-to-the-eye curve. Second, at small voltage losses, a sharp drop in the FF values defines a left boundary, indicating competition between VOC and FF in this region. We highlight the importance of understanding this left border, as it limits the FF (and hence the PCE) of low-voltage-loss OSCs. Overcoming the limitations that currently cause this border would make it possible to further enhance the PCE of state-of-the-art OSCs. The upper limit can be explained by the interplay between charge recombination and extraction20,21. The active-layer carrier lifetime and mobility can be combined into the electronic quality factor Q = μeμh/k2, where μe and μh are the electron and hole mobilities, respectively, and k2 is the bimolecular recombination coefficient20,22,23. We calculated FF versus voltage loss at a fixed bandgap, external quantum efficiency (EQE) and thickness (Supplementary Fig. 2) and find that a large Q reproduces the upper limit, whereas smaller Q shifts the curve downwards as transport or recombination begins to dominate. Q, therefore, captures the scattering of the FF values from the perspective of fundamental semiconductor properties. Material- and device-level effects can be further unified by a dimensionless figure of merit α (ref. 24), but the resulting FF–voltage-loss curves do not explain the left border of the dataset (Supplementary Note 1 and Supplementary Fig. 3). To understand the competition between FF and VOC at the left border in Fig. 1b, we selected four donor–acceptor combinations (Fig. 1b, red dots) spanning VOC losses of 0.53 to 0.49 V and FF from 0.65 to 0.27: PM6:Y11, PM6:Y1, PM6:IEICO-4F and PTO2:Y1 (Supplementary Fig. 4 shows the device characteristics). Single-carrier devices (Supplementary Fig. 5) show electron and hole mobilities of approximately 10‒4 cm2 V‒1 s‒1 in all blends, consistent with previous reports in which these polymer donors and NFAs achieve PCE above 10% with FF around 70% (refs. 5,25,26). The low-voltage-loss OSC blends in this work do not have particularly low mobilities. We then obtained the recombination coefficients via the time-delayed collection field (TDCF) method and find that the bimolecular recombination coefficient is high in the low-voltage-loss cases (Supplementary Table 1), in agreement with previous reports27. The high VOC in these cases can be attributed to the relatively high emission quantum yield of bimolecular recombination3,4. Using these parameters, we calculated the theoretical FF using equations accompanying Supplementary Fig. 3. As shown in Table 1, the reconstructed FF of PTO2:Y1 is 0.58, representing the FF expected if the device was limited only by transport and bimolecular recombination. The marked discrepancy with the measured FF of 0.27 indicates that other factors not included in Q and α affect the FF. OSCs are based on excitonic materials in which strongly bound Exs generate FCs through intermediate donor–acceptor CT states (Fig. 1c). Geminate recombination of Exs and CT states can severely limit FC generation; in the following, we show that its field dependence imposes an FF limit in OSCs. We performed TDCF measurements to probe FC generation in the selected systems. By adjusting the delay time and applying a large reverse bias, we measured the FCs generated at a set of pre-biases. Unlike the photocurrent, the TDCF measurements do not suffer from non-geminate losses, since photogenerated free carriers are extracted rapidly by the large reverse bias (Supplementary Fig. 6). The gap between absorbed photons (from the ellipsometry data in Supplementary Fig. 7) and the generated FCs is the loss due to geminate recombination, whereas the gap between FCs and the photocurrent reflects transport and recombination losses captured by α. The TDCF results are shown in Fig. 2a–d with pre-bias swept from 0 to near VOC. The dashed grey lines mark the FC current density JG, and the reddish area below them indicates geminate recombination. In all four systems, JG varies with bias, showing that geminate recombination affects the FF. a–d, J–V characteristics and charge-generation analysis of PM6:Y11 (a), PM6:IEICO-4F (b), PM6:Y1 (c) and PTO2:Y1 (d). The solid curves (top) are the J–V data measured under 1-sun conditions. The grey squares represent the dissociated charges measured via TDCF. The dashed grey lines represent the charge generation current densities (JG) obtained by linearly fitting the dissociated charges. The red lines represent photons absorbed by the device (JAbs). The grey areas represent the non-geminate recombination losses. The red areas represent geminate recombination losses. e, Solid curves are the measured J–V curves corresponding to the four examples. The dashed curves are simulated J–V curves that show the influence of field dependence on FF. f, FF limit as a function of internal FC generation efficiency at the open circuit is simulated with different parameters describing losses due to charge transport (α) and field-dependent FC generation (β). From left to right: the solid-coloured circles denote PTO2:Y1, PM6:IEICO-4F, PM6:Y1 and PM6:Y11. To describe the influence of FC generation on the FF, we use the following analytical relationship between current density and voltage in OSCs24: where JG(V) is the FC generation current density and α is the figure of merit introduced earlier (Supplementary Note 1 provides the full parameter list). Parameterizing the field-dependent FC generation yields where ηint is the internal FC generation efficiency at open circuit and β (V‒1) is the field dependence coefficient quantifying the influence of the electric field on the geminate recombination term (1/ηint − 1). Both ηint and β can be deduced from TDCF. Simulated current density–voltage (J–V) curves for PM6:Y11, PM6:Y1, PM6:IEICO-4F and PTO2:Y1 (Fig. 2e; Supplementary Table 2 lists the parameters) reproduce the experimental data shown in Fig. 2a–d, indicating that equation (4) captures the key parameters that determine the FF. By incorporating field-dependent FC generation, the model bridges the gap between the transport-limited prediction and the experimental reality. We varied the model parameters (Supplementary Fig. 8) and summarize the effects on FF in Fig. 2f. PM6:Y11, PM6:Y1 and PM6:IEICO-4F fall in the regime in which transport regulates the FF. By contrast, PTO2:Y1 (ηint = 0.06, β = 0.09 V‒1) is dominated by field-dependent FC generation. The drop in FF of PTO2:Y1, thus, presents an FF limit at the left border of Fig. 1b. Shifting this boundary leftwards, that is, achieving a high FF at low voltage losses for enhanced PCE, requires understanding the physical nature of field-dependent FC generation, which we elaborate in the next section. To determine whether the Ex-to-CT or CT-to-FC transition limits the FF, we applied pump-push photocurrent (PPPC) measurements (Supplementary Fig. 9), which used an infrared push pulse to selectively probe the bound-state dynamics28,29. The geminate pairs in our blends have similar decays and binding energies to species in the neat-acceptor films, indicating that the dissociation of acceptor Exs, assisted by the built-in voltage, is the key step affecting the FF. In addition, we utilized bias-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements to monitor the Ex population under an applied voltage. Different from inorganic solar cells in which PL is easily quenched by charge extraction (Supplementary Fig. 10), the PL of OSCs remains strong even under SC or reverse bias because it primarily originates from geminate recombination30,31. Combined with the PPPC binding energies (Supplementary Fig. 9) and the lack of a notable CT redshift in the blends (Supplementary Fig. 11), the PL intensity serves as a reliable indicator of Ex population and decay dynamics. To reveal the factors that influence the FF, we selected two representative polymer donors and three NFAs to obtain blends with different energetic offsets (Fig. 3a) and compared the field dependence of PL intensity along with their J–V characteristics (Fig. 3b). We find that a key factor affecting FF is the energetic offset between the local Ex and the CT state. Taking PM6:Y1, PM6:Y11 and PM6:IT-4F as examples, when the energetic offset increases, the field dependence of PL becomes weaker, and the FF gets higher. PM6:IT-4F (high offset) shows almost no field dependence in PL, consistent with its high FF. PM6:Y1 (low offset) and PM6:Y11 (medium offset) show obvious PL quenching under an increasing field. In PM6:Y1, the current enhancement continues in the reverse-bias region (−1 to −5 × 105 V cm‒1) along with the PL quench, because the PL is converted into the extracted current. PBDB-T-based blends with high offsets show weak PL field dependence but lower overall FF due to non-geminate losses. As illustrated in Fig. 3c, this creates a trade-off: small offsets lead to field-dependent generation and FF losses, whereas large offsets avoid this but cause voltage losses. a, Molecular structures of donors (PM6 and PBDB-T) and NFAs (Y1, Y11 and IT-4F). b, The red curves are the PL intensities obtained via integration over the acceptor emission peaks, normalized to the values at short circuit (SC). The black curves are J–V values that are simultaneously measured with the PL and normalized to the maximum absolute values. The pink and blue rectangles are schematic of the relative frontier orbital energy levels of material combinations. The offset indicates the energetic offset between the low-energy Exs and the CT state. c, Schematic of the loss mechanisms. Top: in general, FF loss 1 (non-geminate) arises from the competition between the recombination and extraction of FCs. Bottom: In organic photovoltaics, a specific trade-off exists governed by the energetic offset. Small offsets (left) promote back-transfer and field-dependent generation, resulting in FF loss 2. Large offsets (right) facilitate efficient separation but cause additional voltage losses. On the basis of PPPC and field-dependent PL spectroscopy, we believe that the electric field mainly influences the transition between Ex and CT states. Despite many discussions on field-assisted CT dissociation32,33,34 (Fig. 1c, process (5)), transient absorption studies have shown that the FC signal appears simultaneously with CT35,36, indicating an efficient CT-to-FC transition and reducing the possibility of CT dissociation as the field-sensitive step. Field-assisted direct Ex separation in neat NFA domains is also unlikely, as the PL of pristine films is field independent within our investigation range (Supplementary Fig. 11i,j). The Ex-to-CT transition (probably including FC formation via long-range CT37) is directly linked to the energetic offset9,30 and is, therefore, the most probable candidate for being affected by the electric field, responsible for the field-dependent FC generation that limits the FF in OSCs. Recent studies have highlighted the role of delocalized excited states (the so-called i-Ex) in Y-series NFAs, which may facilitate charge generation35,38. The term ‘Ex’ in our definition encompasses these delocalized states. Although delocalization aids in reducing the binding energy, our observation of field-independent PL in pristine NFA films (Supplementary Fig. 11) suggests that i-Ex states alone cannot efficiently generate FCs without the donor–acceptor interface. Therefore, the Ex-to-CT transition (whether the Ex is localized or delocalized) remains the field-sensitive bottleneck. To further quantitatively elucidate the field-dependent Ex dissociation, we develop an analytical model. The transition rates are described using the Marcus theory39,40, and the electrostatic potential is incorporated using perturbation theory to account for the first- and second-order Stark effects. The energy of electronic states is shifted by the electric field through their static dipole moments (first order) and electronic polarizability (second order), which can alter the electron transfer between the Ex and CT states. The field-induced energy difference between the excited and ground states can be described as where Δμ is the difference in dipole moment between the excited and ground states of the considered excitation, Δp is the corresponding difference in polarizability and F is the electric field. Incorporating this into the Marcus rate equation yields a field-dependent forward rate: where λ is the reorganization energy30 and ΔGCT-Ex is the zero-field driving force for the Ex-to-CT transition (Supplementary Note 2). Importantly, the electric field can either increase or decrease the activation barrier for the Ex-CT transition. Figure 4a graphically demonstrates two distinct electroabsorption (EA) spectra showing how the electric field affects electronic transitions via the Stark effect. For the first-order effect, the energy levels split in disordered systems with randomly oriented molecules—the field raises the transition energy for molecules aligned against it and lowers it for those aligned with it; the corresponding EA signal resembles the second derivative of the absorption band. For the second-order effect, the energy levels shift with F2, and the corresponding EA signal resembles the first derivative. Figure 4b,c shows the second-harmonic EA of PM6:Y11 and PM6:ITIC alongside the absorbance and its first and second derivatives. The EA position and relative peak ratio in both blends lie between the first and second derivatives, whereas the first derivative dominates in the Ex optical transition. The CT EA is weak due to the indistinguishable CT states in small-offset systems. a, Absorption change induced by an electric field. Spectral broadening (top graph) due to a dipole moment difference in an isotropic sample causes an EA shape that is approximately the second derivative of the absorption spectrum. Spectral shift (bottom graph) due to a polarizability difference leads to the EA shape, which is approximately the first derivative of the absorption spectrum. b,c, EA spectra (normalized ΔT/T) of PM6:Y11 (b) and PM6:ITIC (c), plotted alongside their absorbance and the first and second derivatives of absorbance. d, The top graphs illustrate how the electron and hole charge distributions change as an Ex forms an interfacial CT state. The bottom graphs show the same process in the presence of an external electric field. The distances indicated by arrows represent field-induced energy shifts arising from changes in the dipole moment and polarizability. e, CT state formation rate as described by Marcus theory. f, Ex dynamics in a blend under an applied electric field. The field either raises or lowers the CT state energy at acceptor–domain boundaries, depending on the boundary orientation. Exs diffusing against the electric field encounter boundaries at which the CT state energy is reduced; they readily form CT states that subsequently split into electron–hole pairs. Exs diffusing along the electric field encounter boundaries at which the CT state energy is increased; they either scatter from the heterojunction or transiently form CT states. By subsequent random diffusion, they can reach a boundary with reduced CT state energy, where they form CT states and dissociate into electron–hole pairs. g, Simulated transition rate coefficient between the Ex and CT states depending on the electric field based on the first-order Stark effect. h, Simulated J–V curves with an Ex lifetime of 1,000 ps. (Delta G=Delta {E}_{mathrm{CT}-mathrm{Ex}}={E}_{mathrm{CT}}-{E}_{mathrm{Ex}}). i, Simulated trade-off between the FF and VOC at different Ex lifetimes. Dots with the same colour have energy offsets varying from 0 eV to 0.45 eV. We subsequently calculated the energy shifts. For the first-order Stark effect, the Ex dipole is ignored due to its small electron–hole separation, whereas the separation in interfacial CT states in NFA blends is ~3.5 nm (refs. 41,42). With an internal field of ~1 V/100 nm (105 V cm‒1), this yields a linear Stark shift of ~35 meV, on the order of thermal energy and comparable with the donor–acceptor highest occupied molecular orbital offset. For the second-order effect, polarizability values for Exs in donors and NFAs range from 100 to 1,000 Å3, giving shifts of only 0.0035 to 0.035 meV, with the CT shift being similarly small43,44. Figure 4d visually explains the changes in Ex and CT state energies under an applied electric field. The second-order effect simply shifts the CT energy down, whereas the first-order term decreases the energy of CT states oriented against the field and increases that of states oriented along it (Fig. 4e). As shown in Fig. 4f, these field-modified energies enhance the average formation rate of CT states, which preferentially form at boundaries oriented against the field, establishing an optimal energetic landscape for dissociation into free carriers. Next, we calculate the CT formation rate coefficients kEx-CT(F) and kCT-Ex(F) as functions of the electric field, focusing on the first-order Stark effect for simplicity. Because the local Ex is more localized, we will not consider ΔEEx(F) in the following. Figure 4g shows the results with the dipole aligned along the field. Integrating these rates into a device-level drift–diffusion simulation (Supplementary Note 3) reproduces the experimental J–V curves with reduced FF at decreasing energy offsets (Supplementary Fig. 12). Because Ex dissociation competes with Ex decay, a slow Ex decay can mitigate this field dependence: as shown in Fig. 4h, a slower Ex decay rate preserves a high FF even at small voltage losses, revealing a pathway to simultaneously improve FF and VOC by increasing the Ex lifetime. To provide quantitative guidance for future material design, we further simulated the theoretical efficiency limits of single-junction OSCs as a function of Ex lifetime (Fig. 4i). By assuming minimized non-radiative voltage losses and optimized charge transport, our model predicts that extending the Ex lifetime beyond 1 ns at the current state-of-the-art energetic landscape sufficiently mitigates the FF limit to enable FFs exceeding 82%. To validate the feasibility of our strategy, we constructed a guest–host system as a proof of concept (Fig. 5a–c and Supplementary Figs. 13–15). PM6:L8-BO, one of the most effective binary systems, delivers FF = 79.5% owing to the long L8-BO Ex lifetime (990 ps), but its voltage loss (0.545 V) leaves room for improvement. We introduced Y18-C3, an acceptor with a smaller energy offset, as the third component. The PM6:Y18-C3 binary shows a small voltage loss (0.502 V) but a low FF (68.8%) due to the short Y18-C3 Ex lifetime (690 ps). The FF and voltage loss show tunability when Y18-C3 is mixed with L8-BO. At the optimal 0.86:0.14 ratio, the ternary simultaneously achieves FF = 81.1% and voltage loss of 0.516 V, yielding PCE = 20.1%. This improvement correlates with Ex dynamics and PL quantum yield (PLQY) as L8-BO prolongs the Ex lifetime from 690 ps in Y18-C3 to 750 ps and 870 ps in the mixtures (0.5:0.5 and 0.86:0.14, respectively), and boosts the PLQY (Fig. 5d,e). To rule out morphological origins, we characterized the blends using atomic force microscopy and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (Supplementary Figs. 16 and 17). The ternary films exhibit surface roughness and crystal packing parameters highly comparable with the high-performance binary control, confirming that Ex dynamics rather than phase separation drive the improved FF. The general applicability of the guest–host strategy is validated in multiple ternary systems with different donor polymers, varied guest–host acceptor pairs and fullerene-based blends (Supplementary Figs. 18–22). a, J–V characteristics of OSCs. b,c, FF (b) and voltage losses (c) of OSCs based on PM6 and different acceptor ratios (n = 8 independent devices per ratio). d,e, Ex lifetime (d) and PLQY (e) of films based on acceptors with different blending ratios (two independent films and six measurements per ratio). For the box charts shown in b, c and e, the box bounds indicate 25%–75% interquartile range, the middle line indicates a mean value and the whiskers mean 1.5× the interquartile range. f, Blue dots (left) are based on NFA reports after 2019, when Y6 was developed. Yellow dots (middle) are NFAs reported between 2015 and 2019, when ITIC and its derivatives dominated the field. Red dots (right) are NFA reports before 2015. The finding that suppressing Ex decay is crucial for high FF aligns with the developmental trajectory of OSCs (Fig. 5f): post-2019 Y6-based NFAs (blue) show higher FF and lower voltage loss than 2015–2019 ITIC-based reports (yellow) and pre-2015 reports (red), consistent with the longer Ex lifetimes of Y6 and L8-BO compared with the ITIC family in our time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) measurements (Supplementary Figs. 23 and 24 and