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An international research team led by the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG) has conducted an extensive review of all PV-related fires requiring firefighter intervention across the UK, Italy, Slovenia and Sweden and have found the diversity in results depends mostly on the respective reporting methodology.
“The harmonization of parameters and their terminology required in the reports that are filled by the firefighters after incidents would be extremely beneficial when thinking about cross-country comparisons,” corresponding author Nik Rus told pv magazine. “This would enable a much better comparison and also point out where the lacking safety levels might require prompter interventions.”
“Any regulations, building codes or fire safety requirements should definitely be data-based, especially given recent conflicting reports in the PV field,” he went on to say. “For instance, some safety components shut-off switches, which are theoretically designed and installed to improve the safety of PV systems, have, over the years, become one of the more common causes of failures that then evolve into ignition sources capable of leading to a fire. Such solutions not only harm the systems in which they are installed, but also distort the perception of broader efforts to improve the safety of PV systems.”
The study presents fire occurrence data across the four countries, with a detailed analysis of the Swedish dataset to identify ignition sources, fire development, and resulting consequences. “These data can serve as a foundation for risk analysis and risk management concerning rooftop PV systems, as well as provide general guidance for the fire safety of PV systems in general,” the scientists said.
They also explained they worked on national datasets that differ considerably in their definitions of PV-related fires. Italy and the UK primarily include incidents involving PV modules, whereas Slovenia and Sweden apply a broader definition that covers all PV system components, including cables and inverters. In order to bring clarity, the research team defined a PV-related fire as any incident involving a PV system component, regardless of whether the system initiated the fire or was affected after ignition elsewhere.
The Italian dataset, covering 2015–2024, shows an increasing number of reported incidents but cannot definitively determine fire origin. Most cases are classified as electrical or of undetermined cause, demonstrating the limitations of operational fire statistics for forensic analysis. Slovenian data became available after the introduction of a dedicated PV fire category in 2023, while Swedish data were further analysed through expert review to identify ignition sources and classify fire consequences.
The Swedish dataset provides detailed insight into damage severity, ranging from PV equipment damage to complete building fire involvement. UK statistics are based on keyword searches and may underestimate the true number of PV-related incidents due to narrower reporting criteria, the scientists said.
The analysis shows an overall increase in reported fires across all countries. When normalized by installed capacity or number of installations, the countries show comparable orders of magnitude, with Sweden and Italy displaying similar trends, the UK slightly lower values, and Slovenia higher values due to its broader reporting criteria.
Furthermore, the research team found that the Swedish dataset enabled a more detailed analysis of fire occurrence according to system size, ignition sources, and fire consequences. Fire frequency was found to vary considerably with system capacity, indicating that smaller systems generally have lower fire occurrence rates per installation but represent a substantial share of total incidents due to their large number. Larger systems showed higher variability because fewer installations result in greater statistical uncertainty.
Analysis of ignition sources in Sweden showed that DC cables and connectors were the most common origin of PV-related fires, accounting for approximately one-quarter of incidents. Other frequent ignition sources included DC switches and AC-side electrical central units. In contrast, PV modules and converters were less frequently identified as ignition sources, although annual variations remain significant due to the limited number of incidents.
The analysis also demonstrated that the consequences of PV-related fires were generally limited in severity. In Sweden, approximately two-thirds of incidents resulted only in damage to PV equipment, either indoors or outdoors. More severe events involving fire spread to adjacent surfaces accounted for around one-quarter of cases, while only a small proportion resulted in extensive building damage or total building loss. Most severe cases involved agricultural buildings or unoccupied structures rather than residential buildings.
“It should not be a surprise that some fires remain confined to the ignition source, others spread to nearby areas, and only some grow large enough to cause extensive damage,” Rus explained. “Our ongoing research examines the parameters that influence the early stages of fire development, assessing how the system limits or enables flame spread beyond the area of the ignition source.”
Overall, the findings demonstrate that PV-related fires remain relatively infrequent, but improved harmonised data collection and detailed analysis of ignition mechanisms are essential for effective risk management and future fire safety strategies.
“The reported numbers of fires per GW of installed capacity of PV systems range from about 5 to 13 annual fires for Italy, 7 to 19 annual fires per GW in Sweden, 2 to 4 fires per GW in the UK, and about 35 to 40 fires per GW in Slovenia,” the academics emphasized. “The numbers for annual fires per 100,000 systems are below 5 for the UK, between 14 and 24 in Italy, between 11 and 31 in Sweden, and about 80 in Slovenia.”
Their findings were presented in the study “Fire Incidents Involving Photovoltaic Systems – An Analysis of Different National Statistics,” published in the Fire Safety Journal. The research team included scientists from Sweden’s Bengt Dahlgren Fire Research, the Italian National Fire Brigade, and the University of Primorska in Slovenia.
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Roughly two-thirds of incidents were limited to PV equipment, while about one-quarter extended to nearby surfaces.
Photo Credit: Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute
Solar-panel fires have drawn attention across Europe, but a new multinational review suggests the picture is less alarming than some headlines imply.
