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A new solar project combines lithium-ion and zinc batteries to extend renewable power beyond daylight hours.
A new solar-and-storage project in West Virginia will combine 86 megawatts of solar power with 380 megawatt-hours of battery storage, giving Google’s data centers access to electricity that can be dispatched beyond daylight hours.
MN8 Energy, Eos Energy Enterprises and Google are collaborating on the project at the Mammoth Solar site in Kanawha County. The system will pair conventional lithium-ion batteries with a 10 MW/100 MWh zinc-based long-duration battery from Eos.
The solar plant is expected to begin commercial operation in 2028. The lithium-ion storage is scheduled to follow in 2029, while the longer-duration zinc battery is expected in 2030.
The project is designed to turn intermittent solar generation into a more dependable power source. Instead of relying on solar output only when the sun is shining, the batteries can store electricity and release it later when demand rises.
The Eos system is particularly important because it can store electricity for 10 hours, compared with shorter-duration storage typically used to shift solar power over fewer hours. Its zinc-based chemistry is intended for long-duration applications and uses aqueous zinc technology rather than the lithium-ion chemistry used in the project’s shorter-duration batteries.
The combination allows the three technologies to operate as one dispatchable resource. Solar supplies the electricity, lithium-ion batteries can respond over shorter periods, and the zinc system extends stored power further into the day.
“Because Google was willing to pair next-generation storage with utility-scale solar, we could engineer proven and emerging technologies into one dispatchable resource – and deliver clean, around-the-clock power where the grid needs it most.”
The project is also significant for Eos because it marks Google’s first deployment of the company’s American-made Z3 technology. It is also the first project under the previously announced supply agreement between MN8 and Eos.
The project will be built on a reclaimed coal mine, giving the development an additional role in a region with a long history of fossil-fuel production.
MN8 estimates that the project could represent up to $350 million in capital investment. Construction is expected to create about 200 jobs, while the project could generate roughly $4 million in property tax revenue for the county and local schools during its first 20 years of operation.
The electricity will feed into the PJM grid, one of the largest electricity markets in the US. That makes the project relevant beyond Google’s own data center demand, as adding dispatchable clean capacity can help the grid handle growing electricity consumption while more renewable generation comes online.
At the heart of the project is a simple idea: combine different storage technologies rather than expecting one battery type to handle every part of the power cycle.
“At Google, we’re committed to backing solutions that both serve our data center capacity needs and accelerate progress toward cleaner, more affordable energy systems.”
For Eos, the project also provides a commercial test of whether zinc-based long-duration storage can help renewable power serve demand across a much longer portion of the day.
The Mammoth Solar project is therefore not simply another solar installation. It is a demonstration of how solar generation and multiple battery technologies can be combined into a single power resource designed to deliver electricity when it is needed.
With over a decade-long career in journalism, Neetika Walter has worked with The Economic Times, ANI, and Hindustan Times, covering politics, business, technology, and the clean energy sector. Passionate about contemporary culture, books, poetry, and storytelling, she brings depth and insight to her writing. When she isn’t chasing stories, she’s likely lost in a book or enjoying the company of her dogs.
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The Indian government will consider waiving transmission charges for solar and wind energy developers facing delays in the commissioning of their projects due to transmission line shortages.
According to a Reuters report citing the country’s power regulator, the relief will only cover projects whose developers had signed at least seven-year power sale contracts by the end of this year. In earlier moves to stimulate more wind and solar, the government began phasing out interstate transmission charges for alternative energy generation projects in July last year.
There have been a number of solar, wind, and hybrid power generation projects delayed because there are not enough transmission lines to carry their output. The Indian Central Electricity Regulatory Commission will also consider extending the relief to battery storage projects as New Delhi seeks to diversify its electricity generation away from coal and gas.
India’s government has a target of building 500 GW of non-hydrocarbon generation capacity by 2030. Solar currently accounts for 29% of the country’s non-hydrocarbon generation capacity. Plans were to expand it from 162 GW currently to over 292 GW by 2030. This target is under threat, however, due to recent legislative changes seeking to reduce dependence on imported solar components from China, because while local module capacity is substantial, at 200 GW, solar cell manufacturing capacity is just 27 GW.
Still, solar power generation in India is expanding fast, with a record 44 GW in new capacity added during financial 2025/26. This fast growth, however, has run into obstacles such as the lack of enough transmission lines to connect all new capacity to the grid. Meanwhile, coal remains India’s biggest source of power generation, accounting for about 70% of total generation. This is seen falling to below 50% by 2035 thanks to the expansion in wind and, especially, solar.
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India weighs low-cost loans for renewable projects hit by power curbs, sources say  reuters.com
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Solar is now China’s single largest power source by installed capacity. The country’s installed photovoltaic capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts at the end of July, overtaking coal for the first time. PV now accounts for over 30 percent of total installed capacity, and represents more than 40 percent of capacity added in 2026.
To give a frame of comparison: China’s solar capacity alone is now around ten times Britain’s entire generating capacity, from all sources. Under the current five-year plan, another 2,800 gigawatts of renewable capacity is to be integrated by 2030 – roughly double the whole installed capacity of the United States.
Note that installed capacity is not the same as generation. Solar produced 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours from January to July, which is 13 percent of China’s electricity consumption. Liu Zhiqiang of the China Electricity Council notes that PV is intermittent and volatile, that its utilisation hours are far below coal’s, and that “in the short term, coal-fired power will remain a major source of support for the power system in China”.
However, China is working rapidly on technological innovation, and plans to generate around 6 trillion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually by 2030, with over 4 trillion from wind and solar, alongside integrated PV-storage systems and PV hydrogen production.
The trajectory is clear. Coal supplied around 80 percent of China’s electricity at the start of this century. It fell below 50 percent of output in the first half of this year. Carbon emissions appear to have peaked in 2023, some seven years ahead of target.
The global significance of this is profound. China manufactures over 80 percent of the world’s solar modules and 70 percent of its wind equipment. That industrial scale is why the cost of renewable energy globally is a fraction of what it was 15 years ago. This collapse in price is the single most important factor making decarbonisation viable for much of the Global South.
Cuba, under an illegal blockade and suffering daily blackouts, has installed around 1,000 megawatts of Chinese solar in two years. Zambia is getting a solar plant with battery storage in every one of its 156 constituencies. Africa’s clean energy boom runs on Chinese equipment.
Meanwhile, the US is dismantling its clean energy industry while ramping up drilling. Britain is opening new North Sea fields. The EU imposes tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and solar panels that could help cut its emissions.
China’s remarkable progress in renewable energy is the product of long-term state direction, sustained public investment and the deliberate construction of a complete industrial chain over two decades – that is, the things Western journalists and politicians consistently denounce as distortion and overcapacity.
A global energy transition is being made possible by Chinese socialism.
The following article was originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity has surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, edging past the coal-fired power capacity of 1.285 billion kilowatts, according to the administration.
“This marks a milestone in China’s green and low-carbon energy transition,” said Liu Zhiqiang, an expert from the China Electricity Council, adding that the country’s new power system, with new energy as the mainstay, is taking shape at an accelerated pace.
By the end of July, PV power had accounted for more than 30 percent of China’s total installed power generation capacity. Measured by newly added capacity, the share rose to over 40 percent in the first seven months of 2026, underscoring the rapid expansion of the PV sector.
China has built a complete PV industry chain covering research and development, design and integrated manufacturing. Technological advances, including repeated breakthroughs in PV conversion efficiency, have helped drive continuous upgrades and swift cost reductions.
China’s speedy development of PV power and other forms of new energy is also making a positive contribution globally.
With the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, the country supplies over 80 percent of PV modules and 70 percent of wind power equipment around the world, assisting the green transition in many countries.
In particular, amid uncertainties in global supplies of energy and key raw materials, China’s growing new energy capacity helped it meet domestic energy demand while contributing to the stability of global energy markets and supply chains, experts said.
Installed capacity, however, does not equate to actual power generation. From January to July, PV power generation totaled 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, accounting for 13 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption.
“PV power is highly intermittent and volatile due to day-night cycles and weather conditions, with utilization hours far lower than those of coal-fired power. In the short term, coal-fired power will remain a major source of support for the power system in China, serving as a backstop for power system security,” Liu said.
China is now moving to strengthen the role of renewable energy in ensuring a secure and reliable power supply. Several energy plans for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) have set out specific measures to better integrate renewable energy into the power system.
For example, the country aims to achieve around 6 trillion kilowatt-hours in annual renewable power generation by 2030, with wind and PV power generation expected to exceed 4 trillion kilowatt-hours.
China will strive to make PV power more predictable and dispatchable through continued technological innovation and diversified applications, including integrated PV-storage systems and PV hydrogen production, Liu noted.
Western journalists and politicians sound like a bunch of idiots! Why do they behave like morons?
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Germany and the wider EU can use its research and development (R&D) strengths to stay competitive in the global solar PV manufacturing industry, according to a group of industry and research bodies.
A group of solar industry and regional bodies led by the PV research centre ISC Konstanz have submitted a position paper to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s (BMWE) calling for crystalline silicon PV manufacturing to remain a major part of the country’s R&D programme. Signatories to the paper include RCT Solutions, FuturaSun and RENA, alongside ISC Konstanz.
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The paper was submitted as part of a consultation on the BMWE’s 8^th Energy Research Programme, the mechanism for public funding of energy R&D projects in Germany. The programme has run since 2023 and sets criteria for companies, universities and research institutes seeking funds for energy research.
ISC Konstanz is urging the BMWE to give significant weight to crystalline silicon solar PV research in its funding allocations because of the continued dominance the technology is expected to have in the expanding and increasingly competitive global solar manufacturing landscape.
“The key message is clear: crystalline silicon will remain the technological foundation of the global PV market for at least the next decade – and continued R&D is essential if Germany and Europe want to participate in the enormous growth of the global PV manufacturing market,” said Rudolf Harney, project manager at ISC Konstanz.
The most recent International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) predicts that around 95% of solar cell production in 2036 will still be based on crystalline silicon technology, and ISC Konstanz data projects that the global PV manufacturing equipment market for those products could top US$250-300 billion over that period.
The paper lays out how crystalline silicon PV paired with energy storage will become the cheapest form of electricity generation in almost all of the world by 2030. In this context, it argues that Germany can become a technology and equipment-providing hub.
“Even though the potential for further efficiency gains and cost reductions at cell and module level is gradually approaching physical and economic limits, c-Si remains the reliable engine of the global energy transition. It is the undisputed lowest-cost form of electricity generation and is favoured by investors due to its excellent risk profile and decades of proven experience,” it states.
The director of ISC Konstanz, Radovan Kopecek, outlined a similar argument in a long-form article for PV Tech Premium last year.
Given this growth and “industrial importance”, ISC Konstanz argues that the technology should “continue to be strengthened” in Germany’s research funding. The country has a strong pedigree in PV R&D, with institutes like Fraunhofer ISE and Helmhotz-Zentrum Berlin, as well as ISC Konstanz, advancing PV technology, and machine producers such as RCT Solutions well regarded in the global industry.
Moreover, solar manufacturing capacity is forecast to expand globally, with greater efforts to onshore production and create new supply lines away from China, which has dominated the sector for years. As well as technical expertise, those new manufacturers and industries may look for new production methods that are lower in emissions, cost or energy use. ISC Konstanz itself has worked with companies in India and the US on developing PV cell production lines in recent months.
At Intersolar Europe this year, Peter Fath, the head of RTC Solutions, said that Europe would not be a “disruptor” to global solar PV technology, but could carve out a meaningful place in refining technologies, advancing silicon cell performance and offering high-precision machinery and processes to global manufacturers.
Crystalline silicon PV is already the mainstream solar technology, and global manufacturing capacity is significantly in excess of demand. Many have touted perovskite-silicon tandem as the next step in solar PV evolution, and European institutes and governments could be tempted to push resources towards that instead of the commercialised and Chinese-dominated crystalline industry.
In comments to PV Tech, Harney said: “Our message is not that Germany should reduce research into perovskites, tandem cells or other emerging technologies. Quite the opposite: we support these developments. But we believe funding needs to remain technology-open and balanced, while recognising that c-Si will remain the industrial foundation of PV for many years and is itself the basis for most of the tandem concepts expected to enter the market.”
The paper said: “The energy transition requires both visionary future technologies and the continuous further development of technologies that are already established on an industrial scale.”
It concludes: “Germany continues to have excellent opportunities to play a leading role in the global photovoltaic industry – not through mass production, but through innovation, production technologies and industrial know-how. The German 8th Energy Research Programme makes a decisive contribution to this, and this should remain the case. A balanced funding strategy that combines scientific excellence with industrial value creation and recognises crystalline silicon technologies as the foundation for future developments will strengthen both the competitiveness of the German economy and Europe’s technological sovereignty.”
You can read ISC Konstanz’s position paper here.

