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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — U Mobile, Malaysia’s best 5G network provider, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HLGY Energy Sdn Bhd to collaborate on the development of next-generation smart solar farm solutions in Malaysia, enabled by U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network. The collaboration brings together private 5G connectivity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and industrial automation to enhance the monitoring and management of solar farm operations.
HLGY Energy is a Malaysian renewable energy developer focused on developing and operating utility-scale solar and integrated energy solutions under Malaysia’s Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) framework, including the Kedah Rubber City Solar Power Plant.
Under the MoU, both companies will explore the deployment of a private 5G network that would form the digital backbone of the smart solar farm. U Mobile would serve as HLGY Energy’s innovation, automation and communications infrastructure provider. The network’s dedicated, secure and reliable connectivity would support applications including autonomous drone inspections, AI-powered analytics and smart CCTV surveillance, enabling remote monitoring, earlier issue detection and faster response to operational and maintenance needs.
The partnership supports U Mobile’s enterprise growth strategy by applying the capabilities of its ULTRA5G network to the evolving needs of the renewable energy sector. Its network capabilities have received independent recognition by Ookla and Opensignal for speed and availability. The collaboration also strengthens U Mobile’s role as a digital solutions partner supporting businesses in their digital transformation.
“This collaboration will demonstrate how U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network can enable the next generation of smart and sustainable infrastructure. By combining private 5G connectivity with AI and industrial automation, we aim to help HLGY Energy develop renewable energy assets that are safer, more efficient and increasingly autonomous,” How Lih Ren, Chief Business Officer of U Mobile, said.
“Beyond connectivity, our ambition is to be a trusted digital solutions partner to enterprises across Malaysia. We look forward to applying our network and technology capabilities to support the country’s renewable energy aspirations, including the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS).”
“Malaysia’s green energy transition needs renewable energy infrastructure that is reliable, efficient and built for the future. Our collaboration with U Mobile brings together solar energy expertise and private 5G connectivity to explore how AI and automation can improve the way we operate and manage our solar assets,” Kenneth Yap, Chairman and Executive Director of HLGY Energy, said. 
“Integrating AI with solar generation and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) operations can optimise when energy is stored and supplied, help reduce electricity costs and extend equipment life. As we advance our ambitions under CRESS, we aim to make clean energy a dependable choice for businesses, helping Malaysian industries decarbonise and contributing to the nation’s sustainable growth.”
The initiative supports HLGY Energy’s longer-term renewable energy plans including opportunities under CRESS. It demonstrates how advanced connectivity and automation can transform the management of critical energy infrastructure.
The collaboration reflects the growing convergence between digital infrastructure and renewable energy, demonstrating how advanced connectivity and intelligent technologies can support the digitalisation of Malaysia’s energy infrastructure.
Enterprises interested in learning more about U Mobile’s private 5G and smart infrastructure solutions or exploring collaboration opportunities across renewable energy and other critical infrastructure sectors, can visit U Business for more information.
 

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The Pulse
The field looks whole from the road.
Row after row of dark panels still stand upright on their steel posts outside a stretch of Nebraska farmland.
Get closer and the glass tells a different story.
A web of white cracks runs across nearly every surface, as if a thousand windshields had been struck at once.
Nothing scattered across the dirt.
So what actually happens inside a panel when ice the size of a baseball hits it, and why did the field end up standing but useless?
A solar panel’s front surface is tempered safety glass, four to six times stronger than ordinary window glass and engineered to break into small blunt fragments rather than long shards. Behind it, a clear polymer encapsulant bonds that sheet to the cell stack under heat and vacuum.
So when the glass does fail, the pieces stay stuck where they are. When hail driven by winds of 100 to 150 miles per hour came down outside Scottsbluff on June 23, the glass reached its limit, and that fracture is not cosmetic.
Underneath sit thin silicon wafers wired together with metal ribbons, and a broken cover lets moisture reach energized conductors, which ends a module’s working life even when some current still flows. A utility official compared the panels to a car windshield, saying it “fractured the glass, but there wasn’t breakage in pieces all over the place.”
That one detail explains the strange scene of a field that looks intact from a distance. An engineer with the firm that manages the array said afterward that the panels “weren’t rated to quite that high of an impact,” a different kind of failure than wind tearing metal apart.
The numbers from that one afternoon are hard to picture until you walk the rows. The solar farm north of Scottsbluff is the second solar farm built in the area, and the 5.2 megawatt facility consisted of 14,000 solar panels, delivering 4.375 megawatts of alternating current to the grid.
Of those, 13,650 panels were destroyed in a single storm. That storm did not single out the solar farm.
It was part of a supercell that moved out of eastern Wyoming and across the state line, bringing a tornado, downed power lines and shattered windshields with it. The panels sit on trackers that follow the sun across the sky through the day.
Utility officials have said other solar sites in the state have taken hail before, but described this one as an extreme weather event. Early reporting from the scene described most of the array shattered, with the occasional intact panel standing out among the rest.
Much of the public worry after the June 2023 storm was about debris, and whether fragments of panel had littered the field and the farmland around it. Officials said that was not what happened.
Because of the way the modules are built to resist shattering, damage was mostly isolated to the modules themselves, with little impact on the other components of the solar farm. That detail mattered for cleanup, since a field strewn with loose glass would have meant a longer, messier recovery, possibly with fragments migrating into surrounding fields.
Instead, cracked panels sat in place, inert, waiting to be unbolted one at a time rather than swept up. Inspectors moved fast once the skies cleared.
Those involved in the project conducted multiple on site inspections using specially qualified contractors, and crews were on the site within days of the storm.
The utility later confirmed that the facility had been repaired, re commissioned and returned to operation, with the damaged panels removed from the site to be recycled.
The asset manager worked with a specialist recycling company, the kind of operation built to pull glass, aluminum frames and metal wiring apart and feed them back into manufacturing. It echoes the same recovery math behind crushed panels that researchers have shown can give up most of their silver content using nothing more than water and air bubbles.
Rebuilding the field itself took a 17 person crew, including 12 workers from Scottsbluff. That same resilience question is already shaping how solar gets built on hail prone ground, much the way land beneath arrays elsewhere has been reimagined for new purposes once the panels go up.
This stretch of the high plains is no stranger to violent weather, and the same system that wrecked the array damaged homes, trees and vehicles across the valley. The hail that reached the panels was described by the utility as softball and baseball size, and the storm as exceptionally intense.
Even in hail country, it was an outlier. The array came back online about six months later, carrying the same sun tracking hardware but sturdier expectations about what a Great Plains sky can throw at it.
The panels did the one thing their glass is designed to do under conditions they were never rated for, cracking in place instead of scattering. That design choice is the real story behind a field that looked destroyed and came back.
The rebuild itself was completed without safety incidents, according to the contractor that did the work, and the episode reads less as a verdict on solar power than as a question about durability standards catching up with Plains weather.
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Qatar is accelerating the deployment of utility-scale solar photovoltaics as part of a national strategy to diversify its power mix, reduce domestic gas consumption for power generation, and curb emissions intensity, while maintaining gas-fired generation as the bedrock of system reliability. The solar drive is expected to help lift renewable energy’s share in the country’s total power capacity from 12.0% in 2025 to 25.9% by 2035, says GlobalData, a global intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s latest report, reveals that Qatar’s installed power capacity will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% between 2025 and 2035. Solar PV will be the primary growth engine, expanding at a CAGR of 12.4% over the decade.
“Qatar’s power sector is shifting from total reliance on natural gas toward a structured hybrid model. Driven by the Qatar National Renewable Energy Strategy, the build-out of major solar facilities such as Al Kharsaah and the recently commissioned plants at Ras Laffan and Mesaieed, alongside the large-scale Dukhan development demonstrate substantial momentum in deploying low-cost clean generation across the peninsula,”Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments.

Despite rapid solar growth, natural gas will remain indispensable to the country’s power and water infrastructure. Combined-cycle gas turbines and cogeneration plants underpin Qatar’s Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) fleet, providing both dispatchable power for extreme summer cooling loads and thermal energy for seawater desalination. Natural gas capacity will continue to expand in absolute terms, accounting for approximately 74% of cumulative capacity in 2035.
Saibasan adds: “The cogeneration of potable water and power is a structural feature of Qatar’s utility system. Gas-fired IWPP facilities provide critical firming capacity to absorb large influxes of solar energy during midday hours while securing baseload water desalination. Expanding flexible gas generation and modernizing grid management are essential prerequisites for accommodating the planned 4GW renewable target by 2030 without compromising system security.”
The policy landscape is centrally directed under the Third National Development Strategy and the Qatar National Vision 2030. Key initiatives include the Qatar National Renewable Energy Strategy, carbon-reduction pledges under the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and net-billing regulations introduced by Kahramaa for distributed generation. Meanwhile, Qatar continues to operate a single-buyer model, under which Kahramaa purchases electricity and desalinated water through long-term agreements, minimizing market risk for project developers and consortium partners.
“Qatar is leveraging its world-class solar irradiance and robust balance sheet to free up valuable natural gas volumes for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export markets while decarbonizing its domestic matrix. Sustaining this pace will require continuing to align renewable integration with IWPP offtake commitments, meeting growing industrial demand, and maintaining high transmission reliability across the National Control Centre and regional GCC interconnection links.”
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A research team in Indonesia has proposed a novel grounding strategy to mitigate lightning-induced overvoltage in PV systems by identifying optimal grounding-point locations and evaluating different grounding configurations.
“Previous research has generally protected solar panels using a Lightning Protection System (LPS) with lightning rods connected to down conductors, such as Franklin rods,” the scientists emphasized. “This study considers the possibility of direct lightning strikes on solar panels or their supports, even if an LPS is installed. This occurrence allows current to flow through the solar panels to the grounding point.”
The researchers developed an equivalent electrical circuit model to investigate the transient overvoltage response of PV systems to lightning strikes. The simulated array comprised ten solar panels, each rated at 200 W, representing a section of a larger PV installation. Using ATPDraw 7.2 software, they modeled the electrical characteristics of the PV frames, mounting structures, grounding conductors, and electrodes through equivalent resistance, inductance, capacitance, and mutual inductance parameters.
Lightning strikes were simulated using a Heidler current source with a peak amplitude of 50 kA and an impulse waveform of 1.2/50 μs. Two configurations were investigated: direct grounding through the PV module frames and grounding through the mounting structures. The simulations assessed the effects of soil resistivity, grounding-point location, and the number of grounding connections on transient voltage distribution.
The researchers varied grounding-point locations to determine how the electrical path between the lightning strike location and the grounding connection influences overvoltage levels. They also compared single- and dual-grounding arrangements to assess the benefits of additional connections. The model assumed electrically interconnected metallic PV frames and evaluated voltage differences relative to a reference potential, excluding physical damage mechanisms and potential differences involving PV power conductors and inverters.
The results showed that increasing soil resistivity from 30 Ωm to 3,000 Ωm significantly raised transient voltage levels in both configurations. At lower resistivities, the highest voltages occurred near the lightning injection point, whereas at 3,000 Ωm, they shifted toward the grounding connection. Grounding through the mounting structures generally resulted in lower maximum voltages due to their lower electrical resistance.
At a constant soil resistivity of 30 Ωm, maximum voltages ranged from 1.97 MV to 2.64 MV for frame grounding and from 2.14 MV to 2.43 MV for mounting-based grounding, depending on the connection location. In both cases, positioning the grounding point closest to the lightning injection point minimized peak voltages by shortening the current discharge path and reducing its impedance.
Introducing a second grounding point further reduced transient voltages by 47.5% to 54.8% for frame grounding and by 43.2% to 50.7% for mounting-based grounding. The researchers attributed these improvements to lower grounding impedance and more efficient lightning current dissipation. The simulated peak current reached 48.78 kA, which the researchers described as being within the safety limits of IEEE Std 80, the IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding.
The findings indicate that grounding-point location and the number of connections have a greater influence on transient voltage mitigation than the choice between frame- and mounting-based grounding. In particular, shorter discharge paths, lower grounding resistance, and multiple grounding connections can substantially improve grounding performance.
Overall, the study highlights the importance of strategically positioned grounding points, low-resistivity soil conditions, and multipoint grounding in reducing lightning-induced overvoltage and improving the reliability of PV installations.
The new methodology was presented in “Study of the selection of an individual grounding location point against direct lightning strikes on solar panel systems,” published in Results in Engineering. The research group comprised scientists from Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember and Universitas Hasanuddin.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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Elgin has acquired the 40MWp Kilderry Solar Farm in County Kilkenny, Ireland, from BayWa r.e. as part of its continued growth strategy in the country.
The independent power producer (IPP) said the project is located close to several of its existing development assets, strengthening its growing Irish renewable energy portfolio.
Elgin added that the deal follows its recent acquisition of the approximately 200MW Blackhall Solar Farm in County Meath and reflects its strategy of combining acquisitions with organic development.
The latest transaction supports Elgin’s continued investment in renewable energy projects aimed at accelerating Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon energy system.
Elgin chief executive Dermot Kelleher said: “Kilderry is a strong addition to our Irish portfolio and further demonstrates our commitment to growing our presence in Ireland.
“Alongside Blackhall, this acquisition reflects our strategy of combining selective M&A with our organic development pipeline to create value and accelerate the delivery of renewable energy infrastructure.
“We see opportunities to replicate this approach across our portfolio, identifying strategically located projects that complement our existing assets and enhance overall project economics.”
BayWa r.e. UK managing director Gemma Hamilton said: “Kilderry reflects both the quality of projects we are bringing forward and the strength of our position in the Irish market, where we continue to invest in the growth and delivery of our renewable energy portfolio.
“Given the project’s location and particular strategic fit with Elgin’s existing assets in the area, this transaction creates a unique opportunity to accelerate Kilderry Solar Farm towards delivery under Elgin’s ownership.
“We remain firmly focused on progressing our wider 1 GW solar pipeline and playing a significant role in the continued growth of renewable energy across Ireland.”
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Rooftop solar installations in Australia hit strongest six-month total since 2021  PV Tech
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Doral Renewables commercialises 900MW Mammoth solar PV park  PV Tech
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Published 1:30 am Monday, October 12, 2026
By Darrell Kirk Staff reporter
Darrell Kirk photo
Through the fence—solar panels on Decatur.
An aerial view of Decatur’s solar panels.
Wendy Heister, an OPALCO board member, Bill Hurley, a retired engineer on Decatur Island, and Eva Schulte, executive director of Friends of the San Juans, are in agreement that a successful rollout of solar across the San Juan Islands must include a solar siting group, as well as community and other stakeholder engagement. Hurley believes the County itself should lead the siting group, and Heister describes a team the County is putting together, while Schulte says that Friends of the San Juans has been that group with OPALCO for four years and wants to extend it.
According to a May 2025 working draft prepared by Friends of the San Juans, OPALCO and Friends both submitted docket requests in the spring of 2024 asking the County to consider new land use designations and updated code that addresses commercial renewable energy. The draft also states that such proposed changes would more than double the amount of land available for solar projects. And while OPALCO pushes forward with utility-scale solar to meet requirements to avoid “Tier 2” power generated from coal, which is very expensive, Heister, Hurley and Schulte agree that smaller community solar and microgrid projects should be prioritized to move forward.
Zoning is the roadblock
Heister said the County’s land use tables are blocking sites that could otherwise work. She described two sites where willing landowners can’t build. A University of Washington laboratory on San Juan Island wanted a solar array that would double as a fire break, but the property is designated conservation land. Camp Orkila on Orcas Island has a large field once used for grazing horses that would suit solar, but it is zoned rural farm and forest.