Across the four-country review, fires involving photovoltaic systems were still uncommon overall. When incidents did occur, DC-side cables and connectors showed up frequently as ignition points, and cases involving the most extensive damage were unusual.
According to PV Magazine, a research group led by the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, or ZAG, analyzed firefighter-attended photovoltaic-related fires in the United Kingdom, Italy, Slovenia, and Sweden. Incidents rose across all four countries, but differing national systems for defining and recording those fires make direct comparisons difficult.
In the study’s approach, a fire was counted as PV-related if any solar-system component was involved, including situations where the equipment was damaged by a fire that started somewhere else. Countries also vary in what they include in their records, with some tracking only module-related cases and others counting cables, inverters, and additional hardware.
Nik Rus, the study’s corresponding author and a researcher with ZAG, told PV Magazine, “The harmonization of parameters and their terminology required in the reports that are filled by the firefighters after incidents would be extremely beneficial when thinking about cross-country comparisons.”
Sweden supplied the most detailed breakdown in the review. Its data showed that about one-quarter of PV-related fires involved DC cables and connectors, with DC switches and AC-side electrical central units also appearing often as ignition sources.
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Damage was usually contained. Roughly two-thirds of incidents were limited to PV equipment, while about one-quarter extended to nearby surfaces.
Even as solar capacity keeps growing, the researchers said PV-related fires remain relatively infrequent. Reported annual fires per gigawatt of installed solar ranged from about two to four in the U.K., five to 13 in Italy, and seven to 19 in Sweden.
Solar power can lower electricity bills, reduce planet-warming pollution, and help households rely less on volatile fossil-fuel energy prices. The research suggests the risks are manageable, particularly when systems are properly designed, installed, and monitored.
Rus said, “Any regulations, building codes or fire safety requirements should definitely be data-based, especially given recent conflicting reports in the PV field.”
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Rus also cautioned that some equipment meant to improve safety can create new points of failure. 
“For instance, some safety components shut-off switches, which are theoretically designed and installed to improve the safety of PV systems, have, over the years, become one of the more common causes of failures that then evolve into ignition sources capable of leading to a fire,” Rus said.
The researchers are urging countries to standardize fire-reporting practices so regulators, firefighters, installers, and manufacturers can more clearly see which components fail most often and which hazards need quicker attention. More consistent data could also inform building codes, inspections, and product design.
They also said that examining where fires start and how much damage they cause can improve risk management for rooftop systems. In Sweden, for instance, PV Magazine reported that smaller systems had fewer fires per installation, but because they are so numerous, they still made up a substantial share of incidents.
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The scientists said, per PV Magazine, “These data can serve as a foundation for risk analysis and risk management concerning rooftop PV systems, as well as provide general guidance for the fire safety of PV systems in general.” 
Rus added, “Our ongoing research examines the parameters that influence the early stages of fire development.”
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Source Energy And Fraunhofer Develop Low-Cost Silicon Solar Arrays For Commercial Satellites  SolarQuarter
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A 12-year study has found that a Suffolk solar farm has increased biodiversity by 41%, providing evidence that renewable energy generation and nature recovery can be achieved together through long-term environmental management.
The research, carried out by Suffolk Wildlife Trust in partnership with renewable energy company Cubico and Broxted Estate, monitored wildlife and habitats at Broxted Estate and Solar Farm in Suffolk over more than a decade. The findings suggest that well-designed solar developments can support biodiversity while continuing to generate clean electricity.
Broxted Solar Farm, which began operating in 2013, was one of the UK’s largest solar farms when it opened. Unlike many renewable energy projects, it was designed as part of a wider estate strategy that combined electricity generation with habitat restoration, farming, woodland management and community engagement.
Researchers found that biodiversity across the estate has increased by 41% since 2011, according to a retrospective Biodiversity Net Gain assessment. They attribute the improvement to active habitat management and a landscape-scale approach that integrates conservation alongside renewable energy production.
The report documents a wide range of wildlife benefits. Six Red List and 13 Amber List bird species of conservation concern were recorded in habitats surrounding the solar farm, including the internationally threatened turtle dove. Meadow pipit numbers have more than doubled over the study period, making the site regionally significant for the species despite national declines.
The estate also supports eight bat species, alongside common lizards, water shrews, common toads and pollinator-friendly wildflowers. Sheep grazing remains an important part of managing the grassland beneath and around the solar panels, allowing agricultural use of the land to continue while maintaining wildlife habitats.
However, the researchers say the findings also demonstrate the importance of careful planning. Skylarks, which favour large, uninterrupted areas of open grassland, have disappeared from within the solar farm itself, although they continue to nest in adjacent grasslands that were deliberately retained during the site’s design. The report argues this highlights the need to consider solar developments as part of the wider landscape rather than in isolation.
Since becoming operational, the solar farm has generated more than 350 gigawatt-hours of electricity – enough to meet the annual electricity consumption of around 100,000 UK homes.
The report concludes that the project’s success has depended on collaboration between the landowner, renewable energy operator, conservation organisations and the local community. Researchers argue that the Broxted model demonstrates how future solar developments could contribute simultaneously to tackling the climate, energy and biodiversity crises.