Supplementary Table 3). Combining our finding that extending Ex lifetime is essential to overcome the FF limit with the established requirement of high PLQY for low voltage loss3,4, we conclude that suppressing non-radiative Ex decay is the key to unlocking the full potential of OSCs. Our work establishes a comprehensive framework for understanding the VOC–FF trade-off in OSCs. The framework reveals an FF limit imposed by field-dependent CT competing with Ex decay, via quantitatively correlating the FF and voltage loss with fundamental physical parameters. In particular, experimental and theoretical results show that enhancing the Ex lifetime is a key strategy for mitigating the FF limit and increasing the efficiency of OSCs. Using a guest–host strategy to manipulate both Ex decay and voltage loss, we demonstrate OSC devices that simultaneously achieve high FF and high performance. Beyond this proof of concept, our quantitative FF model offers general guidance for material design and device engineering, providing new opportunities to overcome long-standing efficiency bottlenecks in OSCs. The electron transport material (ZnO N-10, nanoparticle solution) was purchased from Avantama AG and used without additional treatment. The hole transport material (molybdenum oxide, powder) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich and used without additional treatment. Among the active-layer materials, PM6, PTO2 and IEICO-4F were purchased from Solar Materials. Y1 and Y11 were synthesized at Central South University. Prepatterned indium tin oxide substrates were cleaned with detergent followed by two 20-min ultrasonic steps in acetone and isopropanol. Subsequently, a 10-min ultraviolet–ozone treatment was applied. A layer of zinc oxide (N-10, Avantama) of approximately 30-nm thickness was spin coated in air at 3,600 rpm and annealed at 120 °C for 5 min, after which the samples were moved into a glovebox. The active layer was spin coated from the solution, and the rotation speed was adjusted to yield an active-layer thickness of around 100 nm. Chloroform was used as the solvent for PM6:Y11, PM6:Y1 and PTO2:Y1. Chlorobenzene was used for PM6:IEICO-4F. The ratio and total concentration were 1:1.2 and 18 mg ml‒1 for PM6:Y11, 1:1 and 16 mg ml‒1 for PM6:Y1 and PTO2:Y1, and 1:1 and 20 mg ml‒1 for PM6:IEICO-4F. The solution was kept on a hotplate at 60 °C for 12 h before spin coating and was kept on a plate during spin coating. Immediately after spin coating, an annealing step at 100 °C for 10 min was applied. The substrate was then placed on a mask and transferred to a vacuum chamber. Molybdenum oxide (12 nm) and Ag (200 nm) were thermally evaporated in a vacuum of approximately 10−6 mbar. PM6:L8-BO and PM6:L8-BO:Y18-C3 were fabricated with a conventional structure of indium tin oxide/2PACz/active layer/PNDIT-F3N/Ag. A monolayer of 2PACz (0.27 mg ml‒1 in ethanol) was first deposited onto the indium-tin-oxide-coated substrates at 3,000 rpm for 30 s, followed by thermal annealing at 100 °C for 10 min in a nitrogen atmosphere within the glovebox. The blend of PM6 and acceptors was dissolved in chloroform containing 10 mg ml‒1 of DCBB as the additive, and the active-layer solution was prepared at a total concentration of 16.1 mg ml‒1, stirred for 2 h and then spin coated onto the 2PACz layer. The thermal annealing treatment of the active layer was performed at 100 °C for 10 min. Subsequently, a thin layer of PNDIT-F3N (1 mg ml‒1 in a methanol solution with 0.5 vol% acetic acid) was spin coated onto the active layer at the rate of 3,000 rpm for 30 s before the deposition of 150-nm Ag. Devices were encapsulated in a glovebox and measured in air. The active area of the tested solar cell was 4 mm2. The J–V curves (measured in the forward direction, that is, from negative to positive bias, with a scan step of 0.04 V) were collected by using a Keithley 2400 source meter under AM1.5 illumination provided by a solar simulator (LSH-7320 ABA LED solar simulator) with an intensity of 1,000 W m‒2 after spectral mismatch correction. The light intensity for the J–V measurements was calibrated using a reference Si cell (VLSI standards SN 10510-0524 certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory). EQE measurements were conducted using an integrated system (QE-R3011). The system was calibrated using a silicon reference detector. Spectrally resolved PL measurements were performed on an Andor Shamrock 303i spectrograph equipped with an Andor Newton electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (DU970N-UVB). During the measurement, the charge-coupled device detector was cooled to –45 °C. The wavelength of the system was calibrated by using a mercury lamp. The intensity of the spectra was calibrated using a standard halogen lamp (AvaLight-HAL-S-Mini, Avantes). The PL was excited by a Thorlabs collimated laser-diode-pumped DPSS laser module (CPS532), and a 550-nm long-pass filter was used to protect the detector. The PL excitation and detection were performed using an objective, a 552-nm long-pass dichroic mirror placed at 45°, and optical fibres. The samples were positioned where the light spot area was larger than the device pixel size. The laser intensity was controlled by a neutral-density filter wheel to ensure that the photocurrent was equal to that of 1 sun. A Keithley 2400 source meter was connected to the photovoltaic devices to apply a voltage bias and record the current response. The EQEEL value was recorded using a custom-built system with a Hamamatsu silicon photodiode 1010B. A Keithley 2400 meter was used for supplying bias voltages and recording the injected current, and a Keithley 485 device was used for collecting the photocurrent generated from the emitted photons of the samples. TDCF investigations were performed using an Agilent Technologies DSO5054A oscilloscope using a 50-Ω input resistor and a Tektronix AFG3101 function generator. The samples were excited by radiation from the optical parametric amplifier TOPAS-C (LIGHT CONVERSION) pumped by a femtosecond Ti:sapphire Integra-C laser (Quantronix) generating 130-fs-duration pulses at a 430-Hz repetition rate. A linear optical parametric amplifier TOPAS-C was used to generate an excitation pulse emitting at 515 nm. Ellipsometry was performed using a Mueller Matrix Ellipsometer (RC2, J.A. Woollam Co.). CompleteEASE was used to globally fit the Mueller matrix data with the B-spline and general oscillator models for the optical properties of the samples. The refractive index and extinction coefficient were used for transfer matrix optical modelling (https://github.com/erichoke/Stanford/tree/master). TCSPC measurements were performed using a system from Edinburgh Instruments with a microchannel plate photomultiplier tube (Hamamatsu). An excitation pulse laser at 405 nm was generated using a pulsed picosecond diode (Hamamatsu). Femtosecond pulses (800 nm, 35 fs) were generated using a 4-kHz Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier (Astrella, Coherent). These pulses were routed onto two optical parametric amplifiers (TOPAS Prime, Coherent). The 1,400-nm output from one TOPAS passed through a frequency-doubling barium borate crystal to generate the pump at 700 nm. The pump pulse was then directed onto a mechanical delay stage to vary the time delay between the pump and push beams. The 2,000-nm output from the other TOPAS served as the push. The push was mechanically modulated at 1.1 kHz. Both pump and push pulses were aligned to a single spot on the device pixel. During the measurements, the devices were connected to a lock-in amplifier (MFLI, Zurich Instruments) and measured under short-circuit conditions. The reference current J was measured at a pump frequency of 4 kHz, and the push-induced current ∆J was measured at a push frequency of 1.1 kHz. The devices were placed in a cryostat (HFS600E-PB4, Linkam) with a liquid-nitrogen cooling module (LNP96, Linkam) to control the temperature. EA spectroscopy was conducted to measure the EA signals. The setup is equipped with a light source (Xenon Arc Lamp 1,000 W, Newport), monochromator (Zolix), optical chopper (Thorlabs), calibrated silicon and germanium photodetectors (Thorlabs), low-noise current preamplifier (Stanford Research Systems, SR570), lock-in amplifier (Stanford Research Systems, SR830) and a function generator (SRS DS360). A monochromatic beam is transmitted through the semitransparent device (not encapsulated) and detected by using the silicon and germanium photodetectors. During the measurement, the samples were housed inside a vacuum cryostat (Oxford Instruments) at a base pressure of around 10‒5–10‒6 torr. Although measuring the device transmittance, the optical chopper provides a synchronous reference signal (190 Hz) to the lock-in amplifier. The transmitted light intensity (T) was detected by a silicon photodetector, which generated a current signal and fed it into the lock-in amplifier. This measured transmittance (T) was used to calculate the derivatives. To measure the electric-field-induced change in transmittance (ΔT), a function generator was used to modulate the internal electric field in the organic layer by superimposing a sinusoidal voltage at a frequency of 1 kHz on a negative d.c. voltage. The applied electric field is around 105 V cm−1. The modulated signal from the detector was amplified using the current preamplifier by choosing a suitable gain or sensitivity. The lock-in amplifier was connected to demodulate the signal, phase referenced to the function generator at the different harmonics of the modulation fundamental frequency. The harmonic number in the lock-in amplifier can be adjusted to measure the first- and second-harmonic EA signals. The measured ΔT needs to be scaled by a factor of √2 to convert the root-mean-square value (r.m.s.) to the peak value. The equations governing the EA change for the second harmonic are given by where A is the absorbance, ω is the frequency of the applied voltage, ΔA is the absorbance difference (after minus before), E is the energy of photoexcitation, Δp is the polarizability difference, Δμ is the electric dipole moment difference, Va.c. is the voltage amplitude of alternating current and Vd.c. is the voltage amplitude of direct current. 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A generalized Stark effect electromodulation model for extracting excitonic properties in organic semiconductors. Nat. Commun.10, 5089 (2019). ArticleADS Google Scholar Zhang, H. & Gao, F. Dataset for the manuscript ‘Overcoming the fill-factor limit of organic solar cells’. Zenodohttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20082078 (2026). Download references We thank O. Inganäs, J. Hou, J. Durrant, R. Zhang, X. Zhou, D. Qian and Y. Wang for insightful discussions. We also thank M. Azzouzi for helpful discussions and for making the DriftFusionOPV code publicly available. The drift–diffusion simulations presented in this work were performed using this code, developed in the J. Nelson’s group. We also thank W. Huang for the GIWAXS characterization. H.Z. acknowledges support for the research of this work from the China Scholarship Council (grant number 201706100186) and King Carl XVI Gustaf’s 50th Anniversary Fund for Science, Technology and the Environment. J.Y. acknowledges support for the research of this work from Hunan Provincial Major Basic Research Project (grant number 2025JC0004). Y.Z. acknowledges support for the research of this work from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 52125306). V.C. acknowledges support for this work from the Office of Naval Research (award number N00014-24-1-2114). D.N. and S.S. acknowledge funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) through the project Extraordinaire (project number 460766640). F.G. acknowledges support from the Swedish Research Council Consolidator Grant (grant number 2024-02081), Göran Gustafsson Prize and the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (faculty grant number SFO-Mat-LiU #2009-00971). F.G. is a Wallenberg Scholar. Open access funding provided by Linköping University. Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden Huotian Zhang, Yuxuan Li, Nakul Jain & Feng Gao College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, China Jun Yuan, Yijie Nai, Wei Liu & Yingping Zou Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK Tong Wang & Artem A. Bakulin Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, Germany Nurlan Tokmoldin, Mohammad Saeed Shadabroo, Manasi Pranav, Safa Shoaee & Dieter Neher Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin, Berlin, Germany Nurlan Tokmoldin & Safa Shoaee Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China Shanchao Ouyang & Sai-Wing Tsang Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China Shanchao Ouyang & Sai-Wing Tsang Hong Kong Institute of Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China Shanchao Ouyang & Sai-Wing Tsang Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Vilnius, Lithuania Rokas Jasiūnas & Vidmantas Gulbinas State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China Yiting Liu & Xiaolei Zhang Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA Veaceslav Coropceanu IMD-3 Photovoltaics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany Thomas Kirchartz Faculty of Engineering and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany Thomas Kirchartz Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar H.Z. and F.G. conceived of the ideas. H.Z. designed the project, prepared the devices and samples and performed the J–V characterizations, photovoltaic EQE measurements, PL and field-dependent PL measurements, EQEEL measurements, ellipsometry measurements and analysis. J.Y. and W.L. synthesized the NFAs under the supervision of Y.Z. T.W. and H.Z. performed the PPPC measurements under the supervision of A.A.B. Y.N. fabricated the ternary-related devices under the supervision of J.Y. R.J. performed the TDCF measurements under the supervision of V.G. Y. Liu performed the TCSPC measurements under the supervision of X.Z. N.J. and H.Z. performed the TCSPC verification and analysis. Y. Li prepared the samples for PPPC measurement. N.T. performed the initial CT calculation. S.O. performed the EA measurements under the supervision of S.-W.T. M.S.S. verified the EA under the supervision of S.S. H.Z. developed the theoretical model with the help of T.K., V.C., D.N., N.T. and M.P. D.N. supervised the simulation. W.L., V.G., J.Y., T.K., F.G. and H.Z. edited the figures. F.G. supervised the project. H.Z. and F.G. wrote the paper. All authors discussed the results and commented on the final paper. Correspondence to Huotian Zhang, Jun Yuan, Dieter Neher or Feng Gao. The authors declare no competing interests. Nature Photonics thanks the anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary Figs. 1–24, Tables 1–4 and Notes 1–3. Summary of OPV performance. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Reprints and permissions Zhang, H., Yuan, J., Wang, T. et al. Overcoming the fill-factor limit of organic solar cells. Nat. Photon. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01946-8 Download citation Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01946-8 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Europe Today Euronews' flagship morning TV show with the news and insights that drive Europe, live from Brussels every morning at 08.00. Also available as a newsletter and podcast. The Ring The Ring is Euronews’ weekly political showdown, where Europe’s toughest debates meet their boldest voices. In each episode, two political heavyweights from across the EU face off to propose a diversity of opinions and spark conversations around the most important issues of EU affairs and the wider European political life. No Comment No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary. My Wildest Prediction Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries The Big Question Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society. The Food Detectives Europe's best food experts are joining forces to crack down on fraud. Euronews is following them in this special series: The Food Detectives Water Matters Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate – find out why Water Matters, from Euronews. Climate Now We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt. Europe Today Euronews' flagship morning TV show with the news and insights that drive Europe, live from Brussels every morning at 08.00. Also available as a newsletter and podcast. The Ring The Ring is Euronews’ weekly political showdown, where Europe’s toughest debates meet their boldest voices. In each episode, two political heavyweights from across the EU face off to propose a diversity of opinions and spark conversations around the most important issues of EU affairs and the wider European political life. No Comment No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary. My Wildest Prediction Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries The Big Question Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society. The Food Detectives Europe's best food experts are joining forces to crack down on fraud. Euronews is following them in this special series: The Food Detectives Water Matters Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate – find out why Water Matters, from Euronews. Climate Now We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt. Each year, millions of tourists from around the world visit Pompeii. They admire the southern Italian city’s frescoes and archaeological ruins, but few will likely ever notice the solar panels installed on the roof of the ancient Roman Villa of the Mysteries. On one side, “it looks just like an ancient Roman tile. But if we look at it from behind, we can see that it is actually a small photovoltaic panel,” explained Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Pompeii Archaeological Park Director. “It generates electricity to illuminate this villa, and a large share of the energy needed here comes directly from the roof installation,” he added. While Pompeii is considering extending this solution to other areas of its archaeological park that are far from the electricity grid, the Portuguese city of Évora, has also adopted similar technologies, avoiding the harsh visual impact of conventional black solar panels. On the rooftop of the City Hall, some shingles are slightly clearer. “They are not normal shingles,” said Humberto Queiroz, EDP R&D Centre and Project manager. “They are made of a semi-transparent epoxy material with solar cells embedded in the middle of it, which generates electricity for the self-consumption of this building.” The area has around 20 kWp (kilowatt peak) of PV shingles, designed to blend into the building’s landscape architecture and protect the heritage aspect of Évora. Since 1986, Évora’s historic centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. PV shingles are among the solutions through which the European project POCITYF is helping the city reconcile heritage preservation with the modern challenges of sustainability. “Évora is a World Heritage city and, like most historic cities across Europe, it has the responsibility to preserve its historic centre and safeguard its cultural heritage,” analysed Nuno Bilo, EU project coordinator at Évora Municipality. “However, it cannot remain frozen in time. We also need to move forward and find solutions that enable historic cities—and in this case Évora—to address one of today’s greatest challenges: decarbonisation.” Among the solutions developed to make this possible is one created by a small family-owned company based in north-eastern Italy. Matteo Quagliato, who works for Dyaqua, explained the process. “The tile is made from a resin compound that forms the first layer. We then take the photovoltaic cells, which have already been soldered beforehand, and place them inside. After that, a second layer is added, made from a specially formulated compound. The final step is lowering the mould and removing the finished product: a resin tile containing the photovoltaic cells.” Solutions like this one and the different technologies adopted in Pompeii send an encouraging message to the rest of the world. “The lesson Pompeii offers is that if this technology can work here, in a place that is so delicate, so closely monitored, so fragile, and so vast, then it can work anywhere”, said Zuchtriegel. Glass roofs integrating photovoltaic panels and solar canopies installed in the courtyards of schools in the historic centre are among the other solutions being tested in Évora. Together with Alkmaar in the Netherlands, the Portuguese city is assessing these innovations through the POCITYF project to evaluate their potential for replication across Europe.