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Best Buy has reduced the price of an Anker portable power station bundle as part of its Labor Day sale, bringing the cost down to $300 from its regular $800 retail price. You’ll save a whopping $500 on a high quality product.
The clock is ticking: you only have a short time left to secure this low price during Best Buy’s Labor Day sale. It ends on Sept 7.
The deal includes the Anker SOLIX C300X Portable Power Station paired with a 60W solar panel. The C300X offers a 288Wh capacity with 300W output and can reach 600W of surge power, making it suitable for charging smartphones, laptops, drones and small appliances like mini-fridges.
Portable power stations with solar charging capabilities typically carry high price tags, making the Labor Day discount a notable opportunity for consumers interested in the technology.
The Anker power station comes equipped with eight charging ports, including AC outlets, USB-A connections and a car socket. A 140W two-way USB-C connection enables rapid charging of the unit itself and compatible devices.
RELATED: Powerful $699 electric scooter with 18 mph speed, serious range just dropped to an unbelievable $299
The bundle’s Anker SOLIX PS60 solar panel folds into a compact, book-sized package for easy transport. Anker markets the combination for camping trips, travel, off-grid use and backup power during outages.
Shop all Best Buy Labor day deals here!
Ashley Palya is the commerce writer for Cleveland.com. She loves keeping up with trends and always has her eyes open for unmissable deals/top-rated products to share with readers. Previously, Ashley was a news… more
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The gains rely on a two-step method using two organic molecules of different sizes and shapes.
Inverted perovskite solar cells can reach an energy conversion efficiency of 24.6 percent when treated with a new chemical process. The performance marks a clear step up from standard versions of the device. 
Untreated control cells managed an efficiency of 21.21 percent. Meanwhile, devices prepared using conventional single-chemical treatments reached 23.17 percent. 
The gains rely on a two-step method using two organic molecules of different sizes and shapes. The process targets structural defects at two distinct depths within the solar material.
“The researchers first used the smaller PDAI molecule to fill microscopic voids remaining at grain boundaries and stabilize charge-transport pathways,” said a press release.
The compound travels into the tiny gaps between individual crystal grains. These narrow spaces naturally trap charge carriers if left unsealed. By filling the internal voids, PDAI secures the pathways that electrical charges use to move through the crystal.
Next, researchers deposit a second compound called 4TF over the outside of the thin film. In untreated films, bare lead atoms remain exposed on the outer boundary. These uncoordinated atoms create electrical traps that stall the flow of current. The 4TF molecules bind directly to the exposed lead atoms. “This chemically stabilized the surface and facilitated more efficient charge transport,” added the press release.
“The researchers also experimentally demonstrated that sequentially applying the two molecules produces complementary effects in defect passivation and surface stabilization, resulting in better performance than using either molecule independently.”
These chemical repairs address a fundamental issue in perovskite thin films. When manufacturers produce the films, microscopic flaws form across the surface and along grain boundaries. 
When sunlight strikes the cell, it generates positive and negative electrical charges. If charges run into these structural flaws, they recombine and cancel each other out. This recombination prevents the charges from reaching the electrodes, which wastes potential electrical power.
Fixing these defects has proved difficult in the past. Standard engineering methods relied on just one type of molecular layer to cover the flaws. However, a single compound cannot easily squeeze into tight internal fissures while also binding to wide open surfaces. The two physical environments require different molecular designs.
Overcoming this defect problem is an important goal for inverted perovskite devices. Engineers prefer the inverted cell layout because it requires lower processing temperatures during manufacturing. 
Lower temperatures keep production costs down and make the materials easier to fabricate on high-speed commercial lines. This will help engineers print solar cells on flexible, lightweight sheets instead of rigid glass panels.
The research was carried out through a joint effort in South Korea. Dr. Sungjun Hong from the Korea Institute of Energy Research led the project alongside Professor Young Seok Park from UNIST and Professor Kyung-Koo Lee from Kunsan National University.
“This technology provides a key fundamental platform for accelerating the commercialization of high-efficiency, flexible solar cells for applications such as building windows, automotive sunroofs, and portable devices,” concluded Dr. Hong. 
“We plan to expand its application to a broader range of high-performance next-generation solar cell products and strengthen technological competitiveness in the clean and renewable energy market.”

An active and versatile journalist and news editor. He has covered regular and breaking news for several leading publications and news media, including The Hindu, Economic Times, Tomorrow Makers, and many more. Aman holds expertise in politics, travel, and tech news, especially in AI, advanced algorithms, and blockchain, with a strong curiosity about all things that fall under science and tech.
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Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) has achieved a first-time grid connection for the 119MW solar PV array at its SEC Renewable Energy Park in Australia. This achievement comes after the installation of all 212,296 PV modules was completed across the site in late 2025, signifying that all major construction work on the solar plant is now finished, including the tracker system, a 162.5-tonne transformer, a switch room substation, high-voltage infrastructure, cabling, and the earth grid.
Lane Crockett, SEC’s executive general manager of assets, noted that this event is among the most significant milestones for any renewable energy venture. He explained that reaching this point requires completing thousands of installation, construction, and safety tasks, all of which must undergo inspections, testing, and safety verifications to confirm proper and safe operation. The solar facility is now set to move into hot commissioning and hold point testing, a phased procedure that entails progressively energizing and evaluating the substations, transformers, underground cables, inverters, and other electrical components.
The 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) has yet to be delivered to the site, with the SEC indicating that its immediate focus is on preparing for the system’s delivery and installation in the latter part of this year. Once the project becomes operational in 2027, Crockett stated it would aid the state’s planned phase-out of coal generation, which includes the Yallourn power station, slated for closure in 2028.
The Horsham project’s origins can be traced to Victoria’s second Renewable Energy Target auction. Initially named Horsham Solar Farm, it secured a VRET2 contract in October 2022 while under ESCO Pacific’s ownership, being one of six winning projects that collectively contributed 623MW of solar capacity and 365MW/600MWh of battery storage, supported by AU$1.48 billion (US$0.95 billion) in funding. At that time, the project was configured for 118.8MW of solar generation alongside a smaller 50MW/100MWh battery system.
The project subsequently transferred to Swedish developer OX2 before the SEC took ownership in September 2024, at which point the battery storage capacity was doubled to its present 100MW/200MWh configuration, part of a larger AU$370 million investment. OX2 has remained involved as a development partner after the ownership change, with construction formally commencing in April 2025, following preliminary works that began in February.
The SEC’s re-entry into power generation comes after the Victorian government revived the entity, which had historically served as the state’s public electricity provider until its privatisation in the 1990s, positioning it as a tool for advancing the renewable energy transition while keeping assets under public control. The Horsham development is set to function alongside the SEC’s larger Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, a 600MW/1.6GWh facility that came online in December 2025, with both projects together enabling the SEC to provide roughly 5% of Victoria’s electricity demand when it returns to the retail market.
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AL-KO Vehicle Technology Electronics (VTE) introduced four high-efficiency solar modules and a new solar charge regulator designed to provide RV owners with more onboard power and longer periods between battery charges, according to a press release.
The new 12-volt MFBC solar range includes four Back Contact photovoltaic modules producing between 155 and 270 watts. Each uses cells with 25.5% efficiency and is designed to accommodate different vehicle sizes and rooftop configurations. The company also introduced its PRM800 Solar Charge Regulator, which can manage higher-wattage modules or multiple connected panels. 
“The trend among customers is to use more appliances during their trips, such as microwave, air conditioning and television, as well as personal devices such as laptops,” said Corrado Fiori, head of aftermarket sales in Italy for AL-KO VTE.
Fiori said demand is also growing for greater independence from external charging sources, especially as RV owners use more electrical equipment while traveling.
“Modern customers also want more autonomy, which means they need to generate more power independently via photovoltaic panels,” Fiori said. “Therefore, we used the latest technology to create a new range to meet this modern camping lifestyle.” 
The MFBC155S is the smallest model, producing up to 155 watts in a slim configuration designed to fit camper vans and roofs with limited space around other equipment. The MFBC190 produces 190 watts with a shorter, wider profile.
The MFBC230 increases maximum output to 230 watts, while the range-topping MFBC270 produces up to 270 watts. All four modules are available in the company’s Super Black finish. 
AL-KO VTE will offer the modules as individual kits for retail and e-commerce customers and in multipacks for vehicle manufacturers and converters. Kits include installation cables, MC4 connectors, a roof feed-through and removable black anodized aluminum mounting brackets. An optional extension cable allows modules to be connected in series. 
The panels feature anti-reflective cell coatings, tempered glass and protective Black Tedlar backing intended to prevent moisture and air from reaching electrical components. The modules weigh between 7.7 and 13.4 kilograms, depending on the model. 
The PRM800 uses Maximum Power Point Tracker technology to manage energy from the panels and protect lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries during charging. It supports 12- and 24-volt batteries and includes Bluetooth connectivity, allowing users to monitor battery charge levels through a mobile app. 
AL-KO VTE was formed through the merger of CBE and Nordelettronica and develops electrical and electronic systems for RV applications. Its parent, AL-KO Vehicle Technology Group, is a business unit of DexKo Global. 
© 2026 RVBusiness G&G Media Group LLC
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Pennar Industries has deployed INR 5.8 crore, roughly equivalent to US$700,000, into ZAP91 Solar India Pvt Ltd, according to a report published by pv magazine on May 27, 2026. This entity is a joint venture with Zetwerk dedicated to solar PV module production in Telangana, India.
The capital injection, scheduled as a single payment, will secure Pennar Industries a 45% ownership position in the venture. The transaction is anticipated to finalize by June 30, 2026. ZAP91 Solar India was officially incorporated on December 27, 2024.
Pennar Industries entered into a joint venture agreement with Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses and additional partners on December 31, 2024, to establish the solar manufacturing unit. Within the joint venture, Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses controls a 50.1% stake, Pennar Industries holds 45%, and other shareholders possess the remaining 4.9%.
ZAP91 Solar India is currently building a solar module manufacturing plant in Sadashivpet, Telangana. The company noted that the investment will aid in completing the factory, encompassing commissioning and the initiation of commercial production. At present, the facility remains under development and has not yet started commercial output.
The joint venture intends to produce and sell solar PV modules to both domestic and international markets. Pennar Industries offers renewable energy services across the entire value chain, including solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, along with the production of solar modules and module mounting structures.
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Major integrated solar manufacturer
India's largest solar module manufacturer
Part of Adani Group, integrated manufacturing
Leading manufacturer, part of Tata Group
Major PV module and cell producer
Historical leader in solar manufacturing
Makes solar cells, modules, encapsulants
Module and cell manufacturer
Solar PV module manufacturer
Solar panel manufacturer and distributor
Manufactures solar modules and inverters
Solar panel manufacturer
Solar panel manufacturer
Solar panel manufacturer
Solar cell and module manufacturer
Major LED lighting products manufacturer
Leading electrical goods co, major LED player
Major manufacturer of LED lights and fixtures
Major player in LED lighting segment
LED lighting manufacturer
Manufactures LED displays and lighting
Indian subsidiary, major LED mfg in India
Manufactures LED lights and fixtures
Major Indian electrical brand, produces LEDs
LED lighting products manufacturer
Manufactures LED bulbs and lighting
Major player in consumer LED lighting
Leading LED lighting solutions provider
Manufactures LED lights under Finolex brand
Wires & cables major, also manufactures LEDs
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by Stace Landrum
CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — One Cambria County elementary school is officially putting solar power online as the roof of Cambria Heights Elementary is now almost completely covered with solar panels — 346 to be exact.
During a special ceremony on Thursday, fifth graders in attendance were given a science lesson on how protons, neutrons, and electrons interact in order to produce solar energy.
The Cambria Heights superintendent says the school district partnered with a state approved energy savings company to complete the solar project, with the district receiving over a million dollars in state money.
District officials say the school also upgraded the heating system and installed energy efficient lighting, but the biggest improvement is air-conditioned classrooms.
“We were able to put solar on top of the roof and offset the fact that we added electric load for air conditioning. We're offsetting that with the solar. And so, we're actually driving the school to net zero electric use.”
The superintendent adds that the next such project will be at high school and as the cost of electricity continues to climb, the district is looking forward to saving money for decades to come.
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Rapid growth is harder to sustain if the customer experience becomes complicated.
Photo Credit: iStock
India’s rooftop solar market is gaining steam, with households leading the way. New data shows installations across the country more than doubled from a year earlier as incentives and simpler approvals helped turn household energy demand into growth for cleaner power.
Mercom India Research’s latest rooftop solar market report put India’s first-quarter additions at 2.7 gigawatts, PV Magazine reported.
The figure was above the 2.2 GW added in the previous quarter and the 1.2 GW recorded in the same quarter a year earlier, Mercom’s data showed.
Homes dominated the quarter’s new rooftop solar capacity, accounting for 82% of additions, while industry accounted for 11%, commercial projects for 7%, and government installations for 0.4%, according to Mercom. The firm said the PM Surya Ghar program was the key catalyst, aided by subsidies, streamlined approvals, and stronger state-level support.
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“The rooftop solar market maintained strong momentum in Q1 2026, with installations increasing 25% quarter over quarter and 125% year over year, driven primarily by robust residential demand under the PM Surya Ghar program,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, according to PV.
By the end of March, rooftop solar capacity nationwide had reached 23.5 GW, Mercom said. It named Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat as the leading states for the quarter and said system costs were largely stable, except for higher-priced setups that used Chinese modules.
The trend makes sense — going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. Many who have made the shift have had their bills reduced by hundreds of dollars. If you’re ready to go solar, explore EnergySage‘s free tools to get quick solar installation estimates and compare quotes. 
Rooftop solar can lower electricity bills; reduce dependence on grids that rely on polluting, non-renewable energy sources; and give families more control over household energy costs.
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When the residential sector accounts for such a large share of new installations, it suggests that solar is becoming a more practical option for homeowners, not just businesses or public institutions.
EnergySage’s solar mapping tool shows the average cost of a home solar panel system and details on solar panel incentives in each state in the United States. These resources can help you secure the best price on rooftop solar panels, saving you both upfront and in the long run. 
India’s high level of solar adoption also shows how much policy design can shape adoption. Subsidies and streamlined approvals can make the difference between a household putting off a project and moving ahead with one that delivers savings for years.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup increases savings and protects your home during outages. It can also help ensure your home can run off-grid. Along with solar assistance, EnergySage provides free tools for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates. 
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
India’s growth is being driven by a mix of public incentives and market readiness, but Mercom warned that the next phase will depend heavily on execution, including access to financing, installation standards, coordination with DISCOMs, and grid preparedness. Rapid growth is harder to sustain if the customer experience becomes complicated.
In the U.S., if you’re ready to take the leap and save money with solar, EnergySage’s expertise and free tools are a great help. With EnergySage‘s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on a solar purchase and installation.
“As rooftop solar penetration rises, improving on-ground execution and consumer experience will become critical to sustain long-term growth,” Prabhu said, per PV. He added, “While consumer interest in rooftop solar remains strong, the next phase of growth will depend more on implementation and execution.”
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US solar PV module and cell manufacturer Inox Solar Americas has signed a 767MW module supply agreement with a US renewable energy developer and independent power producer (IPP).
Under the agreement, Inox will supply modules for three utility-scale solar projects with a combined capacity of approximately 767MW in North Carolina and Texas. The projects have capacities of approximately 71MW, 102MW and 594MW. The deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2027.
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The projects will use Inox’s Vega Series bifacial modules, available in single-glass and dual-glass configurations and using the company’s Galaxion N-type PV cells.
Inox said the agreement reflects demand for modules manufactured and sourced to meet US domestic-content and supply-chain requirements.
“This 767MW agreement represents a significant milestone for Inox Solar Americas and demonstrates the confidence leading US renewable energy developers place in our manufacturing capabilities, technology, and commitment to the US solar market,” said Ashok Nair, president & CEO of Inox Solar Americas.
“Our customers are looking beyond module performance to domestic content, supply-chain transparency, regulatory compliance, product reliability, and long-term bankability. This agreement demonstrates our ability to meet these priorities with reliable, high-performance PV modules manufactured in the US.”
The company said its US manufacturing and sourcing strategy is designed to comply with applicable Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE), Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC), domestic-content, supply-chain traceability and US trade and energy policy requirements.
The agreement comes as the US solar industry adjusts to tighter domestic-content and supply-chain requirements. Recent analysis by PV Tech Research’s Moustafa Ramadan has highlighted the widening gap between US module and cell manufacturing capacity, as well as the increasingly complex risks associated with solar cell procurement and domestic supply-chain development.
Inox Solar Americas said the three projects will use modules designed for utility-scale applications, with the company citing high US domestic content, supply-chain traceability and domestic manufacturing as factors supporting the supply agreement.
The company was established following Indian renewable energy company INOXGFL Group’s expansion into the US solar manufacturing market.
In April 2026, Inox Clean Energy completed its approximately US$750 million acquisition of Boviet Solar, gaining access to 3GW of annual US module manufacturing capacity at the company’s Greenville, North Carolina facility. The transaction also included plans for a further 3GW of annual solar cell manufacturing capacity, with the cell facility expected to come online in 2027.
The Boviet acquisition formed part of INOXGFL Group’s broader expansion across the renewable energy value chain, which has included investments in solar manufacturing, renewable energy project development and international markets.
The group has acquired SunSource Energy, Vibrant Energy and SkyPower, while more recently acquiring Vena Energy India’s 6GW renewable energy portfolio.
Speaking recently to PV Tech Premium, INOXGFL executive director Devansh Jain said the company’s focus had shifted from acquisition-led growth towards integrating the businesses [subscription required], improving operational synergies and extracting value from the platform assembled through its acquisitions.