“Working through this issue of the zoning and the land use tables is really the key to being able to move forward,” Heister said.
She said OPALCO members have made clear they don’t want trees cut for solar, and that surveys, including one by the County, show nearly 80% of residents want solar. The siting team’s job, she said, is to find open fields in blocks of property large enough that they are not in anybody’s direct view.
A group already at work
Schulte said Friends has been working with OPALCO as a siting group for four years and has put in “hundreds and hundreds of hours” over the last three. She said the group has a plan that “actually ensures that codes in San Juan County and permits are aligned with the placement of solar arrays.”
She wants to widen the circle. “Friends has been that group with OPALCO for four years now, and we would love to extend that group so we have greater effectiveness in being heard by OPALCO,” Schulte said.
Tina Whitman, Friends’ senior science director, and John Pierre van Dongen, Friends’ board president, sit on the committee along with OPALCO representatives, Schulte said. She sees no reason to wait. “We should build on what we already have done and move from there,” she said.
The County takes the lead
Hurley wrote to the County’s Department of Community Development on Sept. 25, urging it to take charge. “I suggest that the County take the lead and take responsibility in a proactive role,” he wrote. He called the County’s new site selection committee “a positive step” and said he trusts environmental protection will be a strongly weighted criterion in choosing sites.
Heister said the County has a big role to play. “We have to figure out where we are going in the county in order to solve this problem,” she said. “And the county itself needs to play a big part in this whole thing.”
Angela Broderick, climate and sustainability coordinator for San Juan County, said in an email reply to a question on the topic, “Currently there is no task force for solar siting, but we are working towards something along those lines.”
What guides the group
In April 2025, Friends proposed a set of policy preferences for the siting group based on the American Farmland Trust’s Smart Solar principles. The first is siting on the built environment, existing impervious surfaces or already cleared lands. Others include safeguarding agricultural resource land for future farming, using agri-solar on lands suited to agriculture, and inclusive stakeholder and farmer engagement on agri-solar projects.
OPALCO responded to the first preference in an April 30, 2025, letter, saying rooftop and small-scale solar cannot meet the scale of energy needed. Friends replied that the preference is not a required permit condition and is not meant only for rooftops. It calls for commercial-scale projects to use parcels with existing impervious surfaces or cleared land where feasible, instead of removing acres of forest.
As OPALCO plans more utility-scale solar projects across the San Juan Islands, a siting group with county involvement and real community input is a step that Hurley, Heister and Schulte are each calling for.

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UK Invests £3 Million To Advance National Floating And Deepwater Wind Test Site  Marine Insight
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“You don’t only pay for the energy, but for the instant availability of such energy.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Despite producing more electricity than the household uses, one solar homeowner said the utility still charges $10.32 each month for grid access — and another $2.30 every time that bill gets paid.
The complaint appeared on r/MildlyInfuriating, where the homeowner said their rooftop solar panel system more than covers the home’s monthly consumption. Even so, the utility still sends a bill, and readers seemed especially irritated by the extra cost: $10.32 owed, plus a $2.30 payment fee.
In the Reddit thread, the poster wrote, “We have solar and we generate more than we use each month. The $10.32 is a mandatory ‘connection fee’ with the power company. When I go to pay the bill there’s a flat $2.30 convenience fee every time.”
One person in the comments asked whether the surcharge changed with the bill amount: “Is that a 22% fee, or a flat $2.30 fee regardless of amount due?” It turned out to be a flat charge, which in this case works out to roughly 22% of the monthly balance.
For households with solar, that kind of system can feel particularly irritating. Even after everything they can do to lower the bill, customers can still be stuck with fixed utility charges and payment fees that do not depend on how much power they actually used.
One commenter argued that the recurring charge is for keeping the service available, not just paying for consumed electricity. “You don’t only pay for the energy, but for the instant availability of such energy.” They added that when “it’s millions of houses, then it adds up,” and said the roughly $13 in recurring charges help cover shared grid capacity.
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Another user compared it to paying for access whether or not you use it: “You’re paying for the ‘connection’…it’s right there in the word. You have power on demand. Just like if you pay for Netflix but never watch anything.” Even with that explanation, much of the conversation stayed focused on the separate $2.30 fee layered on top.
An early suggestion for avoiding the fee was to skip card processing by using a bank account, but the poster said the only available option was to send a check.
That led to another suggestion: many banks’ online bill-pay systems can essentially “send them a check” on the customer’s behalf. It may not be the most up-to-date fix, but it could remove the extra fee without requiring the original poster to write and mail a check every month.
Some also suggested reducing how often the surcharge gets applied. One commenter recommended, “Just prepay like $120 or whatever amount you are comfortable with,” noting that utilities can keep the extra amount as a credit and apply it to future bills.
Because the $2.30 fee is flat, combining multiple months into a single payment would reduce how much of a $10.32 bill gets eaten up by the surcharge.
Solar owners sometimes see confusing charges on their bills. These stories follow homeowners who kept seeing charges, high balances, or surprising credits after their panels changed how power flowed to and from the grid.
• A solar customer blasted a utility for ridiculous charges from the grid after going solar.
• In South Carolina, the app showed exports before a $150 bill claimed grid power use.
• A new homeowner was shown rooftop panels, then the first bill hit $420 anyway.
• In Australia, a 20kW setup made blackouts invisible, and one month hit a $545 credit.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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Home > News > Australian-made solar robots move towards commercial scale with $32.3 million in ARENA funding
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing up to $32.3 million to establish solar robotics manufacturing facilities in Melbourne and Brisbane, supporting faster, safer and more efficient construction of large-scale solar farms across Australia.
Funded under Round 2 of ARENA’s Solar Sunshot Program, the projects will manufacture two complementary technologies in Australia; robots that install solar panels and autonomous systems that drive foundation piles.
The new facilities in Victoria and Queensland will help improve productivity, reduce construction costs and ease workforce constraints as large-scale solar deployment grows, supporting Australia’s goal of ultra low-cost solar.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said these projects will advance the development of technologies previously demonstrated in Australian conditions into locally manufactured products that can be deployed at scale.
“Installing foundations and placing panels are two of the most labour-intensive parts of solar farm construction. It’s hard work in the hot sun,” Mr Miller said.
“Australia needs to install large volumes of solar quickly and cost-effectively. Local manufacturing and automation can improve the way solar farms are built by reducing construction costs and making installation faster, safer and more efficient; an important part of ARENA’s ultra low-cost solar vision.
“Manufacturing these technologies in Australia will help to strengthen local supply chains, develop specialist skills and give solar projects better access to advanced construction equipment when and where it is needed.”
ARENA is providing up to $17.8 million to Luminous Robotics to establish a Melbourne manufacturing facility for its autonomous solar panel installation robots, called LUMIs. The facility is expected to support the manufacture and deployment of around 100 LUMI robots by 2029, helping automate solar panel installation on large-scale solar farms.
Luminous Robotics came through ARENA’s 2024 Solar Challenge, an initiative designed to supercharge innovation and crowdsource ideas from across the world on how to reduce the cost of large-scale solar.
ARENA supported demonstrations of LUMI robots at solar farms in Victoria and New South Wales, where the technology was tested under Australian construction and environmental conditions. The new funding will enable moving the technology from field demonstration to industrial-scale manufacturing in Australia.
“We’ve proven LUMI on real solar farms in Australia, in the heat and dust, doing some of the hardest work on site. With ARENA’s support, the next step is to turn that into scale,” Tenzin Crouch, General Manager, Luminous Robotics Australia said.
“Building a production line in Melbourne, delivering our first hundred robots, and then growing from there. If Australia is going to build renewable energy at the scale and speed we need, robotics will have an important role to play and we are building it.”
Built Robotics Australia will receive up to $14.5 million to establish a Brisbane manufacturing hub and operations centre for autonomous piling systems used in utility-scale solar construction. The facility will manufacture and deploy 12 robotic piling systems, helping automate one of the most labour-intensive stages of solar farm construction.
The project builds on previous ARENA-supported deployments of Built Robotics’ autonomous piling technology in Australia, establishing domestic capability to manufacture, integrate and test piling systems for solar projects.
“Australia has shown the world that construction robotics and physical AI work in the field. Now we’re going to build that technology here,” Paul Kelly, Vice President of Business Development, Built Robotics, said.
“Our Brisbane hub will make Queensland a home for autonomous solar construction, creating skilled local jobs and a supply chain that serves projects in Australia, building on nearly a decade of work we’ve done here.”
Together, the projects will build Australian manufacturing capability at two critical stages of solar farm construction. By moving proven robotics into larger-scale production and deployment, they can help create a domestic equipment supply chain for Australia’s growing large-scale solar industry.
About Solar Sunshot   
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is delivering the $850 million Solar Sunshot Program to support innovation in Australia’s solar PV manufacturing industry. Solar Sunshot was announced by the Australian Government in March 2024 and aims to uncover and support innovation to drive scale and diversity in a critical industry.
Australia benefits from strong renewable energy potential, high-quality, abundant raw materials and a long track record of excellence in research and development. Solar Sunshot aims to harness these advantages so that Australia can strengthen and diversify its supply chains and create economic opportunities.
For more information, visit ARENA’s website.
We support global emissions reduction by accelerating innovation and the deployment of renewable energy, electrification and energy efficiency technologies, to the benefit of all Australians.
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Stay up to date with this valuable knowledge by following us on social, or by signing up to ARENAWIRE or the ARENA Insights newsletter.

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Voltage Energy targets Europe’s utility-scale solar growth with standardised EBOS solutions  PV Tech
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Kardemir, a Turkish producer of long steel products, has made a major move into renewable energy with a 120.5 MWp solar power investment, equivalent to 92.5 MW AC. The project will support the company’s steel production operations while helping reduce electricity costs and carbon emissions. The solar facility is expected to start operating in 2028, and the investment was estimated at 3.96 billion Turkish lira (~$80,567). The plan also supports Kardemir’s ambition to increase annual steel production capacity to 3 million tonnes while building a more efficient and low-carbon production system. 
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India Curtails 4.2% Of Solar Generation Amid Power Shortages  BW Businessworld
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IoT News is part of the TechForge Publications series
TechForge
2-6G+ & Private Networks, AI & Predictive Maintenance, Energy & Environment, Ethernet & Fibre, Features, Infrastructure & Utilities, Networking, Robotics & Automation
Muhammad Zulhusni
12th October 2026
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U Mobile and Malaysian renewable energy developer HLGY Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the use of private 5G networks for monitoring and managing solar farms in Malaysia.
The collaboration will examine how U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network can support industrial automation and remote monitoring across large-scale solar installations. The companies also plan to assess applications involving AI, autonomous drones, and surveillance systems.
Under the agreement, U Mobile will serve as HLGY Energy’s innovation, automation, and communications infrastructure provider. The companies will explore deploying a dedicated private 5G network to connect equipment and monitoring systems across solar farm facilities.
Utility-scale solar farms rely on monitoring systems that collect operational data from equipment distributed across large outdoor sites. These systems track the performance of solar inverters, photovoltaic arrays, and other electrical equipment, while environmental sensors provide information about conditions affecting electricity generation.
A February 2026 report by the International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS) examined the use of digital monitoring, IoT technologies, and standardised data models in solar plant operations. It identified interoperability and cybersecurity as important considerations when connecting photovoltaic equipment with digital monitoring platforms.
According to the 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA), industrial applications have different requirements for data rates, latency, and reliability. Equipment monitoring typically involves smaller data transmissions, while surveillance cameras and drone inspections can require greater network capacity.
Wired infrastructure, including fibre-optic connections and industrial Ethernet networks, is commonly used to connect fixed industrial equipment. 5G-ACIA has documented how 5G can be integrated with industrial Ethernet, allowing wireless devices to communicate with existing wired systems through compatible network configurations.
Deploying private 5G across large outdoor facilities requires planning for radio coverage, interference, and network capacity. Network design must also account for the reliability and performance requirements of connected industrial applications.
U Mobile and HLGY Energy have not disclosed the proposed network architecture, coverage area, or performance requirements, including how the system would integrate with existing wired infrastructure.
The proposed applications include autonomous drone inspections, AI-powered analytics, and smart CCTV surveillance. The companies intend to use these technologies for remote monitoring, earlier fault detection, and faster responses to maintenance needs.
Drone-based inspections are already used in the solar industry to assess photovoltaic equipment. According to an IEA PVPS technical report on infrared and electroluminescence imaging, thermal cameras can detect hot spots, installation defects, and other abnormalities affecting solar modules without requiring physical contact with the equipment.
Drones equipped with infrared cameras can inspect large areas of solar installations and collect images for fault detection. Whether this imagery is stored onboard or transmitted during flight affects the communications capacity required by the inspection system.
U Mobile and HLGY Energy have not specified the sensors or data transmission methods planned for their proposed autonomous drone inspections.
U Mobile chief business officer How Lih Ren said the collaboration would bring together private 5G connectivity, AI, and industrial automation to support HLGY Energy’s renewable energy operations. He also outlined U Mobile’s intention to expand its role in providing digital solutions to Malaysian enterprises.
Beyond monitoring and inspections, the collaboration will explore integrating AI with solar generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS) to manage when electricity is stored and supplied.
HLGY Energy said the proposed integration is intended to reduce electricity costs and extend equipment lifespan. The companies have not disclosed performance targets or results from the proposed system.
HLGY Energy chairman and executive director Kenneth Yap said the collaboration would bring together the company’s solar energy expertise and U Mobile’s private 5G connectivity to “explore how AI and automation can improve the way we operate and manage our solar assets.”
HLGY Energy develops and operates utility-scale solar projects in Malaysia, including the Kedah Rubber City Solar Power Plant. The company is also involved in renewable energy initiatives under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), which allows eligible businesses to purchase renewable electricity through the national grid.
The agreement remains at the exploration stage, with no confirmed deployment timeline, participating solar farm locations, or disclosed financial terms.
(Photo by American Public Power Association)
See also: UniFi expands industrial networking line with switches and U7 access point
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India Curtails 4.2% of Solar Power as Grid Constraints Limit Absorption in July-August  KNN India
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What solar rebates are available to me in Australia?  Finder.com.au
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India’s record renewable power generation and solar output were overshadowed by curtailments in July and August when India experienced power availability shortages.
Over 4% of the solar power generated in July and August had to be curtailed because of grid and operational constraints, the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a report on Monday.
Solar power generation accounted for 58% of the increase in renewable electricity generation in the second quarter of India’s 2026/2027 fiscal year, making it the primary driver of renewable generation growth, CREA’s analysis showed.
“Solar remained the fastest-growing major source of electricity generation in Q2, increasing by 39% year-on-year, compared with 29% for wind and 26% for nuclear,” CREA said. Meanwhile, hydropower generation declined by 20%.
Solar output again reached a new daily record, with 705 million units (MU) generated on September 30, surpassing the previous record in Q1 FY2026-27.
“Despite record renewable generation, significant volumes of renewable electricity continued to be curtailed because of grid and operational constraints,” CREA’s analysts said.
In July and August, about 1.835 billion units (MU) of renewable energy generation, mostly solar, was curtailed, they noted.