States voting to roll back clean energy incentives are doing so at a time when electricity demand and rates are rising, which developers and clean energy groups find counterintuitive. In 2025, electricity demand from data centers grew 17% worldwide, while in the United States data centers accounted for half the growth, according to the 2026 edition of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Energy Review. The U.S. is also seeing an upward trajectory in electricity costs to ratepayers. According to Electric Power Monthly from the Energy Information Administration, the average rate in March 2026 was 18.56 cents per kilowatt hour, up from 17.09 the previous March. The highest rates were seen in Hawaii at 42.23, followed by California at 33.35. States have an opportunity in incentivizing clean energy, according to James McGarry, regional director, west, of the Coalition for Community Solar Access. He emphasized the speed at which distributed solar and storage can be deployed, which can “relieve local grid constraints and expand access to clean energy for customers who need it most.” California An example of what many experts consider regressive policy is the recent decision by California Public Utility Commission (CPUC). The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says the program that relies on the existing Renewable market Adjusting Tariff (ReMAT) pricing structure “virtually ensures” that no new community solar projects will be developed in the state. The new program rejects the solar industry-backed Net Value Billing Tariff model, making building community solar a losing proposition for any business, according to SEIA and other industry advocates. For more on the history of the CPUC’s decision, read California community solar market lies in limbo. According to McGarry, the recent CPUC move “represents yet another significant step backward for community solar in California… It omits core elements such as how to enroll customers, bill savings requirements, low-income participation pathways, and alignment with the state’s Title 24 building requirements.” As a solution, clean energy groups are pushing for passage of AB 1813 to bypass the CPUC’s framework and establish what McGarry called “a functional, financeable community solar program by law.” If passed, AB 1813, authored by California Assemblymember Chris Ward, will require the CPUC to establish a workable community renewable energy program by September 1, 2027 by prioritizing access and real bill savings for renters and low-income Californians. In May the bill passed in the assembly and moved to the state senate. Upon passage, Derek Chernow, executive director of Californians for Local, Affordable Solar and Storage (CLASS), said “we look forward to working with our champions in the California Senate to keep this momentum going and get AB 1813 to the Governor’s desk.” Massachusetts On the other side of the country, the Massachusetts House advanced HB 5151, a climate bill with a $1 billion cut to the state’s energy efficiency program. The bill, which passed in the House 128 to 27, has conservation and renewable energy groups saying it doesn’t go far enough to boost affordability or quell use of fossil fuels. The bill has provisions that advance solar while also cutting funding to its successful Mass Save program, leaving industry groups in disagreement. The Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), a national trade national trade association working to expand customer choice and access to solar for all, lauded the bill and said, “Importantly it recognizes that clean energy is not the cause of high bills, but part of the solution to lower them.” On the other hand, Vote Solar, a non-profit policy advocacy organization with the mission of making solar more accessible and affordable across the United States, found fault with the $1 billion in cuts to Mass Save. The group sees these cuts as short sighted and believes the bill should instead have focused on a “long-term solution to address energy affordability.” Maine One year ago, Maine’s governor signed a bill into law making community solar and other front-of-the-meter projects ineligible for net metering. The bill LD 1777 received backlash from solar advocates because it places retroactive charges on front-of-the-meter solar projects that are already operating or in development. Matthew White, senior manager of policy & market strategy at Aspen Power, a distributed energy generation platform, an independent power provider and developer of solar projects, told pv magazine USA that LD 1777 “is the most direct example of retroactive policymaking phenomenon.” The law imposes substantial fees on all net energy billing (NEB) projects >1 MWac without any form of grandfathering. “This materially changes the expected returns for community solar assets, which has led to a profound impact on financing arrangements that are already in place for operating projects,” White said. Maine’s LD 1777 effectively put an end to Maine’s community solar program in January 2026; however, the state’s energy officials are tasked with developing a new renewable energy incentive plan by September 2026. The justification for such regressive policies is that they will make energy more affordable for ratepayers; however, as White points out, these retroactive changes can raise the cost of capital, making project economics unworkable and leading developers to exit the market and bring their investments to other states. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Britam Tower is cementing its place as one of Africa’s tallest green buildings after a new solar project enabled the Nairobi skyscraper to generate enough electricity annually to power about 2,000 households for a month. Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) shows households in urban areas like Nairobi consume about 200 kilowatt-hours monthly. The insurer revealed in its 2025 Sustainability Report that the solar installation at Britam Tower, commissioned on October 1, 2025, is projected to produce 390,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity annually. The output now supplies 50 per cent of the 32-floor building’s electricity demand while significantly lowering its carbon footprint and reducing reliance on the national grid. The electricity generated is also enough to meet the energy needs of a typical multi-storey commercial building in Nairobi’s central business district for about nine months. EPRA audits indicate that most office buildings in the CBD consume between 30,000 and 50,000 kWh of electricity every month, placing Britam Tower’s annual solar production among the largest rooftop commercial installations in the country. The grid-tied rooftop solar photovoltaic system has an installed capacity of 250 kilowatt-peak (kWp) and uses high-efficiency 650-watt solar panels mounted on a purpose-built steel structure above the tower’s parking silo. Beyond generating electricity, the structure was designed with an additional commercial purpose. The space beneath the solar panels has been converted into a shaded events venue fitted with windbreaker glass, soundproof flooring, plumbing and washroom facilities, allowing the company to earn additional revenue from the installation. Britam disclosed that the project has already generated Ksh1.18 million in income since it was commissioned. The insurer estimates the solar installation will prevent about 198 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions every year. According to the company, that reduction has the same environmental impact as planting approximately 10,800 trees annually. The project forms part of Britam’s broader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, which seeks to reduce emissions across its operations while increasing investment in climate-focused initiatives. Britam Tower already incorporates energy-efficient features including LED lighting, motion sensors and biophilic architectural design under its EDGE green building certification. The Grade A skyscraper, which has set a benchmark for sustainable office developments in Africa, was the first building in Kenya to earn the prestigious EDGE certification from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its pioneering efficiency in energy, water and materials. The sustainability report also shows the company recorded a sharp reduction in water consumption, with group usage falling to 71,626 cubic metres in 2025 from 88,120 cubic metres the previous year. Britam also expanded ecosystem restoration programmes, restoring more than 444 acres of tree cover, planting 86,000 trees at the Mt Elgon Water Tower, another 10,000 in Rwanda and more than 5,700 trees in public schools, initiatives the company says created 1,358 green jobs.
Home improvement/Energy saving/Solar Checked for accuracy by our qualified fact-checkers and verifiers. Find out more about fact-checking at CHOICE Fancy three hours of free electricity every day? Well, that’s the ‘offer’ in the federal government’s new Solar Sharer Offer (SSO), which starts on Wednesday 1 July. Designed to capitalise on Australia’s daytime solar surplus, this new initiative stipulates that electricity retailers must now offer at least one residential plan that includes three hours of free power daily, capped at 24 kilowatt-hours (kWh). It’s available to home owners and renters alike, and you don’t need your own solar panels or battery to opt in. There’s just one rather large catch at the moment… Before we all get too excited, the SSO will only be available to residents that live in New South Wales, South Australia and South East Queensland. Why? Because they are the areas covered by the Federal Government’s Default Market Offer (DMO) framework, which is administered by the Australian Energy Regulator. Thankfully, there are plans to expand the SSO nationally at a later date Other states and territories are not part of the DMO and have their own systems (for a myriad of complicated historical reasons) so are not included. Thankfully, there are plans to expand the SSO nationally at a later date. Australia is the world leader in rooftop solar generation, with the most installed solar capacity per capita and over four million photovoltaic (PV) systems now in operation. That’s great news for clean renewable energy use, but it’s also resulted in a glut of surplus electricity being fed back into the grid during the day. Residents with home batteries can store it for later, but currently a lot of this excess power is being under-utilised, with wholesale prices dropping very low or even into negative. By forcing retailers to give it away for free, the government aims to: To access the Solar Sharer Offer, you need to: Calculated on peak solar generation for each region, the 3-hour free windows are: While free electricity sounds amazing, it’s important to keep the following in mind and evaluate whether an SSO electricity plan works for you and your home. Remember, you’ll still be paying daily connection fees, electricity charges outside the free window (such as peak, shoulder or controlled load rates) and any green-offset fees. Before you dive headlong into a SSO plan, it’s vital to compare its rate charges against your current plan as they could actually be higher. Yes, you might enjoy three hours of power on the house, so to speak, but if you’re paying more for peak rates or daily connection fees, you could be worse off when your bill rolls in. That’s why it’s essential to do the maths first (as it is when considering any new plan). Well, it depends – largely on the retail plan fees as discussed in the previous section, but also on how much you can practically shift your electricity consumption to these three-hour windows. If you can change your routine and run energy-hungry appliances such as dishwashers or washing machines, or charge your EV or e-bike, during the free-power window, you’ll definitely benefit. Using timers and/or smart appliance settings can also help – and save you – a lot. For example, a dishwasher uses around one kWh per cycle, on average. Run it with free power and it’ll cost nothing, compared to a peak rate of, say, 35 cents per kWh at night (as an example). That might not seem like much a day, but over a year, you’ll save $127.75 by running a dishwasher load during the day. Of course, the big handbrake on time-shifting your energy use is if your work or other commitments mean you’re not home much during the day. Yes, appliance timers are handy, but it’s not the same as being home in person to fully optimise your energy use. Over a year, you’ll save $127.75 by running a dishwasher load during the day. As a result, Solar Sharer plans will probably best benefit people who are retired, or at home working or on caring duties. Read our privacy policy
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Chinese PV module manufacturer JinkoSolar announced it achieved a power conversion efficiency of 34.82% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell. The company said the results have been certified by China’s Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In its previous attempts, JinkoSolar achieved a cell efficiency of 34.76% for the same device configuration. “This efficiency breakthrough is attributed to JinkoSolar’s innovations in multiple core technologies, including the dual-layer composite passivation contact structure for N-type TOPCon cells, multidimensional interface passivation technology, gradient crystallization kinetics control strategies, and enhanced optical coupling and light management technologies,” the company said in a statement. “This milestone marks a critical step forward in the industrialization of next-generation perovskite tandem technology.” No more technical details on the cell improvement were disclosed. Chinese manufacturer Longi holds the world record for perovskite-tandem solar cell efficiency, achieving 34.85% efficiency in April 2025. This cell device was developed in partnership with China’s Soochow University and was described in the paper “Efficient perovskite/silicon tandem with asymmetric self-assembly molecule,” which was recently published in nature.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Be part of the high-level European conference on solar and energy storage, exploring bankable BESS projects, warranties, and energy management for residential and C&I sectors Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy. Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way! We are participating in Intersolar 2026 again this year! Visit us at our Booth Hall 2 A2.250 to discuss the latest trends within the photovoltaic industry with the pv magazine team. June 23-25, 2026 | MUNICH, GERMANY
Tarragona Barcelona Tarragona Barcelona The Consell Comarcal del Vallès Occidental has approved advancing 3.2 million euros to tender the first phase of the reform of Mercavallès, the market it manages by delegation from the city councils of Sabadell and Terrassa. The decision comes as the concessions for the premises are in a precarious state after having expired, but the regional entity cannot open a new tender without first modernizing facilities that will begin to be renovated with the removal of the asbestos cement roofing. The regional plenary session gave the green light this Thursday to the modification of the investment budget with the votes in favor of PSC, ERC, Junts per Catalunya, En Comú Podem, Tot per Terrassa, VOX, and PP, while CAM-AMUNT abstained. The first phase of the works will focus on replacing the current roof with a Deck-type one. The new structure will be prepared for the installation of photovoltaic panels in a later phase. Mercavallès thus takes its first step in construction. The complete transformation project is valued at 12,470,000 euros. Of that amount, 4,988,000 euros come from a grant from the European Regional Development Fund within the Spain 2021-2027 Pluriregional Program. The Consell Comarcal sustains the management of the market on behalf of Sabadell and Terrassa, but the expiration of the concessions now requires linking the physical reform of the premises with the definition of its governance. For this next step, the regional entity has commissioned Institut Cerdà to conduct a study on possible management models applicable to Mercavallès. This report should serve to specify how the market will be organized once the modernization of the facilities is completed. The action at Mercavallès is part of the Integrated Action Plan Motor of social, energy, and food change in the Circular Park of Vallès. This framework also includes the optimization of accesses, the renovation of lighting, the improvement of waste management, digitalization, and the energy rehabilitation of the complex, in a line that connects with municipal services in Terrassa. Furthermore, the process is carried out in coordination with the Associació de Majoristes. The procedures for contracting the construction management and safety coordination will be channeled through the framework agreement of the Associació Catalana de Municipis. The advance approved this Thursday will allow for the tender of an initial phase focused on removing asbestos cement and installing a new roof prepared for future photovoltaic panels. Journalist
Each year, millions of tourists from around the world visit Pompeii. They admire the southern Italian city's frescoes and archaeological ruins, but few will likely ever notice the solar panels installed on the roof of the ancient Roman Villa of the Mysteries. On one side, "it looks just like an ancient Roman tile. But if we look at it from behind, we can see that it is actually a small photovoltaic panel," explained Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Pompeii Archaeological Park Director. "It generates electricity to illuminate this villa, and a large share of the energy needed here comes directly from the roof installation," he added. While Pompeii is considering extending this solution to other areas of its archaeological park that are far from the electricity grid, the Portuguese city of Évora, has also adopted similar technologies, avoiding the harsh visual impact of conventional black solar panels. On the rooftop of the City Hall, some shingles are slightly clearer. "They are not normal shingles," said Humberto Queiroz, EDP R&D Centre and Project manager. "They are made of a semi-transparent epoxy material with solar cells embedded in the middle of it, which generates electricity for the self-consumption of this building." The area has around 20 kWp (kilowatt peak) of PV shingles, designed to blend into the building's landscape architecture and protect the heritage aspect of Évora. Related How solar has saved Europe €136 million per day since the start of the Iran war Is Europe's heatwave bad news for renewables? Surge in solar turns power prices negative Since 1986, Évora's historic centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. PV shingles are among the solutions through which the European project POCITYF is helping the city reconcile heritage preservation with the modern challenges of sustainability. "Évora is a World Heritage city and, like most historic cities across Europe, it has the responsibility to preserve its historic centre and safeguard its cultural heritage," analysed Nuno Bilo, EU project coordinator at Évora Municipality. "However, it cannot remain frozen in time. We also need to move forward and find solutions that enable historic cities—and in this case Évora—to address one of today's greatest challenges: decarbonisation." Among the solutions developed to make this possible is one created by a small family-owned company based in north-eastern Italy. Matteo Quagliato, who works for Dyaqua, explained the process. "The tile is made from a resin compound that forms the first layer. We then take the photovoltaic cells, which have already been soldered beforehand, and place them inside. After that, a second layer is added, made from a specially formulated compound. The final step is lowering the mould and removing the finished product: a resin tile containing the photovoltaic cells." Solutions like this one and the different technologies adopted in Pompeii send an encouraging message to the rest of the world. “The lesson Pompeii offers is that if this technology can work here, in a place that is so delicate, so closely monitored, so fragile, and so vast, then it can work anywhere”, said Zuchtriegel. Glass roofs integrating photovoltaic panels and solar canopies installed in the courtyards of schools in the historic centre are among the other solutions being tested in Évora. Together with Alkmaar in the Netherlands, the Portuguese city is assessing these innovations through the POCITYF project to evaluate their potential for replication across Europe. Mayweather was sued Thursday in a federal court in New York by promoter CSI Entertainment, which claims the Hall of Fame boxer pocketed $4.65 million in advances to fight Tyson and Pacquiao, but then walked away from the deal, according to the 34-page complaint obtained by Uncrowned. While Moreno's critics are steadfast in their belief that she lacks emotional stability, some viewers are arguing otherwise: Moreno isn't having a crashout. She's actually taking the steps to prevent one. Switzerland scored all four of its goals over the final 23 minutes of the match. It's been 53 years since the Knicks won an NBA championship. This was their first official ticker-tape parade. Some World Cup players are battling heat, injuries and illness while teams use cooling tech, hydration strategies and performance data to stay competitive. Fantasy football analyst Justin Boone unveils his sleeper series for 2026. Here, he'll go over the wide receiver position. Mokoena's 83rd-minute penalty kick goal came after Czechia was called for a handball in their box. How to watch Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever play the Atlanta Dream this Thursday. Snap stock has had a down week following the hyped reveal of its latest AR glasses. The World Cup offers parents a chance to be exposed to beautiful and unusual baby name ideas from dozens of different countries.