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Vertical solar specialist Over Easy Solar has installed its first vertical PV system in Ireland.
Located in Dublin, the 5.37 kW system features 21 of Over Easy Solar’s VPV Units comprised of the company’s third-generation XM-3 QUATTRO-256S, a preassembled, lightweight vertical bifacial photovoltaic unit.
The installation was installed directly on a green roof through Over Easy Solar’s ongoing partnership with Sempergreen, a Dutch company specializing in sustainable urban nature solutions.
Keelin Currivan, International Customer Solutions Advisor at Over Easy Solar, told pv magazine such installations prove that customers do not have to choose between having a green roof and a rooftop solar installation.
“The panels manage rainwater and provide thermal regulation for the roof, while the vegetation boosts panel output via the albedo effect without shading the plants themselves,” Currivan explained. “It’s a genuine case for combining biodiversity and clean energy generation on commercial rooftops, rather than treating them as competing uses of the same space.”
The installation was carried out by Irish renewable energy and electrical contractor company Solar Precision. In a statement to pv magazine, the company explained it chose to utilize Sempergreen’s green roof system with the Over Easy Solar’s vertical PV system “because it offered an innovative way to maximize renewable energy generation while preserving the environmental and biodiversity benefits of a green roof.”
“The system aligns with our commitment to delivering sustainable solar solutions and gave us the opportunity to be the first solar PV company in Ireland to install this technology as a case study,” the company’s statement continues.
Solar Precision added that since completion, the project has demonstrated that vertical solar panels can be successfully integrated with a green roof without compromising performance or maintenance. 
“As an early adopter of this system in Ireland, we’ve gained valuable knowledge and confidence in the technology, and we’re excited about the opportunities it creates for future commercial and residential green roof projects,” the company said.
Over Easy Solar’s latest expansion follows its first installation in the US earlier this year with a 100 kW vertical PV system in New York. Since then, the company also installed its first system in Vancouver, Canada.
In April, Over Easy Solar shared that its vertical bifacial PV system had outperformed a conventionally-tilted monofacial rooftop PV system in the UK across all seasons during a year-long study.
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These lightweight, high-efficiency cells could be used for space solar power, ensuring reliable performance under extreme extra-terrestrial conditions.
Tandem solar cells are emerging as the leading next-generation photovoltaic solution. The technology could help future satellites and space data centers run on ultra-lightweight solar power. 
In this vein, researchers at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have set a new world record for perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cell efficiency, advancing next-generation, high-efficiency thin-film solar technology.
KIER achieved a laboratory-measured efficiency of 27.0 percent and an officially certified efficiency of 26.7 percent. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems officially certified the result. It is now listed in the U.S. National Laboratory of the Rockies’ Best Research-Cell Efficiencies Chart.
The tandem solar cell stacks a perovskite layer over a CIGS layer to capture different sunlight wavelengths simultaneously, creating a light, flexible, and efficient thin-film device.
“This achievement is significant in that both cell efficiency and stability can be enhanced by minimizing potential interfacial and optical losses during the integration of perovskite and CIGS. The resulting efficiency was also officially certified by a world-renowned institute and recognized as a world-record performance, underscoring Korea’s technological competitiveness,” said Inyoung Jeong, a senior researcher at KIER, who led the research. 
To overcome the physical efficiency limits of silicon solar panels, scientists stack a top perovskite layer and a bottom copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) layer to capture different wavelengths of light without adding extra weight. 
Perovskite and CIGS form an ideal scientific pairing for tandem solar cells because their complementary bandgaps allow them to divide and absorb the solar spectrum with minimal energy loss. The top perovskite layer absorbs high-energy blue and ultraviolet light while allowing longer wavelengths to pass through to the bottom CIGS layer, which efficiently captures the remaining low-energy near-infrared light.
Although combining these delicate thin films usually causes damage and blocks light, special protection layers and modified electrodes overcome these assembly issues to maximize power output.
The KIER team solved this by inventing an advanced interfacial protection layer and re-engineering the transparent top electrode. This reduced both electrical damage and unwanted light absorption simultaneously, pushing raw laboratory tests up to 27 percent.
“The developed technology is expected to increase electricity generation per unit area and thereby expand the potential applications of photovoltaic power generation,” the researchers stated. 
The development shows South Korea’s strong competitiveness in next-generation thin-film solar technology. By reaching 26.7 percent, KIER surpassed the previous record of 26.3 percent set just a year prior by a joint team from Seoul National University and KIST.
Reportedly, this 26.7% record applies to small-area laboratory research cells (sub-1 cm²).
Earlier, Germany’s Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt-Universität held the world-record efficiency at 25.5 percent for perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cells with an active area of over 1 cm². Formally verified by the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI), this benchmark shows the technical progress in scaling up high-efficiency thin-film architectures beyond sub-centimeter laboratory devices.
Thanks to their flexible and lightweight thin-film design, these cells are ideally suited for integration into buildings and vehicles, as well as weight- and space-constrained space applications such as small satellites and orbital data centers.
KIER is now working with industry partners to scale these tiny lab samples into large commercial modules.
Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.
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Officially certified by Fraunhofer ISE in Germany and listed in NLR’s Best Research-Cell Efficiencies Chart
National Research Council of Science & Technology

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Perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cell developed by the KIER research team
Credit: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
 The Photovoltaic Research Department of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) achieved a certified world-record efficiency of 26.7% for perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells, opening a new chapter in next-generation thin-film photovoltaics.
 This achievement was officially certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany and listed in the Best Research-Cell Efficiencies Chart published by the US National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL).
 The previous world-record efficiency of 26.3%, set a year earlier by a joint research team from Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), was surpassed by another Korean research team at KIER, demonstrating the country's leading role in next-generation thin-film solar cell technology. 
 Silicon solar cells, currently the most widely used solar cell technology, have already reached technological maturity, leaving limited room for further efficiency improvements due to fundamental physical limitations. Against this backdrop, tandem solar cells are emerging as a promising next-generation solution for high-efficiency photovoltaics. This technology uses multiple solar cells with different characteristics stacked in layers to capture a broader range of sunlight wavelengths.
 The perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells developed by the KIER research team have a perovskite cell at the top and a CIGS cell at the bottom. This unique configuration enables the two cells to absorb different wavelengths of sunlight simultaneously. Since both perovskite and CIGS are well suited for thin-film processing, the technology combines high efficiency, light weight, and flexibility.
 Assembling the two cells may, however, degrade the perovskite light-absorbing layer. In addition, some cell layers may absorb unwanted light, reducing the overall efficiency. To address these challenges, the KIER research team conducted a comprehensive analysis of the root causes of such efficiency losses. As a result, they developed an advanced interfacial layer material and processing technology to mitigate potential damage to the perovskite layer. The team also successfully minimized undesired light absorption and potential photocurrent loss by optimizing the structure of the top transparent electrode and charge transport layer.
 This approach resulted in a laboratory-measured efficiency of 27% and a Fraunhofer ISE-certified efficiency of 26.7%.
 The developed technology is expected to increase electricity generation per unit area and thereby expand the potential applications of photovoltaic power generation. Furthermore, owing to their lightweight and flexible thin-film design, they are promising not only for buildings and automobiles but also as power sources for small satellites and space-based data centers for future space applications, where weight and space constraints are critical.
 Inyoung Jeong, a senior researcher at KIER who led the research, said, "This achievement is significant in that both cell efficiency and stability can be enhanced by minimizing potential interfacial and optical losses during the integration of perovskite and CIGS. The resulting efficiency was also officially certified by a world-renowned institute and recognized as a world-record performance, underscoring Korea's technological competitiveness." 
 Going forward, the research team will focus on ensuring that large-area modules achieve the same efficiency as the small-area devices developed in this study. They will collaborate with industry partners interested in mass production and commercialization and pursue technology transfer. In the long term, they will expand the technology to next-generation space solar cells capable of reliable operation in space due to their light weight and high efficiency.
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
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National Research Council of Science & Technology
ljm@nst.re.kr

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Korea Institute of Energy Research
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Copyright © 2026 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Copyright © 2026 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

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India’s power demand is surging, but some solar energy is going to waste  WJTV
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Arjun Brij
Sep 02, 2026 | Updated 11:13 AM GMT+5:30
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Delhi’s government approved an ambitious solar energy scheme that will provide free rooftop solar panels to approximately 2.3 lakh households consuming up to 400 units of electricity monthly.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the initiative on Tuesday (1 September) following a cabinet meeting that passed the second amendment to the Delhi Solar Energy Policy, with installations targeted for completion by March 2027.
Under the revised policy, eligible residential consumers will receive 3-kilowatt rooftop solar systems at zero upfront cost, subject to technical feasibility.
The scheme combines a central government subsidy of Rs 78,000 under the PM Surya Ghar scheme with an additional Rs 78,000 capital subsidy from Delhi.
The government will also bridge any remaining gap between the total installation cost and available subsidies, effectively eliminating the financial barrier that has prevented many households from adopting solar energy.
The initiative aims to add 500 MW of additional rooftop solar capacity across the capital.
Gupta candidly acknowledged that the Centre’s PM Surya Ghar scheme had not gained sufficient momentum in Delhi, prompting this state-level intervention.
Currently, only around 10,000 buildings in the city have solar energy generation capabilities.
The revised policy introduces several key changes, including upfront payment of generation-based incentives rather than instalments spread over five years.
The Delhi government will also arrange operation and maintenance support for five years through designated vendors, addressing household concerns about system upkeep.
Consumers installing solar systems of up to 10 kW will not pay any registration fees, further simplifying the adoption process.
Delhi’s existing electricity subsidy benefits will continue for eligible consumers, positioning rooftop solar as an additional route toward lower household energy costs.
A standard 3-kW system costs approximately Rs 1.75 lakh, meaning the combined subsidies will cover most or all installation expenses.
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Researchers from University of New South Wales (UNSW), have been awarded the bulk of a $105.6 million investment for ultra low-cost solar research from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for 12 separate solar projects.
In total, the $64.8 million allocation is the university’s largest single investment in solar photovoltaic research.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise Professor Bronwyn Fox said ever since UNSW’s pioneering work developing high-efficiency silicon solar cells 50 years ago, the university has been a leader in solar energy research.
“UNSW is thrilled to partner with ARENA on these 12 projects which continue to build on this strength and help drive the development of more affordable solar technology,” Fox said.
Eleven of the projects are attached to the UNSW’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, and one from the School of Chemistry.
The successful projects are:
Lower-temperature connections for advanced solar panels
Making silicon solar panels more efficient and durable
Testing next-generation solar panels in real-world conditions
Improving solar panel durability in Australian conditions
Making perovskite-silicon solar panels more efficient and reliable
Using AI and advanced manufacturing to improve tandem solar panels
Developing more efficient and affordable tandem solar cells
Using AI to discover new solar materials
Developing new materials to make silicon solar cells more efficient
Designing solar panels for specific sites to reduce costs
Using AI to improve solar farm operations
Using daylight imaging to detect solar panel problems
UNSW Dean of Engineering Professor Julien Epps said the funding enables some of the leading experts worldwide in solar photovoltaics to work hand-in-hand with industry to drive forward innovative research and development that is pivotal to the energy transition and pivotal to climate change mitigation.