Coal and lignite installations were at 231 GW as of August, or a 42% share of all power capacity, but renewable energy (excluding large hydro) grew the fastest, rising to 243 GW, or to a 44% share of India’s capacity, in August 2026. That’s up from 193 GW, or a 39% share, in August 2025, CREA’s analysis showed.
The solar curtailments came as India’s demand surged between July and September and coal plants were increasingly operating with critically low inventories. The number of plants with coal stocks below 25% of normative requirements rose sharply from 32 on August 22 to as many as 85 plants on October 1, according to CREA.
To address curtailments and a lack of flexibility in renewable energy sources, India plans to introduce, from July 2027 a regulation requiring developers of solar and wind energy projects to have battery storage installed at the sites.
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Molecular Coordination–Driven Photothermally Stable FACs-based Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency Over 25% via Dicarbonyl-Functionalized Thienoacene Small Molecule  Wiley & Sons
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QC lawmaker: Solar panels on every roof  BusinessMirror
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Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter
Archaeologists will dig targeted trial trenches along a route planned for underground cables serving a solar farm after a possible Roman camp was identified on historic maps.
Anglesey councillors have approved a 2.5km cable route for Parc Solar Traffwll despite concerns about its potential impact on buried heritage.
Concerns were raised by Bryngwran Community Council over the proposed route passing through “areas of known or potential archaeological interest”.
It stated: “Insufficient archaeological assessment has been undertaken to demonstrate that buried heritage assets would not be adversely affected.”
A planning report had noted: “A more sensitive section of the route is identified at Caer Elen Farm, where historic mapping records a possible Roman camp and associated features, although no surface remains are now visible due to later disturbance.
“The cable route may cross the edge of this former enclosure, and there is potential for sub-surface archaeological remains to survive.”
The cable route would run from the northern outskirts of Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn east towards the southern edge of Bryngwran, running directly south of the A55 with the Afon Crigyll at the eastern section.
The cables would be ducted, inside a 400mm and 700mm wide approximately one meter deep trench.
The route would cross three sections of highway including Minffordd Road, Lon Cymunod and Lon Pont Cymunod.
Speaking at the meeting Jane Papenfus, head of project development at Low Carbon, said Parc Solar Traffwll already had permission from the Welsh Ministers including a cable route from Caergeiliog sub-station running wholly within the public highway.
“The alternative section crossing farm land close to the A55 would remove around 2km of cable route installation works from local roads, meaning less disruption for local residents, businesses and road users,” she said.
“On archaeology we recognise that this is a landscape with history including past finds in the A55 corridor.
“Heneb [archaeological expert group] has reviewed the proposals in detail. We are committed to following all of their advice, including pre-start trial trenching, in a specific location and an archaeologist watching brief along the whole off road section of the cable route.”
“Any remains found would be properly investigated and recorded under a scheme agreed with Heneb and secured by pre commencement condition.”
‘Safeguarded’
She alo noted Natural Resources Wales and council ecologists had “raised no objections”. Protected species and the triple SSI would also be “safeguarded throughout”.
Instead of 2km of work along Lon Bach and Afon Goch drilling would be done under Minffordd Road “to keep it open” she added.
Two road crossings will be licensed by the highways department and controlled by a traffic plan, with access kept open for homes and businesses.
“This is simply a less disruptive way to connect a consented solar farm that will generate enough clean electricity to power 11,600 homes on Ynys Mon,” she said.
Head of Environment and Planning Rhys Lloyd Jones said: “Heneb has assessed the plan and does not raise any objections provided there is a written scheme of investigation and archaeological and mitigation.
“Special attention is given to the area near Caer Elen Farm where targeted trial trenches need to be excavated. Officers are satisfied that archaeological interests can be properly protected through the conditions.”
He also noted the permission already granted.
“In a fall back position they could develop this along the highway, this application is an improvement on that,” he said.
“Officers were satisfied there would be no significant adverse ecological effect nor on transport with temporary effects being mitigated.”
Objections
Local member Cllr Neville Evans said the area had “much historical interest” adding “you don’t know what you will find until you start digging,” he said.
He also noted there had been “significant objections” against the application and the solar park.
A Cllr Dougie Fowlie added: “Obviously there are strong feelings against the solar park.
“What the officers say is we have to consider this application based on merit. It is going to be 2km less of cabling, with less destruction.” He felt the report had addressed the issues through the policies.
Deputy leader Cllr Robin Williams said he “objected to solar development on agricultural land.
“That is something the executive has been against, but we have to be pragmatic.
“As far as this is concerned, the permission is already in place to put cables along the main road. If we reject this, if it went to appeal, we’d get costs against us and it would go ahead any way.
“Any development less of an issue for local people is something to approve, Taking it across the fields makes more sense.”
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Risen Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in China, has introduced a new heterojunction solar module that uses a dual-layer optical design intended to cut down on glare, according to pv magazine.
The product belongs to the company’s Hyper-ion line and is aimed at installations where glare control is a strict requirement, including sites close to airports and residential neighborhoods where reflected sunlight can create visual problems.
Risen Energy stated that its work in photovoltaic optical safety goes past product development, noting that it served as the principal drafting organization for a group standard covering a photovoltaic module glare testing method. The company described the anti-glare Hyper-ion module as the conversion of that accumulated technical and standardization experience into a commercial offering.
The module relies on a dual-layer optical approach that pairs a micron-scale matte glass surface, made through a process the company refers to as nanocrystalline phase reconstruction, with technology designed to suppress internal reflections. Risen Energy did not disclose additional technical information about the process.
Testing carried out by Germany’s TUV Rheinland showed a maximum daylight glare probability of 0.30, which sits below the Class AAA threshold of 0.35, along with a maximum glare luminance of 3,463.94 cd/m2 against a limit of 20,000 cd/m2, according to the manufacturer. The company also reported specular reflectance as low as 0.85%.
The RSM132-8-710-730BHDG module is offered in five versions with power outputs of 710 W, 715 W, 720 W, 725 W and 730 W. Conversion efficiencies span 22.9% to 23.5%, open-circuit voltages range from 50.01 V to 50.33 V, and short-circuit currents run from 18.00 A to 18.38 A.
The bifacial module contains 132 HJT cells and has dimensions of 2,384 mm by 1,303 mm by 33 mm. It weighs 37.5 kg and uses 2 mm anti-glare glass on the front and 2 mm heat-strengthened glass on the rear, together with an anodized aluminum alloy frame.
Under bifacial nameplate irradiance conditions with rear-side irradiance of 135 W/m2, the module produces between 796 W and 818 W based on the manufacturer’s specifications. With a 10% rear-side power gain, equivalent power output falls between 781 W and 803 W.
The panel carries a temperature coefficient of -0.24% per degree Celsius for maximum power, an operating temperature range of -40 C to 70 C, and a maximum system voltage of 1,500 V. Depending on the installation method, it can handle mechanical test loads of up to 5,400 Pa on the front and 2,400 Pa on the rear.
Risen Energy provides a 15-year product warranty and a 30-year linear power output warranty. The company specifies an annual degradation rate of 0.3% over 30 years, with guaranteed power output of 90.3% at the end of the warranty period.
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This report provides an in-depth analysis of the EV Solar Modules market in China, covering market size, growth trajectory, demand structure, supply capability, trade flows, pricing, competitive landscape, and forecast to 2035.
The study is designed for manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, investors, procurement teams, advisors, and strategy teams that need a consistent, data-driven view of market dynamics and a transparent analytical definition of the product scope.
This report covers the market for EV Solar Modules, which are photovoltaic modules specifically designed and integrated for use in electric vehicles to convert solar energy into electrical power for auxiliary systems or traction battery charging.
The report combines the standard market-statistics backbone with strategic chapters that are useful for commercial planning, sourcing decisions, market entry, competitor monitoring, and portfolio prioritization.
The market is segmented into decision-relevant buckets so that demand drivers, pricing logic, supply constraints, and competitive positions can be compared across the same analytical frame.
The classification coverage encompasses EV Solar Modules categorized by product type (including monocrystalline, polycrystalline, thin-film, flexible, integrated, portable, and bifacial modules), by application (such as bioprocessing and drug manufacturing, cell and gene therapy workflows, research and development, and quality control and release testing), and by value chain segment (including raw material and input suppliers, qualified manufacturing and processing, QC, validation and documentation, and procurement by CDMOs, biopharma, and laboratories).
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Electricity costs the least in the middle of the night (or increasingly, the middle of the day), when demand is lower, but most households never see those prices because they pay one flat rate, whatever time of day they use it. The battery automatically fills up on cheap overnight electricity, and the household runs on that stored power, instead of buying from the grid at far higher prices.
It comes as energy bills rise again on 1 October, the second increase in a row, with electricity prices under the price cap now 61 percent higher than at the start of 2020. Until now, cutting energy bills with home energy tech has meant two things most households don’t have: thousands of pounds in the bank and a roof suitable for solar panels. Sunsave Home Battery Plus removes both barriers – nothing to pay upfront, with customers owning the system from day one, and a simple installation not requiring solar panels.
Sunsave Sona also connects the battery to Sunsave’s virtual power plant, where thousands of home batteries act together like one large power station to help balance the grid. When the grid comes under strain, from a spike in demand or a lull in wind and sun, Sunsave’s network sends stored power back at the moments it is needed most. That job normally falls to expensive, high-emission gas plants but with Sunsave’s virtual power plant, households get paid for it instead.
The batteries come with free smart software Sunsave Sona. The software learns how a household uses energy, checks real-time prices, then charges and discharges the battery to get the best savings every day, so consumers no longer need to monitor and set their charging schedules manually.
Launched in early access earlier this year, the package can save customers up to £36 a month, after any payments for the battery are taken into account, with customers being already on track to save an extra £240 a year, according to the company.
Grid balancing payments vary with demand, but some customers have earned as much as £30 a month on top of their bill savings. Sunsave is also guaranteeing savings of at least £15 a month for the first 12 months on battery-only systems, and the first 18 months on solar and battery systems.
Rising energy bills are squeezing household budgets, and the pressure is not easing. According to Ofgem, wholesale energy makes up less than 40 percent of a typical bill. The rest goes on running and upgrading the grid, government policy costs, and supplier costs, which means bills can keep climbing even if the cost of energy itself falls.
The grid is changing, with more of Britain’s power now coming from wind and sun, so supply rises and falls with the weather. The system needs ways to store electricity when there is plenty and release it when it’s scarce. Home batteries do exactly that, helping the grid run more efficiently and lowering costs for everyone. But until now the large upfront costs of home energy tech have kept that option out of reach of the families who need it most.
“The households under the most pressure from rising bills have had the least access to the technology that lowers them” said Alick Dru, co-founder and CEO of Sunsave. “Going solar meant a suitable roof and thousands of pounds upfront, so the savings went to the people who needed them least. Sunsave Home Battery Plus needs neither. If you’ve got a wall for a battery, you can start saving immediately.”
Sunsave brings the kit, installation, finance, long-term protection and smart battery management together in one package with one bill. Founded in London in 2022, the company has helped thousands of households cut their bills with solar. But many UK homes are unsuitable for solar, whether down to roof direction, shading, space or other reasons. Standalone batteries open comparable savings to solar for the majority of UK homes for the first time.
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Malaysian telecom operator U Mobile and solar energy developer HLGY Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding on October 12, 2026, to explore private 5G connectivity for smart solar farms, according to a report from SoyaCincau. The deal pairs U Mobile’s ULTRA5G private network technology with HLGY Energy’s utility-scale solar portfolio, aiming to bring autonomous drone inspections, AI-powered analytics, and smart CCTV surveillance to Malaysian solar sites. It’s a hardware story as much as a telecom story: the agreement signals that private 5G radios, edge sensors, and battery-storage controllers are becoming standard equipment on renewable-energy infrastructure, not just factory floors.
The news arrives as Malaysia pushes to grow its renewable energy base under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), a government framework that lets private companies buy clean power directly from generators. HLGY Energy’s named project under the MoU, the Kedah Rubber City Solar Power Plant, is one of the sites expected to benefit from the kind of connectivity and automation hardware the two companies are now exploring together.
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The MoU is exploratory rather than a signed construction contract, but its scope is specific. U Mobile is positioned as the innovation, automation, and communications-infrastructure partner, while HLGY Energy brings its experience developing and operating utility-scale solar and integrated energy assets under CRESS. Together, the companies plan to examine how private 5G connectivity, delivered through U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network, can support three categories of smart-farm technology: autonomous drone inspections of solar panel arrays, AI-powered analytics for performance monitoring, and smart CCTV surveillance for site security.
A fourth area under discussion goes beyond monitoring and into energy management: integrating AI with solar generation and battery energy-storage systems (BESS) to optimize when power is stored versus dispatched to the grid or an off-taker. That detail matters because it shifts the conversation from “can we watch the solar farm remotely” to “can we make the solar farm’s economics better” — a distinction that determines whether telecom-energy tie-ups like this one generate recurring enterprise revenue or stay stuck as one-off pilots.
ULTRA5G is U Mobile’s branding for private 5G connectivity aimed at enterprise and industrial customers, distinct from the consumer mobile plans most people associate with the carrier. Private 5G networks differ from the public cellular grid in a specific way: the operator (or the enterprise customer, depending on the deployment model) controls a dedicated slice of spectrum and infrastructure on-site, which means traffic from drones, cameras, and sensors doesn’t compete with consumer phone traffic for bandwidth, and latency stays predictable even during network congestion elsewhere.
That predictability is the entire pitch for industrial customers. A solar farm spread across hundreds of acres of rural land typically has patchy or no public cellular coverage, and even where coverage exists, it wasn’t engineered for dozens of simultaneous drone video feeds or always-on surveillance cameras. U Mobile’s own track record of deploying rural connectivity hardware gives the HLGY Energy partnership a plausible technical foundation rather than a purely aspirational one.
How Lih Ren, Chief Business Officer at U Mobile, framed the collaboration’s ambitions directly: “This collaboration will demonstrate how U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network can enable the next generation of smart and sustainable infrastructure. By combining private 5G connectivity with AI and industrial automation, we aim to help HLGY Energy develop renewable energy assets that are safer, more efficient and increasingly autonomous,” he said, according to SoyaCincau’s report on the signing.
HLGY Energy’s business is developing and operating utility-scale solar and integrated energy solutions under Malaysia’s CRESS program, which lets corporate buyers procure renewable power through direct supply arrangements rather than relying solely on the national grid operator. The Kedah Rubber City Solar Power Plant is the named project tied to this MoU, situated within an industrial zone in Kedah state that has become a target for renewable-energy investment as manufacturers there look to meet sustainability commitments from their own customers and regulators.
Kenneth Yap, Chairman and Executive Director of HLGY Energy, described the complementary nature of the partnership: “Malaysia’s green energy transition needs renewable energy infrastructure that is reliable, efficient and built for the future. Our collaboration with U Mobile brings together solar energy expertise and private 5G connectivity to explore how AI and automation can improve the way we operate and manage our solar assets,” he said, per the same SoyaCincau report.
Yap also addressed the battery-storage angle specifically: “Integrating AI with solar generation and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) operations can optimise when energy is stored and supplied, help reduce electricity costs and extend equipment life.” That statement is worth sitting with, because it reframes the private 5G network as plumbing for an AI decision layer sitting on top of the solar farm’s hardware, rather than connectivity as the end goal itself.