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Coal, which still provides almost all the grid’s flexibility including ancillary reserves, is being cycled from near-full output at night to its lowest point at midday every single day. It is increasingly pushed to and below its minimum technical load – the floor below which stable operation is not possible. Once there, it cannot provide downward reserves, and renewable generation must be curtailed just to keep coal physically operable. The curtailment this causes represents a significant volume of clean electricity wasted. The constraint is structural, it worsens with every new solar panel added, and it has a direct solution: storage, deployed at scale, with the connectivity rules to match. Solar and wind curtailment is becoming a visible part of India’s real-time grid balancing. The volumes are already noticeable and rising. Without sufficient flexibility, including storage, this could become a constraint on the next phase of renewable energy growth. Solar and wind now supply around 17% of India’s electricity generation on an annual average basis – but at midday, the share can reach 41%. It is this peak that tests the system. This large solar fleet pushes coal down to and sometimes below its minimum technical load, the floor below which stable plant operation is no longer possible. Once coal hits that floor, it has no further room to provide downward reserves, when it is needed most. Coal is being pushed to its limits to absorb rising solar generation. Since March 2026, its share has swung daily from nearly 90% at night to just over 50% at midday, pushing many plants to or below their 55% minimum technical load. Since April 2026, coal has breached that floor in over half of midday dispatch intervals, leaving little room to ramp down further. As coal has been the main source of downward reserves, those reserves are disappearing exactly when these reserves are needed the most – when solar output is highest. When coal is scheduled below its operating floor, renewable generation must be curtailed to bring it back up. At midday, up to 6% of solar and wind generation was curtailed for this reason alone – not due to congestion or weak demand, but because coal could not go lower. In March 2026, the coal fleet was already 3.2 GW below technical minimum on average during midday. By April 2026, renewable curtailment met 37% of down-regulation, or 816 MU, up from near zero a year earlier. As solar capacity grows, this pressure will only intensify Around 10 GWh of storage charging during the midday window would have been sufficient to absorb surplus renewable generation, keep coal above its minimum technical load, and avoid curtailment. This storage is primarily needed to provide downward reserves and be scheduled to bring coal plants closer to technical minimum. The 3.37 GWh Khavda BESS project was commissioned in May 2026 within ten months. Deployment is not the constraint. Current connectivity rules can require BESS projects to add commensurate renewable generation before long-term grid charging is permitted, adding delays and restricting the operation the system needs most. Batteries that charge from grid surplus during solar hours can reduce curtailment and provide down reserves. This should be allowed by default, not restricted by connectivity conditions linked to co-located generation.
This creates two distinct operational challenges: variability and forecast uncertainty. Variability is predictable but growing. Solar follows a daily pattern: it rises in the morning, peaks around midday, and falls in the evening. As it rises, conventional generators must back down to maintain supply-demand balance. As it falls, dispatchable resources must ramp up quickly to meet net demand. This pattern is predictable, but the size of the swing is increasing as more solar is added. Forecast uncertainty is less predictable. Solar output does not always match what was scheduled because it is highly sensitive to changing weather conditions. Cloud cover, dust, humidity and localised weather events can cause actual generation to deviate from the day-ahead plan, sometimes by several gigawatts. These deviations create real-time balancing errors that the system must correct quickly. This means solar integration is no longer only about adding capacity. The grid must also be able to operate reliably around solar’s variability and forecast uncertainty. That requires flexible generation, reserves, storage, and stronger forecasting systems that can manage ramps, absorb surplus generation, minimise deviations from forecast values and correct the supply-demand imbalances in real time. Solar and wind’s share of India’s electricity generation has grown rapidly, from just over 2% in 2010 to around 14.4% in 2025, with solar driving almost all the recent acceleration, increasing from almost zero to 9.42%, while wind grew more gradually to 5%. The growth was especially strong in the last year: solar and wind increased from 11% in 2024 to 14.5% in 2025, a rise of 3.39 percentage points. As a result, the share of other sources fell from 89% to 85.6%, showing a clear acceleration in VRE growth. But annual averages tell only part of the story. They average across all hours of all days, including nights when solar contributes nothing to the generation mix. The operational challenge the system faces is not the average – it is what happens during the hours when solar is at or near its peak, and those hours are becoming more demanding every year. The monthly average hourly VRE profile makes this visible. Comparing January–April 2025 with the same months in 2026, the curve shape is nearly identical: a steep morning ramp, a midday plateau, and a sharp evening drop. But the 2026 curve sits consistently higher at its peak. The average midday VRE share (10:00–14:00) rose by 4.7 percentage points in January, 6.7 in February, 5.8 in March, and 4.9 in April – an average gain of around 5.5 percentage points across the four months, driven almost entirely by roughly 46 GW of solar capacity added in a single year. The peak 1 pm average share reached 33.7% in January 2026 against 28.8% in 2025, and 37.2% in March 2026 against 30.9% in 2025. This was driven mainly by rapid solar capacity additions. This reveals a system that operates in two distinct regimes. A midday/solar-dominated regime and a non-solar regime. Overnight and through winter months, VRE penetration is low and the grid operates much as it always has. But during midday hours on clear days, solar now dominates – and the grid must manage the transition between these two states, in both directions, every single day. As solar capacity continues to grow, the peak share will keep rising even if the annual average climbs more gradually. As solar grows two operational consequences that scale directly with how much solar is on the system, and both are becoming more acute every year. Solar follows a predictable daily arc. When it was small, the rest of the system barely noticed. Now that it is supplying an increasing share of demand at its daily peak, every other generator must move around it. Coal, which still provides the majority of India’s electricity, must back down by tens of gigawatts through the morning and ramp back up just as fast in the evening. 6 March 2026 shows what this looks like in practice. At midnight, coal supplied 87% of India’s electricity. By midday, solar and wind had taken 41% of the generation mix, pushing coal’s share down to 54%, a reduction of around 49 GW in six hours. Then, as solar output collapsed in the afternoon and evening demand picked up, coal had to climb back to 85%, a 51 GW recovery in just three hours. While the demand did not change significantly it was a different generation mix catering the demand. Coal is no longer a stable baseload. It is being cycled up and down around the solar curve, every day, at increasing depth and speed. It was built for sustained high-output operation, not daily cycling through a deep midday trough. Coal is increasingly reaching close to its technical minimum and is sometimes required to operate below it, which is impossible. The margin will narrow further as solar capacity grows. While the daily dispatch pattern looks smooth and predictable, the underlying reality is not. The smooth bell curve of average hourly generation, rising steadily through the morning, peaking at midday, falling away in the evening, is what the schedule assumes will happen if solar plants deliver exactly what they promised. On any individual day, the actual output deviates from that schedule, sometimes by several gigawatts, in either direction, at any point during the solar day. Cloud cover moves unpredictably. Dust events reduce output without warning. Localised weather creates pockets of over- and under-generation simultaneously across a region. The grid operator cannot wait for these deviations to resolve themselves. Every imbalance between actual and scheduled generation must be corrected in real time, within 15-minute dispatch blocks. Actual versus scheduled solar generation from ISTS-connected plants in the Northern Region across four consecutive days in March 2026 tells a different story. The two lines track each other broadly but diverge repeatedly and significantly. On some days it runs above schedule, creating surplus power that must be absorbed or backed down elsewhere. On other days it falls below schedule, requiring additional generation or reserves to fill the gap. In both cases, the system needs balancing reserves to stabilise operations. The direction of deviation can flip from one day to the next, and the magnitude also varies. And because this data covers only one region’s ISTS-connected plants, where deviations partially offset each other through aggregation, the uncertainty at the individual plant level and across all regions combined is higher still. At the national level, some of these regional deviations may partially cancel out, as overgeneration in one part of the country coincides with under-generation in another. On 6 March 2026, those deviations were happening constantly across the country. Coal had already backed down 49 GW to accommodate the solar that was scheduled. The headroom available to absorb further unplanned solar surplus, or to cover an unexpected shortfall, had shrunk dramatically (approaching zero or negative). The system had used most of its flexibility just to follow the predictable part of the solar curve. What remained for the unpredictable part was far smaller. This is why scale matters for uncertainty as much as for variability. More solar means larger absolute deviations from schedule, at the exact moments when the thermal fleet has the least room to respond. At India’s current solar fleet size, a 5% forecast error translates to roughly 4,000 MW of unplanned deviation. At the scale India is heading towards, the same percentage error becomes 10,000 MW by 2030. The reserve requirement grows with every panel installed and must be met from a system that is simultaneously being asked to cycle harder and faster just to manage the variability. Security-Constrained Unit Commitment (SCUC) is a pre-dispatch mechanism that schedules thermal plants in advance. One of its roles is to ensure that committed generators are positioned above their minimum generation levels where possible, leaving room to provide reserves when needed. Every deviation between actual and scheduled solar generation creates an imbalance that must be corrected in real time, not on average across the day, but in every 15-minute block. How fast the response needs to be depends on how quickly the deviation develops. India manages this through three reserve layers, each operating at a different timescale. Primary response is automatic and instantaneous. When frequency deviates from 50 Hz, governor-equipped generators adjust output within seconds, without instruction. This buys time, but it does not fully correct the imbalance. Secondary response operates through Automatic Generation Control (AGC), known in India as Secondary Reserve Ancillary Service (SRAS). AGC sends signals every four seconds to designated generators, correcting imbalances at the seconds-to-minutes timescale. Under the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) 2023, SRAS providers must begin responding within 30 seconds, reach full obligated capacity within 15 minutes, and sustain the response for up to 30 minutes. Tertiary response operates through Tertiary Reserve Ancillary Service (TRAS). It is used when imbalances persist beyond the secondary response window or when larger schedule corrections are needed. TRAS provides additional reserves at the minutes-to-hours timescale, helping restore secondary reserves and maintain system balance over longer periods.
But as variable renewable energy (VRE) grows, this model is coming under stress. High solar output during the day pushes coal plants toward their technical minimum – the floor below which stable operation cannot be maintained. Once coal reaches close to this floor, it has little room to reduce output further, eroding the downward reserves. And to get coal up to that floor in the first place, solar must sometimes be curtailed which results in wasting clean energy to preserve the conditions needed for balancing. Coal’s technical minimum is now a constraint on renewable integration. Coal is still India’s power system’s main shock absorber. Most balancing today relies on coal units that are already online. When the system needs more power in real time, coal units ramp up. When the system has too much power in real time, coal units ramp down. Coal is, in effect, the main shock absorber for managing swings in net demand. The source-wise breakdown of regulation services shows this clearly. Across the months analysed, coal provided the majority of both upward and downward regulation. These are real-time dispatch instructions that raise or cut a plant’s output within minutes to hold grid frequency at 50 Hz. In March 2026, coal provided 1,351 MU of regulation up out of a total 1,364 MU, and 1,984 MU of regulation down out of a total 2,395 MU. This means coal accounted for almost all regulation up and more than four-fifths of regulation down in that month. But this flexibility, particularly in terms of absorbing surplus, has a physical limit. Coal can only ramp down to its technical minimum. During high solar and wind periods, coal is backed down to create space for VRE generation. This helps the system absorb renewables, but it also reduces the downward headroom available from coal. Once coal is close to its technical minimum, it cannot provide much more downward reserve. This is why renewable curtailment under TRAS down-regulation is increasingly used. Solar and wind provided 27% (~346 MU) of regulation in May 2026 and 37% (816 MU) in April 2026. In March of 2025, renewable curtailment for TRAS down-regulation was negligible, close to zero. Renewable downregulation is not the same as coal providing flexibility. When coal is backed down, it is a controllable generator reducing output. When renewables are backed down, it usually means available solar or wind generation is being curtailed. Coal can help balance the grid only as long as it has room to move. 21 March 2026 was one such day when that room ran out. Through the morning into early afternoon, solar and wind displaced a significant share of coal output. Scheduled coal fell from around 148 GW at midnight to 107 GW by early afternoon – its lowest point of the day. Under the Indian grid Code, coal units cannot (or are not required to) run below 55% of rated capacity. When the aggregate planned coal output fell below that collective floor, the day-ahead schedule was in violation of that constraint. When coal is lifted back to its floor, load-generation balance requires an equal and opposite reduction elsewhere. The Grid Code directs this reduction first at the most expensive thermal generators. But on 21 March, most thermal units were already near their own operating floors. There was no thermal headroom left for the offsetting reduction. It fell on solar and wind instead. Solar and wind was curtailed (as shown in the darker shades of green) to first bring the coal fleet to its technical minimum and to provide the necessary balancing under TRAS down. Ember estimates suggest that at 13:30 more than 7 GW was curtailed purely to accommodate coal’s return to above its minimum level. This is the first and most direct sense in which coal’s rigidity is paid for by renewable curtailment: every gigawatt used to hold coal at its floor is a gigawatt taken from solar and wind. Once coal is at its floor, the problem deepens. A generator sitting at its technical minimum cannot be dispatched downward. It has no further flexibility to offer. If the system still has more generation than demand – because solar output continues to be high – the surplus cannot come from coal. It has to come from somewhere else. The Grid Code addresses this through Tertiary Reserve Ancillary Services (TRAS): when downward regulation is needed and thermal cannot provide it, TRAS Down is dispatched to whatever source has headroom. On 21 March that source was VRE. Ember estimates suggest that at 12:15 close to 9 GW of TRAS Down was dispatched through solar and wind curtailment. The constraint shown on 21 March 2026 is not an isolated event. Across FY 2025–26, coal minimum technical load constraints created around 2.1 TWh of renewable curtailment risk in FY 2025–26 – equivalent to 1.3% of total renewable generation and roughly INR 629 crore of foregone electricity. This is curtailment required purely to keep coal plants at their minimum technical load, before the system even considers reserve requirements or grid constraints, renewable generation must be cut simply to make space for coal to remain physically operable. This curtailment is entirely absent outside the solar window. It appears only during peak solar hours, typically between 9:00 and 15:30. The daily average looks small, but that masks what is happening within those hours. At the worst half-hours, 5–6% of total solar and wind generation in that interval was being displaced – not because of grid congestion or because there was no demand, but because coal could not generate any lower. October and November 2025 saw the most severe curtailment of the year: peaking at around 5% of solar and wind generation in October and exceeding 6% in November at the 13:00–13:30 slot. In absolute terms, the headroom deficit reached 2.8 GW in October and 3.2 GW in November. India added around 24 GW of solar capacity between October 2025 and April 2026, reaching approximately 154 GW. The effect is already visible. By April 2026, peak hour curtailment had returned to 4% of solar and wind generation and the headroom deficit had reached 3.2 GW – comparable to November 2025, despite April being outside the most constrained seasonal window. The same structural problem is producing similar curtailment numbers with a solar fleet that is now considerably larger. The coming post-monsoon period could be worse When October–November 2026 arrives, the solar fleet will be larger still. If battery storage does not come online at scale before then to absorb the midday surplus, the curtailment share in those hours will exceed what was seen in 2025. The structural condition has not changed, only the size of the solar generation pressing against coal’s operating floor has grown. Renewable energy curtailment has escalated sharply over the past year. TRAS-Down instructions to curtail solar and wind added to over 3,600 GWh by early June 2026, up from near zero in mid-2025. Other curtailment, covering direct backing down of wind and solar generation, added a further 900 GWh over the same period. Renewable energy curtailment due to TRAS-Down volumes accelerated most sharply between September and November 2025, when cumulative volumes roughly quadrupled from around 600 GWh to over 2,100 GWh in under three months. Growth has been particularly sharp since March 2026, with volumes adding over 1,400 GWh in just two months. The scale on individual days is already striking. On 1 and 3 May 2026, TRAS-Down volumes exceeded 120 GWh each. Storage could have prevented most of the curtailment seen in the most constrained months of FY 2025–26. In October and November 2025, around 9–10 GWh of storage charging would have been needed each day during the midday solar window to avoid curtailment caused by coal minimum generation limits. With this storage in place, surplus renewable generation would have charged batteries instead of being curtailed. Coal plants could have continued operating above their minimum technical levels, avoiding a conflict between rising solar generation and the limited flexibility of the coal fleet. This estimate is based on the solar fleet available at the time. Since then, India has continued to add solar capacity, increasing the scale of midday surplus generation. As solar grows, the amount of energy that must either be shifted, curtailed or balanced by greater system flexibility will also increase. Even so, around 10 GWh of storage remains the right order of magnitude. Storage does not need to eliminate every unit of curtailment to deliver system value. Some residual curtailment is acceptable, and the objective is not to cover every constrained interval perfectly. The key role of storage is to absorb the largest and most frequent midday surplus periods, reducing curtailment while allowing coal plants to remain within their technical operating limits.