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“The Central Government is placing the highest priority on solar and hydro power.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Tripura is turning to rooftop solar as it faces two mounting pressures at once: rising electricity demand and a dwindling supply of natural gas that has long powered much of the state’s grid.
State officials said that shift could be especially meaningful for lower-income households, since it may help keep energy bills from becoming even more difficult to manage.
During a special council meeting in Agartala on Aug. 17, 2026, Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the state needs broader rooftop solar adoption to meet future electricity needs without leaving vulnerable residents behind, according to Northeast Today. The session at the Agartala Municipal Corporation Conference Hall centered on rooftop solar installations under the “ULA Model.”
According to Nath, Tripura’s electricity consumer base has grown to around 10.68 lakh (about 1.07 million), up from roughly 7 lakh before the current government took office. He added that more than four lakh consumers use no more than 50 units a month, which he said suggests many belong to economically weaker sections.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
“When the demand for something increases, its price goes up,” Nath said.
Nath said the challenge is not only rising demand, but also mounting pressure on the state’s conventional power system. He said a limited gas supply has reduced the Palatana plant’s output to about 500 MW, even though it was designed for around 700 MW, while Ramchandranagar is generating only 50 to 60 MW instead of roughly 100 MW.
As electricity demand rises, solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. Homeowners who want to explore rooftop systems can use EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
Reliable electricity is needed across the state, Nath said, including for industry, hospitals, schools, colleges, and waste-recycling facilities.
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He described solar, wind, and hydropower as greener options than gas- and coal-based generation, which he characterized as more polluting.
Tripura is also working to advance rooftop solar through coordination between the municipal corporation and power authorities. Nath said Agartala Mayor Dipak Majumder, Agartala Municipal Corporation Commissioner Saju Vaheed A, Deputy Mayor Manika Das Datta, and other officials took part in the discussion.
For households elsewhere, the economics of solar can be easier to understand with free comparison tools. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system on a state-by-state basis, along with solar panel incentives for each state. Together, these resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Additionally, adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages. It can also save money on energy and make going off-grid more realistic, and readers can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Nath said, “Gas reserves are depleting; the supply is dwindling,” and “The Central Government is placing the highest priority on solar and hydro power.”
Tripura’s rooftop solar push reflects a broader shift as households and governments look for cleaner, cheaper power while conventional fuel supplies come under strain. Across India and in nearby Pakistan, wider access to solar is already changing monthly bills, grid planning, and the pace of renewable investment.
• Across India, rooftop solar installations surged 125% as PM Surya Ghar accelerated household adoption.
• India saves billions by prioritizing solar, showing why states are leaning beyond gas.
• In Gujarat, a vast solar-wind project underscores how quickly India’s renewable buildout is scaling.
• In Pakistan, rooftop solar is shielding consumers from shocks and easing import costs.
• In Colorado, plug-in solar panels are widening home-energy access for residents shut out.
Rooftop solar is becoming a bigger piece of a much wider energy transition. These projects also show how much policy design matters when the goal is getting cleaner, lower-cost power to households that need relief most.
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New Jersey Just Legalized Cheap Plug-In Balcony Solar Panels  insideevs.com
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Surrounded by energy crises, Bihar eyes Rs 1.38 lakh crore solar investment  The Indian Express
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Solar power generation in the UK reached a new record over the summer of 2026, as temperatures across the nation soared, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief. 
Collectively over June, July and August, solar farms and rooftops generated 8.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in the UK*, as shown in the chart below. 
Speaking to Carbon Brief, Chris Hewett, chief executive of trade association Solar Energy UK welcomed the new record, adding that it was driven by “clear skies and continued growth in deployment”. 
This surge in generation took place amid the hottest summer on record in the UK, with five heatwaves between May and August.
Summer 2026 was the sixth sunniest on record, with more than 620 hours of sunshine, according to the Met Office. England and Wales – which experienced the most extreme heat – saw their second-sunniest summers on record. 
June 2026 was the hottest June in England since records began in 1884, according to Met Office data, while Wales and the UK as a whole experienced their second-warmest June. 
It was the driest July for England and Wales since records began in 1836, with some parts of London seeing no rain at all in the month, while Wisley in Surrey had no rain for 62 days. 
In England, temperatures peaked at 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London on 13 August. 
According to the Met Office, this summer’s record mean temperature was made 130 times more likely by climate change.  
Amid these hot and sunny months, solar power generation increased 23% from the same period in 2025. This is double the level of solar generation over the summer of 2021, according to Carbon Brief analysis. 
While solar panels can be affected by periods of extreme heat, the longer hours of daylight and higher levels of irradiation over the summer more than offset any efficiency losses. 
June, July and August all saw solar set new monthly records for solar generation – July saw the highest solar generation in a calendar month ever, with 3.3TWh meeting 15% of overall electricity demand for the month. 
As of the end of August, the total UK solar generation in 2026 stood at 17TWh – 13% higher than the same point in 2025. 
The number of solar farms and rooftop installations has grown substantially in recent years, helping to boost generation. Domestic rooftop solar accounts for around 29% of total capacity.
In 2025, the UK’s solar capacity reached 21 gigawatts (GW) by the third quarter of the year, according to UK government figures. This is a jump of 3GW, or 18%, year-on-year, as Carbon Brief reported in January. 
(Capacity is the maximum output possible from an electricity generation, whereas generation is what was produced over a certain time period, such as a day, month or year.)
According to the University of Sheffield, the installed solar capacity is now nearly 24GW. 
This includes nearly 172,000 solar installations that have been fitted across the UK since the start of 2026, according to recent government figures. In July alone, more than 19,800 rooftop solar panels were installed – the equivalent of one installation every two minutes. 
In total, nearly 1.7m households in the UK now have solar panels installed. 
Over 26 heatwave days this summer – periods of at least three days when temperatures exceed the Met Office’s county-level heatwave temperature threshold – UK households with rooftop solar panels avoided an estimated £86.7m in electricity costs, according to analysis by Utility Bidder.
Talking about the surge in solar generation this summer, Hewett says: 
“[It] not only kept bills down for people with solar and batteries in their homes, but helped keep overall power prices much lower than they would have been if Britain had been relying on more gas generation during the day”.
Despite the record generation, no new half-hourly solar power output record was set in the summer of 2026. This still stands at 15.2 megawatts (MW) on 23 April 2026.
* This article refers to the UK throughout, but strictly relates to the island of Great Britain, made up of England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is part of the separate, all-Ireland electricity system.
Published under a CC license. You are welcome to reproduce unadapted material in full for non-commercial use, credited ‘Carbon Brief’ with a link to the article. Please contact us for commercial use.
Published by Carbon Brief Ltd © 2026 – Company No. 07222041
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Solar panels installed over sea cucumber ponds in China reduced light levels by 80.5% and lowered water temperatures by 1.20°C, according to a ScienceDirect study. Researchers found that these cooler conditions were associated with a predicted 12-day reduction in aestivation among sub-adult sea cucumbers. The study also recorded changes in plankton and sediment, highlighting the need for continued ecosystem monitoring.

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A South Korean research team has developed a method to upcycle silicon recovered from end-of-life (EoL) PV modules into silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), a high-value ceramic used in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, medical, energy, and manufacturing industries due to its high strength, thermal stability, wear resistance, and electrical insulation properties.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of converting silicon recovered from actual EoL PV modules into Si₃N₄,” corresponding author Jin-Seok Lee told pv magazine. “Rather than simply recovering silicon as a secondary raw material, we aimed to demonstrate a practical pathway for giving recycled silicon a new, higher-value application.”
Lee said the team’s next step is to move from proof-of-concept research toward a practical, scalable recycling and upcycling process.
“We are currently working with Wonkwang S&T, a Korean PV recycling company, to develop mobile PV recycling technology that can process end-of-life PV modules closer to where they are generated,” he said. “Through this approach, we aim to reduce transportation costs by approximately 30% and carbon emissions by more than 10% compared with conventional centralized recycling.”
The researchers used a single end-of-life Suntech STP200-18/Ub module containing 54 polycrystalline silicon cells based on an aluminum back-surface field (Al-BSF) architecture.
After removing the junction box and aluminum frame, they separated the glass from the ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/cell/EVA/backsheet laminate using a hot knife. They then cut the laminate into cell-sized pieces and milled the material at 400 rpm, 600 rpm, or 800 rpm to assess the effects of milling speed on particle agglomeration and impurity removal.
The researchers removed large backsheet fragments and residual EVA using 3 mm and 0.5 mm sieves, respectively. They then combusted the remaining organic materials in air at 600 C for one hour.
Particle-size analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging were then used to assess agglomeration. The recovered silicon underwent a two-stage purification process, comprising 20 minutes in 36 wt% hydrochloric acid (HCl) to remove aluminum, copper, tin, and lead, followed by 30 minutes in 36 wt% nitric acid (HNO₃) to dissolve silver. Both treatments were conducted under stirring and ultrasonication.
To remove acid-resistant titanium dioxide (TiO₂) originating from the backsheet, the researchers dispersed 10 g of powder in 1 liter of water for 20 minutes, allowed it to settle for between 5 minutes and 20 minutes, and then removed 800 mL of supernatant. They identified 5 minutes as the optimal settling time.
Following characterization, the highest-purity powder, produced at 400 rpm, was selected for nitridation. Purified and unpurified powders were ball-milled in ethanol for 20 hours to an average particle size of approximately 1 µm. They were then nitrided under a flow of 95% nitrogen and 5% hydrogen, first at 1,350 C for one hour and then at 1,450 C for 10 minutes.
The researchers subsequently used X-ray diffraction (XRD) to calculate silicon conversion and determine the proportions of the alpha and beta crystalline phases of silicon nitride (α-Si₃N₄ and β-Si₃N₄). They used SEM to compare particle morphology and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) to measure the purity of the final ceramic.
“We found that particle agglomeration during milling strongly affects the subsequent removal of metallic impurities,” said Lee. “By controlling the milling conditions and combining stepwise acid etching with a simple sedimentation process, we were able to effectively control both metallic and ceramic impurities in the recovered silicon.”
The researchers found that severe particle agglomeration at 800 rpm resulted in a residual aluminum concentration of 4,290 ppm after HCl etching, compared with just 189 ppm at 400 rpm.
“This clearly showed that optimization of a recycling process cannot be based simply on more intensive milling,” Lee said.
“We were impressed by the effectiveness of the relatively simple sedimentation process,” he added. “In only 5 minutes, 71.4% of the TiO₂ impurity could be removed while maintaining a silicon recovery rate of 92.3%. Most importantly, after controlling these impurities, the recycled silicon reached 99.95% purity, and the resulting Si₃N₄ contained 93.1% α-Si₃N₄. In comparison, Si₃N₄ synthesized from recycled Si without the additional purification process contained only 54.7% α-Si₃N₄. This demonstrated that impurities originating from waste PV modules can directly affect the properties of the final upcycled product.”
The findings are described in the study “Upcycling silicon recovered from photovoltaic waste into silicon nitride via the field-applicable control of metal and ceramic impurities,” published in Materials Today Sustainability. Researchers from the Korea Institute of Energy Research and Chungnam National University participated in the study.