Utility-scale solar installations present a specific set of connectivity problems that public networks and standard Wi-Fi struggle to solve. Panel arrays are spread across open terrain with few structures to mount access points on, inverter and switchgear enclosures create interference, and the sites are frequently in rural areas where the nearest cell tower wasn’t built with industrial data loads in mind. Running fiber to every inverter pad and camera post is expensive and slow to deploy compared with standing up a private cellular radio.
Private 5G also solves a security and reliability problem that matters more in critical infrastructure than in a typical office: network segmentation. Keeping drone telemetry, surveillance footage, and BESS control signals on a dedicated private network, separate from public internet traffic, reduces the attack surface available to anyone trying to interfere with a grid-connected energy asset. This is a point the same hardware cluster has covered from a different angle, including the 4G vs 5G voice-quality comparison that showed network choice has real, measurable performance consequences, and the AWS Wavelength vs. Azure Edge Zones breakdown of how edge-compute placement affects latency for exactly this kind of industrial IoT traffic.
The three applications named in the MoU — autonomous drone inspections, AI-powered analytics, and smart CCTV — each require different pieces of hardware stitched together by the private network. Drone inspections typically mean fixed-wing or multirotor units with thermal and RGB cameras that fly pre-programmed routes over panel rows, looking for cracked cells, hot spots caused by failed bypass diodes, or vegetation encroachment, then stream footage back over the private 5G link for processing rather than storing it locally for manual retrieval later.
AI-powered analytics sits downstream of that data collection, running inference models that flag anomalies in panel output, inverter performance, or string-level voltage drops faster than a human technician reviewing spreadsheets could. Smart CCTV, meanwhile, covers perimeter security for sites that can span hundreds of acres with minimal staffing on-site overnight. None of this is conceptually new in industrial IoT, but deploying it across a dispersed solar farm specifically depends on having wireless backhaul that can carry continuous video and sensor telemetry without the packet loss or jitter that plagues congested public networks. Readers who followed the debate between autonomous surveillance systems and staffed alternatives may recall similar tradeoffs surfacing in the Elgin College vs. Flock Safety camera coverage, and the drone-deployment questions echo the operational use case in the Commerce City police drone story, even though that case involved law enforcement rather than energy infrastructure.
The battery energy-storage piece of the MoU is arguably the most commercially significant, even though it’s the least developed in public statements so far. Solar generation is intermittent by nature, peaking at midday and falling to zero overnight, while electricity demand and pricing follow a different curve entirely. BESS installations bridge that gap by storing excess solar output and discharging it when it’s more valuable, either because grid prices are higher or because a CRESS off-taker needs power at a specific time.
Deciding exactly when to charge and discharge a battery system is a continuous optimization problem that benefits from AI models fed by real-time generation, weather, and pricing data, which again depends on reliable connectivity between the solar array, the BESS controller, and whatever system is making those calls. Grid-scale battery deployment has been accelerating well beyond Malaysia, a trend covered in detail in the report on AI data centers fueling battery storage demand, which outlines how battery hardware has become a bottleneck resource across multiple industries simultaneously, not just renewable energy.
CRESS gives corporate electricity buyers in Malaysia a direct route to renewable power, letting a manufacturer or data center operator contract with a solar developer like HLGY Energy instead of buying exclusively from the state utility. The scheme has become a central mechanism for Malaysia’s clean-energy targets because it shifts financing risk toward private capital while still requiring grid interconnection and regulatory oversight. Industrial buyers under pressure from their own international customers to show lower carbon footprints have been among the most active CRESS participants, which is part of why solar developers operating under the scheme are now looking for ways to make their assets more efficient and better monitored.
For U Mobile, a CRESS-anchored developer is also a useful kind of enterprise customer: one with a concrete, revenue-generating asset that needs connectivity infrastructure built once and operated continuously, rather than a shorter engagement. That business logic is consistent with how private 5G has been marketed to industrial customers elsewhere, where the sales pitch centers on recurring managed-network contracts rather than one-time hardware sales.
The HLGY Energy MoU doesn’t come out of nowhere for U Mobile. On September 22, 2026, the carrier and equipment vendor ZTE demonstrated a portable, fully solar-powered 5G site built around a 12-metre lightweight pole, high-efficiency solar panels, a battery backup rated for 52 hours without sunlight, and satellite backhaul to U Mobile’s core network, according to U Mobile’s own newsroom announcement. That proof-of-concept, tested at SK Mentu primary school in Sebuyau, Sarawak, and a community hall in Sipitang, Sabah, hit peak download speeds of 134 Mbps and could reportedly be installed in three days versus close to a year for a conventional rural tower.
That demonstration was framed around closing rural connectivity gaps rather than industrial automation, but the underlying hardware — solar-powered, self-contained, grid-independent 5G infrastructure — is directly relevant to a solar farm site that similarly lacks nearby fiber or reliable grid power at every corner of the property. It suggests U Mobile already has field-tested equipment it can adapt for the HLGY Energy collaboration rather than starting from a blank sheet.
Consumer mobile plans in Malaysia, like most mature markets, face pricing pressure and slowing subscriber growth, which is pushing carriers toward enterprise and industrial connectivity as a growth lever. Private 5G for manufacturing, ports, mining, and now renewable energy sites represents a different kind of contract: longer-term, higher-margin, and tied to a customer’s operational infrastructure rather than a monthly consumer subscription that can be switched with a port-out request.
Networking hardware vendors stand to benefit from this shift too, since private 5G deployments require base stations, edge compute, and switching infrastructure sized for industrial sites rather than dense urban macro cells. The broader industrial-networking hardware market has been expanding rapidly on the data-center side, illustrated by the throughput jump detailed in coverage of Marvell’s 102.4 Tbps AI switch launch, even though that specific product targets data centers rather than solar farms. The common thread is that connectivity hardware vendors are increasingly selling into infrastructure sectors that had little need for high-bandwidth networking a decade ago.
Telecom-energy tie-ups aren’t unique to Malaysia, but the specific combination of private 5G, drone inspection, AI analytics, and BESS optimization under one MoU is a fairly complete package compared with piecemeal connectivity deals seen elsewhere. The table below places the U Mobile-HLGY Energy MoU against the general categories of connectivity approaches solar developers have used for site monitoring, based on confirmed details from the MoU itself.
The second table summarizes the confirmed components of the MoU and U Mobile’s related field-tested hardware, pulling together what’s been verified from the companies’ own statements and U Mobile’s prior ZTE demonstration.
Beyond the headline announcement, both executives used their public statements to signal broader ambitions than this single MoU. How Lih Ren, U Mobile’s Chief Business Officer, positioned the carrier as a long-term enterprise partner rather than a one-deal vendor: “Beyond connectivity, our ambition is to be a trusted digital solutions partner to enterprises across Malaysia. We look forward to applying our network and technology capabilities to support the country’s renewable energy aspirations, including the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS),” he said, according to SoyaCincau.
Kenneth Yap, Chairman and Executive Director of HLGY Energy, kept his framing closer to the operational payoff: reliable connectivity and automation translating into lower electricity costs and longer equipment life through better BESS management. Malaysian technology outlets such as Lowyat.NET have tracked U Mobile’s broader enterprise-network ambitions over the past year, and this MoU fits a pattern of the carrier expanding beyond its consumer mobile business into infrastructure-grade connectivity contracts.
5G’s early marketing in Malaysia and globally centered on consumer speed claims and gaming latency, but the technology’s more durable business case has shifted toward private industrial deployments where dedicated bandwidth and network slicing solve real operational problems. U Mobile’s own history traces that shift: from competing in the consumer prepaid market to building rural connectivity infrastructure with ZTE, and now to courting renewable-energy developers with the same underlying private-network playbook. HLGY Energy’s participation reflects the mirror-image trend on the energy side, where solar and BESS operators that once treated connectivity as an afterthought now see it as core infrastructure for maximizing asset performance under schemes like CRESS.
What did U Mobile and HLGY Energy actually sign?
A Memorandum of Understanding on October 12, 2026, to explore private 5G connectivity for smart solar farms in Malaysia. It is exploratory, not a binding construction contract.
What is ULTRA5G?
ULTRA5G is U Mobile’s private 5G network offering for enterprise and industrial customers, separate from its consumer mobile plans.
Which solar project is named in the agreement?
The Kedah Rubber City Solar Power Plant, operated by HLGY Energy under Malaysia’s Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS).
What technology applications are planned?
Autonomous drone inspections, AI-powered analytics, and smart CCTV surveillance, plus exploration of AI-optimized battery energy-storage system (BESS) operations.
Has U Mobile deployed solar-powered 5G hardware before?
Yes. On September 22, 2026, U Mobile and ZTE demonstrated a portable, fully solar-powered 5G site reaching 134 Mbps peak speeds with 52-hour battery backup, tested in rural Sarawak and Sabah.
What is CRESS?
The Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme is a Malaysian regulatory framework that lets corporate buyers procure renewable electricity directly from developers like HLGY Energy, rather than solely through the national grid utility.
Why do solar farms need private 5G instead of public mobile networks?
Utility-scale solar sites are often large, rural, and poorly served by public cellular coverage. Private 5G provides dedicated bandwidth for continuous drone video, AI analytics, and surveillance traffic without competing with consumer network congestion.
Is there a confirmed investment amount or rollout date for the solar farm deployment?
No. The companies have not disclosed specific deployment locations beyond the Kedah Rubber City project, investment figures, or a commercial launch timeline, based on currently available reporting.
Sofia Lindström is the Editor-in-Chief at Tech Insider, where she leads editorial strategy and oversees coverage across AI, cybersecurity, and enterprise technology. With over a decade in Swedish tech journalism, she previously served as technology editor at Dagens Industri and covered the Nordic startup ecosystem for Breakit. Sofia holds an MSc in Media Technology from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and is a frequent speaker at Web Summit and Slush. She is passionate about making complex technology accessible to business leaders.
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energyRe announced the closing of an $815 million financing package covering five utility-scale solar projects in South Carolina, according to a company press release. The transaction, described in the release as one of the largest solar-only project financing deals in South Carolina history, supports projects totaling approximately 360 megawatts of new generating capacity.
The company said the financing advances its goal of investing $2 billion in South Carolina by 2030 and brings total funds raised for its solar portfolio to more than $1.9 billion when combined with earlier packages. energyRe Chief Financial Officer Pedro Pereira said the portfolio financing is the company’s largest to date and reflects lender confidence in its assets and team, adding that South Carolina sits at the center of its growth strategy.
Bank of America, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Santander supported the financing, with Bank of America acting as documentation agent and Santander serving as financial advisor to energyRe. The five projects are contracted under 25-year power purchase agreements and are expected to provide tens of millions in revenue for local governments.
energyRe’s M&A and Capital Markets team structured and executed the transaction, led by Surya Mohan, working with Santander and the company’s lending and tax equity partners. Mohan, a senior vice president in that unit, said the financing secures capital to advance the projects and demonstrates the company’s ability to finance its development portfolio at scale.
Santander’s Nuno Andrade, head of North America structured finance and global head of digital structured finance for its corporate and investment bank, said the bank was pleased to advise on and finance a landmark transaction expected to serve as a cornerstone for energyRe’s and South Carolina’s clean energy portfolio. CIBC’s Ines Serrao, managing director and head of U.S. project finance and infrastructure, said the bank was proud to support the expansion of critical energy infrastructure and the transition to a more reliable and sustainable power system. Bank of America’s Omer Farooq, head of asset finance within its global sustainable and infrastructure finance group, said the transaction reflects the type of investment its $250 billion Critical Infrastructure Finance Initiative was created to advance.
energyRe said it has broken ground on approximately 450 MW over the past year and has nearly 700 MW in operation or late-stage development. Its portfolio of more than 1.8 gigawatts spans 20 projects across South Carolina, North Carolina, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
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World's largest solar cell producer
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Historically leading innovator in LED technology
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One of world's largest LED chip producers
Major LED packaging and component supplier
Leading Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer
Innovator in WICOP and SunLike technologies
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IBC cell technology leader
Solar project developer and manufacturer
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ROADWAY SAFETY CONCERNS: Representatives from the Mt. Olive solar farm project told the Russell County Fiscal Court Monday morning they’ve taken steps to improve roadway safety for neighbors and employees following recent complaints.
What steps have been taken? Complete details during WJRS NEWS Tuesday morning at 5:30, 6:30 & 7:30 and at lakercountry.com.

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The Indian Primary Copper Producers Association has urged the government to raise customs duties on solar copper products. They recommend increasing the duty on solar PV ribbon and busbars from 5% to 10%. The association also requests maintaining existing duties on refined copper and copper pipes. Domestic production is underutilized due to imports from China affecting the market.
Companies are pushing for a higher duty on copper used in solar modules

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Perovskite Solar Panel Was First Applied to DESLOC Smart Lock V150 Plus. Now It’s Showing Up on Your Front Door  Innovation & Tech Today
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Why are so many warehouse spaces going to wasteby not using solar? Amy Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer at Wattsor, explains.
With geopolitical events causing two major price shocks in five years, it is no wonder that energy has become a major operational and financial concern for logistics providers. As the sector looks at ways to reduce its reliance on volatile wholesale energy prices, the idea of generating renewable energy on-site has moved from a ‘nice-to-have’, or purely environmental initiative, to an increasingly attractive strategy for securing a stable and predictable energy supply.
Despite the government pushing a ‘solar revolution’ for both businesses and households, thousands of warehouse rooftop spaces remain untapped potential for solar generation. A report from Cushman & Wakefield estimates that UK logistics and industrial buildings of 50,000 square feet or more account for 1.5 billion square feet of roof space, with the potential to generate over 36GWh of electricity each year. With the government targeting 45 to 47GW of solar capacity by 2030, warehouse rooftops could make a substantial contribution to national targets.
At a time when logistics operators need greater control over energy costs and to be demonstrating credible carbon reductions, they should look to roofs as a valuable asset.
Several barriers can prevent a promising project from being reduced or even abandoned. Most of the time, technology isn’t the blocker. Developers sometimes design warehouse solar schemes around present demand, so an ambient warehouse with an enormous roof may receive only enough panels to serve its modest daytime load. Much of the available space then remains untouched, even when automation or vehicle charging will increase electricity use later down the line.
In addition, complex property arrangements can make the calculation harder. For example, the occupier pays the electricity bill while the landlord controls the roof, meaning that the lease may not align with the expected payback period. Furthermore, supporting equipment may require planning permission.
Grid constraints often present the biggest obstacle to a large rooftop solar project. Solar panels on a warehouse roof may be able to generate more electricity than the business can use, but the local electricity grid may not have room to take the excess. This can lead to either installing fewer panels or paying for an expensive grid upgrade.
While the UK needs a costly, decades-long grid investment as logistics sites electrify, it must also use the existing network more effectively. Battery storage and smart energy management systems may provide a more immediate solution.
A battery can store solar electricity that the warehouse cannot use straight away, preventing too much power from being sent to the grid at once. If a project can show that it will stay within the grid’s existing limit, the need to pay for an upgrade to handle electricity that the site will never send is avoided. Grid constraint then becomes a design or engineering challenge, rather than the end of the project.
Pharmaceutical distributor Mawdsleys faced this challenge at its warehouse in Doncaster. The site needed a 1,700-kilowatt rooftop solar system to match its expected annual electricity use, but the grid operator would only allow a much smaller limit. Wattstor linked the panels to a battery so surplus solar electricity could be stored on site rather than sent straight to the grid. Controls limited how much power reached the grid, allowing Mawdsleys to install the larger solar system while staying within the permitted connection limit.