This makes BESS essential for the next phase of RE growth – not only as a tool for shifting solar from afternoon to evening, but as the flexibility resource that allows the system to absorb more renewable generation without forcing coal below its operating floor. The technology can be deployed quickly. The pipeline exists. The bottleneck is connectivity: the rules being written now will decide whether that pipeline becomes useful operational storage or gets constrained by a framework designed for generation evacuation rather than flexible grid operation. India’s power system has reached the point where additional renewable generation cannot be integrated through coal flexibility alone. Solar generation is being increased during the same hours when coal is being pushed toward its technical minimum – the floor below which stable plant operation is no longer possible. Once coal reaches that floor, the system needs another source of downward flexibility. Today, that missing flexibility is provided by curtailing renewable generation. This keeps the grid balanced but wastes clean electricity. Coal minimum technical load constraints created around 2.1 TWh of renewable curtailment risk in FY 2025-26 – equivalent to 1.3% of total renewable generation and roughly ₹629 crore of foregone electricity. By April 2026, coal was at its technical floor in more than half of all midday dispatch intervals. The pressure will increase through the monsoon months, when peak wind and peak solar arrive simultaneously, pushing residual demand lower than the thermal fleet can follow. Battery storage addresses this constraint in two distinct ways. BESS creates demand during the surplus window. By charging during midday hours, storage absorbs generation that would otherwise be curtailed. This allows more renewable output to be used by the system and, in effect, allows coal to reach its technical minimum with less VRE being spilled to get there. BESS provides downward reserves once coal has hit its floor. Once coal can no longer back down, any further surplus must be handled by something else. Without storage, that role falls to VRE curtailment. With storage, the battery absorbs at least part of that surplus and reduces the need to spill clean generation. Together, these two functions make storage not as a nice-to-have addition but as the resource that determines how much further renewable capacity the system can absorb. Battery storage can be built far faster than any other form of power sector infrastructure. A site-ready project can move from financial close to commissioning in five to seven months. The technology is modular and containerised, with no long civil construction timelines. This speed matters because the flexibility problem is already here. The grid needs assets that can be deployed within the same timeframe in which curtailment and reserve shortfalls are worsening. India has already demonstrated that large-scale BESS can be executed rapidly: Kilokari, Delhi (20 MW / 40 MWh): India’s first regulated utility-scale standalone BESS, commissioned April 2025 by BRPL and tested under AGC closed-loop operation within weeks – demonstrating that batteries can participate immediately in the balancing architecture India is building around ancillary services. Khavda, Gujarat (3.37 GWh): Adani Green Energy commissioned the world’s largest single-location battery storage project outside China in May 2026, completing 3.37 GWh within 10 months of construction commencing on-site. The project is co-located with AGEL’s 30 GW renewable energy park at Khavda, of which 9.9 GW is already operational. AGEL plans to add a further 10 GWh in FY27 alone, targeting 50 GWh over five years. The broader pipeline confirms that physical deployment capability is not the constraint. India has a significant BESS under construction and under tendering. Developers are present, supply chains are forming, and execution capability exists. The issue is whether the regulatory and connectivity framework will allow these projects to operate in the way the grid needs. The issue sits in the General Network Access (GNA) framework. GNA governs how generators, storage projects and other users obtain access to the inter-state transmission system. The Third Amendment created a distinction between solar-hour and non-solar-hour access, allowing existing solar connectivity holders to use under-utilised transmission capacity during non-solar hours. This is where much of the current opportunity to add BESS exists. Under the Right of First Refusal mechanism, BESS projects seeking non-solar-hour access face two conditions. The first is a minimum two-hour storage duration. This is reasonable because short-duration batteries provide limited value for the kind of surplus absorption and evening discharge the system needs, while consuming grid connectivity. The second condition is more consequential. BESS projects must install commensurate renewable generation capacity for charging. Until that capacity is commissioned, grid charging is permitted only on an interim basis and within available margins. In practice, long-term grid charging is treated as a temporary concession rather than a normal operating mode for storage. The concern is that a solar connectivity slot should not become a general-purpose route for drawing power from the grid. This concern is relevant mainly during non-solar hours, when a BESS could draw power through a line originally planned for solar evacuation. But the current condition applies beyond that narrow risk. During solar hours, BESS charging is a different operation entirely. A battery charging during surplus solar periods absorbs generation that would otherwise flow into the grid, reducing net export rather than increasing it. In those hours, grid charging helps the system by reducing curtailment and providing downward flexibility. The rule therefore treats two different operations as equivalent: a battery absorbing surplus generation at noon, and a battery drawing power through a constrained connection at night. The first helps the grid; the second may need limits. The current restriction is broader than the risk it is trying to manage. A battery tied to one co-located plant charges when that plant generates, not when the grid has its largest surplus or when prices are lowest. Surplus renewable generation is not always located behind the same connection. The grid may be long on wind in one region and long on solar in another. A battery free to charge from the grid can respond to system-wide surplus. A battery restricted to co-located generation cannot. The restriction also weakens the price signal needed to scale storage. India’s Day Ahead Market already shows prices falling to around ₹0.1/kWh during surplus solar hours and rising to ₹10–20/kWh during evening peaks. That spread tells storage where and when it is valuable. A battery that can charge when power is nearly free and discharge when power is scarce can earn a commercial return while solving a real grid problem. This is the route through which merchant investment can enter the sector at scale. Viability Gap Funding can seed early projects, but it cannot finance the full storage buildout India needs. The condition also adds delay at the moment speed matters most. Requiring developers to identify land, negotiate access and commission additional renewable generation before BESS can operate with full grid access adds months to projects. The flexibility gap is already widening. Each month of added process is a month without the storage the grid needs. The result is an inefficient use of BESS. Instead of acting as a system-wide flexibility asset, the battery becomes tied to the output profile of one plant. It is used as a project accessory rather than as market infrastructure. That limits its ability to absorb surplus, provide downward reserves, respond to price signals, and support the next phase of RE growth. The underlying transmission concern should be addressed, but with a targeted rule. Non-solar hour drawal through constrained connectivity slots can be limited where it creates genuine network risk. But grid charging during solar surplus hours should be permitted by default. This would align the rule with the actual system needs. When there is surplus renewable generation, BESS should be allowed to charge from the grid and absorb electricity that would otherwise be curtailed. When transmission headroom is genuinely constrained during non-solar hours, drawal limits can be applied. The current framework has the default the wrong way around. It restricts the very operation that would help the system most, while treating grid charging as a temporary concession. A better framework would recognise grid charging during surplus periods as a normal and valuable operating mode for storage. The principle is straightforward: restrict risky drawal where it creates network problems, but allow storage to charge when it reduces curtailment, lowers system stress, and improves flexibility. That is how BESS can support RE growth without being trapped inside a connectivity framework designed mainly for generation evacuation. TRAS-Down dispatch data was sourced from the monthly Ancillary Services Implementation Reports published by Grid Controller of India Limited (GRID-INDIA). These reports cover the TRAS/SRAS/SCUC mechanism and are published by Grid India. Two types of renewable curtailment are estimated in this analysis. Plant-level TRAS-Down dispatch volumes were extracted from the payment details tables in each monthly report. Renewable plants were identified based on their zero -compensation charge treatment under CERC directions, and monthly totals were aggregated to derive the share of TRAS-Down dispatch attributable to renewable curtailment.
This form of curtailment is not directly observable from the TRAS reports. It was estimated using the Power Supply Position (PSP) data. The Minimum Technical Limit (MTL) was estimated by examining the maximum generation of the thermal fleet in a given day. Where actual generation in a given period falls below the MTL, the fleet is assumed to be operating at or near its technical minimum. The shortfall between actual generation and the MTL represents the extent to which the fleet would need to increase its generation and is treated as the implied space created for renewable generation. Ember: Duttatreya Das, Debabrata Das, Shiyao Zhang, Matt Ewen We thank our external reviewer Shiv Vembadi. An aerial perspective of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, commissioned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI). Credit: Press Information Bureau, Government of India Ember is an energy think tank that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition with data and policy. Ember is the trading name of Ember Energy Research CIC, a Community Interest Company registered in England & Wales #06714443. ‘Ember’ is a trademark held at the United Kingdom and European Union Intellectual Property Offices. All content is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY-4.0). Website powered by 100% renewable electricity. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Ross Norton // June 18, 2026// Officials broke ground on Columbia Metropolitan Airport’s terminal energy project, which will add a solar microgrid, battery storage and hundreds of covered parking spaces. (Rendering/FlyCAE.com) Columbia Metropolitan Airport breaks ground on solar microgrid Officials broke ground on Columbia Metropolitan Airport’s terminal energy project, which will add a solar microgrid, battery storage and hundreds of covered parking spaces. (Rendering/FlyCAE.com)
Columbia Metropolitan Airport has broken ground on a multi-phase terminal energy project. The project will include the construction of a solar array canopy, as part of a microgrid, on the top deck of the existing parking garage — adding 700 covered garage parking spots for passengers, according to a news release. Additionally, a battery yard storage facility will be built adjacent to the terminal, according to the release. Energy generated by the solar panels will be stored in the battery yard and deployed as needed during peak demand periods and at night. Airport officials say the project will provide operational resiliency for the daily needs of the airport. “Increasing covered parking — to 1500 total covered parking spots at the end of this project — while leveraging a renewable energy source reflects the innovative, future-focused mindset the airport has embraced for this project,” Frank Murray, vice president of engineering and planning for Columbia Metropolitan Airport, said in the news release. “In addition to increasing covered garage parking, we will be harnessing and storing the energy generated, which in turn, will drive down our utility spend by an estimated average of 55% every year.” The first phase of the terminal energy project focuses on the west side of the parking garage. In recent weeks, passengers parking in the garage have seen signage redirecting traffic to other parts of the parking garage as construction of the new microgrid is now underway. The project is on track to be fully completed by December 2027, according to airport officials. “The cost savings, the increased energy independence and the enhanced system reliability will allow CAE to see positive impacts with this project for many decades to come,” Chris White, CAE president and CEO, said in the release. CAE has partnered with engineering consultant firm, CMTA Inc., for these projects. For parking information during the construction, visit FlyCAE.com. Share this! Hangar 28 Kitchen & Events will open at Greenville Downtown Airport with scratch-made dining, a bar, cater[…] June 9, 2026 Ethiopian Airlines confirms order for six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to expand global routes boost cargo capacit[…] April 21, 2026 Infinity Aviation Group opens a Charleston headquarters to grow its FBO network through mergers and expand pri[…] March 26, 2026 Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner built in North Charleston wins South Carolina’s Coolest Thing Made contest highlig[…] March 24, 2026 Sun PhuQuoc Airways orders up to 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners assembled in North Charleston, marking Vietnam’s […] February 20, 2026 American Airlines will restart nonstop service from Columbia Metropolitan Airport to Chi-cago O’Hare on May […] January 29, 2026 Sign up for your daily digest of SCBIZ News.
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MSP Steel and Power Limited has signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Elevate Solar Energy Private Limited to procure solar power under the Group Captive Open Access mechanism. The agreement was executed on June 18, 2026, and will remain in force for 25 years. Under the agreement, Elevate Solar Energy will supply a contracted quantity of 10 MWp (DC) of electricity per annum to MSP Steel at a fixed tariff of Rs 3.17 per unit. Solar power procurement The power will be sourced from a solar project being developed by Elevate Solar Energy in Baloda Bazar district of Chhattisgarh. The project will have a total installed capacity of 70 MWp (DC) / 50 MW (AC). The long-term arrangement is aimed at increasing MSP Steel’s renewable energy consumption while providing greater certainty over electricity costs. For energy-intensive industries such as steel manufacturing, power costs constitute a significant component of operating expenditure, making long-term renewable energy procurement an increasingly attractive option. Group captive structure The agreement has been structured under the Group Captive model. As part of the arrangement, MSP Steel intends to acquire a 26% equity stake in Elevate Solar Energy corresponding to its contracted energy requirement. The proposed shareholding will be formalised through a Shareholders’ Agreement to be executed separately. Under the arrangement, MSP Steel will have rights including the appointment of directors, first right to subscribe to future share issuances and the ability to restrict changes to the capital structure of Elevate Solar Energy. The group captive model enables consumers to procure power through open access while meeting captive consumption requirements under electricity regulations. The company said the agreement is intended to optimise energy costs and increase its share of renewable energy consumption. The move aligns with the broader trend of industrial consumers adopting renewable energy to reduce exposure to grid power price fluctuations and support decarbonisation objectives. The featured photograph is for representation only. Solex Energy Limited has received a Rs 276 crore work order from a domestic independent power producer for the manufacture and supply of N-type Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. The order provides additional visibility to the company’s order book. According to a regulatory filing, the order covers the supply of 615… Read More Solex Energy wins Rs 276 crore order for N-type TOPCon modules Reliance Power Limited has issued a clarification after reports of asset attachment by the Enforcement Directorate. The company said its operations remain unaffected and noted that most of the attached assets, valued at about Rs 101.17 billion, belong to entities that are no longer part of the group. The latest ED action is linked to… Read More Reliance Power says operations unaffected after ED attachment reports Insolation Energy Limited reported audited financial results for the fourth quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2026, recording strong growth in revenue, profitability, and manufacturing capacity expansion. Revenue from operations for FY26 rose 61.02% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2,163.52 crore from Rs 1,343.62 crore in FY25. Net profit increased 59.75% to Rs 200.63 crore,… Read More Insolation Energy FY26 revenue jumps 61% to Rs 2,163 crore The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued an updated Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules on 19 September 2025, adding new modules and correcting earlier records. The update includes enlistments for Avaada Energy, Ksolare Energy, FS Green Energies, Loom Solar, Cosmic PV Power, and Rajratan Ventures… Read More MNRE updates ALMM list with new solar PV module entries RWE has completed the demolition of two cooling towers at the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant in Bavaria on 25 October, marking a key step in its decommissioning. Specialists from a German blasting firm carried out the operation using 600 kilograms of explosives in 1,800 boreholes. About 56,000 tonnes of debris will be processed into recycled… Read More Germany demolishes cooling towers of Gundremmingen nuclear plant The Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference held in Rajkot on January 12-13, 2026, resulted in major renewable energy investment proposals for Gujarat. Four companies signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Government of Gujarat, committing investments of over Rs 34,000 crore across renewable power, biofuels, and biogas projects. NLC India Limited (NLCIL), a Navratna public sector… Read More Vibrant Gujarat meet draws major renewable investment proposals Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *
India’s domestically manufactured solar cells are expected to meet nearly 50% of the country’s total solar cell demand in fiscal 2026-27, a significant increase from about 25% in the previous fiscal, according to Crisil Ratings. The sharp rise reflects the government’s continued efforts to reduce reliance on imports and strengthen the domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem. At the same time, manufacturers are rapidly expanding production capacities to capitalize on growing demand driven by localization policies. ALCM Policy Reshapes India’s Solar Supply Chain The growth in domestic solar cell production follows the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) move to deepen localization requirements across the solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain. After implementing the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for solar modules in April 2024, the ministry introduced the Approved List of Cell Manufacturers (ALCM) to promote the use of locally manufactured solar cells and reduce import dependence. Effective from June 2026, the ALCM requirement will apply to utility-scale projects with bid submission dates after August 31, 2025, as well as net-metering and open-access projects commissioned after June 1, 2026. However, residential rooftop installations under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana will remain exempt until March 31, 2027. Domestic Supply to Gain Significant Market Share According to Crisil, India’s total solar cell demand is expected to remain robust at 60-65 GW during the current fiscal year. Manish Gupta, Deputy Chief Ratings Officer, Crisil Ratings, said the ALCM framework will significantly alter the country’s solar cell sourcing pattern. “The ALCM will sharply reset India’s solar cell supply mix. Domestic supply will gain share and meet around half of the 60-65 GW demand this fiscal, with imports making up the balance,” Gupta said. He added that demand for indigenous solar cells will primarily come from newly awarded utility-scale projects, net-metering and open-access installations, and government-supported initiatives such as the Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM). Imports are expected to cater mainly to the backlog of utility-scale projects awarded before the August 31, 2025 cut-off date. As this project pipeline gradually declines, India’s dependence on imported solar cells is likely to reduce substantially from the next fiscal onward. Capacity Expansion Wave Underway To capitalize on rising demand and favourable policy support, several domestic manufacturers have announced significant investments in new solar cell production facilities and expansion projects. Crisil estimates that India’s cumulative solar cell manufacturing capacity will nearly double to 60 GW by the end of fiscal 2026-27. As reported by pv-magazine-india.com, additional capacity additions are also expected in the following fiscal year. While this expansion strengthens India’s manufacturing capabilities, it may also create challenges for producers as increased supply could pressure capacity utilization levels and product realizations.