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Albertans purchasing new solar panels next month will face a hefty fee for recycling them.
Environment Minister Grant Hunter announced Thursday a ban on landfill disposal for the panels and the $14 recycling fee per panel beginning Oct. 1.
Hunter said the move will protect municipalities and taxpayers from future costs. He estimated that by 2045, most of the solar panels currently installed in the province will reach the end of their lives and could produce nearly 73,000 tons of material.
“We’re creating the opportunity for new made-in-Alberta recycling programs and industries that recover valuable materials instead of burying them,” he told reporters in Brooks.
The government estimates a typical household of 20 panels.
But industry associations and advocates have said the $14 price tag is far too steep, punitive and being imposed without clear accounting to back it up.
They note it’s nearly five times the $2.75 cost of recycling a large television set in the province.
Heather MacKenzie, executive director of renewables advocate Solar Alberta, said for a typical panel, a $14 fee is like adding a 10 per cent tax.
In an interview, she said it’s yet another hit to the solar sector from a provincial government that appears intent on undermining it.
“It appears that the government of Alberta is artificially increasing the cost of solar, and that will enable natural gas to compete more easily in our marketplace,” she said.
She added that the impact will be significant.
“It’ll hurt all the small solar installation companies. It’ll hurt the electricians, and we will see job losses as a result.”
When word of the fee trickled down to stakeholders from the Alberta Recycling Management Authority earlier this summer, MacKenzie said they pushed back, and asked how the $14 figure was reached.
“They are not willing to show how they came to that number, which means that nobody can really critique the assumptions that are embedded in it,” said MacKenzie.
Independent research commissioned by the Canadian Renewable Energy Association put the cost of recycling a solar module at about $5.
Hunter, when asked how the province arrived at its cost, said the actual cost of shipping old panels to the United States for processing is $40 per panel.
He said it will also take time for recyclers to develop “economies of scale,” and if they can do it for cheaper, then that price will be passed on to consumers.
The announcement comes after a string of rule changes affecting renewable energy development from Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives.
In 2023, the UCP put a short-term moratorium on renewable energy project development before introducing strict new rules on where they can go. Subsequent reclamation fees for decommissioned projects were later criticized as too high.
Business Renewables Centre Canada — which works to help businesses and institutions reduce their emissions by connecting buyers and sellers of renewable power — said it supports a recycling fee but Alberta’s is higher than those of any other jurisdiction in the world.
“We’re disappointed to see the government saddle the industry with another disproportionate burden,” said director Jorden Dye in a Thursday news release.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2026.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
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Governor Mikie Sherrill has signed a law barring municipalities and landlords from blocking portable solar systems of up to 1,200W, a right German tenants and condominium owners have held since October 2024 and which has produced 1.31 million registered systems
Solar panels
New Jersey has legalised plug-in balcony solar up to 1,200W, barring local governments from requiring approvals and stopping landlords from blocking installation. Germany wrote the same right into its civil code in October 2024 and now has 1.31 million registered systems at 1.34GW.
New Jersey has legalised plug-in balcony solar. A new law bars municipalities and landlords from blocking portable panels that plug into a household socket, InsideEVs reported.
Governor Mikie Sherrill signed it this week. It takes effect in six months and caps systems at 1,200W. The panels run through an inverter that stops feeding the grid during an outage, which keeps line workers safe.
Local governments can no longer require licensing or approvals, the governor’s office said. Landlords must be notified 14 days ahead and may still restrict placement and size.
The pitch is bills. Sherrill said the units cost a fraction of rooftop solar and can shave up to $50 off a typical monthly bill. Electricity prices have been climbing across the state.
It passed unanimously in both chambers in June. Around 40% of New Jerseyans rent or live in apartments, a group that has never had a way to lower its own power bill, according to advocacy group Permit Power.
Germany settled this two years ago, after its market had already started without one.
Tenants and condominium owners have had a legal right to install since October 2024, written into the civil code and the condominium act. A landlord must give documented reasons to refuse.
German landlords also cannot demand professional installation. New Jersey’s keep control of placement and size, and both regimes require written notice.
The scale is the difference. Germany had 1.31 million systems registered in April at 1.34GW, and the register is thought to capture a minority of what is actually installed.
The power limits differ too. Germany caps inverter output at 800W against 2,000W of modules, and between 85% and 89% of new systems run at the 800W ceiling. The module allowance is more than twice the feed-in cap.
New Jersey’s 1,200W limit is half as much again. Berlin companies have been building solar for renters on the tighter number for years.
The German market being copied is already cooling. Installations fell 14% year on year in the first quarter, to 64,633 from 88,948.
Britain got there a week earlier anyway. Plug-in kits became legal on 27 August, at around £400 for £70 to £110 of annual saving.
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Researchers from University of New South Wales (UNSW), have been awarded the bulk of a AUD 105.6 million ($76.0 million) investment for ultra low-cost solar research from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for 12 separate solar projects.
In total, the AUD 64.8 million allocation is the university’s largest single investment in solar photovoltaic research.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise Professor Bronwyn Fox said ever since UNSW’s pioneering work developing high-efficiency silicon solar cells 50 years ago, the university has been a leader in solar energy research.
“UNSW is thrilled to partner with ARENA on these 12 projects which continue to build on this strength and help drive the development of more affordable solar technology,” Fox said.
Eleven of the projects are attached to the UNSW’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, and one from the School of Chemistry.
The successful projects are:
Lower-temperature connections for advanced solar panels
Making silicon solar panels more efficient and durable
Testing next-generation solar panels in real-world conditions
Improving solar panel durability in Australian conditions
Making perovskite-silicon solar panels more efficient and reliable
Using AI and advanced manufacturing to improve tandem solar panels
Developing more efficient and affordable tandem solar cells
Using AI to discover new solar materials
Developing new materials to make silicon solar cells more efficient
Designing solar panels for specific sites to reduce costs
Using AI to improve solar farm operations
Using daylight imaging to detect solar panel problems
UNSW Dean of Engineering Professor Julien Epps said the funding enables some of the leading experts worldwide in solar photovoltaics to work hand-in-hand with industry to drive forward innovative research and development that is pivotal to the energy transition and pivotal to climate change mitigation.

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From Galleons to Gigawatts: How China’s Solar Machine Made Silver Strategic
WRITTEN BY JASON TOGUT
4 September 2026
Beginning in 1565, Manila galleons carried Chinese silk and porcelain eastward and massive quantities of New World silver westward from Spain’s colonies in Mexico and Peru. The Ming state’s growing reliance on silver taxes had made China the world’s great silver sink, pulling a metal extracted in the Americas across the Pacific and helping create one of the first truly global commodity systems. Four and a half centuries later, China is again drawing silver into its economy, this time not to pay taxes but to print electrical contacts onto solar cells. 
The analogy only goes so far. China does not control the world’s silver mines, and its manufacturers still depend on metal sourced abroad. But the scale of China’s solar industry is hard to overstate: its plants turned out 574.5 gigawatts of modules in 2025, roughly 83 per cent of world output. That means decisions made in its factories — how many cells to produce, how much silver paste to apply, and how quickly to substitute copper — can alter the balance of the global market. China’s role in the global silver market, then, rests less on what it controls at the mine than on what it decides at the furnace.
That is what makes silver strategically important. The issue is not Chinese ownership of the metal itself, but the power and the vulnerability created when industrial policy concentrates much of a commodity’s marginal demand within a single manufacturing ecosystem. China has not conquered silver; it has built an industrial machine that decides how much silver the solar build-out requires.
The silver in solar
Silver occupies an unusual place in global markets. It is both a precious metal and an industrial input. In photovoltaic cells, silver paste forms conductive lines that collect and carry the electrical current released when sunlight strikes the silicon wafer. Manufacturers use it because no other metal combines the same electrical conductivity, reliability, and ease of application at commercial scale.
The scale of solar deployment has created a new source of silver demand. According to the Silver Institute, photovoltaic manufacturing consumed a record 197.6 million ounces of silver in 2024. That was 17 per cent of total silver demand and 29 per cent of industrial demand. The solar sector did not single-handedly cause the market’s recent deficits, but it has grown large enough that changes in solar production could materially tighten or loosen the market.
For policymakers, silver shows why mineral security cannot be measured only at the mine mouth. Silver’s strategic importance does not depend on concentrated extraction; rather, risks associated with losing access can rise when downstream manufacturing is highly concentrated and one industrial system drives a large share of incremental demand.
Silver supply is poorly suited to respond quickly to changes in demand. Mexico remains the largest silver-mining country, while China is also a major producer. Much of the world’s silver, however, is extracted as a byproduct of lead, zinc, copper, and gold mining. A rise in silver price cannot automatically bring a flood of new metal onto the market because production often depends on investment decisions made for other commodities. This makes the market unusually sensitive to shifts in industrial demand.
The divergence of 2025, with record global installations alongside a 6 per cent fall in photovoltaic silver demand to 186.6 million ounces, showed why the relationship cannot be reduced to a simple claim that more solar always means more silver. Installations kept climbing, but silver use in photovoltaics fell as manufacturers accelerated thrifting and substitution in response to intense competition and higher metal costs. The same Chinese factories that had helped push silver demand to a record high were able to pull it back by using less metal. Silver’s strategic relevance lies precisely in this two-way interaction between industrial scale and technological adaptation.
China’s demand-side power
China did not build its solar position to gain leverage over silver. Silver demand is a consequence of a much larger industrial project. State-directed industrial policy and a vast domestic market allowed Chinese firms to scale every major stage of photovoltaic manufacturing. The International Energy Agency estimates that China accounts for more than 80 per cent of global capacity across the principal manufacturing stages, from polysilicon and wafers to cells and modules.
Domestic deployment reinforced that manufacturing base. China added about 278 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2024 and nearly 370 gigawatts in 2025. Installations at home absorbed enormous output, helped firms move down the cost curve, and supported an export industry that made solar panels cheaper around the world. Production and deployment became a feedback loop: policy created scale, scale lowered costs, and lower costs expanded both Chinese and global demand.
That ecosystem gives Beijing and Chinese manufacturers demand-side influence over silver without giving them control of silver supply. When Chinese cell production expands rapidly, it can absorb a meaningful share of incremental metal. When manufacturers change cell architecture or reduce silver loadings, they can suppress demand even as the number of panels rises. Commodity producers, traders, and investors must therefore follow Chinese industrial decisions because those decisions increasingly determine the market’s marginal barrel — or, in this case, its marginal ounce.
But influence is not immunity. China’s solar industry is also exposed to a commodity it does not dominate. A sustained silver shortage or price spike would squeeze already thin module margins, raise the cost of domestic deployment, and intensify the search for copper-based contacts and other substitutes. The relationship is one of mutual dependence: China shapes silver demand, while silver availability and price constrain China’s industrial ambitions.
Why the relationship matters
For policymakers, silver shows why mineral security cannot be measured only at the mine mouth. Silver’s strategic importance does not depend on concentrated extraction; rather, risks associated with losing access can rise when downstream manufacturing is highly concentrated and one industrial system drives a large share of incremental demand. The United States’ decision to add silver to the 2025 List of Critical Minerals recognises the economic costs that a disruption could impose. But the proper response is not necessarily to recreate the entire Chinese solar supply chain or to pursue silver autarky.
A more realistic resilience strategy would identify the points where disruption would be most damaging and where public policy can change the outcome. That includes diversifying silver sourcing and refining, improving recovery from industrial scrap and retired panels, supporting research into lower-silver and copper-metallisation technologies, and checking how quickly new cell designs are being adopted. It also means distinguishing the root vulnerability from its symptom. Silver did not cause Western countries to fall behind in solar manufacturing; China’s industrial ecosystem did. But silver is one of the constraints through which that concentration can transmit risk to the global energy transition.
For China, the policy implication runs in the opposite direction. The country’s manufacturing dominance has created a large exposure to foreign commodity markets. Accelerating substitution is therefore not merely a cost-saving exercise; it is a form of industrial security. The more silver-efficient Chinese producers become, the less vulnerable Beijing’s deployment targets are to a metal whose supply responds slowly and whose price is also driven by investment demand.
For investors, the lesson is that silver can no longer be analysed only through inflation, interest rates, jewelry demand, or safe-haven flows. Solar manufacturing is now a major, but technologically fluid, component of demand. The 2025 decline in photovoltaic silver use, despite continued growth in installations, showed that Chinese module margins, cell technology, production targets, and substitution rates can matter as much as the headline pace of solar deployment itself.
From sink to system
The history of silver has not come full circle, but it has begun to rhyme. Ming China pulled silver across the Pacific because its fiscal system created enormous monetary demand. Modern China pulls silver into factories because its industrial system creates enormous technological demand. In neither era did China need to own the mines to reshape global flows.
The difference is that modern China is not simply absorbing silver. Its manufacturers help decide the scale and intensity of its use. They can expand demand through unprecedented production and then reduce it through engineering. That is demand-side commodity power: not sovereignty over a resource, but the capacity to set the pace at which the world consumes it while depending on supply it does not control.
Silver is more than a niche input in solar panels and less than a tool of Chinese power. It is a case study in how industrial policy is changing the geography of commodity power. In the twenty-first century, strategic resources derive their importance not only from what lies underground, but also from what happens on factory floors.
DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.
Author biography
Jason Togut is an associate at Cicero Group, where he advises private equity clients on commercial due diligence and growth strategy. He previously worked at the National Committee on US-China Relations, where he helped connect multinational corporations with counterparts across the US-China business and policy community. He holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School and an MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute, where his thesis examined China’s electric vehicle investment strategy, and a BA in International Relations and East Asian Studies from Brown. Image Credit: 總統府