Similarly, our work with Big Yellow Self Storage shows how one project can establish a repeatable approach. Its Slough store combined rooftop solar panels with a battery that can power the site for up to ten hours. The installation has helped set the requirements for future stores, allowing it to include solar and storage in new developments from the outset.
This is a model that can be repeated. Warehouse operators should begin with the site, not a predetermined quantity of panels. Half-hourly demand data and the condition of the roof show what is possible, while expected growth and grid limits reveal what the system must handle.
New warehouses should now plan rooftop solar and battery storage together, with energy management built in from the outset. Retrofitting the existing estate remains a vast opportunity, but completing a logistics building without considering the power it could generate, and how it will use that power, creates wasted space from its first day.
The rooftop revolution no longer needs a technological breakthrough, but it does require more than panels. The logistics sector must stop treating roofs as leftover space and use solar plus battery storage and smart energy management to turn them into working energy assets. Operators that act now can reduce costs while preparing for rising electricity demand. The rooftops are ready. The sector should be too.
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Tartu is set to become an important centre for Estonia’s emerging solar-panel recycling capacity. Waste-management company Epler & Lorenz is developing a facility that will handle end-of-life photovoltaic panels and separate their principal material fractions for further recycling.
The project became newly visible in Estonia’s public discussion on 9 October 2026, when national broadcaster ERR reported that the company had received nearly €500,000 in support for the planned facility. The funding decision itself was made earlier through Estonia’s Environmental Investment Centre, known by its Estonian abbreviation KIK. According to KIK, the specific solar-panel project received €439,299 in support. ([news.err.ee](https://news.err.ee/1610161180/plans-for-a-solar-panel-recycling-plant-in-tartu?utm_source=openai))
The timing reflects a familiar pattern in the clean-energy transition: equipment is being installed at a rapid pace today, while the largest volumes of waste will arrive later. Most solar panels currently operating in Estonia are expected to remain in service for years, but the country is already preparing for the point at which damaged, outdated or decommissioned panels need a domestic treatment route.
ERR reported that around 60,000 tonnes of solar panels were placed on the Estonian market between 2018 and 2025, based on figures from the national Register of Products of Concern. The current amount of panel waste is still considered modest, but the accumulated stock gives policymakers and companies a reason to plan ahead rather than wait until disposal volumes rise sharply. ([news.err.ee](https://news.err.ee/1610161180/plans-for-a-solar-panel-recycling-plant-in-tartu?utm_source=openai))
KIK says the planned unit will be capable of processing up to 1,600 tonnes of solar panels per year. The process is intended to separate glass, aluminium, copper and silicon-based fine fractions so that the materials can enter appropriate recycling streams. This is more specific than simply collecting panels: it creates a domestic preparation stage before recovered materials are sent for reuse or further processing. ([kik.ee](https://kik.ee/en/news/old-solar-panels-be-processed-estonia?utm_source=openai))
Solar panels are often presented as a straightforward renewable-energy technology, but their environmental performance also depends on what happens at the end of their useful life. Their frames, glass, wiring and semiconductor materials have different physical and economic properties, which means that recovery requires sorting and treatment rather than a single disposal solution.
For Estonia, local processing could bring several practical benefits. It may reduce the need to export collected panels before treatment, create additional expertise in specialised waste management and improve the recovery of materials that would otherwise be handled as a lower-value waste stream. KIK has described the project as a way to create more added value in Estonia while reducing pressure to extract new resources.
The Tartu project is being developed alongside a separate battery and accumulator sorting line at the company’s site. KIK awarded Epler & Lorenz €197,975 for that equipment, with a planned capacity of up to 600 tonnes per year. Together, the two investments point to a broader expansion of Estonia’s ability to manage waste connected with electrification and renewable energy. ([kik.ee](https://kik.ee/en/news/old-solar-panels-be-processed-estonia?utm_source=openai))
The development also highlights a policy question that will become more important as solar power grows: who is responsible for panels when they reach the end of their service life, and how should the cost of collection and treatment be shared?
ERR reported that producer responsibility remains a concern in Estonia. The challenge is not only technical. Collection systems, information about ownership, transport arrangements and financing mechanisms all need to work together if panels are to reach certified treatment facilities rather than being stored indefinitely or handled through unsuitable channels.
That makes the Tartu facility a piece of wider infrastructure rather than a complete answer on its own. Its effectiveness will depend on reliable collection networks, clear rules for companies placing panels on the market and sufficient demand for the recovered materials. The project nevertheless offers Estonia a concrete way to prepare for a waste stream that is still relatively small but likely to become more visible over time.
Estonia’s solar expansion is creating new questions beyond electricity production. The next phase of the industry will involve designing systems that account for the whole life cycle of equipment, including maintenance, reuse, dismantling and material recovery.
By investing in treatment capacity in Tartu before large-scale panel waste arrives, Epler & Lorenz and KIK are placing circular-economy infrastructure alongside renewable-energy development. The approach is gradual and practical: build the equipment, test the market and develop the expertise needed to keep more materials in productive use.
For Tartu, the project adds another example of how industrial services can support the clean-energy transition. For Estonia, it marks an early step toward ensuring that the benefits of solar power do not end when panels stop producing electricity.
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Dos Grados, a Spanish renewable energy investment and development company, has reached an agreement with Akuo to acquire three solar photovoltaic projects totaling more than 500 MW in Spain. The projects are under development in Castilla y León and Andalusia, expanding Dos Grados’ solar development portfolio. Akuo, a renewable energy developer active in solar, wind and energy storage, will transfer the three-project portfolio under the agreement. The projects offer opportunities to integrate agrivoltaic systems, allowing solar electricity generation and agricultural activities to share land. Dos Grados also plans to explore technologies for energy management and integration with industrial electricity demand. The companies have not disclosed the transaction value, individual project capacities or expected commissioning dates.
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That means utilities can draw on battery capacity people already have at home.
Photo Credit: iStock
California homeowners with battery backup proved they can do the work of a full-scale power plant.
Across 85,774 households, Tesla Powerwalls fed a record 601 megawatts back to the grid during a peak-demand event, with the batteries working together like one coordinated plant.
Drive Tesla reported that Tesla‘s entire California Powerwall fleet briefly reached 634 MW, while the participating batteries supplied 932 megawatt-hours in total.
Compared with the September heat wave, the Oct. 6 event was bigger on both fronts. That earlier response involved about 69,000 Powerwall owners sending more than 500 MW to the grid at once, with Tesla’s dashboard reaching 507 MW, while October added close to 17,000 more homes and nearly 100 MW in additional peak output.
Adding battery storage can help protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and increase energy independence. It can also mean steadier power during storms or heat waves, when the grid is under the most strain.
Homeowners who want to compare options can explore EnergySage to learn about home battery storage choices, including competitive installation estimates. EnergySage has teamed up with electrification brand Qmerit to help homeowners get the best price on home battery storage solutions.
In California, Tesla relies on software that links thousands of home batteries together, sending their stored electricity to the grid when demand peaks.
That means utilities can draw on battery capacity people already have at home, instead of building a backup plant that would sit idle most of the time.
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Participation has grown quickly since 2023, when Tesla counted a little over 7,000 Powerwall customers in its California program. By Oct. 6, participation had grown more than twelvefold, according to Drive Tesla.
A larger network of home batteries can ease pressure during periods of extreme demand. It can also improve resilience during heat-driven strain and lower the need for expensive backup generation.
The system also lets households keep power available during blackouts and store energy for later use, which can be especially valuable for homes trying to use more of their own solar power after sunset.
Tesla is turning separate household batteries into one coordinated virtual power plant. That gives utilities a way to call on enrolled homes during tight conditions instead of adding more rarely used standby capacity.
For participating owners, feeding electricity into the grid creates a revenue opportunity on top of the battery’s backup protection at home.
In 2025, Tesla said Powerwall owners had earned almost $10 million through its 2024 VPP payouts.
For people who don’t need a full Powerwall-style system, Pila is another company offering strong battery backup options. Pila’s plug-and-play batteries are priced at a fraction of what a whole-home backup system would cost.
Home batteries are playing a bigger role on the grid and in homeowners’ budgets. Related coverage looks at California Powerwall payouts, Tesla’s installation growth, and similar virtual power plant efforts from sonnen.
• In California, Tesla owners can earn up to $1,500 a year by supporting the grid.
• One California homeowner said his Tesla Powerwall earned him $600 through virtual power plant events.
• Tesla’s expanding fleet crossed half a million installations worldwide, helping explain the system’s growing scale.
• Sonnen has been linking home batteries together into virtual power plants.
• In Puerto Rico, Sonnen is strengthening the local grid by coordinating home batteries.
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A temporary liquid phase boosted perovskite device efficiency to 26%, with solar cells retaining most of their efficiency after eight weeks.
Researchers have developed a new method to improve the efficiency and durability of perovskite solar cells by controlling how the materials crystallize. The study shows how a temporary liquid phase can help produce larger, more uniform crystals with fewer defects.
The team, co-led by researchers at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), used this approach to improve perovskite-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes. The devices achieved efficiencies of around 24 percent to 26 percent, among the higher values reported for perovskite devices.
Solar cells made using the technique also retained most of their initial efficiency after eight weeks of continuous operation under simulated sunlight.
Perovskites are materials that could help make solar technology more affordable while delivering high efficiency. They can be processed from liquid solutions and deposited as thin films, potentially reducing the energy and complexity required for manufacturing compared with conventional silicon solar cells.
However, producing high-quality perovskite films remains challenging. These films typically contain many small crystals, with boundaries between neighboring crystals known as grain boundaries. Defects in these regions can cause energy losses and reduce device performance.
The problem becomes more significant when manufacturers attempt to produce larger solar panels, where maintaining efficiency across a greater area is difficult.
To address this issue, researchers led by David Fenning, professor of chemical and nano engineering at UC San Diego, worked with colleagues from Princeton University and Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea.
The team added zinc bromide and methylammonium chloride to the solution used to produce a type of material called a halide perovskite. When heated, the additives formed a low-melting mixture known as a eutectic. This mixture created a temporary liquid around growing crystal boundaries, allowing the crystals to rearrange and form a more orderly structure.
As heating continued, methylammonium chloride evaporated, leaving zinc concentrated around the crystal boundaries. The remaining zinc helped neutralize electronic defects that could otherwise interfere with the movement of electrical charges.
“We introduce a new way of tuning the growth of halide perovskites by developing an additive mixture that actively evolves during crystallization,” said study co-first author Connor Dolan, a chemical and nano engineering PhD alumnus from Fenning’s lab. “What’s even cooler is that the end product removes performance-limiting defects at the edges of the crystalline grains.”
Using advanced X-ray imaging, the researchers observed changes in the material at extremely small scales. Their measurements showed that the regions around crystal boundaries became disordered and liquid-like during heating before returning to an ordered state as the extra salt evaporated and crystal growth ended.
The treatment produced larger crystals with fewer structural defects and a more uniform distribution of chemical properties. The researchers are also interested in understanding why this solid-liquid-solid transformation occurs at the same temperature.
The improved crystal structure translated into better device performance. In solar cells, sunlight excites electrons and leaves behind positively charged holes. The time these electron-hole pairs survive before recombining helps indicate how effectively a material can support solar energy conversion.
“Perovskites made with the eutectic-forming additives had the longest-lasting electron-hole pairs ever reported for any direct-bandgap semiconductor, which speaks to the promise of this approach,” Dolan noted.
The researchers also tested the method across different perovskite compositions and found that it worked with the chemistries they examined.
“It seemed like everything we tried worked!” Dolan added. “I’m hopeful that this mechanism has the chance to be really generalizable and provide a platform for further innovation in the perovskite community.”
The team is now investigating other eutectic mixtures to better control crystallization.
The researchers hope the approach can provide a broader strategy for producing high-quality perovskite materials and support the development of efficient solar technologies that can be manufactured at larger scales.
The study was published in the journal Science.
A versatile writer, Sujita has worked with Mashable Middle East and News Daily 24. When she isn't writing, you can find her glued to the latest web series and movies.
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First Solar Stock Upgraded to Buy With $270 Target  Barron’s
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South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has launched a request for qualification (RFQ) process to select renewable energy developers for the first phase of a program aimed at deploying up to 6 GW of utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage projects.
“The Eskom Phase 1 Programme is an initial portfolio of up to 6 GW of utility-scale renewable energy projects, spanning solar photovoltaic (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind and other renewable technologies,” the company said in a statement. “Eskom will contribute projects comprising at least 2GW of solar PV and 1GW / 4GWh of BESS, which may be complemented by projects owned or originated by the selected strategic partners. The strategic partners will form a panel of pre-qualified co-development and co-investment partners for development, financing and implementation for a period of five years.”
Qualified developers will be invited to participate in subsequent competitive procurement rounds through one or more requests for proposals (RFPs).
The planned portfolio includes Eskom-originated projects on utility-owned land and at existing generation sites, alongside projects owned or originated by strategic partners that could be developed, acquired or implemented in partnership with Eskom or its Eskom Green subsidiary.
Each project is expected to be structured through a dedicated, ring-fenced special purpose vehicle (SPV), with financing primarily arranged on a limited-recourse or non-recourse project finance basis.
Eskom launched Eskom Green in July as part of its broader restructuring strategy, which includes the unbundling process initiated in 2023.
Despite these developments, Eskom remains under financial pressure. The utility continues to rely on coal-fired generation and diesel-fired peaking plants. Diesel expenditure remains in the hundreds of millions of South African rand, although it has declined significantly from the previous year.
Meanwhile, South Africa is advancing electricity market reforms, including plans to establish a wholesale electricity market that could reshape Eskom’s role in the power sector. Analysts have warned that regulatory provisions favoring Eskom’s coal-fired assets could discourage private investment and undermine efficiency gains, potentially increasing long-term electricity costs for consumers.
South Africa’s cumulative installed solar capacity has exceeded 10 GW, following the addition of 1.6 GW in 2025.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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pv magazine USA hosts its multi-day virtual event on U.S. solar and energy storage, covering domestic manufacturing, distributed energy and the growing role of solar-plus-storage in meeting AI-driven power demand.
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A SEEG report identifies three major cybersecurity risks to solar PV installations in the EU  
It recommends stronger controls on inverter communications and firmware updates, along with restrictions on suppliers identified as posing significant cybersecurity risks 
It highlights gaps in existing EU cybersecurity rules and says existing rules may not be sufficient 
The rapid expansion of solar power in Europe is creating new cybersecurity challenges for the electricity system, according to a new report by the Smart Energy Expert Group’s (SEEG) Working Group on Cybersecurity. It warns that malicious attacks on connected solar PV installations could disrupt electricity supply, overload grid infrastructure, and cause voltage disturbances. 
The report, Recommendations to Address Cybersecurity Risk in Photovoltaic Generation, assesses cyberattack scenarios across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale solar installations.  
Citing SolarPower Europe’s EU Solar Market Outlook 2025-2030, the SEEG report notes that EU solar PV capacity increased from 86 GW in 2015 to 406 GW in 2025, and is projected to reach 718 GW DC by 2030. As more installations connect to the internet and use remote monitoring and control platforms, a successful cyberattack could affect multiple systems simultaneously. 
An EU decision to block funding for solar PV and battery storage projects using inverters from high-risk countries has created uncertainty in the industry. SolarPower Europe had earlier called for clarity in the absence of any written guidance from the European Commission (see SolarPower Europe Seeks Clarity On EU Inverter Funding Ban).