Spain-based solar tracker manufacturer Soltec says it can now provide certification that its domestically-manufactured solar trackers are compliant with the provisions in Sections 45Y and 48E of the tax code restricting the use of equipment made by companies receiving material assistance from prohibited foreign entities (PFEs). The certification covers Soltec’s U.S. SFOne and SF7 series 1P and 2P trackers and key tracker components, including torque tubes, structural fasteners, drive systems, dampers, actuators, controllers and rails. Provisions in the tax code and in IRS guidance mandate that 100% of structural steel components (such as the piles and rails) must be domestically-produced, with other components like torque tubes and drive systems are considered manufactured product components, and must therefore contain at least 50% domestic materials for projects that begin construction in 2026 or 55% in 2027. Soltec says it has spent the past year reorganizing its U.S. supply chain to provide customers with products that meet these requirements. Following a compliance review process the manufacturer performed with support from tax and regulatory consultancy firm KPMG, it can now provide the PFE-compliant certification for relevant products “Our customers in the United States are already benefiting from a strong local supply chain that enables Soltec to offer tracker solutions with 100% U.S. content, fully aligned with PFE compliance requirements,” said Soltec CEO Mariano Berges in a statement. “By localizing its U.S. supply chain, Soltec helps customers pursue Made-in-USA tax benefits while improving cost competitiveness, delivery certainty and resilience against tariffs, freight volatility and broader geopolitical disruptions.” Deadlines built into the solar tax credit provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025 are looming. In order to qualify for the credits, projects must begin construction before July 4, 2026, or be forced to place projects into service by December 31, 2027. Experts are advising companies not to panic as the so-called “OBBBA cliff” approaches, and many developers are working as fast as possible to comply with the law before the deadline. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Peace between solar developers and farmers is possible through the emerging field of agrivoltaics, in which crops share space with solar panels. Though losing some field space, the farmer gets a reliable income from a new kind of energy crop, while continuing to stay in the business of raising plants instead of going bankrupt or selling the land for real estate development. What is lacking is a legislative framework to support and accelerate the transition into agrivoltaics, and the state of Virginia has just come up with a solution. The new legislation crossed the CleanTechnica radar via an email from the land conservation organization Piedmont Environmental Council. PEC is known for establishing the first crop-based agrivoltaic system in Virginia, located at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows (pictured above). It’s a relatively small project, but the impact has resonated through the halls of the Virginia state legislature. The word “crop” is significant because at this time, agrivoltaic activity around the US has been largely limited to grazing sheep. As relatively small, efficient grazers, sheep help reduce maintenance costs by keeping vegetation off the panels. They also help condition the soil, conserving it for agricultural use if the panels are ever removed (see more solar grazing background here). Edible crops for humans are a next-level challenge in terms of balancing land use between solar panels and agriculture. The new legislation (SB 340/HB 508) is designed to provide farmers with a reliable, stable platform for making those decisions, while avoiding poorly designed projects. “The topic of agrivoltaics is one that has been top of mind for me for years, because it has always been a question of how is it that we can ensure that our communities–and importantly our farmers–have the ability to keep land in production, but also the option to leverage the technology that can help them offset their on-farm costs and also allow them to be leaders,” Virginia Governor Spanberger explained earlier this week, marking the occasion of a formal bill-signing ceremony. “By establishing clear enforceable definitions of agrivoltaics and code of Virginia, we are protecting farmers. We are making clear that the use of agrivoltaics prioritizes agricultural productivity, keeps land in production for the life of the solar array and is part of an existing farm business,” Spanberger elaborated. If agrivoltaics is so good for farmers and their communities, why does Agriculture Secretary Susan Rollins oppose solar panels on farms? That’s a good question. Perhaps she will explain herself someday. Nevertheless, she is in good company. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum doesn’t believe that energy storage systems are actual things that exist in time and space, although energy storage helps farmers optimize their solar resources. As for Energy Secretary Chris Wright, let’s not bother him. He’s too busy to think about new solar solutions that can help farmers stay in business. His attention is focused like a thousand points of light on an effort to keep coal power from sliding into the dustbin of historical irrelevance. Perhaps in an earlier age he would have been among those fighting to save the whale oil industry after low-cost mineral and petroleum oils swept into the market, with just as much success. As for the President himself, rumor has it that his position on solar power has softened. That’s nice, but not nice enough to prevent the steady march of farm bankruptcies. Sell-offs to real estate developers also continue apace, with skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs adding to damage done by the President’s willy-nilly tariff wars. That land is forever lost to permanent infrastructure up to and including data centers. Where were we? Oh, right. A modern solution to the age-old struggle of keeping a farm in operation. SB 340/HB 508 formally defines agrivoltaics as “the intentional co-location of agricultural production and solar energy generation on the same land,” but it doesn’t stop there. The bill also lists some key qualifiers. The project must complement a farm’s existing business and prioritize agricultural activities, including the sale of products, over the solar array’s lifespan. Solar panels typically last about 25-30 years, so that is a substantial commitment. The system also needs to be designed with flexibility in mind, enabling farmers to respond to changing markets and adapt their operations accordingly. The PEC has been a powerful advocate for forward-looking agricultural energy solutions in Virginia, so its no surprise to see the organization give itself a pat on its back for another successful effort. “Working alongside the Virginia Farm Bureau, PEC helped develop an official definition for agrivoltaics that will ensure dual use solar projects take best management practices into account,” the organization explained in a press statement, while emphasizing that SB 340/HB 508 passed with strong bipartisan support. SB 340/HB 508 also follows 11 other energy bills signed into law with PEC support in one form or another Some of those were authored by PEC, and others were advised or otherwise supported by PEC. “PEC worked on these practical legislative proposals with partners before the 2026 General Assembly session, laying the groundwork for accelerating underutilized small-scale, distributed generation and storage opportunities in Virginia,” PEC explains. That’s quite a track record for one legislative session. However, former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin was term-limited out of office in November, removing one potential obstacle. Spanberger ran for the office on a clean energy platform and she has been making up for lost ground. Agrivoltaics is just part of the farmer-supporting package. The new batch of legislation also supports on-farm energy storage (sorry, Doug!) and virtual power plants, enabling farmers to earn revenue in collaboration with their local utilities. “When multiple farms, businesses and homes use battery backup, the energy they produce and store together can function as a ‘virtual power plant,’ furthering the potential for decentralized power generation,” PEC adds. “PEC worked on these practical legislative proposals with partners before the 2026 General Assembly session, laying the groundwork for accelerating underutilized small-scale, distributed generation and storage opportunities in Virginia, PEC further emphasizes. The Community Farm itself is a living model for replication, with crops sitting alongside solar panels and a full battery backup system. Kale, lettuce, beets, broccoli, and garlic are among the crops currently in residence. With the solar panels and battery in hand, the farm has had an electricity bill of zero so far this year, and the solar-plus-storage can cover its operations in case the grid goes down. Photo: The Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows is hosting the first ever crop-based agrivoltaics system in Virginia — and it won’t be the last (courtesy of PEC). CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy Tina has been covering advanced energy technology, military sustainability, emerging materials, biofuels, ESG and related policy and political matters for CleanTechnica since 2009. Follow her @tinamcasey on LinkedIn, Mastodon or Bluesky. Tina Casey has 4213 posts and counting. See all posts by Tina Casey
Iran is working towards deploying 15 GW of small-scale solar power plants. According to reports published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) has submitted a proposal to the government for a program that would aim to deploy 15 GW of small-scale plants at speed across the domestic, commercial and agricultural solar sectors. CEO of SATBA, Mohsen Tarztalab, told the news agency that both domestic manufacturing and importing of equipment must be pursued to enable the rapid installation of small solar systems. He also said that a proposal to increase the financial resources available for home solar installations has been submitted to the government. Tarztalab indicated the move towards prioritizing smaller-scale solar systems will include offering packages with hybrid inverters and batteries. “Part of our focus will be shifted from large-scale and small-scale power plants to branch, rooftop, home, commercial and agricultural power plants. In this model, small packages including solar panels, hybrid inverters and batteries are designed so that every citizen can easily use these systems,” Tarztalb said. “Achieving this goal requires general and specialized training for the installation, operation and maintenance of this equipment.” Tarztalab recently unveiled 17 specialized solar energy training centres designed to help accelerate the development of solar power plants in Iran. SATBA has set a target of training 200,000 renewable energy specialists in the next five years. IRNA’s latest report also reveals that Iran’s first solar project fund is likely to be launched in the coming weeks. It says the fund will have an initial capacity of 500 MW and will allow residential and commercial customers to participate in solar projects by purchasing shares. The proposed fund is geared towards increasing public participation in the development of solar projects while attracting public capital. Iran has set a target of achieving 12 GW of renewables capacity by the end of the year. In IRNA’s report, Tarztalb says that the goal is achievable despite some delays in equipment arriving to the country. “In the past months, due to transportation restrictions and problems, some of the equipment did not enter the country on time, but now the equipment is being imported via land, rail, sea, and air routes, and we hope that this delay will be compensated in the coming months,” he said. Imports already include hybrid inverters and batteries alongside solar panels, Tarztalab shared, before adding that the development of hybrid packages is on SATBA’s agenda are should be offered soon. IRNA reported earlier in June that Iran’s cumulative renewables capacity has now surpassed 5 GW.
Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, June 18, 2026 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 pv magazine Insight will be held on October 30, at The Battery Show India Expo 2025 and moderated by pv magazine’s Uma Gupta and Mark Hutchins.
Published 11:50 am Thursday, June 18, 2026 By EastOregonian.com PENDLETON — A fire that started Thursday morning, June 18, on the west end of Pendleton has been contained. The fire, which started around 10:40 a.m. was originally reported by Watch Duty as a small brush fire near Interstate 84. The blaze was just off the entrance to I-84 westbound at Exit 207 by the field of solar panels. Exit 207 was closed during the fire, but I-84 remains open. The fire burned about 10 acres, according to Pendleton Fire Department Chief Tony Pierotti. It was sparked by a mower used by maintenance crews working on the solar panels, per city officials. Though the fire burned close to Lookout RV Park, 601 Airport Road, no structures or recreational vehicles were damaged thanks to the crews’ efforts. Pierotti said the solar panels above much of the fire did burn, but he wasn’t sure of the extent of the damage. Multiple fire agencies responded to the blaze, including Pendleton Fire Department, Echo Rural Fire Protection District, Umatilla Tribal Fire Department and Pilot Rock Rural Fire Protection District. Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Department of Transportation are also on scene. “This type of call also exhausted our local resources to respond to other emergency calls in Pendleton,” Pierotti said. “We had to have East Umatilla (Fire and Rescue) respond to Pendleton for a medical call during this incident.” At about 1:10 p.m. June 18, Pierotti said the first responders were just finishing their mop-up efforts at the fire.