Registered in England and Wales: 12548725

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Beyond Local: Solar panels banned from Alberta landfills  LakelandToday.ca
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The 20 kW system is expected to save up to ₹288,000 annually, with a payback period of 3.5 to four years
September 4, 2026
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Residential rooftop systems have been driving India’s rooftop solar capacity additions, especially after the introduction of the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana in 2024. Over 5 million households have benefited from the program so far.
According to Mercom’s Q2 and 1H 2026 India Rooftop Solar Market Report, residential installations accounted for 84% of the total rooftop solar additions in the country during the second quarter of the calendar year 2026,
Apartment complexes are increasingly turning to rooftop solar to  lower common area electricity expenses, limit exposure to rising grid tariffs, and meet a part of their daytime power requirements through on-site generation.
Common loads such as lifts, water pumps, lighting, security systems, swimming pools, and other shared facilities can make residential complexes suitable for rooftop solar installations, particularly where adequate roof space is available.
Vintage View, a residential apartment complex in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has installed a 20 kW rooftop solar system to reduce its electricity bills.
Wattsun Energy India installed the solar system. According to the installer, high electricity bills were the primary reason for adopting rooftop solar.
Before the solar installation, the property consumed approximately 75 kWh to 100 kWh of electricity per day. Monthly consumption ranged from around 2,200 kWh to 3,000 kWh, corresponding to annual electricity consumption of approximately 27,000 kWh to 36,000 kWh.
The rooftop installation is expected to generate approximately 2,400 kWh of electricity per month.
Based on Wattsun’s estimates, the installation could result in electricity bill savings of ₹19,200 (~$202) to ₹24,000 (~$252) per month. Annual savings are estimated at approximately ₹230,000 (~$2,415) to ₹288,000 (~$3,024).
The installer expects the investment to achieve full payback for the apartment complex within 3.5 to four years.
The project uses Adani Solar modules rated above 550 W and a Sungrow inverter. The modules have been installed on a galvanized steel mounting structure.
Limited rooftop space and shade from surrounding obstructions were among the main challenges that the Wattsun team faced while executing the project. Wattsun designed an elevated mounting structure to improve solar exposure while allowing the area underneath the installation to remain usable.
The company also used a non-invasive anchoring system for the structure. Wattsun handled coordination with the distribution company for net metering and grid approvals.
“Our experience combined with our zest for innovation helps us develop solar solutions that stand the test of time. We are committed to delivering top-tier quality using tier-1 components to ensure optimal performance, maximum energy savings, and a swift return on investment for our clients,” said Terance Alex, Founder and CEO of Wattsun Energy.
Last October, Wattsun Energy executed a 300 kW rooftop solar system at the Cyberpark in Kozhikode, Kerala, to advance its sustainability goals and make productive use of parking and shaded areas.
To raise awareness about the benefits of solar projects, Mercom India hosts a pan-India C&I Clean Energy Meet series, bringing renewable energy developers and commercial and industrial power consumers together to discuss clean energy adoption. The next event in the series will be held in Visakhapatnam on September 24, 2026.
Arjun Joshi
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Clean energy can finally afford to be fully clean.
Clean energy can finally afford to be fully clean. Scientists have created a tin-based perovskite material equipped with a built-in defense against air and moisture, functioning much like a molecular raincoat for solar cells.
The advance is the result of a joint effort led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the National Laboratory of the Rockies, and partner institutions. 
Interestingly, this tin perovskites could become a promising eco-friendly alternative to hazardous lead-based cells. However, the previous iterations of tin-based materials typically degrade rapidly when exposed to air and water. This new “raincoat” solves this issue.
The collaborative team revealed a molecular redesign that gives tin-based solar cells built-in protection against these elements. It tackles the single largest obstacle preventing non-toxic perovskite photovoltaics from hitting the commercial market: durability.
“We wanted to find a way to protect these materials while preserving the properties that make them attractive for solar cells,” said Song Jin, a UW–Madison professor of Chemistry. 
With solar panels covering millions of acres, the risk of toxic leaks from damaged or discarded panels remains the biggest roadblock keeping lead-based cells off the market.
Tin perovskites possess superior light-absorbing and electronic properties, but degrade in a short time when exposed to air and moisture. 
Rather than adding a bulky physical layer over the solar cells, the team designed protection straight into the material’s microscopic structure. It all came down to atomic fine-tuning.
Song Jin and his team experimented with different halogen atoms (fluorine, chlorine, and bromine) to alter the material’s organic components. This study engineered a mixed-dimensional (2D/3D) heterostructure.
Interestingly, when the chlorinated version was introduced, something remarkable happened: the perovskite crystals packed together far more tightly than before.
That tight atomic packing acts as a molecular shield. Water and oxygen can’t squeeze inside, creating a protective barrier that keeps them out of the cells.
This structural shift improved both performance and durability. Compared to conventional materials, the new chlorinated tin perovskite maintained its integrity for months in open air. It even survived days fully submerged in water without dissolving.
Further, theoretical models confirmed the mechanism: the tight molecular structure physically blocks oxygen and water from seeping into the vulnerable tin core.
To test its practical viability, the team built working solar cells in partnership with researchers Lei Chen and Kai Zhu at the National Laboratory of the Rockies.
The devices achieved a 16.2 percent power-conversion efficiency, which makes them among the most efficient tin-based cells ever created.
After 1,600 hours sitting in dry air, the cells retained over 95 percent of their initial output. Under severe operational stress with continuous simulated sunlight at a blistering 55°C (131°F), the cells held onto 80 percent of their power after 1,000 hours.
Mostly, solar design meant choosing efficiency or durability. This material shows that companies don’t have to compromise.
“What is exciting is that a relatively small change in the material’s design produces such a large improvement in stability,” said Christopher T. Triggs, who recently received his doctorate in materials chemistry at UW–Madison. 
“It shows how designing the organic components and controlling the way perovskite structures pack together can provide powerful protection of the resulting perovskite materials from the surrounding environment,” the first author added. 
Recognizing the commercial potential of a lead-free, long-lasting solar cell, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the National Laboratory of the Rockies have jointly filed a patent for the technology. 
The study was published in the journal Nature Materials. 
Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.
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A decade ago, Karnataka had 29 times Bihar’s renewable capacity. Today it has 39 times. That widening gap is the first half of this story. The second half is that Bihar has just committed ₹1.38 lakh crore to close it with a run to 24 GW, even as Karnataka plots a run to 66 GW of its own.
Karnataka spent the last decade turning an early lead into outright dominance. Bihar spent it almost entirely on the sidelines, and is only now, in the last two years, showing the first real signs of a state that intends to catch up.
2026 renewable capacity
27,442 MW
709.30 MW
Ten years ago, Karnataka was already the country’s runaway renewable-energy leader, with 5,673 MW installed (Till March 2016) against Bihar’s 194 MW — a near-30x gap before either state’s real growth phase had even begun.
Karnataka didn’t rest on that lead; it compounded it. More than 70% of its current renewable base, 7,131 MW, was added after April 2016 alone, anchored by the commissioning of the 2,000 MW-plus Pavagada Solar Park, one of the largest solar parks built anywhere in the world at the time. 
By 2020, Karnataka ranked first nationally with close to 10 GW of renewable capacity. Today that figure stands at 27,442 MW of renewables within a total installed base of over 39 GW. An almost two-thirds share for clean hydro and renewable power.
Bihar’s decade, by contrast, was one of near-total absence from India’s renewable buildout. From a base of 194 MW, the state added just 515 MW of renewable capacity over ten years to reach 709 MW today, a number Karnataka now adds within a matter of months.
Framed as growth rates, Bihar’s 266% increase can look respectable next to Karnataka’s 384%; framed as capacity actually built, Karnataka added roughly 30 times Bihar’s entire current renewable base in that same window. For most of the decade, Bihar simply wasn’t in the race.Karnataka added roughly 30 times Bihar’s entire current renewable base in the time it took Bihar to build what it has today.
What changes the story is the last two years, in which Bihar has moved with a speed that its previous decade gives almost no hint of. The state has set a target of 24 GW of renewable-energy capacity and 6 GWh of energy storage by 2030, backed by a ₹1.38 lakh crore power investment pipeline,  an ambition that, if realised, would mean building out roughly 34 times its entire current renewable base within this decade alone.
The intent shows up in early execution, not just targets. On rooftop solar, Bihar has committed ₹1,512 crore to a first-phase rollout covering 2.5 lakh Kutir Jyoti beneficiary households, part of a wider plan to bring 25 lakh households under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana by November 2027.
On utility-scale and storage, the tendering pipeline has gone from a standing start to real activity: a 75 MW solar project with SJVN in 2026, and a 125 MW/500 MWh battery storage award at ₹4.44 lakh/MW/month.
The state’s storage ambitions trace back further than they might appear.  BSPGCL first sought developers for a 185 MW solar project paired with a 254 MWh BESS around 2024, followed by a standalone BESS procurement in March 2025. Taken together, these are the first signs of a state moving from isolated projects toward an actual renewable-energy strategy: utility-scale solar, rooftop and storage advancing together rather than in isolation.
Karnataka isn’t standing still while Bihar finds its footing. The state is now preparing a ten-year roadmap to take total installed power capacity from over 39 GW to 66 GW by 2030, with clean energy expansion central to that growth rather than incidental to it. That builds on the Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2022–2027, which targets 10 GW of additional renewable capacity over its five-year window and at least 1 GW of dedicated rooftop solar capacity by 2027. A deliberate push to give distributed generation a larger role alongside the state’s large-scale solar parks and hydro base.
The 2026-27 state budget reinforced that direction, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah extending a ₹48,000 crore electricity subsidy to 36 lakh farmers alongside continued emphasis on decentralised energy systems and rural power sustainability. It’s a signal that Karnataka’s next phase isn’t only about adding gigawatts at Pavagada scale — it’s about spreading renewable and clean power more evenly across the state’s rural and agricultural base, even as the larger 66 GW roadmap takes shape.
Put side by side, these aren’t two versions of the same story — they’re two different clocks running on India’s renewable-energy transition. Karnataka’s has been ticking for a decade and is now accelerating into its next phase, from an already-massive base, with policy, rural distribution and a fresh 66 GW roadmap all reinforcing each other. Bihar’s clock effectively didn’t start until the last two years, and it now has to compress what Karnataka did over ten years into the back half of this decade — 24 GW of renewables and 6 GWh of storage from a base of well under a gigawatt. Taken along with Bengal, Assam  and Odisha plsns in East India, the East has finally woken up, many would say. Opening a whole new, and much needed demand centre for India’s solar manufacturers as well.
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GREW Solar, an India-based solar PV module manufacturer, has secured a repeat order worth INR 430 crore (~ $4.55 million) from an independent power producer for high-efficiency solar modules. Under the new order it will supply G12R modules built on n-type TOPCon cell technology to the producer. The order is the second that the same independent power producer has placed with the company. GREW Solar operates a 6.5 GW solar PV module manufacturing facility at Dudu in Rajasthan.
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Farmers thought they had to choose between growing food and generating solar power—German researchers just proved that land could do both, and do it better than either alone.
By Ainura Kalau
Published September 3, 2026 · How we edit
The assumption most people carry into a conversation about solar power on farmland is a simple one: panels and crops compete for the same acre, so a landowner picks one or the other.
It’s an easy assumption to reach for, because it’s usually correct. A standard ground-mounted solar farm covers the soil edge to edge and takes that land out of production for the life of the project, which is exactly why rural communities keep fighting new solar developments proposed on active cropland.
Germany, which has pushed hard to expand solar capacity while trying not to sacrifice the farmland it still relies on, had every reason to want a real answer rather than another argument.
Most solar installations are built to maximize electricity, not to share the ground with anything else. Panels sit low, packed close, angled for sun capture, with no clearance for a tractor and no real light left over for a crop underneath. Treated that way, a solar array and a wheat field really are a zero-sum choice, and the pushback against putting panels on farmland comes from a place of accurate experience rather than confusion.
The debate usually gets framed as a values question, energy independence against food security, as if the two goals were permanently at odds and someone just has to lose.
A research team led by Fraunhofer ISE, working with the University of Hohenheim, tested a different design at a working organic farm called Hof Heggelbach, on the shore of Lake Constance. Instead of a standard low-slung array, they raised the panels on a structure with a clearance height of 5 meters, tall enough for a combine harvester to pass underneath, and kept farming the ground below exactly as before: winter wheat, potatoes, celeriac, and clover grass, rotated the way the farm always rotated them.
When the results from that first growing season came in, Fraunhofer ISE reported that combined land use efficiency rose by more than 60 percent compared to farming and solar generation on two separate plots of the same total size. Individual crops still lost a little yield to the shade. Petra Högy, an agricultural scientist at the University of Hohenheim, put a number on the mildest case: “The crop yield of clover grass under the PV array was only 5.3 percent less than the reference plot.” Potatoes, wheat, and celeriac lost more, in the range of 18 to 19 percent each. None of that offset the electricity the same acre was now also generating, which is the entire point of measuring food and power together instead of separately.
The second year made the case even harder to dismiss as a fluke. The summer of 2018 turned into one of the hottest, driest on record in that part of Germany, and researchers found that the panels stopped being a tradeoff and started acting like protection. Andrea Ehmann, an agricultural scientist on the project, said the team could “assume that the shade under the semi-transparent solar modules enabled the plants to better endure the hot and dry conditions of 2018.” Combined land use efficiency for that drought year came in at 186 percent, and Stephan Schindele, the project’s lead at Fraunhofer ISE, credited the potato harvest specifically for the jump, a full 26 percentage points higher than the already strong number from the first year.
The results aren’t a blanket case for shading every crop everywhere. Clover, which had barely noticed the shade in 2017, lost 8 percent of its yield in the hot, dry 2018 season instead of gaining anything, a reminder that different crops respond to the same panels in different, sometimes opposite, directions. Axel Weselek, another University of Hohenheim researcher on the project, was careful not to oversell a two-year pilot: the result, he said, “shows the potential for APV in arid regions, but also the necessity to carry out further trials in other climate regions and with other types of crops.” One farm, two growing seasons, and four crops is a real result. It isn’t a universal rule yet, and treating a single lake-shore field in southern Germany as proof that shading works everywhere would be exactly the kind of overreach the researchers themselves were trying to avoid.
What sticks with me about Heggelbach is that nobody there was trying to make every single input perform at its individual best. The clover took a real hit some years. The potatoes and celeriac gave up close to a fifth of their usual yield. None of that mattered as much as what the whole acre produced once food and electricity were counted together instead of judged crop by crop. I think a lot of ordinary decisions get harder than they need to be because we insist every piece has to be optimized on its own terms, when the only number that actually matters is how the whole thing adds up. You don’t need every category of your life running at its personal best simultaneously for the overall system to be working. Some parts can just be fine, as long as the combined result is genuinely better than the separate alternatives would have been.
Heggelbach’s field is still standing, still rotating the same four crops under the same raised panels, still getting measured season after season. The interesting question was never whether shade costs a crop something. It almost always does. The interesting question is what you get back for it, measured honestly, on the same acre, over more than one year, and whether that trade held up in a normal season and an unusually brutal one, rather than just the year that happened to make the best headline.
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Ainura was born in Central Asia, spent over a decade in Malaysia, and studied at an Australian university before settling in São Paulo, where she’s now raising her family. Her life blends cultures and perspectives, something that naturally shapes her writing. When she’s not working, she’s usually trying new recipes while binging true crime shows, soaking up sunny Brazilian days at the park or beach, or crafting something with her hands.
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A caesium chloride seed layer developed at the institute promotes more even perovskite growth on textured silicon, addressing a defect that had limited performance in solvent-free tandem cells.
A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has developed a new method for depositing perovskite layers in tandem solar cells, addressing a defect problem that has limited efficiency in cells made using solvent-free manufacturing.
Germany – HZB compound squeezes more from perovskite tandems
Perovskite-silicon tandem cells are typically built with a self-assembled monolayer, or SAM, that handles charge transport between the two materials. On textured silicon, used to capture more light, this layer forms unevenly, creating interface defects and unwanted lead iodide formation that reduce cell performance. The HZB team found that inserting a thin caesium chloride seed layer between the SAM and the perovskite promotes more even crystal growth and larger grains, suppressing those defects. First author Viktor Škorjanc said the seed layer “enables uniform growth of perovskite layers on textured silicon,” addressing defects caused by uneven coverage of the hole transport layer.
The cells were built using vacuum co-evaporation, a solvent-free process already established in industries such as OLED display and microelectronics manufacturing. Unlike solution-based lab techniques, it transfers more readily to the large, textured silicon wafers used in commercial production. Researchers say solvent-free layers also tend to be more stable, addressing one of the central barriers to commercialising perovskite solar cells.
New silicon cells take aim at the cost of space power
The cells made with the new method set a new efficiency mark, reaching 30.3 percent in the lab with 29.7 percent independently certified. The work builds on HZB’s earlier record of 29.15 percent, achieved in January 2020 and published in the journal Science. (TF)
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EkoHaul solar trailer could cut truck idling fuel costs  Commercial Carrier Journal
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Renewables developer-operator MN8 Energy, zinc hybrid cathode battery and storage system maker Eos Energy Enterprises, and tech giant Google are backing a multi-technology renewables project on the PJM grid in the US.
Announced 2 September, the Mammoth Solar project in Kanawha County, West Virginia combines 86MW of solar, 10MW/100MWh of Eos’ Z3 zinc-based long-duration energy storage (LDES) solution, and a 70MW/280MWh lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery energy storage system (BESS).
The solar project is expected to reach commercial operation in 2028, with the Li-ion BESS and LDES solution following in 2029 and 2030, respectively. 
MN8 stated that the multi-technology project fills a critical grid need by delivering capacity matched to data centre load profiles. It also claimed that it is the first commercial-scale LDES deployment in West Virginia. 
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Under the agreement, Google will purchase the energy, capacity, and clean energy attributes of the project, “advancing the company’s commitment to bring new capacity to the grids where it operates.”
The project is also part of Google’s broader efforts to accelerate LDES technology commercialisation.
In June, Carbon dioxide-based LDES company Energy Dome announced it would add a 19MW/190MWh ESS to the grid, selected through Google and Arizona utility Salt River Project’s (SRP’s) collaboration to accelerate deployment of non-lithium-ion LDES technologies. Google is also a member of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council trade association which brings together global LDES technology providers, key offtakers such as Google and Microsoft, and service providers to the industry.
Mammoth Solar marks Google’s first project that uses Eos’ Z3 technology and the first project under the previously announced 750MWh MN8-Eos master supply agreement from October 2025. 
Constructed on a former coal mining site in West Virginia, MN8 claimed that Mammoth Solar is anticipated to generate economic opportunities in a community with deep energy sector roots.
According to MN8’s projections, the development represents capital investment of up to US$350 million and is forecast to deliver approximately US$4 million in property tax revenue to the county and local schools during the initial 20 years of operation, with additional millions expected over the subsequent 15-20 years. The construction phase is projected to create roughly 200 jobs, with further full-time and part-time positions supporting the project throughout its operational lifespan.
The project’s influence extends throughout the PJM interconnection, linking new energy infrastructure in West Virginia with American manufacturing and regional innovation.
MN8 and Eos maintain substantial operations and workforces across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, from MN8 projects distributed throughout the area to Eos headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Collectively, the companies claim to bolster domestic supply chains and regional economies.
Google also announced 1 September, a 396MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with geothermal energy developer Fervo Energy for its Cape Station enhanced geothermal systems GeoCluster project in Utah, expected to come online in 2028.
Under the agreement, Google will purchase energy designed “to serve as a foundational building block “for a potential data centre in the state.
As part of the PPA, Fervo will offer Google an option to expand its offtake by approximately 600MW, for a total of nearly 1GW, by June 2030. Final data centre plans will remain subject to a variety of factors including engineering feasibility, state and local approvals, and commercial conditions.
Fervo first partnered wit Google on Project Red, a commercial pilot in Nevada that came online in 2023. It provides power to the local grid and Google’s Nevada data centres.
Following that project, Fervo signed a 115MW PPA with Google and utility NV Energy in June 2024.
In May, MN8 began commercial operation of its 100MW/400MWh Pome BESS project in Poway, California.
In July, Eos received a Golden Dome for America contract from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to integrate “mission-ready LDES supporting requirements of the nation’s defence shield.”
Eos will deploy its Z3 solution for the contentious Golden Dome defence initiative announced by President Trump, although the project’s completion within the proposed timeline, and indeed its overall realisation, remains highly uncertain.
An ESN Premium article published earlier this week examined the recent Level 3 Essential Action Alert issued by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), acknowledging that AI data centres will cause significant load swings that could jeopardise grid operation. ESN Premium spoke with representatives of flow battery provider XL Batteries, Wärtsilä Energy Storage and transformer manufacturer IONATE about order and the technology solutions that can step in and mitigate those risks, which NERC characterised as urgent.
Battery Asset Management Summit USA 2026 will be held 15-16 September in Garden Grove, California, hosted by Energy-Storage.news publisher Solar Media (part of the Informa Group). The agenda emphasises addressing the roles of AI, cybersecurity, and second-life applications, broken down into two tracks: Technical Asset Management and Commercial Asset Management. This year, the conference is also co-located with Solar & Storage Finance Summit USA. Visit the official site for more details.