Recently, the EU clarified that its official guidance on the use of EU funds for clean energy projects involving certain inverters is “country neutral” and that it will engage with China in further discussions on this issue.  
Meanwhile, the SEEG assessment identifies three high-risk scenarios. The first involves attacks on manufacturer platforms connected to PV installations, particularly residential, commercial, and industrial systems. These platforms allow users to monitor generation, change inverter settings, and update firmware. A security breach could give attackers access to large numbers of connected inverters through a single platform. 
The second concerns the deliberate introduction of backdoors by manufacturers acting on behalf of a nation-state actor. Such access could be embedded in a manufacturer’s central platform, inverter firmware, or hardware. The report considers this risk relevant across all installation categories examined. 
The third involves attacks on utility-scale solar installations through local networks. In this scenario, an attacker gains access to a remote-access firewall and exploits the network used to operate or maintain the installation. 
The report warns that attackers who gain control over sufficient solar generation capacity could switch installations on or off, creating imbalances between electricity supply and demand. Other possible consequences include grid congestion and voltage problems. In severe cases, these disruptions could lead to power outages. 
According to SEEG analysis, says cybersecurity concerns have intensified following research in 2024 and 2025 that exposed serious vulnerabilities in solar inverters and connected manufacturer platforms. Rising geopolitical tensions and Europe’s dependence on Chinese PV equipment have added to concerns about potential cyberattacks by state-linked groups. 
To address the identified risks, the experts recommend requiring manufacturers of internet-connected devices used in PV installations to establish robust vulnerability handling processes for their cloud platforms. These should include clear, enforceable deadlines for fixing security flaws. The report also recommends encouraging “bug bounty” programs to support independent security research. 
For utility-scale installations, the report calls for systematic control of internet communications from inverters. All traffic should be documented, encrypted, and authenticated. Outbound connections should be restricted to approved servers located within the EU or under equivalent jurisdictions. Incoming communications from outside the local network should not be permitted. 
The report also recommends restricting the use of components and software from suppliers subject to the jurisdiction of third countries identified as posing significant cybersecurity risks. Such restrictions should be based on a thorough risk assessment, the report says, because they could disrupt the market if alternative supplies are insufficient. 
For commercial, industrial, and utility-scale installations, SEEG recommends replacing manufacturer-triggered automatic firmware updates with controlled manual updates carried out by qualified maintenance providers. Firmware could also be tested for backdoors, particularly when deployed in critical infrastructure. 
For smaller residential systems, the report emphasizes secure design and default settings, timely security updates, and improved vulnerability management. It also recommends cybersecurity training for installers and maintenance providers, along with better protection for the computer systems and credentials they use to access inverters.  
The report also assessed four existing EU legal frameworks—the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the NIS2 Directive, the Network Code on Cybersecurity (NCCS), and the Network Code on Requirements for Generators (RfG)—to ascertain how well existing legislation can be used to enforce mitigating measures.  
It found that while the CRA covers inverters across the installation categories examined by SEEG, but does not provide sufficiently strong verification to enforce the recommended safeguards. Inverters are not currently classified as important or critical products under the CRA, allowing manufacturers to demonstrate compliance through internal assessments without independent testing or audits. 
To address this gap, the experts recommend developing a harmonized EU cybersecurity standard for PV inverters and classifying them as Class II important products under the CRA.  
The report also recommends aligning thresholds under the NIS2 Directive and the NCCS to make the rules easier for national authorities to apply. It calls for better coverage of PV installers under NIS2 and cybersecurity qualification requirements for installers under the RfG. 
The experts further recommend using the proposed revised Cybersecurity Act and the Industrial Accelerator Act to address supply-chain risks, including the possibility of intentional backdoors. They argue that restrictions on high-risk suppliers should also cover residential installations, including plug-in solar equipment.  
SEEG analysts also call for incorporating PV cyberattack scenarios into electricity-system risk assessments, including those conducted under the EU Risk Preparedness Regulation and the System Operation Guideline.  
The complete report is available for free download on the European Commission’s website.  
The SEEG report follows EU solar industry demand for industry-specific cybersecurity controls. A SolarPower Europe commissioned DNV report from April 2025 called for mandatory regulations to limit remote access and control of the bloc’s solar PV systems via the inverter, following the April 2025 power outage in Spain and Portugal (see EU Solar PV Industry Calls For Cybersecurity Measures). 
A Loom report, earlier this year, said that Europe remains dangerously dependent on Chinese low-carbon technologies while calling for a coordinated industrial strategy to reduce its dependence on China lest it is forced to do so under pressure from the US (see Europe’s Dangerous Dependence On Chinese Clean Technology).
TaiyangNews 2024

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The python was found to have an infection affecting its mouth and teeth.
Photo Credit: iStock
Activists with the Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and local police recently tracked a dance troupe from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
After almost a week, they said they rescued an Indian rock python allegedly being used in a road performance at a Ganesh pandal in Jawaharnagar, the Deccan Chronicle reported.
The activists at GHSPCA and police acted on information that a dance troupe was allegedly featuring a live snake in its shows. The organization later said that on Sept. 20 it apprehended the alleged snake handler and seized both the python and a boiler chicken hen.
Before that seizure, GHSPCA said its team had been following the troupe for five days after getting reports about the snake’s supposed role in the performance. During an earlier attempt to intervene, the alleged handler reportedly got away before police and rescuers could detain him.
By the time the troupe was located again, GHSPCA alleged that the python was being used openly in the road act. It claimed the hen was also being subjected to mistreatment as part of the same performance.
After the rescue, GHSPCA said the python was found to have an infection affecting its mouth and teeth, and the animal was placed under veterinary care.
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The organization also called for authorities to take action under the area’s wildlife protection laws.
Though snakes may seem scary to some, people are doing what they can in other places to keep these reptiles alive and well.
• Park contractors in Singapore take swift action after workers spot a reticulated python in a drain.
• In downtown Los Angeles, rescuers pull a 20-foot python from a dumpster after abandonment.
• In Telangana, India, a snake catcher bags an Indian cobra found inside grandparents’ house.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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The global quartz market is projected to expand steadily as demand for quartz materials increases across semiconductor manufacturing, solar photovoltaics, electronics, construction, glass, and engineered-stone applications. The market was valued at USD 8.9 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 17.9 billion by 2036, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% from 2026 to 2036. Growing semiconductor production, rising solar photovoltaic manufacturing capacity, and increasing use of high-purity quartz are among the primary factors supporting market growth.
Quartz is an important industrial mineral because of its hardness, thermal stability, chemical resistance, and electrical properties. Natural quartz is widely used in conventional applications, including glass, ceramics, construction materials, foundry operations, and engineered surfaces. High-purity quartz (HPQ) serves more specialized applications in semiconductor processing, photovoltaic manufacturing, optical fiber, and specialty glass production.
Market participants are investing in high-purity raw-material sourcing, advanced purification technologies, and specialized product manufacturing to meet evolving industrial requirements. Asia Pacific remained the leading regional market in 2025, accounting for approximately 49.5% of global revenue, while natural quartz represented the largest product category, with a 74.5% share.
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Quartz Market Overview
Quartz is a naturally occurring mineral composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO₂). It is among the most abundant minerals in the Earth’s crust and is used across numerous industrial sectors because of its durability, hardness, chemical inertness, and resistance to high temperatures.
Commercial quartz production generally involves mining, crushing, screening, sizing, and washing to obtain materials with the required particle size and quality. Depending on the intended application, additional beneficiation and purification processes may be necessary. High-purity quartz undergoes more advanced processing to reduce impurities and achieve the quality specifications required for semiconductor manufacturing, solar photovoltaics, optical fiber, and specialty glass.
The quartz market includes natural and synthetic quartz products in various forms, such as crystals, powders, granules, sand, pebbles, and quartz glass. Natural quartz is widely used in construction, glass manufacturing, ceramics, foundry applications, and engineered-stone surfaces. Synthetic and processed quartz products serve applications requiring specific material characteristics and performance standards.
Demand for quartz varies according to purity, form, and end-use requirements. Conventional industrial applications benefit from the availability and affordability of natural quartz, whereas advanced manufacturing sectors require specialized materials with carefully controlled impurity levels.
The market is also influenced by developments across the semiconductor and renewable energy supply chains. Semiconductor fabrication requires quartz components capable of withstanding elevated temperatures and chemically aggressive environments. Similarly, crystalline silicon photovoltaic manufacturing uses high-purity quartz in crucibles and related processing equipment.
Key Growth Drivers of the Quartz Market
Expansion of Semiconductor Manufacturing
The expansion of semiconductor manufacturing is a major driver of the global quartz market, particularly for high-purity quartz and fused quartz products. Quartz is used in semiconductor processing equipment because of its thermal stability, chemical resistance, and ability to maintain low contamination levels under demanding operating conditions.
Quartz components, including crucibles, tubes, boats, rings, and other specialized equipment, are used during silicon processing and wafer manufacturing. These components may be exposed to high temperatures and corrosive chemicals, creating demand for materials with consistent quality and reliable performance.
As semiconductor manufacturers expand production to meet demand for processors, memory devices, power electronics, and other integrated circuits, demand for specialized quartz components is expected to increase. New fabrication facilities and the expansion of existing plants across Asia, North America, and Europe are creating opportunities for suppliers of high-quality quartz materials.
The increasing complexity of semiconductor manufacturing is further strengthening the importance of material purity. Even small concentrations of metallic or other impurities can affect silicon purity and manufacturing performance. Consequently, quartz suppliers are focusing on beneficiation, purification, and quality-control processes to meet stringent industrial requirements.
These conditions create opportunities for suppliers capable of securing suitable raw-material deposits and consistently delivering high-purity quartz products. Continued technological advancement in semiconductor manufacturing is expected to support demand for specialized quartz materials throughout the forecast period.
Rising Solar Photovoltaic Production
The expansion of solar photovoltaic manufacturing is another significant factor supporting quartz market growth. High-purity quartz is used in the production of quartz crucibles required for melting and growing crystalline silicon ingots. In the Czochralski process, these crucibles support silicon crystal growth, after which the ingots are cut into wafers and processed into solar cells.
Growing adoption of renewable energy is encouraging investment in photovoltaic manufacturing capacity. Governments and industrial companies are expanding solar power deployment to support decarbonization objectives and improve energy security. This expansion is contributing to growth across the photovoltaic supply chain, including polysilicon, silicon ingots, wafers, solar cells, and specialized quartz products.
Solar manufacturers are also seeking to improve silicon efficiency, wafer quality, and production performance. These objectives increase the importance of quartz crucibles and other processing materials capable of meeting demanding purity and thermal-resistance requirements.
Quartz suppliers are responding by investing in purification technologies, product development, and production capabilities tailored to photovoltaic manufacturing. Growth in solar installations, wafer production, and crystalline silicon technology is expected to support demand for high-purity quartz over the forecast period.
Market Trends and Opportunities
Expanding Applications of High-Purity Quartz
High-purity quartz is an important growth opportunity for market participants because it serves advanced applications that require exceptionally low impurity levels. Semiconductor manufacturing, solar photovoltaics, optical fiber, and specialty glass production are among the sectors creating demand for these materials.
The development of purification and quality-control technologies can enable quartz suppliers to improve material consistency and address more demanding customer specifications. Companies with access to suitable deposits and advanced processing capabilities may be better positioned to supply high-value industrial applications.
The establishment of additional semiconductor fabrication plants and photovoltaic manufacturing facilities is also increasing the importance of dependable quartz supply chains. Manufacturers require consistent material quality to support uninterrupted production and maintain the performance of specialized processing equipment.
Suppliers that strengthen raw-material sourcing, beneficiation, and purification capabilities can pursue opportunities in high-purity quartz while developing long-term relationships with semiconductor, solar, and optical technology manufacturers.
Growing Demand for Engineered Quartz Surfaces
Engineered quartz surfaces represent another important application area. Quartz is used in countertops and other surfaces because of its durability and suitability for a range of interior applications. Manufacturers produce engineered surfaces to meet different design, color, and finish requirements.
Demand for these products is connected to construction activity, renovation projects, interior design preferences, and the use of durable surfaces in residential and commercial buildings. Companies operating in this segment compete through product design, manufacturing quality, surface aesthetics, and distribution networks.
Although engineered quartz surfaces and high-purity quartz serve different market requirements, both contribute to the diversity of the global quartz industry. Suppliers can address a broad range of customers by offering products tailored to construction, specialty materials, and advanced industrial applications.
Advances in Quartz Processing and Purification
Processing technology is becoming increasingly important as end-use industries demand quartz with specific particle sizes, purity levels, and physical properties. Conventional quartz products can often be processed through established mining and beneficiation operations, while advanced applications require more specialized purification.
Investments in processing efficiency, impurity removal, and product consistency may help suppliers improve yields and reduce material losses. Improved processing capabilities can also support the development of quartz products for applications that require high thermal stability and minimal contamination.
Access to suitable deposits remains an important consideration because raw-material characteristics influence the feasibility of producing high-purity grades. Companies that combine reliable deposits with effective processing technologies may strengthen their position in specialized quartz markets.
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Regional Analysis
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific dominated the global quartz market in 2025, accounting for approximately 49.5% of total market revenue. The region benefits from an established industrial base across construction, glass, ceramics, electronics, semiconductor manufacturing, and solar photovoltaics.
China, India, Japan, and South Korea are important manufacturing markets within the region. Their industrial activities create demand for quartz in construction materials, glass products, electronic components, and advanced manufacturing applications.
Asia Pacific also benefits from established quartz mining and processing operations, competitive manufacturing costs, and investment in semiconductor and renewable energy production. The expansion of electronics manufacturing and photovoltaic supply chains is increasing the importance of specialized quartz products, particularly materials used in silicon processing and high-temperature applications.
The region’s combination of conventional industrial demand and advanced manufacturing activity is expected to support its position in the global quartz market throughout the forecast period.
North America
North America represents an important market for quartz, supported by demand from semiconductor manufacturing, construction, engineered surfaces, and specialty materials applications.
The region is also relevant to the high-purity quartz supply chain because of its quartz deposits and specialized processing capabilities. Access to suitable raw materials and investment in purification technologies can support production of quartz for semiconductor, photovoltaic, and optical applications.
The Quartz Corporation and other suppliers operate across parts of the high-purity quartz value chain, including raw-material sourcing and processing. Continued demand for advanced manufacturing materials creates opportunities for companies capable of delivering consistent quality and reliable supply.
Europe
Europe is included among the major regional markets for quartz, with demand associated with construction, glass, ceramics, electronics, and specialized industrial applications. The region’s industrial base creates opportunities for both conventional quartz products and higher-purity materials used in advanced manufacturing.
Demand will depend on manufacturing activity, construction investment, renewable energy development, and the availability of suitable quartz materials. Suppliers that provide specialized products and efficient processing solutions may benefit from evolving requirements across industrial end-use sectors.
Latin America and the Middle East & Africa
Latin America and the Middle East & Africa are also covered in the global quartz market assessment. Opportunities in these regions are influenced by construction activity, industrial development, glass manufacturing, and demand for materials used in infrastructure projects.
The expansion of industrial facilities and construction-related applications can support demand for natural quartz and processed quartz products. However, the supplied market information does not provide comparable revenue shares or region-specific growth rates for these markets.
Quartz Market Segmentation
The global quartz market is segmented by type, purity, form, application, and end-use.