Crisil Ratings expects domestic solar cells to meet nearly half of India’s FY27 demand as the ALCM mandate boosts local manufacturing, while rapid capacity additions may pressure utilisation and returns. June 19, 2026. By EI News Network India’s domestic solar cell manufacturers are expected to meet nearly half of the country’s total solar cell demand in FY27, up from around one-fourth in the previous fiscal, driven by the implementation of the Approved List of Cell Manufacturers (ALCM) and rapid expansion of local manufacturing capacity, according to a report by Crisil Ratings. The ALCM framework, introduced by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), came into effect in June 2026 and mandates the use of approved domestically manufactured solar cells for utility-scale, net-metering and open-access solar projects, with certain exemptions for residential rooftop installations under the PM Surya Ghar scheme. According to Crisil Ratings, domestic manufacturers are expected to supply around 30-32 GW of the estimated 60-65 GW solar cell demand this fiscal year, significantly reducing reliance on imports. The shift is expected to be driven by demand from new utility-scale projects, open-access installations, net-metering projects and government-backed programmes such as the Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan. “Domestic supply will gain share and meet around half of the 60-65 GW demand this fiscal, with imports making up the remainder,” said Manish Gupta. He added that imports would largely cater to the existing pipeline of projects awarded before the August 31, 2025 cut-off date, after which dependence on imported cells is expected to decline substantially. To capitalise on the growing domestic demand, manufacturers are accelerating investments in solar cell production. Crisil estimates that India’s solar cell manufacturing capacity will nearly double to about 60 GW by the end of FY27, with additional capacity expected to come online in the following fiscal year. However, the rapid capacity build-up could pressure industry profitability. Increased supply is likely to lower capacity utilisation levels and compress margins, potentially extending the payback period for new investments. “Capacities commissioned by the end of this fiscal could see payback periods stretch by one to two years compared with the four to five years achieved by early movers,” said Ankit Hakhu. He noted that earlier entrants benefited from higher premiums and stronger utilisation rates, advantages that may diminish as more manufacturing capacity enters the market. The report also highlighted that companies pursuing deeper backward integration into ingot and wafer manufacturing could achieve better returns in the future. This is expected to be supported by the proposed implementation of ALMM III from June 2028, which aims to increase domestic value addition and reduce dependence on imported upstream components. Crisil cautioned that delays in signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) could affect solar module demand, while any significant exemptions granted under the ALCM framework for ongoing projects could influence demand for domestically manufactured solar cells. These factors remain key monitorables for the sector going forward. Renewable Expansion Without Storage will put Increasing Stress on the Grid: Hiren Pravin Shah Integrated EPC Solutions are IB Solar’s Strongest Differentiator: Aakshi Mahajan Transformers to Power Energy Future as Grid Modernisation Accelerates, Says Satyen Mamtora Future of Renewable Infra Will Be Built on Resilient Structures, Not Cheapest Ones: Vedant Goel AI, Digitalisation Will Drive Next Phase of India’s Energy Transition: Schneider’s Udai Singh
Jackery was one of the early pioneers in portable power stations and has continued to push the envelope in the space. It recently hosted CleanTechnica on a dedicated media tour at its headquarters in Shenzhen, China, where the company gave us an early look at its new solar roof system and integrated home energy storage solution. Jackery’s Solar Roof tiles were modeled after traditional terracotta roof tiles and come in black and a more traditional orange colorway. Each black solar roof tile produces 45 watts of power, with the orange tiles generating slightly less at 38 watts each. Actual production from the tiles will be slightly less efficient due to the curves of the roof tiles always translating to a suboptimal angle to the sun for part of the panel. Solar roof tiles have to pull double duty, producing power and protecting the building underneath. Jackery designers and engineers designed their tiles to be extremely durable, so we put them to the test. I’m no lightweight, and after confirming with their team several times, I not only stood on one of their roof tiles, I jumped up and down on one of them with no issues. That’s impressive, with the black roof tile only flexing slightly as my admittedly oversized American feet and body bounced up and down on them. That’s much stronger than any of the other glass-based solar roof tiles I’ve seen, including the Tesla solar roof tiles I have installed on my own roof back in California. The solar roof display in Jackery’s lobby showcased their black tiles with beautiful metal accents that elevated the finish. This is a very traditional look on many older buildings in China and would also fit right into many European landscapes. It’s probably a bit too refined for American customers with the metal trim pieces installed, though they could easily be skipped for a more tract house feel. Cool products are a great start, but they will never make an impact at scale if they’re not affordable. Jackery quotes the price for the Solar Roof at 3,980 RMB, or $600, per square meter. At their rated 25% efficiency, and 0.31 square meters per panel, that translates to ~145 watts per square meter or around $4.14/watt of installed solar. It’s not as cheap as traditional solar, but you’re getting a durable and stylish roof with this deal as well, so you wouldn’t expect them to be. One of the big downsides of installing a solar roof rather than traditional solar panels is that their wavy form factor inevitably reduces their energy production potential. You’re also locked in by the shape and directional orientation of the roof. For example, our roof largely faces north–south, with the edges facing east and west. That means many of the roof tiles won’t be facing the optimal orientation or angle for solar production, translating to lower output. It’s not the end of the world, and in many ways echoes the challenges of roof-mounted solar panels, but with even less flexibility because the solar roof tiles have no flexibility when it comes to angle of installation. For new builds, it’s best to design the orientation of the home and the angle of the roof for optimal solar production if that’s a key deliverable. In April, Jackery unveiled the SolarVault 3 modular home energy storage system. It is intended to be directly wired into the home and serves as energy storage with direct integrations to rooftop or ground-mounted solar. The SolarVault 3 uses LiFePO4 battery technology, which is the most thermally stable and long lasting mainstream battery technology available today. It’s a modular system that starts with a 2.5 kWh battery and can be expanded up to 15 kWh depending on how much storage you need. In the image, you can see each of the horizontal building blocks that act like LEGO building blocks together. Adding more storage modules simply adds more of the stackable units to the system. It comes in three configurations: SolarVault 3 Pro, SolarVault 3 Pro Max, and SolarVault 3 Pro Max AC. The Pro version lets you push out up to 1,200 W of grid output, while the Pro Max can handle up to 2,500 W of grid output for higher demand installations. The AC variant is designed as a retrofit unit that can be added to homes that already have solar installed. It doesn’t have built-in MPPT trackers and only pushes and pulls AC power at up to 2,500 watts. The Pro and Pro Max both feature an integrated bypass function that lets your higher power appliances pull directly from the grid when it’s up so that you’re not going to be constrained by the output of the system. In the event of an outage, the system intelligently switches to backup mode in milliseconds, at which point you will be constrained by the output of the system. That’s typical for just about any home energy storage system, though the output ratings for each varies. Jackery says the SolarVault 3 Pro costs 999 EUR, or $1,145 USD, and the SolarVault 3 Pro Max costs 1,199 EUR, or $1,375 USD. Making it easy and attractive to add solar to a home is a huge win that will surely encourage more homeowners to install solar. Aesthetics were definitely a big consideration when we were deciding between traditional solar and a solar roof for our home. Eliminating the need to poke holes in a roof is also a win, but the need to install a new roof is somewhat limiting if your home already has a roof that’s in good shape. It’s exciting to see Jackery continuing to push into new applications of solar and energy storage in the home with its Solar Roof and SolarVault product lines. The solar roof tiles are the best I’ve seen in terms of durability and aesthetics, which is saying a lot. These clearly command a premium when it comes to price compared to traditional solar, but that’s to be expected when they also have to provide a roof. For more information about the Jackery Solar Roof and SolarVault, head over to their website. CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy I’m a tech geek passionately in search of actionable ways to reduce the negative impact my life has on the planet, save money and reduce stress. Live intentionally, make conscious decisions, love more, act responsibly, play. The more you know, the less you need. As an activist investor, Kyle owns long term stock holdings in Tesla and Rivian. Kyle Field has 1720 posts and counting. See all posts by Kyle Field
These are remarkable achievements, but behind every new solar module, every efficiency gain and every cost reduction are talented teams, and decades of research, development and collaboration – with remarkable stories. Research impact is best understood through these stories and this year’s ACAP Annual Report is built around that principle. Rather than just reporting achievements and milestones, we’ve combined program highlights with case studies that showcase the people, technologies and discoveries shaping the future of solar energy. Together, they provide a richer picture of the breadth of research underway across ACAP and the growing impact of Australia’s uniquely collaborative solar innovation ecosystem. The reportarrives at an exciting moment for Australian solar research. Following a successful program review and strong progress toward our milestones, ACAP is entering a new phase supported by a further $220 million (USD 153.8 million) program of work. With continued support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) out to 2032, alongside our university and industry partners, more than 250 researchers across Australia are working together to advance the long-term vision of ultra low-cost solar. Solar PV is already the world’s lowest-cost source of new electricity generation and the fastest-growing energy technology in history. Yet the opportunity ahead is even larger than many people realise. Future energy systems will require enormous amounts of affordable renewable electricity to decarbonise not only power generation, but also industry, transport, manufacturing and processing. Australian researchers are playing an oversized role in making that future possible. Each case study represents a different part of the journey towards ultra low-cost solar. You’ll read about ACAP teams pushing silicon solar cells to their limits (and beyond, in some cases); researchers leading in fundamental PV materials discovery; and devising next-generation solar cell architectures. Beyond this world-leading science, ACAP researchers are working to ensure that solar technologies can be manufactured sustainably, deployed at terawatt scale, and managed responsibly throughout their lifecycle. We are also meeting the challenge of building the industries and supply chains needed for a future powered by solar. Inside, you’ll read about researchers reducing silver use in solar manufacturing, one of the industry’s emerging resource constraints. Others are improving understanding of degradation mechanisms in advanced solar cells, guiding industry standards and improving long-term reliability. You’ll meet the team behind ACAP spinout Hello Again Solar and their solar recycling technology, and learn about the feasibility of producing green polysilicon in Australia, a key input in the global solar supply chain. ACAP researchers are also looking beyond solar technology and asking what ultra low-cost solar could mean for Australia’s industrial future. New modelling suggests Australia could ultimately deploy around 2,000 GW of solar capacity – supporting large-scale production of green iron, green steel and other energy-intensive export products. With Australia’s exceptional renewable energy resources, the analysis points to a future in which abundant low-cost renewable energy becomes a foundation of national prosperity. It’s a powerful reminder that the significance of solar research extends far beyond improving solar panels. The technologies we are developing today could help create entirely new industries tomorrow. ACAP’s commitment to developing new technologies is matched by its commitment to developing the leaders who will bring them to life. One of the highlights of 2025 was the continued growth of the Emerging Leaders in Clean Energy (ELICE) program. By bringing together emerging researchers from Australia and China, ELICE is building the networks, leadership skills and collaborative culture that will underpin future clean energy innovation. Together, these stories show that ACAP’s research impact is not a single breakthrough moment. It is the cumulative result of many people, many ideas and many years of sustained effort and investment. The 2025 Annual Report reflects the strength of collaboration across the Australian solar research community. Universities, research organisations, industry partners and government agencies are working together towards shared goals, accelerating progress while ensuring that new knowledge translates into real-world impact. That collaborative approach remains one of Australia’s greatest strengths. It is also one reason why ACAP was again ranked first globally for research quality and impact in photovoltaics in 2025, ahead of more than 100 international institutions, according to ScholarGPS. The future is solar-powered. Through sustained investment in research, collaboration and innovation, ACAP’s researchers are helping to ensure that future arrives sooner, costs less and delivers greater benefits for Australia and the world. I invite you to explore the ACAP Annual Report 2025, meet the people behind the research, and discover how Australian innovation continues to define the future of solar energy.Professor Renate Egan, Executive Director, Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics. * Author: Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics Executive Director Professor Renate Egan. 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]. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, June 18, 2026 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Wednesday, June 10, 2026 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Tuesday, June 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, June 11, 2026 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Monday, June 1, 2026 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Madrid, Paris Tuesday, June 16, 2026 6 am – 7:00 am CEST, Berlin Friday, June 12, 2026 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid The new pv magazine Global May issue is now available! Mountains to climb Available in print and digital formats. Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 Energy-hungry data centers open new doors for solar and storage. Available in print and digital formats.
If you’re running a Ring Battery Doorbell, Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, or Battery Doorbell Pro, or planning on picking one up while they are at early Prime Day all-time lows, the official solar charging add-on just hit the best price ever. Let the sun trickle charge your front porch cam so you don’t have to – I’m seriously considering this same setup myself.
The PPA for the solar plant was awarded in December 2024 through a government tender designed to support Tunisia’s ambitious renewable energy targets and enhance the country’s energy security. “Sidi Bouzid II is our third project starting construction in Tunisia and reinforces our partnership with Aeolus and our position in Tunisia, with strong fundamentals for renewables and strong growth potential” said Terje Pilskog, CEO of Scatec. “The project demonstrates our ability to scale our business through repeatable tender-based opportunities, backed by a strong partnership with Aeolus, and a capital-light execution model.” Currently, 95 percent of electricity generation in Tunisia is based on natural gas of which more than 60 percent is imported. Tunisia has a target to reach 35 percent of generation from renewable sources by 2030. Renewables contribute to reducing the costs of generation as well as increasing energy independence. The Sidi Bouzid II project will generate 276 GWh of electricity annually and reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 107,000 tonnes each year. The total capital expenditure (capex) for the project is estimated at 96 million euros and will be financed by a combination of non-recourse debt and equity, with a leverage of approximately 70 percent. Scatec will own 50 percent of the project and Aeolus the remaining 50 percent. The senior Lenders for the projects are the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB). Sidi Bouzid II is supported by grant funding from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Platform (NIP) and guarantees from the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+). Scatec will provide Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC), Asset Management (AM) and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) services with an EPC scope of approximately 75 percent of capex. The project is expected to reach Commercial Operation in the second half of 2027. For additional information: Scatec ASA
Indian credit ratings, research and risk analytics company Crisil expects domestically manufactured solar cells to account for half of India’s total demand in fiscal year 2026–27, which runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, up from about one-fourth in the previous fiscal year. The outlook is based on capacity expansion plans announced by domestic solar module and cell manufacturers, supported by policy measures aimed at reducing reliance on imports and accelerating local manufacturing. The increase in domestic share is expected to be driven by the government’s push for localization, alongside a sharp ramp-up in solar cell manufacturing capacity. However, rapid capacity additions could pressure utilization rates and realizations, potentially extending payback periods for manufacturers. The projections factor in India’s policy framework, including the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) introduced by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), which was later extended upstream through the Approved List of Cell Manufacturers (ALCM) to reduce dependence on imported solar cells. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy implemented ALMM from 1 April 2024. The ALCM framework is expected to become mandatory from June 2026 for utility-scale projects with bid submissions after 31 August 2025, and for net-metering and open-access projects commissioned after 1 June 2026. Residential rooftop solar under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is exempt until 31 March 2027. “The ALCM will sharply reset India’s solar cell supply mix. Domestic supply will gain share and meet around half of the 60–65 GW demand this fiscal, with imports making up the rest,” said Manish Gupta, deputy chief ratings officer at Crisil. According to the report, demand for locally made cells will be driven by new utility-scale bids, net-metering and open-access projects, and government-backed programmes such as the Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM). Imports will largely serve the pipeline of already bid-out utility-scale projects submitted before the 31 August 2025 cut-off. As that pipeline is completed, import dependence is expected to decline materially from the following fiscal year. With rising demand and policy support, manufacturers are investing in new solar cell capacity. Crisil expects India’s cumulative solar cell manufacturing capacity to nearly double to 60 GW by the end of fiscal 2026–27, with further additions likely thereafter. The rapid buildout, however, could weigh on project returns. “The surge in solar cell capacity will redraw project economics. Capacities commissioned by the end of this fiscal could see payback periods stretch by 1–2 years, compared with the 4–5 years seen for early movers integrating backward into solar cell manufacturing,” said Ankit Hakhu, director at Crisil. He added that early integrated players benefited from higher premiums and utilisation rates of 50–60% after stabilisation, advantages that are expected to narrow as additional capacity comes online. Payback timelines are increasingly important in the sector given rapid technology shifts, which can shorten asset life cycles, particularly where imported inputs add margin volatility. Crisil also noted that manufacturers moving further upstream into ingot and wafer production—segments currently heavily import-dependent—could see improved returns once the government implements the proposed ALMM-III framework for ingots and wafers, expected from June 2028. A key risk remains delays in power purchase agreement signings, which could weaken near-term solar module demand. The MNRE has also formed an expert committee to review exemption requests under the ALCM framework for certain net-metering and open-access projects where modules have already been installed or where developers have made substantial progress. Any material exemptions could affect demand for domestically produced solar cells.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected]. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Be part of the high-level European conference on solar and energy storage, exploring bankable BESS projects, warranties, and energy management for residential and C&I sectors Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution. Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy. Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way! We are participating in Intersolar 2026 again this year! Visit us at our Booth Hall 2 A2.250 to discuss the latest trends within the photovoltaic industry with the pv magazine team. June 23-25, 2026 | MUNICH, GERMANY
When India crossed 150 GW of installed solar capacity in March 2026 — adding a record 44.6 GW in a single financial year — the world took notice. But the number itself is almost secondary. What it signals is a structural shift: India is no longer merely a high-growth solar market. It is, at last, a solar economy in the making. The journey from 3.7 GW in 2014 to 150 GW+ represents more than forty-fold growth. Solar now constitutes 55% of India’s 275 GW renewable energy base, and non-fossil sources crossed 50% of total installed power capacity in June 2025 — five years ahead of our Paris Agreement commitment. These are not projected figures. They are documented outcomes, confirmed by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and independent research from JMK Research and Mercom India. What gives me confidence is not just the scale but the composition of growth. Distributed renewable energy — rooftop solar, PM-KUSUM agricultural installations, and off-grid systems — contributed 16.3 GW, or 36% of FY2026 additions. PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in February 2024, has already covered over 32 lakh households with central financial assistance of nearly ₹17,968 crore. Farmers generating their own power, urban households treating rooftop solar as a sound investment, small businesses decoupling from the grid — this is the solar story that the gigawatt tallies do not fully capture. “India’s non-fossil capacity crossed 50% of total installed power in June 2025 — five years ahead of schedule.” Policy has played a foundational role. The ALMM framework has brought quality discipline and supply accountability to a market that could easily have been overwhelmed by substandard imports. The PLI scheme has catalysed a domestic manufacturing industry almost from scratch: module manufacturing capacity stands at 172 GW as of March 2026, and cell capacity has grown to 27 GW. Indian manufacturers exported approximately 5 GW of modules in 2025, predominantly to the United States. These are structural achievements, not cyclical ones. The June 2026 DCR mandate — requiring ALMM-listed modules and domestically produced cells across all project categories — is the next logical step. I acknowledge the near-term supply anxiety it generates; cell capacity at 27 GW remains well below module capacity, and a demand surge will create pressure. But the mandate exists precisely to resolve that imbalance by creating the investment incentive that deliberate capacity expansion requires. The short-term friction is manageable. The long-term gain — a genuinely integrated domestic solar value chain — is worth it. Where honest criticism is due: transmission infrastructure has not kept pace with generation ambition. The mismatch between the 18-to-24-month timeline for commissioning a solar plant and the five-plus years required for transmission corridors is a structural gap that has left commissioned capacity sitting idle. The Green Energy Corridors programme addresses this, but execution urgency needs to match the ambition on paper. This is the single most consequential bottleneck the industry faces today. Looking ahead, India’s trajectory to 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 — including 280 to 300 GW of solar — is achievable if the current run-rate holds and pipeline projects translate to commissioned capacity. The longer-horizon vision is even more compelling: the MNRE has set a target of 1,800 GW of renewable energy by 2047, of which solar alone is projected to contribute 1,200 GW. By then, solar will be the primary fuel for India’s green hydrogen economy, supporting the National Green Hydrogen Mission’s target of 5 million metric tonnes of annual production capacity by 2030. “The real measure of India’s solar ambition will not be in how many gigawatts we install — but in how deeply we integrate that energy into what we make, grow, and export.” India has earned the right to structural optimism in solar — not the promotional kind, but the data-backed kind. We have built manufacturing capacity from near-nothing in a decade. We have made solar accessible to farmers and households simultaneously. We have attracted the policy architecture that allows serious capital to commit. What remains is execution: faster cell capacity expansion, better last-mile installer quality, deeper transmission investment, and a more diversified export strategy. None of that is beyond us. The distance between here and Viksit Bharat’s clean energy centenary is not a question of aspiration. It is a question of disciplined, sustained work — which is precisely what this industry has shown it is capable of. 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]. Comments Please login to comment The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now! Available in print and digital – get your copy today! Thursday, July 9, 2026 11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Thursday, June 18, 2026 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects. April 01 – August 31, 2026 pv magazine Insight will be held on October 30, at The Battery Show India Expo 2025 and moderated by pv magazine’s Uma Gupta and Mark Hutchins.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed an additional AU$95.4 million (US$66.8 million) in funding to the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP), extending the research programme’s operations to 2033. ACAP is led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and brings together a national consortium of research institutions, including the Australian National University, CSIRO Energy and CSIRO Manufacturing, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. Get Premium Subscription The funding builds on more than a decade of collaboration between Australia’s solar researchers and industry partners, with ACAP credited with a series of globally recognised advances in solar technology, including improvements in cell efficiency, durability, and cost, as well as the development of next-generation tandem solar cells. Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, said the funding was intended to maintain Australia’s position in the next phase of solar innovation. “Australia helped lead the world in solar and we want to keep leading the world in the next wave of solar innovation,” Bowen said. “This funding backs our best researchers and helps turn Australian ideas into real-world technologies that can strengthen our clean energy system and create economic opportunity.” ARENA CEO Darren Miller linked the funding directly to the agency’s cost reduction targets for the sector. “Australia has some of the best solar researchers in the world and ACAP has been instrumental in turning that expertise into globally recognised breakthroughs,” Miller said. “If Australia is to achieve ultra low-cost solar, we need to keep pushing the limits of cell efficiency. ACAP’s work is doing exactly that, helping deliver high-performance solar cell and module technologies that will reduce costs at scale.” ACAP’s funding history reflects a sustained, multi-decade public investment in solar research infrastructure. The centre was first established with ARENA support in 2012, and prior funding extensions in 2022 carried its operations to 2030 with a AU$45 million commitment. The latest AU$95.4 million round extends that horizon by three years to 2033, reflecting continued government confidence in the consortium model as the basis for Australia’s solar R&D effort. The research underway at ACAP is oriented around ARENA’s “30-30-30” vision: 30% solar module efficiency at an installed cost of 30 cents per watt by 2030, translating to a levelised cost of electricity below AU$20 per megawatt hour. ACAP’s research has more recently extended into tandem perovskite-silicon cells, with the centre’s Sydney University node achieving a certified 30% efficiency for a monolithic tandem cell in 2024, one of only a handful of research groups worldwide to reach that benchmark at the time. The ACAP extension follows a separate AU$60 million funding round ARENA announced in July 2025, specifically for ultra-low-cost solar research and development, split evenly between a stream focused on cells and modules and a second stream targeting balance-of-systems, operations, and maintenance innovation. That programme is structured as a competitive grant round open to universities, start-ups and businesses across the supply chain, distinguishing it from ACAP’s standing consortium model, which functions as a continuous, multi-year research infrastructure rather than a discrete funding round. The push to drive down solar costs is underpinned by analysis suggesting the scale of the opportunity at stake extends well beyond the electricity sector. ACAP modelling published in early 2026 found that ultra-low-cost solar could support a 2,000GW-scale domestic PV market, delivering 1,000TWh annually for domestic use and a further 2,600TWh per year for export through green metals, industrial products and fuels such as ammonia. The modelling, led by the Australian National University’s professor Kylie Catchpole and professor Andrew Blakers with contributions from UNSW researchers, was described as the first integrated modelling exercise to quantify the full industrial and export opportunity that cheaper solar could unlock at a national scale.