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Alberta’s solar recycling program imposes a $14 environmental fee on eligible panels
CanREA says the charge is much higher than the estimated future cost of recycling a panel
The association is also questioning the fee’s timing and its impact on renewable energy costs
Starting October 1, 2026, Canada’s Alberta will launch a new solar panel recycling program aimed at keeping end-of-life panels out of landfills. However, the ‘inflated’ recycling fee under the program has drawn criticism from the renewable energy industry. 
The Canadian province plans to collect solar panels for recycling to recover valuable components such as glass, aluminum, silicon, silver, copper and other metals to be reused in new products while supporting local collection and processing capacity.
It will come at a cost since it plans to impose a CAD 14 environmental fee to each new solar panel supplied, starting next month. For a typical 20-panel residential system for instance, the fee would total CAD 280.
This money will cover future recycling costs to collect, transport and recycle solar panels when they reach the end of their lives. It prevents municipalities and taxpayers from paying the bill decades from now.  
The government specifies that the fee will be imposed on new panels when the program begins, and won’t be imposed retroactively on panels already installed.
Alberta’s Minister of Affordability & Utilities RJ Sigurdson stressed that this will protect taxpayers from future cleanup costs and keep power affordable and sustainable for generations to come.
Administered by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority, the CAD 14 fee will apply to solar panels measuring at least 1 square meter and will cover both crystalline silicon and thin-film technologies used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility-scale projects.
The program follows a solar panel recycling pilot conducted between 2022 and 2025. Alberta said the pilot was designed to examine future solar waste streams and work with industry, recyclers and communities on end-of-life management.
Under the rollout, suppliers are required to report and remit the environmental fee from next month. The program will also begin collecting end-of-life panels from October 1, 2026. Alberta plans to engage stakeholders on panel reuse from 2027 and explore investment to expand local recycling capacity.
However, the government’s CAD 14 environmental fee is too high, according to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) that questions both the size and timing of the fee.
In a July 17, 2026 opinion piece, CanREA Director of Policy for Alberta Radha Rajagopalan noted that recycling a television in Alberta costs CAD 2.75, compared with CAD 14 for a solar panel. She argued that the difference is difficult to justify, particularly because most solar panels installed in recent years are not expected to reach end of life for decades.
The government expects more than 95% of solar panels currently installed in Alberta to reach the end of their lives by 2045, generating 72,700 tons of material.
CanREA said independent research commissioned by the association estimates the present-value cost of recycling a solar module at about CAD 5, after accounting for cost increases over 20 years and potential panel reuse. It therefore considers the CAD 14 charge significantly higher than the estimated cost of recycling.
The association has also raised concerns about the treatment of renewable energy compared with other forms of power generation. CanREA said solar and wind are the only electricity generation technologies required to pay a recycling surcharge in Alberta. This will be on top of existing reclamation security requirements for utility-scale solar and wind projects, which include recycling and disposal costs.
The association calls for greater focus on panel reuse, certification standards and collection infrastructure before imposing what it considers an inflated fee.
“Imposing an inflated, single-industry fee now, decades before most panels need recycling and at nearly three times the estimated cost, is so far off the mark that it will ultimately take away consumer choice and drive up electricity costs,” stated Rajagopalan.
TaiyangNews 2024