By Type
Natural quartz remains widely used in conventional industrial applications because it is readily available and can be processed using established methods. Synthetic and specialized quartz products serve applications requiring specific material characteristics.
By Purity
Purity requirements vary according to the intended use. Conventional applications can accommodate a range of grades, whereas semiconductor, photovoltaic, optical, and specialty glass applications may require highly purified materials.
By Form
Different forms serve different industrial requirements, including construction materials, glass production, engineered surfaces, laboratory equipment, and specialized manufacturing components.
By Application
The application landscape reflects the versatility of quartz, ranging from high-volume conventional industrial uses to specialized applications requiring strict material specifications.
By End-use
Demand across end-use industries is influenced by manufacturing activity, infrastructure development, technological advancement, and the need for specialized materials.
Competitive Landscape
The global quartz market includes companies involved in mining, raw-material supply, beneficiation, purification, fused quartz manufacturing, engineered surfaces, and specialized quartz component production. Market participants compete through raw-material access, product purity, processing expertise, manufacturing capacity, and the ability to meet industry-specific requirements.
Major companies identified in the market include The Quartz Corporation, Momentive Technologies, Solar Quartz Technologies, Covia Holdings Corporation, I-Minerals Inc., MSI Surfaces, HanStone Quartz, Vicostone, Sibelco, Jiangsu Pacific Quartz Co., Ltd., High Purity Quartz Pty Ltd, Creswick Quartz, Nordic Mining ASA, Australian Silica Quartz Pty Ltd, Fineton Development Limited, Russian Quartz LLC, Mineracao Santa Rosa, Donghai Shihu Quartz Co., Ltd., AGC Inc., LG Hausys Ltd., and Pokarna Limited.
The Quartz Corporation, Momentive Technologies, Sibelco, Covia Holdings Corporation, I-Minerals Inc., and Jiangsu Pacific Quartz Co., Ltd. are associated with quartz materials, raw-material processing, or high-purity quartz. MSI Surfaces, HanStone Quartz, and Vicostone are particularly active in engineered quartz surfaces and countertops.
Sibelco supplies IOTA high-purity quartz for semiconductor, photovoltaic, and optical applications and has access to high-purity quartz deposits in North Carolina. Such access to suitable deposits, together with purification and processing capabilities, is important for supplying customers with demanding material specifications.
Competitive positioning across the market depends on the ability to secure reliable raw materials, improve processing yields, maintain product quality, and serve diverse applications ranging from construction and glass to advanced electronics and renewable energy manufacturing.
Quartz Market Outlook
The global quartz market is projected to increase from USD 8.9 billion in 2025 to USD 17.9 billion by 2036, expanding at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2026 to 2036. Growth is expected to be supported by semiconductor manufacturing expansion, rising solar photovoltaic production, and the increasing use of high-purity quartz in specialized industrial applications.
Asia Pacific dominated the market in 2025 with a revenue share of 49.5%, while natural quartz accounted for 74.5% of market revenue. These leading positions reflect the region’s established industrial base and the broad availability and affordability of natural quartz for conventional applications.
Going forward, investments in purification technology, specialized quartz products, and reliable raw-material supply chains are expected to create opportunities for manufacturers. Demand from semiconductor fabrication, photovoltaic manufacturing, optical technologies, construction, glass, and engineered surfaces will continue to shape the industry’s development.
The market’s long-term growth will depend on suppliers’ ability to balance conventional industrial demand with the technical requirements of advanced manufacturing. Companies that strengthen material quality, production efficiency, and application-specific capabilities may be better positioned to benefit from expanding quartz demand across global industries.
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As the solar industry pushes for higher output and leaner manufacturing, pushing performance limits requires more than cutting costs. True market success depends on ensuring that next-generation designs can endure decades of field operations without unexpected degradation.
The TaiyangNews Reliable PV Module Design Online Conference, taking place on Thursday, October 15, 2026, from 09:30 to 13:00 CEST, will bring together leading module manufacturers, material and component suppliers, testing organizations, and other industry experts to discuss the latest module products and design concepts, material choices, quality considerations, and reliability challenges, from cells, glass, encapsulants, backsheets, and interconnection technologies to complete module architectures.
At the conference, Ronald Sastrawan, Director, Green Tech Solutions, Munich Re, will provide an insurance perspective on product and performance warranties.
Register for free here.
POWERCHINA has brought its 1 GW Gonghe hybrid photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) project in Gonghe County, Qinghai Province, into full-capacity operation. Developed and operated by POWERCHINA, the project is part of China’s second batch of large-scale wind and solar power bases and combines a 900 MW PV plant with a 100 MW molten-salt tower CSP facility.
The CSP section features a 219 m solar receiver tower and 10,310 heliostats with a total collection area of approximately 500,000 m², while the PV plant uses about 1.898 million modules. The project combines PV generation with molten-salt thermal storage to provide long-duration peak-shaving support. It is expected to deliver more than 2 billion kWh of electricity to the grid annually.
In April, POWERCHINA ignited the 100 MW CSP section of its 1 GW CSP-PV integrated project in Bozhou, Xinjiang (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Jiangxi Fengyin New Energy plans to invest RMB 60 million in a waste PV module recycling project in Shangrao, Jiangxi province. The facility is designed to process 300,000 metric tons of discarded PV modules annually. The project is undergoing public disclosure of its environmental impact assessment (EIA) and has not yet started construction.
According to the EIA submitted to local authorities, the project will mainly process single-glass PV modules through manual dismantling, oxygen-free pyrolysis at 450°C to 550°C, physical separation, and cleaning. Recovered materials will include tempered glass, aluminum frames, silicon cell material, copper ribbons, and junction boxes. The EIA estimates a resource recovery rate of approximately 94.92%. The recovered silicon cell material and copper ribbons will be sold to downstream processors for further treatment.
Major Chinese energy developer CHN Energy has operationalized all four 660 MW units at its Ningxia Zhongwei Power Plant, completing the 2.64 GW project. The company describes it as China’s first fully operational peaking power source supporting a large-scale renewable energy base in the desert, Gobi, and other arid regions. The plant is designed to generate 11.8 billion kWh annually, with an automatic generation control (AGC) ramp rate of 2.27% of rated capacity per minute.
The facility supports the Tengger Desert renewable energy base in Ningxia and the associated power source base for the Ningxia-Hunan ±800 kV ultra-high-voltage DC transmission project. The broader base is planned to include 13 GW of renewable capacity, comprising 9 GW of solar and 4 GW of wind, alongside 4.64 GW of coal-fired peaking capacity. The plant is expected to help smooth fluctuations in wind and solar output and support the transmission and grid integration of large volumes of renewable power.
In August, CHN Energy fully grid-connected a 1 GW solar PV project in Xinjiang through one of its subsidiaries (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Guangdong province has introduced a 3-year action plan for energy-saving and carbon-reduction upgrades in key industries, including a RMB 0.10/kWh surcharge for projects that fail to meet mandatory energy-consumption limits or benchmark efficiency levels. Projects on the annual list will face the surcharge from January 1 of the following year, in addition to their market-based electricity prices. The additional revenue will be used to offset power-system operating costs. The surcharge will end in the second month after compliance with the relevant efficiency thresholds is verified. Guangdong aims to reduce capacity operating below benchmark efficiency levels to near zero by the end of 2028.
The plan also calls for wider use of clean energy in energy-intensive sectors. Cement producers are encouraged to develop distributed solar, distributed wind, and energy storage in an integrated manner. It also emphasizes greater use of green power in flat-glass production and solar energy in the paper industry. Coal-fired power plants can pursue low-carbon upgrades by integrating renewable energy and adding storage. Guangdong also plans to accelerate the development of energy-saving and carbon-reduction standards for sectors including PV equipment manufacturing.
The measures follow a national 3-year campaign that the National Development and Reform Commission and four other central government agencies published in June. The national plan allows regions to impose differential power tariffs up to RMB 0.10/kWh above market-based electricity prices and promotes integrating coal-fired power with renewable energy and storage.
Nine electricity retailers in Guangxi affiliated with centrally administered state-owned enterprises, including subsidiaries of CHN Energy and CR Power, have jointly petitioned the regional government over mounting power-market losses. They said wholesale electricity costs have remained above retail contract prices, resulting in cumulative losses of more than RMB 2 billion from January to August. September losses were expected to exceed RMB 1 billion, while full-year losses could surpass RMB 5 billion.
The companies said they signed their 2026 retail contracts at fixed prices averaging about RMB 0.260/kWh, while Guangxi’s average spot-market price reached RMB 0.633/kWh on September 30. Following the broader shift of wind and solar generation to market-based trading, they called for proper implementation of settlement rules for electricity volumes covered by the renewable energy price mechanism.
They argued that prices under medium- and long-term contracts signed by the grid company on behalf of commercial and industrial (C&I) users should be passed directly through to those users, rather than leaving electricity retailers to absorb the price difference. They also requested that September settlements be deferred, a wholesale-retail price pass-through mechanism be established, and orderly termination of retail contracts be supported.
TaiyangNews 2024

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Galway County Council has refused planning permission for a large-scale solar farm proposed for the Ballyglunin, Abbeyknockmoy and Monivea areas, citing 11 reasons including environmental concerns, flood risk, road safety and questions over legal rights to the land.
Heron Solar Ltd, a subsidiary of Power Capital Renewable Energy, had sought permission for the development across approximately 590ac, with a proposed operational lifespan of 40 years.
The project would have included more than one million square metres of ground-mounted solar panels, 32 medium-voltage stations, underground cabling, access tracks and associated infrastructure.
The application attracted significant local opposition, with more than 300 submissions lodged by residents, community groups and public representatives.
Site suitability and grid connection
In its decision, the council raised concerns about the suitability of the location, which is classified as ‘less likely viable’ under the Local Authority Renewable Energy Strategy.
Planners also highlighted uncertainty surrounding the proposed grid connection and substation, concluding that the development was premature without sufficient assurance regarding the viability of the necessary infrastructure.
The council also raised concerns about the applicant’s legal entitlement to carry out the proposed development on the lands involved.
It stated that it was not satisfied that the applicant had demonstrated sufficient legal interest in the lands or obtained the necessary approval from those holding such an interest.
The council concluded that the applicant had not clearly demonstrated all appropriate legal consents, rendering the development premature on this basis.
Environmental concerns included potential impacts on the Lough Corrib special area of conservation, deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment screening report and inadequate information addressing flood risk.
The council said it could not exclude adverse effects on the protected conservation site based on the information submitted.
Road safety
The council also raised concerns about the impact of underground cabling on public roads and utilities, the suitability of local roads for construction traffic and safety clearances around existing overhead electricity lines.
Further reasons for refusal included potential interference with Uisce Éireann infrastructure, shortcomings in the glint and glare assessment and an incomplete archaeological and cultural heritage assessment.
The council concluded that the proposed development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.
The developer may appeal the refusal to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

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The results of France’s latest solar tenders were announced on Oct. 7 by Maud Bregeon, the country’s minister delegate for energy, during the France Renouvelables national conference. However, the official results have yet to be published by either the French government or the energy regulator, CRE.
Bregeon said the tender for ground-mounted PV projects awarded 930 MW of capacity across 125 projects. The weighted average price fell to €60 ($67.40)/MWh, down from approximately €80/MWh in the previous round.
Prices also declined significantly in the tender for smaller PV installations ranging from 100 kW to 500 kW, with the average price falling to €75/MWh.
Bregeon said the price declines reflected the “competitiveness gains achieved by the sector.” She reiterated the government’s intention to reduce subsidies, arguing that support mechanisms should not generate excessive profits.
“We must not create windfall profits,” she said, calling on the industry to capitalize on falling costs to build “a solid foundation for the future.”
Bregeon said the next challenge for the renewable energy sector would be to demonstrate its ability to manage flexibility. The issue is expected to feature prominently in the government’s forthcoming electrification plan.
She also confirmed that France plans to launch a technology-neutral tender in early 2027.
In the previous round of the ground-mounted PV tender, announced in September 2025, the French government awarded 971 MW of capacity across 165 projects at an average price of €79.48/MWh, slightly above the €79.09/MWh recorded in the preceding round. The newly announced price of €60/MWh represents a decline of approximately 24.5%.
A similar trend emerged in the 100 kW to 500 kW segment. France’s first simplified tender for rooftop solar installations and carports, held in 2025, selected 157 projects totaling 43.5 MW at an average price of €88.73/MWh, against a ceiling of €95/MWh. The tender was heavily undersubscribed, attracting just 82.1 MW of bids for the 192 MW on offer. The newly announced average price of €75/MWh represents a decline of approximately 15.5% compared with that initial round.
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Clean energy moved back toward the center of market conversation to open the week, and First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) Technology First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) 182.66 USD +4.840 ↑ 2.722% Last Updated at: 2026-10-12T15:43:00Z sat among the group’s most closely tracked members as solar demand firmed and the broad complex stayed active. The company, one of the largest makers of thin-film solar panels in the world and a component of the S&P 500, is referenced whenever market participants weigh the renewable-energy space against the faster-moving technology and semiconductor leaders. With American indices hovering near record highs and the overall tone described as firm, attention has turned toward manufacturers that pair distinctive panel technology with expanding domestic capacity, and First Solar frequently anchors that discussion.
The renewed spotlight reflects a familiar pattern, where large clean-energy names draw interest as the quarterly reporting season approaches and as market watchers gauge how steadier demand is feeding through to operating cadence. First Solar’s growing base of American factories, its exposure to utility-scale projects and its standing as a bellwether for the solar-manufacturing space all feed the narrative that has kept the name in conversation. The sections below set out the sector backdrop, the company’s operations, the wider energy environment and the broader market relevance of a maker that has long been treated as a reference point for the solar group.
The clean-energy space sits at a distinctive corner of the equity market, grouping together companies that design, manufacture and deploy technology that converts sunlight and other renewable sources into usable power. Solar manufacturers occupy a particular position because their fortunes move with the pace of project development, the cost of modules and the broad appetite for domestically made equipment. When demand firms and the complex stays active, the operating cadence of established makers tends to strengthen, and First Solar stands among the most recognized names within that group. That linkage is a large part of why the manufacturer resurfaces whenever clean energy draws attention.
Within the broader energy universe, solar carries its own rhythm, shaped by the pace of installations, the economics of panel production and the long lead times required to bring new factories online. First Solar’s scale across several American sites gives it exposure to a wide spread of manufacturing conditions and project types. Its long record as a thin-film specialist has made it a touchstone for the kind of durability many associate with the renewable space. As the market weighed clean energy against the growth leaders this week, that reputation placed the maker near the center of the discussion about where the complex might head.
First Solar operates a base of panel factories spread across several American sites, combining proprietary processes to produce thin-film modules built on cadmium telluride rather than the crystalline silicon used by most rivals. The company moves that output toward utility-scale developments that convert sunlight into electricity for the grid. This vertical arrangement allows the business to manage much of its production in-house, so the firm can coordinate capacity closely with the cadence of large projects. That integration has long been cited as a defining feature of how the maker runs its operations.
Beyond its flagship module production, the company maintains research and process-engineering capabilities that aim to raise panel efficiency and trim manufacturing costs over time. Long-lived equipment and a sizable order book underpin the steady cadence of output that the group targets across its network. Efforts to modernize lines, improve conversion rates and manage energy and water use feature prominently in how operations are organized. Taken together, these operational pillars support the production that market watchers tend to emphasize when they reference the name during stretches of firming solar demand.