Coroner’s Office Identifies Woman Killed in State College Crash State College Woman Crowned Ms. Pennsylvania Senior America Mount Nittany Medical Center Sues Federal Government After Cancellation of Sole Community Hospital Designation The Ferguson Township Municipal Building, 3147 Research Drive, is pictured on Oct. 26, 2025. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com By – With an eye toward future installation of solar arrays on township buildings, Ferguson Township’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an agreement that will lock in federal tax credits before they expire in July. The contract with State College-based solar company Envinity will ensure the township can receive up to $352,420, or 40% of the estimated $881,051 total cost if it moves forward with full installation of panels on four buildings over the next four years. To safe-harbor the tax credits under federal rules before the July 4 deadline, the township will pay Envinity $61,674, or about 7% of what would be the total cost for the multi-phase installation, which is enough to qualify under IRS guidance. Projects would have to be completed within four years to remain eligible for the credits. Because Ferguson Township does not pay taxes as a municipal government, it would receive the credits in the form of a direct payment, an Envinity representative said. Township Manager Warren Obenski stressed that the agreement does not commit the township to the full build-out, but will protect the maximum amount of credits available however much of the project moves forward. “What we’re asking is if the township has any interest in putting solar in within the next four years and you wish to save about $350,000,” Obenski said. “You are not committing to spending anything other than the [$61,674] listed here, but that will essentially potentially save up to that amount. We can decide to do one building, multiple buildings, but that’s not what’s being asked of the board.” The agreement includes an optional buy-back clause for purchase of unused panels by Envinity for 70% of the initial cost. Supervisor Omari Patterson said several residents raised concerns at a previous meeting about the long-term endurance of current solar array parts and asked Assistant Township Manager Jaymes Progar if that feedback had been addressed. “We’ve had discussions on whether things are still changing drastically or if they have plateaued,” Progar said. “What if you buy something today, is there a new better product tomorrow? Or are we kind of in the iPhone era where we’ve extended that, and now we’re adding some aesthetic things, an inch or two here? We’ve had those discussions.” Speaking during public comment Ferguson Township Planning Commission member Bill Keough said he worried the supervisors were moving too quickly toward spending decisions for the project. “I am concerned about the fact that we’re moving awfully rapidly with regard to already now starting to authorize the spending of money and moving money around in our budget and so on, it just seems to be happening awfully quickly,” Keough said, adding he did not want to see “legislative creep,” in which incremental decisions were made without keeping the end result in mind. He also said that the township should talk with other local entities that have solar arrays up and running. “I think we need to ask individually those entities, ‘You had a projection as to what you would save monthly as you move forward with the projects. Is that projection actually happening? Is the savings actually happening?’” Keough said. “Because some of the feedback that I am getting is that the projections missed their mark. They’re not going as rapidly as the consultants tended to indicate.” Patterson said he has heard only positive feedback from representatives of agencies that have installed solar at scale. “I know I’ve asked [the University Area Joint Authority] every single time our representative is here about that project and how it’s doing from when they committed years and years ago to is it hitting the mark? It absolutely has in the responses I’ve gotten,” Patterson said. “UAJA… they have a series of panels and they’re working. I’d love to hear and see and understand those places where it isn’t working, where it isn’t meeting the mark, and I’m curious as to why. I’d love to have that information because the folks that have projects that I am talking to or before this body talked about some projects they are working on, they’re meeting the mark.” Centre County officials havesaid that the array at the correctional facility in Benner Township has had positive cash flow every year since it went into service in 2020, zeroing out the jail’s electricity costs and generating more than $100,000 annually from the sale of solar renewable energy credits. (County commissioners last week approved an agreement for construction of what will be Centre County government’s third solar array.) Resident and former supervisor Corey Gracie-Griffin said that with rising electricity costs showing no signs of slowing and no guarantee solar tax credits will be available again in the future, safe-harboring the tax credits now is a wise investment. “I cannot see a future over the lifespan of this particular project where the township will not save money in the long term,” Gracie-Griffin said. “Those savings might take eight years to pay back the project. It may take five years, six, seven, potentially, but it might even be fewer given what’s happening with electricity rates right now. I think it is good governance for you all to be considering this project. And I think that particularly if there is any desire for it to happen in the next four years, which I think would be great, that you would have my full support in securing these tax credits, because it’d be very unlikely to have this kind of financial incentive anytime in the next two years, at least.” Supervisors voted 4-0 to approve the agreement with Envinity. Matthew Heller abstained from the discussion and vote because his brother-in-law works for Envinity. Board Chair Jeremie Thompson noted that in 2017 the township adopted a resolution “to develop a strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as feasible, but no later than 2050.” “So I think we are continuing to follow in the footsteps of all our predecessors who were here at the time that were looking towards the future of sustainability in the township,” Thompson said.
WOODRUFF COUNTY, Ark. — Woodruff County Economic Development has secured another $325,000 for local organizations as part of the Arkansas Electric Cooperative solar project south of Augusta. Woodruff County Economic Development said the McCrory and Augusta School Districts and the Woodruff County Food Pantry will each receive $5,000 annually for at least the next 15 years. Arkansas Electric has also agreed to make a one-time contribution of $100,000 to the Woodruff County Economic Development Fund. Woodruff County Judge Michael John Gray said the hunger programs at both school districts are maintained almost exclusively through private donations. Contributions can be sent by mail to the McCrory and Augusta School Districts and the Woodruff County Food Pantry to help address food insecurity.
By: Luis Reyes Published: Jun 18, at 1:30pm ET Green hydrogen has spent the better part of a decade as the clean fuel everybody promises and almost nobody actually makes at scale. Governments across Europe, the US and Asia have written rules that assume the stuff will be flowing by 2030, while the projects meant to produce it keep slipping their timelines or getting quietly cancelled before they pour any concrete. So it is worth paying attention when one of them is more than 90 percent built. Out on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, at an industrial site called Oxagon, the NEOM Green Hydrogen Company has put up what its owners describe as the world’s largest green-hydrogen-based ammonia plant running entirely on renewable energy. It is an equal joint venture between Saudi power developer ACWA Power, American industrial-gas company Air Products, and NEOM itself, the Public Investment Fund’s futuristic megacity project. The price tag is $8.4 billion. The job is to take sunlight, wind and seawater and turn them into 600 tons of green hydrogen a day, then ship most of it out as ammonia. According to Air Products, the plant is now more than 90 percent complete, with commercial production expected in 2027. Before any hydrogen gets made, NEOM has to generate a frankly absurd amount of clean electricity in the middle of the desert, and most of the project is dedicated to exactly that. The renewable side runs to roughly 4 gigawatts: a wind farm of 257 turbines good for about 1.6 GW, and a solar array that Air Products describes, with no apparent exaggeration, as a solar farm the size of Manhattan, producing another 2.2 GW. A dedicated transmission grid was built to carry all of it across the site to the part of the plant that does the actual chemistry. That part is the electrolyzer, and it is the real machine here. Germany’s thyssenkrupp nucera won the contract to supply a plant of more than 2 gigawatts, assembled out of its standard 20-megawatt alkaline modules, each one packing around 300 individual cells. Run renewable electricity through those cells with water in the mix and you split the water into hydrogen and oxygen, with nothing dirty left behind. The water itself is desalinated seawater. NEOM sits on a coast and has no fresh water to spare, so the same renewable power that feeds the electrolyzers also runs the reverse-osmosis plant that makes the feedstock in the first place. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in new window) None of the individual pieces are exotic. Alkaline electrolysis has been around for decades, ammonia synthesis is more than a century old, and seawater desalination is routine across the Gulf. What NEOM is attempting is to bolt all of it together at a size nobody has tried before, and to run it as a commercial export business rather than a science project. The partners reckon that, once it is operating, the plant will keep roughly 5 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the air every year compared with making the same hydrogen from natural gas, which is how the overwhelming majority of the world’s hydrogen still gets made today. Here is the inconvenient thing about hydrogen: it is a miserable molecule to move. It is the lightest element there is, so to ship any meaningful quantity you either compress it to brutal pressures or chill it to around minus 253 degrees Celsius, and both options burn serious energy and money. The economics of hydrogen have always tripped over transport more than production, which is why the industry keeps hunting for a workaround. NEOM’s answer is to not ship hydrogen at all. The plant combines its hydrogen with nitrogen pulled straight out of the air to make ammonia, about 1.2 million tons of it a year, which is far denser, far more stable, and something the world already moves around by the tanker-load. The ammonia leaves through a purpose-built jetty next to global shipping lanes, and at the far end it can be converted, or “cracked,” back into hydrogen for whoever needs it. That cracking step costs energy of its own, so the round trip is never free, but it beats trying to sail a tanker full of liquefied hydrogen across the planet. Air Products has locked up every ton of the output under a 30-year exclusive off-take deal, and is in advanced talks with Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara to handle distribution of whatever ammonia is not turned back into hydrogen in Europe. A project like this only makes sense if the electricity behind it is dirt cheap, because the cost of green hydrogen is mostly the cost of the power you feed the electrolyzer. This is where Saudi Arabia has an edge that is hard to argue with. The same desert that makes the place inhospitable also delivers world-class sun and steady wind, and the two tend to complement each other across the day, one picking up roughly where the other tails off. Air Products’ chief executive, Eduardo Menezes, has pointed to Saudi power costing under two cents per kilowatt-hour as among the lowest rates anywhere, and has said the joint venture is not expected to run at a loss as it ramps up. That is also why the financing came together at the scale it did. The $8.4 billion total was anchored by $6.1 billion in non-recourse project financing from 23 banks and institutions back in 2023, with the engineering and construction contracts alone running to $6.7 billion. The Gulf’s pitch to investors is fairly blunt: abundant cheap renewables, plenty of empty land, and the export muscle of a region that has spent a century shipping energy to everyone else. The molecule is changing. The business model, not so much. For all the steel in the ground, the plant is not making anything yet. The 4 GW of solar and wind generation is due to wrap up around the middle of 2026, and only then do the electrolyzers get commissioned, with first product expected in 2027 rather than this year. The “end of 2026” target that floated around when the deal closed in 2023 has quietly become a 2027 one, which is roughly par for the course on first-of-a-kind energy megaprojects. The bigger question was never whether the Saudis could build it. It was whether anyone would buy the output at a price that works, and that part has been bumpy. Air Products’ planned £2 billion import terminal at Immingham in the UK, meant to receive NEOM’s ammonia and crack it back into hydrogen for British industry, got paused over uncertainty about government incentives. Demand for green hydrogen is still mostly written into law rather than into purchase orders, and laws can be rewritten. Saudi Arabia is at least building both ends of the chain at once: the same Vision 2030 push that funded NEOM also just put the country’s first self-driving hydrogen freight truck on the road hauling for Procter & Gamble. Whether the rest of the world turns up with the trucks, ships and factories to burn all this hydrogen is the one part no electrolyzer can solve. What do you think? Luis Reyes · Jun 4, 2026 Olivia Richman · Jun 4, 2026 Luis Reyes · May 20, 2026 Luis Reyes · Jun 8, 2026 Luis Reyes · May 29, 2026 Luis Reyes · Jun 5, 2026 Luis Reyes · Jun 18, 2026 Dave McQuilling · Jun 18, 2026 Luis Reyes · Jun 18, 2026 Luis Reyes · Jun 18, 2026 Luis Reyes · Jun 18, 2026 Autonotion is the English-language automotive editorial by Autonocion.com — car news, reviews, and industry analysis for American readers. Other links Company Subscribe Get the latest car news in your inbox: By submitting your email you allow autonocion.com to send you news or promotions. More info
Photo: Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images News / Getty Images California’s Senate Bill 868, introduced by state Senator Scott Wiener, could soon allow Californians to purchase plug-in solar panels, potentially reducing their monthly utility bills. The bill, known as the "Plug and Play Solar Act," aims to make solar power more accessible by permitting the sale of portable solar generation devices through large retailers and local hardware stores. These devices, often referred to as "balcony solar panels," can be connected to a home’s electrical system via a standard 120V outlet. The bill, which passed the California Senate with broad bipartisan support, exempts these devices from existing interconnection requirements and fees imposed by utility companies. According to pv magazine USA, this measure is modeled after a similar bill passed in Utah and is part of a broader effort to provide affordable clean energy solutions. Senator Wiener emphasized the importance of this legislation, stating, "The cost of electricity has risen to absurd levels, and plug-in solar is an easy way families can lower costs." The bill now moves to the California Assembly, where it must pass by August 31 to be enacted. Despite the potential benefits, the bill has faced opposition from some utility companies and industry groups. Concerns have been raised about safety standards and the potential impact on the electrical grid. During a committee hearing, representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric and other organizations expressed opposition, citing the need for further evaluation and safety testing. However, advocates like Bernadette Del Chiaro, Senior Vice President of the Environmental Working Group, argue that the bill will provide much-needed relief for Californians facing high energy costs. "These systems are simple, practical, and proven," Del Chiaro said. "They give people the ability to plug into clean energy savings immediately." If passed, SB 868 could pave the way for millions of Californians to access affordable solar energy, particularly benefiting renters and those unable to install traditional rooftop systems. The bill’s supporters remain optimistic that the Assembly will approve the legislation, allowing residents to begin reaping the benefits of plug-in solar technology.
May 20, 2026 
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