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London-based investment firm VH Global Energy Infrastructure (LSE:ENRG) has entered into an agreement for the sale of six operational solar photovoltaic (PV) assets in Brazil.
The solar PV assets, located in the Rio de Janeiro state, have a total installed capacity of 11.7 megawatts per hour.
Under the agreement, Energea Portfolio 2 LP will pay £5.4 million ($10.14 million) to VH Global Energy for the assets.
These assets form part of the VH Global’s entire Brazilian solar PV portfolio, comprising 13 operational assets and three ready-to-build assets. The remaining seven operational assets, contracted with Telefônica, are at an advanced stage in a separate sales process under exclusivity with a Brazilian strategic player in distributed generation.
Chairman Bernard Bulkin says the sale of these assets is a further step in the disciplined realisation of the company’s portfolio.
“Following a comprehensive and competitive process, the board concluded that this transaction represents the best available outcome for shareholders,” Bulkin says.
“We continue to progress the process for the remaining Brazilian assets with Telefônica as the offtake and will update shareholders as those discussions advance.”
VH Global Energy Infrastructure is a UK investment firm with a global focus on the energy transition. The company aims to create environmental impact without compromising on returns.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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Shift current anomalous photovoltaics in a double perovskite ferroelectric  PNAS
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Friday
September 04, 2026
The government has launched a new incentive scheme offering rooftop solar producers a guaranteed rate of Tk10.50 per kilowatt-hour for feeding surplus power into the national grid, bolstering efforts to expand renewable energy generation and stabilise national power supply.
Formally announced through a gazette notification issued today (1 September), the initiative aims to add up to 4,000 MW of rooftop solar capacity within one year to strengthen national energy security through diversification.
The price was determined taking the cost of batteries in consideration if used in the rooftop solar system.
“Considering market prices and quotations received by the Power Division, the government has estimated the maximum generation cost of rooftop solar power systems with batteries at Tk8 per unit,” Power Division said in the circular, adding that under the special incentive, a 20% profit and an 11.25% premium will be added to the generation cost, bringing the applicable price to Tk10.50 per unit.
If a customer can install such a solar power system at a cost lower than the stipulated generation cost, the amount will be considered the customer’s dividend.
The gazette came into effect yesterday.
Eligibility and timeframe
Customers who install rooftop solar systems by 28 February 2027 and supply surplus electricity to the national grid after meeting their own consumption will receive Tk10.50 per unit.
The price will be applicable for the next three years, until 28 February 2030.
The incentive will not apply to solar systems installed after 28 February 2027.
Payment and governance
Electricity distribution companies will maintain customer information, determine the amount of electricity supplied to the national grid, and preserve records related to electricity prices, including the incentive.
The incentive payments will be transferred to customers through bank accounts or mobile financial services and cannot be paid in cash under any circumstances.
Solar panels, batteries, inverters, meters and other equipment used for installing the systems must comply with the technical standards set by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda).
Policy support for the programme will be provided through the one-stop service centre already established by the Power Division. Customers will also be able to receive assistance from district- and upazila-level offices of the electricity distribution companies.
Experts welcomed the move with some observations.
“Announcing an attractive tariff for supplying surplus electricity from rooftop solar systems to the grid is a positive initiative. However, tariff incentives alone will not ensure the success of this programme. The local grid and distribution feeders must have adequate capacity to absorb the additional electricity,” said Sakir Ahmed, a power sector professional.
He also warned that when grid electricity is unavailable during the daytime, conventional grid-tied solar systems cannot feed electricity into the grid, necessitating the use of energy storage systems.
The incentive scheme is part of a broader plan to generate 20% of the country’s electricity, or 5,500MW, from renewable sources by 2030, according to minutes of a Power Division meeting held on 19 August.
Rooftop Solar Panels / Power Division
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India plans 2-hour battery storage mandate for new solar, wind projects  firstpost.com
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Swedish independent power producer (IPP) Alight Energy and automotive safety company Autoliv have inaugurated the 101MWp Eurajoki Solar Park in Finland.
Located in Eurajoki, in the Satakunta region on Finland’s west coast, the project is owned and operated by Alight and supplies renewable electricity to the grid under a long-term virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) with Autoliv.
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The project is the first commissioned asset in Alight’s Finnish portfolio. The company’s solar and storage pipeline in Finland exceeds 1GW. The solar park comprises two sites connected to a shared substation. The project was financed with €46 million (US$ 54 million) of senior debt from ABN AMRO and SEB.
“Together with Autoliv, we have brought one of Finland’s largest solar parks into operation, adding new renewable electricity to the grid and helping demonstrate the role solar can play in the Finnish energy system”, said Warren Campbell, CEO at Alight.
Eurajoki is expected to generate around 100GWh of renewable electricity annually. The project is connected to the Finnish electricity system through Caruna’s network via a shared substation.
“By supporting the development of new renewable electricity generation through this PPA, we are taking another important step toward achieving carbon neutrality in our own operations by 2030, and at the same time strengthening the resilience of our energy supply,” said Kaisa Tarna-Mani, vice president sustainability at Autoliv.
The 101MWp facility represents 12% of Finland’s utility-scale solar capacity, which stood at 842MWp across 45 parks at the end of June 2026, according to Renewables Finland.
Last year, Alight’s Annelie Westén wrote for PV Tech Premium on Nordic region’s solar growth [subscription required], including Finland’s expanding utility-scale market, PPAs and solar-plus-storage, but warned that grid congestion and permitting delays could constrain further expansion.
Alight is headquartered in Stockholm and operates 0.48GW of utility-scale solar, with a Nordic pipeline exceeding 1GW and a target of at least 5GW by 2030. Its operations span the Nordics, alongside solar projects in the UK, Spain, Poland, Germany and Italy.
In 2024, Alight and Finnish developer 3Flash agreed to develop the 120MW Loviisa solar project, expected to generate around 155GWh annually and enter operation in 2027.

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Deliveries will begin in 2027 for three utility-scale projects in North Carolina and Texas, US.
Inox Solar Americas has signed an agreement to supply 767MW of photovoltaic (PV) modules to a US renewable energy developer and independent power producer (IPP).
The customer, which was not named, develops, finances, owns and operates utility-scale solar and energy storage projects.
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The modules will be used for three utility-scale solar developments in North Carolina and Texas. The individual capacities are approximately 71MW, 102MW and 594MW, with deliveries due to start in 2027.
Inox Solar Americas, which manufactures solar PV modules and cells in the US, said the projects would use its Vega Series bifacial modules. These are offered in single-glass and dual-glass configurations and use Galaxion N-Type PV cells.
The company said the modules are designed for utility-scale use and support high levels of US domestic content.
Inox Solar Americas president and CEO Ashok Nair said: “Our customers are looking beyond module performance to domestic content, supply-chain transparency, regulatory compliance, product reliability and long-term bankability.
“This agreement demonstrates our ability to meet these priorities with reliable, high-performance PV modules manufactured in the US.”
Inox Solar’s US manufacturing and sourcing plans are being built to comply with Prohibited Foreign Entity and Foreign Entity of Concern rules, along with domestic content, supply chain traceability and applicable US trade and energy policy requirements.
Measures cited by the manufacturer include tighter supplier qualification, more domestic sourcing, and greater visibility over components and their origin. It said the aim is to help projects meet compliance obligations and to lower supply-chain risk.
Inox Solar Americas stated that the award reflected the technical, commercial, supply chain and risk factors that developers, IPPs, investors and lenders weigh when choosing module suppliers for long-term solar assets.
The contract will serve large project pipelines through domestic manufacturing and long-term customer support.
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Controversial plans to build one of the UK's largest solar farms have been delayed further by the government, which says it needs additional time to "consider further information".
Developer Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) wants to build the Botley West Solar Farm across more than 2,000 acres of land to the north and west of Oxford.
A decision on the scheme had been due earlier this year, before being pushed back to September 2026 by then-Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
In a statement on Wednesday, the government confirmed that its decision on the proposals would now be further postponed until 10 November at the latest.
On the latest setback, Minister for Local Energy and Jobs Martin McCluskey said it would "enable my department and other interested parties to consider further information received from the applicant".
"The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent," he added.
The final decision on the proposals will fall to Miatta Fahnbulleh, who succeeded Miliband as the secretary of state for energy security and net zero in July.
PVDP previously said the project was crucial to meet the UK's climate and energy security goals, and could power the equivalent of 330,000 homes.
If approved, the £800m solar farm would cover about 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) across three areas – north of Woodstock, west of Kidlington and west of Botley.
Reacting to the latest delay, the developers said it was a "common part" of the process for a project "of this scale and significance".
"The additional time will allow the department to review the further information submitted and ensure all relevant considerations are properly assessed before a decision is reached," the company said.
"We remain confident in the strength of our application, which has been shaped by extensive consultation and detailed environmental and technical assessment."
But the proposals have proved particularly controversial in the local area, with campaigners previously saying the development would harm an 11km (7-mile) rural corridor.
On Wednesday's further delay, the group Stop Botley West said the government was allowing PVDP "even more time to do its homework and answer longstanding challenges".
This, it said, was an "abuse of what should be a strict and fair planning process".
"We know that hundreds of Oxfordshire residents are angered and frustrated by the further delay and feel unfairly let down by a planning system that we've been asked to respect," the group said.
Bicester and Woodstock MP Calum Miller, who has been a vocal opponent of the plans, said the latest postponement "crystallises what was already clear: this Botley West application is full of holes and should be rejected outright".
"The new secretary of state should reject this proposal and back renewable energy schemes that deliver genuine community benefit and respect the places where they are built," he added.
The scheme aims to reduce energy costs at Fieldhead Hospital in Wakefield.
The use of solar panels and biofuel is on the rise across the island.
Officials announce the huge illegal waste dump near Kidlington has been fully cleared.
People living near the planned solar farm site in South Yorkshire will get longer to have their say.
The UK government claimes panels could help homes "significantly cut" energy bills.
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The measure also prohibits a range of deceptive conduct, including pretending to be affiliated with a utility or government agency.
Photo Credit: iStock
A broad set of new Texas laws takes effect on September 1, and three of them could be especially noticeable for consumers: stricter oversight of residential solar sellers, expanded repair rights for device owners, and legal-tender status for certain gold and silver bullion.
Together, the measures could shape how Texans buy energy equipment, repair broken electronics, and consider alternative forms of payment.
Starting September 1, companies that sell solar panels in Texas — along with the sales representatives who work for them — must register with the state, according to Lone Star 92.3. Senate Bill 1036 also requires those businesses to carry liability insurance and actively oversee their sales teams.
Some consumer safeguards in that bill are in force. Texans who buy or lease solar equipment must be given 5 days to cancel without penalty, and any financing associated with the transaction must be canceled as well.
Texas will also become the ninth state with a right-to-repair law under House Bill 2963. Makers of certain digital electronic devices must offer owners and independent repair shops the same specialty tools, parts, and manuals that authorized repair providers have access to.
House Bill 1056 also gives qualifying gold and silver bullion legal-tender status in Texas, although private businesses and individuals still are not required to accept bullion as payment.
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The solar rules target a fast-growing industry that has also drawn complaints about aggressive sales tactics and confusing contracts.
When devices can be repaired rather than replaced, consumers can save money and keep usable electronics out of landfills. That can also reduce demand for the raw materials and energy needed to manufacture brand-new products.
Not every product is covered by the repair law. Exemptions include gaming consoles, home appliances, motor vehicles, farm equipment, medical devices, and industrial or aerospace technology.
The law also does not require manufacturers to disclose trade secrets or source code, nor do they have to provide tools that would weaken security protections.
For bullion to qualify, it must plainly list its weight and purity, and it cannot include markings that resemble federal minting.
Beginning May 1, 2027, the Texas comptroller may create or approve electronic payment systems for vendors and account holders using currency backed by precious metals stored in the state vault.
Other Texas laws taking effect on September 1 include limits on local bans on manufactured homes, authority for departments to compensate volunteer firefighters, and a broader list of counties officially designated as border counties.
Overall, the September 1 changes mean stronger protections for solar deals, more opportunities to repair electronics rather than replace them, and a legal shift in how certain gold and silver bullion can be used in Texas.
These new consumer laws land amid bigger debates over home energy and how Texas steers its power market. The articles here add context on grid reliability and the state’s growing renewable buildout.
• Across ERCOT, batteries and solar help Texas through punishing summer demand spikes.
• After completing a half-billion-dollar project, Ørsted makes massive donation to support Texas grasslands.
They show how consumer protections fit into a much larger Texas energy story. That wider view can help readers judge what the new solar rules may mean in practice.
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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Located in the municipality of Eurajoki in the Satakunta region on Finland’s west coast, the solar farm is built, owned and operated by Alight and adds new renewable electricity generation to the grid under a long-term virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) with Autoliv. For Autoliv, the agreement supports its transition to renewable electricity in the EMEA region, strengthens long-term energy resilience, and contributes to the company’s ambition to achieve carbon-neutral own operations by 2030.
The project is the first commissioned in Alight’s rapidly growing Finnish portfolio. Alight’s solar and storage pipeline in the country already exceeds 1 GW, and the Eurajoki park alone adds 12 percent to Finland’s entire utility-scale solar capacity, which stood at 842 MWp across 45 parks at the end of June 2026, according to Renewables Finland.
The facility is expected to generate around 100 GWh of renewable electricity annually, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 20,000 households. It is connected to the Finnish electricity system through Caruna’s network via a shared substation.
“Today’s inauguration is an important milestone for Alight in Finland and a strong example of what long-term partnerships can achieve” said Warren Campbell, CEO at Alight. “Together with Autoliv, we have brought one of Finland’s largest solar parks into operation, adding new renewable electricity to the grid and helping demonstrate the role solar can play in the Finnish energy system.”
Long-term corporate PPAs such as this one are becoming an increasingly common route for businesses to secure predictable energy costs while helping bring new renewable capacity to the grid. For Autoliv, the agreement is part of a broader, global climate strategy across its operations.
“At Autoliv, sustainability is integrated into everything we do” added Kaisa Tarna-Mani, Vice President Sustainability at Autoliv. “We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our operations while continuing to deliver world-class safety products to our customers. By supporting the development of new renewable electricity generation through this PPA, we are taking another important step toward achieving carbon neutrality in our own operations by 2030, and at the same time strengthening the resilience a of our energy supply.”
The Eurajoki Solar Park is made up of two distinct sites, brought together as a single energy asset and linked to a shared substation. The two-site design has allowed the project’s environmental protection measures to be tailored to local conditions at each location. One site’s biodiversity plan includes habitat restoration and improved wetland edges, while a new pond has been created at the other site to support the surrounding ecosystem.
The inauguration brought together representatives from Alight, Autoliv, politicians, local stakeholders, grid partners, financiers and project partners to mark the park’s entry into operation. The project was made possible through 46 million euros of senior debt from banks ABN AMRO and SEB.
For additional information:
Alight
Autoliv

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For many Europeans, this summer’s heat was a powerful reminder of the damage climate change has wrought — from illness and devastated crops to high energy bills. For Andrew Austin, a 34-year-old homeowner in Shropshire, England, the stubbornly high temperatures were a chance to make some money.
Power demand was rising as London crossed 34 degrees Celsius on June 24. Energy prices spiked as the sun set and solar panels across the U.K. stopped generating electricity. That’s when Austin knew he could take advantage of his 200 kilowatt-hour home battery, which he had charged up using cheap power from the grid during the daytime. He sold the power back to the grid for £60 ($82) from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. In just a few hours, Austin had earned about as much as an apartment dweller would typically pay for electricity every month.

All this happened without Austin having to press a single button. He has set up a computer to conduct this energy trading while he goes about his life as normal. The computer downloads electricity prices for every 30-minute period from his utility Octopus Energy, which publishes them at 4 p.m. each day. That allows him to know when electricity will be cheap to charge his batteries, and when power prices on the grid are high, the computer sells it back to the grid.
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