The solar industry has been reshaped in recent years by a broad push toward domestic manufacturing, as makers expand factories closer to where panels are deployed to trim logistics and strengthen supply chains. New plants and line expansions have redrawn the map of where modules are produced, and First Solar has featured prominently in that reshaping through its growing American footprint. The drive toward local capacity reflects a belief that domestically made equipment can better serve the rising wave of utility-scale development. That backdrop has kept the largest makers, First Solar among them, at the center of industry conversation.
Technology advances have also moved to the front of industry discussions, with higher-efficiency cells, thinner materials and cleaner production drawing growing attention from makers and developers alike. Manufacturers have pledged to lighten their environmental footprint while sustaining the output that project pipelines require. First Solar’s scale gives it both the reach to influence these trends and the responsibility to meet rising expectations across the many projects it serves. The interplay between efficiency, responsible operations and steady production continues to define how the broad solar group competes and operates.
The wider market backdrop this week has been marked by indices sitting near record highs, with a firm underlying tone even as sector leaders rotated. Artificial intelligence and semiconductor names have led much of the recent advance, pulling attention toward the growth end of the tape. Against that fast-moving backdrop, clean-energy demand has firmed, drawing renewed flows from those who track the renewable complex for balance across the broad market. First Solar’s familiar profile places it squarely within that build-out camp as installation activity strengthens and supply discussions continue.
The opening of the quarterly reporting season has sharpened the contrast, with large financial names scheduled to report mid-week and set an early tone for corporate updates. As calendars fill with earnings dates, market watchers often revisit clean-energy names to gauge exposure heading into results. The sector’s reputation for moving with project activity and manufacturing cadence has kept it in that rotation conversation. With metals and energy active and solar demand steadier, the broad market has shown a mix of appetite and caution that leading panel makers tend to reflect clearly.
Several trends continue to shape how the clean-energy space is perceived, beginning with the steady pull of electrification demand set against shifting supply of modules and components. When project pipelines fill and demand firms, module orders often strengthen, and the operating cadence of established makers tends to improve in step. First Solar has leaned into this dynamic through its scale and its spread of American factories, positioning the group to reflect moves in installation activity across its network. The trend rewards size, and few makers carry the domestic reach that the specialist commands.
Cost discipline and manufacturing focus form a second major theme, as makers refine their lines and concentrate resources on their most durable technologies. Streamlined production and steadier output have helped the industry weather swings in component prices and demand. Observers tracking the renewable space frequently look to the broader group of Energy Stocks for names that combine distinctive technology with domestic reach, and First Solar often features prominently in that discussion. The maker’s ability to balance scale, cost and local production keeps it near the heart of these evolving sector dynamics.
Demand signals from large electricity users have added a further layer to the conversation, as data-center build-outs and electrification ripple quickly across the grid. Market watchers tend to read these developments alongside the firming tone in solar when they frame how leading makers might fare.
Market watchers tracking the renewable complex frequently turn to broader coverage of Energy Stocks when weighing clean-energy makers against faster-moving leaders.
First Solar occupies a distinctive position within the clean-energy space, combining a proprietary thin-film technology with a vertically arranged base of American factories that broaden its exposure across the panel value chain. That breadth allows it to compete across project types, module formats and manufacturing methods, from established lines to newer high-efficiency formats. The spread across several sites keeps the company from leaning too heavily on any single plant, which market watchers often cite as a reason the maker sustains a steady production cadence. This arrangement has long underpinned how the group frames its standing in the renewable space.
The company’s standing also rests on its order book, which ranks among the deepest in the industry and gives it a long runway of committed module deliveries. Its track record as a thin-film pioneer reinforces a reputation that has proven difficult for crystalline-silicon rivals to match. Market watchers who follow the clean-energy complex point to this combination of backlog, scale and domestic reach when they describe the name’s prominence. The positioning helps explain why the stock resurfaces whenever solar demand firms and the market leans toward the build-out corners.
Attention around First Solar picked up as solar demand firmed and manufacturing commentary strengthened, reinforcing the build-out profile that market watchers associate with the name. Commentary across financial media framed the maker as a bellwether for the clean-energy space at a moment when installation activity was building and the broader market was mixed. The timing, arriving as the quarterly reporting season opened, placed the name alongside other renewable producers drawing renewed attention. That coverage helped keep the stock near the center of sector conversations this week.
The company has also kept pace with efforts to expand its American capacity, focusing resources on new lines while managing costs across its network. Work to raise conversion rates, modernize equipment and extend line lives has complemented the steady cadence of module output. Observers noted that the maker continues to balance production discipline with the broad domestic spread that underpins its standing. These developments collectively reinforced the narrative of scale and steadiness that surrounds the name as results approach across the market.
A central element of First Solar’s operating approach is its emphasis on vertically arranged manufacturing paired with disciplined cost management across a growing portfolio of sites. By concentrating resources on its most durable lines and technologies, the company aims to sustain steady output while trimming exposure to higher-cost methods. This structure has allowed the clean-energy group to maintain a broad production base while managing the natural variability of individual plants. The focus on manufacturing quality has become a defining feature of how the business runs.
Supply-chain resilience and responsible operations also feature prominently in the company’s priorities, given the breadth of projects it serves. Managing energy, water and community relationships helps the group sustain output across its sites. Efforts to adopt cleaner processes, improve safety and modernize production have added further dimensions to the operational agenda. These priorities together support the steady production that keeps the name prominent among the largest panel makers when solar demand draws attention.
The solar industry is not without headwinds, and the cyclical nature of module pricing presents a persistent challenge for even the largest makers. When panel prices soften, the operating cadence of manufacturing can tighten quickly, forcing makers to manage costs carefully. First Solar has responded by concentrating on its distinctive thin-film technology and durable lines, yet the broader sensitivity to component economics remains a live theme. Navigating these swings while sustaining output is an ongoing balancing act for the group.
Input costs, currency swings and competition from lower-cost imports add further complexity to the industry’s path. Makers operating at scale must manage exposure to shifting material prices and adapt to varied conditions across regions. For a specialist as far-reaching as First Solar, these factors can influence reported results even when demand holds firm. Managing this web of pressures is part of what market watchers weigh when assessing the durability of the group’s production base across its network.
The solar arena is intensely competitive, pitting First Solar against a mix of global crystalline-silicon makers, newer entrants and established manufacturers across many regions. The largest makers vie for the richest project pipelines, the most efficient lines and the deepest order books. Distinctive technology, backlog depth and domestic reach remain the company’s primary defenses against this crowded field. Those advantages have helped it retain a commanding presence across several American sites and panel formats.
Competition also plays out through efficiency, as rivals race to lower production costs, improve conversion and expand their capacity. First Solar counters through its own manufacturing discipline, technology adoption and focus on durable lines, keeping its base aligned with the demands of a cyclical market. The breadth of its domestic operations allows it to compete across many projects at once. This ability to operate simultaneously across several sites is a recurring theme when market watchers describe the maker’s resilient standing within the clean-energy space.
First Solar’s relevance to the broader market extends beyond its own factories, as the name often serves as a barometer for sentiment toward the clean-energy space across the equity landscape. When market participants weigh renewable-linked assets, solar names tend to draw flows, and the company frequently features in that movement. Its membership in major benchmarks keeps it woven into index behavior, giving its moves a wider resonance. As indices sit near record highs, the stock’s linkage to the build-out offers a counterpoint to the faster-moving growth leaders.
The timing of the quarterly reporting season amplifies this relevance, as early results from across the market set the tone for corporate updates to come. Panel makers such as First Solar are often revisited at such moments, offering a window into how firming demand is translating into manufacturing cadence. The clean-energy group’s record of steady production keeps it anchored in conversations about the renewable complex. For those tracking the balance between growth and the energy-linked corners, the name remains a familiar touchstone across the broad market.
A defining feature of how market watchers frame First Solar is its steady cadence of module output drawn from a vertically arranged base of American factories. The spread across several sites, line formats and production methods gives the group a buffer against the natural variability of any single plant. Because the company produces panels consistently from a growing, domestically anchored portfolio, it has been able to sustain a reliable production footprint even when individual lines slow. That cadence is central to why the stock surfaces whenever the clean-energy space comes into focus.
The durability of that footprint rests on the company’s deep order book, its disciplined cost management and the breadth of its vertically integrated lines. By leaning on durable technology while managing higher-cost methods carefully, the maker keeps output steady and predictable. The research and process-engineering capabilities alongside module production further smooth the base across formats and cycles. Together these features explain why the name is so often treated as a reference point for scale and steadiness among the largest solar manufacturers.
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It’s probably not surprising that California and Texas are two of the states with the most solar panels, since they have a lot of land mass and plenty of sunshine throughout the year. With a new research project occurring in Arkansas, though, maybe the Diamond State will become well known for enhanced solar energy production. The Arkansas research project could help with the problem that some people have with the idea of converting farmland to solar production.
The project is occurring through the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. It involves floating 96 solar panels on a tiny segment of a 40-acre rice reservoir near Stuttgart, which is in east-central Arkansas. The experiment is occurring at the Rice Research and Extension Center, which is a research area for helping Arkansas farmers with rice production. By placing the panels over a body of water, the researchers hope to show they can generate electricity with solar panels without taking farmland out of production and alleviate some of the concerns over installing solar farms.
A solar panel installation of this size should generate about 70 kilowatts of energy, meaning this layout is small. The research team planned to install the panels in May, but Professor Michael Popp, who is leading the research, told BGR that the timeline now calls for installing the panels by the end of 2026. The research remains focused on determining the best operational and maintenance techniques to use for floating solar panels in Arkansas’ climate and weather.
Solar farms are quickly being installed across the United States, and second quarter 2026 installations outpaced second quarter 2025 installations by 45%, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. However, these installations are sparking controversy about replacing farmland with solar farms. Floating solar farms represent one option for conserving farmland.
The idea of using floating solar farms, called floatovoltaics, is not new. Several hundred such projects are already installed around the world. One floating solar farm in the Netherlands is positively affecting underwater habitats, for example. A research team from Oregon State University and the U.S. Geological Survey studied 11 solar panel installations on reservoirs in six different states, learning that the effects of the projects on the surrounding environment and the bodies of water varied based on location. Popp told BGR that the team will be reviewing the Oregon State study as they get closer to the actual panel installation date. 
In addition to showing the viability of using floating solar panels instead of putting them on farmland, Arkansas’ researchers will be measuring how much the solar panels can reduce water evaporation by partially covering the surface of the reservoirs. The researchers will also measure whether the panels can reduce algal growth on the water by preventing sunlight from directly reaching the water surface. 
The 96 floating solar panels at the Rice Research and Extension Center will only occupy about 0.1 acre on a 40-acre reservoir. Researchers plan to place anchors in the reservoir bed to hold buoys in place that will support the panels when installation occurs. The plan calls for researchers to place another 24 panels on the embankment of the reservoir. 
After installation, Popp said the panels should have a useful lifespan of 30 years. He said the team hopes to have some initial research data in hand by the middle of 2027. Because the research area is located in the Mississippi Flyway, researchers will also measure whether the floating panels affect migratory birds who use the reservoirs. Geese and ducks tend to winter in Arkansas and begin flying north again in February and March. “We are not installing a very large system but plan on making observations about wildlife interactions,” Popp said to BGR.
A solar energy research project like this is appropriate for Arkansas, which is no stranger to solar panel installations. A new solar farm in northeast Arkansas will serve a Google data center in the state, generating almost 2.5 gigawatts of direct current upon completion in 2029. At the time of this writing, Arkansas had 73 solar farms in operation with a total operating capacity of almost 2.8 gigawatts. Another 103 planned solar farms have been announced with an expected capacity of more than 21 gigawatts.

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Cloudy. High 72F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: October 12, 2026 @ 12:54 pm

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A solar farm is being proposed in Slippery Rock Township.
Denver, Colorado-based SunShare Community Solar is proposing to install a four-megawatt solar system, consisting of 7,826 panels on 14.2 acres, on the approximately 140-acre parcel of land at 2752 Frew Mill Road, according to supervisor Chairman George Johnson.
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 -547.65
 -157.10
+ 64.00
 -1,774.00
 -2,301.00
 -547.65
 -157.10
 -157.10
+ 64.00
+ 64.00
 -1,774.00
Emmvee is among India’s leading integrated solar PV module and cell manufacturers with 10.30 GW of module capacity and 2.94 GW of cell capacity
Target: ₹395
CMP: ₹297.05
We initiate coverage on Emmvee Photovoltaic Power Ltd (EMMVEE) with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹395, valuing the company at 7.5x its 4-quarter ending Sep-28 EEBITDA.
Emmvee is among India’s leading integrated solar PV module and cell manufacturers with 10.30 GW of module capacity and 2.94 GW of cell capacity, with further capex and backward integration plans. It is among the pioneers of the high-efficiency TOPCon technology in India, thus catering to the market’s deficit in TOPCon capacity.
It is enlisted in ALMM List I and List II, enabling it to supply to projects with DCR mandate. Being among the larger players in a fragmented market and an early mover in technology adoption and backward integration has helped the company to benefit from the industry tailwinds.
This is reflected in its strong order book and better margins. We expect the company will continue to see these benefits, as India continues its focus on achieving its renewable energy targets.
Emmvee is currently trading at 6.2x 1-year fwd EV/EBITDA. It trades at 5.7x FY28E EBITDA, which is at about 6 per cent discount to the industry average of 6x, and a significant 28/41 per cent discount, respectively, to Waaree and Premier’s corresponding multiples. Considering the strong growth expectation and further benefit from backward integration, we value the company at an EV/EBITDA multiple of 7.5x based on 4-quarter ending Sep-28E EBITDA, arriving at a target price of ₹395.
Published on October 12, 2026
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
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Opinion | Cut your losses on solar power, Mayor Bowser. D.C. will thank you.  The Washington Post
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The install features 8,824 Trinasolar Vertex S+ 510W (NEG18R.28) modules, with the airport’s rooftop PV install spanning the main terminal roof, both piers and covered car park walkways.
Delivered by leading EPC, Smart Commercial Energy, the project marks another milestone in the companies’ partnership spanning more than a decade, combining Trinasolar’s globally proven solar technology with Smart Commercial Energy’s local engineering and project delivery expertise.
The install includes:
Smart Commercial Energy worked alongside electrical contractor Heyday 5, and builder Multiplex, to deliver the install. Given the airport location, the project required detailed glare studies to protect pilots and air traffic control from reflection.
“Having worked with Smart Commercial Energy for more than a decade, we’re proud to partner with them on another significant Australian infrastructure project,” said Edison Zhou, Head of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands at Trinasolar.
“For EPCs, reliability and bankability are critical. We combine globally proven solar technology with dedicated Australian after-sales support, giving our partners confidence in both the products they install and the manufacturer behind them.”
“This is one of the biggest solar installations on an airport in Australia, and a genuinely complex project,” said Ben Adamson, Head of Projects and Performance at Smart Commercial Energy, who led the delivery team. “I’m really proud of what our team and partners delivered, on time and on budget.”
“Renewable energy and world class infrastructure aren’t a trade-off, they’re part of the same project,” said Huon Hoogesteger, Managing Director of Smart Commercial Energy.
Trinasolar and Smart Commercial Energy’s decade-long partnership includes the Goulburn Community Solar Farm, recipient of the 2026 Clean Energy Council Community Value and Impact Award.

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