Charles Ryder, owner of Broxted Estate, said: ‘I passionately believe that solar is the energy source of the 21st Century but is best delivered in a way which combines the clear and pressing need for energy with the needs of wildlife and communities too. At Broxted, we have therefore taken a holistic approach, creating an Integrated Strategy. This encompasses not only the solar farm but also the surrounding land and we have now been systematically implementing it for some 14 years.
‘Land use and the rural landscape are constantly evolving to meet Society’s needs and aspirations – Broxted is very much a case in point. The land has always been a source of energy as well as food and solar is the latest variant. But it is so important that this evolution works in harmony with the landscape, the Community and the wider ecology. I hope this report offers some useful guidance towards how this can be best achieved.’
Photo: Andres Siimon
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As the Investment Tax Credit shifts and utility rules evolve, residential solar is undergoing a market reset that moves the value proposition away from financial engineering toward resilience, hardware performance, and energy control, according to Energy Access Innovations chief commercial officer Nicole Tomasin.
pv magazine USA: How did the old way of selling solar overcomplicate things for the average homeowner?
Nicole Tomasin: The old model sold a 25-year financial instrument and called it a home improvement. Homeowners were handed escalator clauses, third-party ownership structures, and a savings projection built on assumptions about utility rates a decade out. The complexity was not an accident. It existed because the sale was optimized for the financing product, not for the person buying it. Then add the sales rep working on a stacked commission, where the payout was often large enough to eat the very savings the equipment was supposed to deliver. The homeowner wanted reliable power and a bill they understood. We gave them a contract they needed a spreadsheet to evaluate and a salesperson whose incentive ran against theirs. Simplify the question back to what it always was, which is who controls your power and what does it cost, and most of that complexity turns out to be sales machinery, not value.
pv magazine USA: Now that incentives are shifting, what does “real value” look like to a customer shopping for solar and storage today?
Tomasin: Storage was always the product. The battery is what gives the homeowner independence, protection from whatever the utility decides to change or do next, and savings when they are in a VPP program area where the system can dispatch and earn. That last piece matters, because the grid has not been able to serve as the homeowner’s battery for quite some time now, and much of the sales force still has not caught up to that. They are selling net metering as though it is permanent while utilities are actively rewriting the terms. Real value now is the integrated system, inverter, battery, software, and a clean install, doing the work the grid no longer reliably does: holding power through an outage, managing what you draw at peak, and earning where the programs exist. Value moved from a subsidy on the purchase to performance the homeowner can see every day.
pv magazine USA: Are you seeing homeowners shift their mindset from “How much money will this save me on day one?” to “How do I keep my lights on when the grid goes down?”
Tomasin: Homeowners have been asking that question for quite some time. It is the industry that has been slow to catch up. Energy independence is what actually sells storage in this country, and the savings, while real, are the second sentence now, not the first. What changed is not the homeowner’s instinct but the evidence behind it. People have sat through enough outages, watched enough rate volatility, and read enough about strained infrastructure to stop treating reliable power as a given. When the question is “will my house work when the grid does not,” you are no longer selling a payback period. You are selling control. That is a more durable reason to buy, and it does not evaporate when an incentive changes.
pv magazine USA: Is a market contraction actually a good thing for the long-term health of the solar industry?
Tomasin: Yes. The ITC made parts of this industry lazy. A decade of subsidy-driven demand let companies survive that had no durable business underneath the credit, and a business that only works when the incentive works was never really a business. A contraction clears those out.
What is left are the companies that can win on product, on installer economics, and on real value to the homeowner, which is exactly what a healthy market should reward. Contractions are painful and they are honest. The industry that comes out the other side is built on demand that exists with or without a subsidy, and that is a far stronger foundation than the one we are leaving behind.
This October 20-22, Nicole Tomasin will be a featured panelist for pv magazine USA Week 2026, our annual live webinar event. Stay tuned for a full list of expert speakers and industry leaders as we discuss solar manufacturing, the evolution of distributed solar and storage, grid-scale solutions, AI data centers, and more!

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Very disingenuous. This is a company that is over the moon about Trump tariffs. Tariffs are a subsidy. They are government intervention picking winners and losers and they distort the market. Consumers lose and she happens to win so of course she’s happy.
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It comes as the government considers changes to make rooftop solar more accessible, and legalising plug-in solar panels.
The Science Media Centre asked six experts about benefits and limitations of solar in NZ. Read on for the full quotes, and feel free to use these comments in your reporting. 
Is solar the silver bullet of energy? 
“In short, no. But it an important element in our mix of generation technologies towards carbon neutrality for our nation and the world. The main advantage of solar is investment costs. It is an affordable option for many populations around the world, costing anywhere from a few dollars to million dollar investments. Hence it is popular and will continue to be popular as new solar generation technologies emerge. Compared to other technologies that need detailed planning, residential solar only needs a solid roof that is north facing (in NZ).
“The falling costs of solar panels and related technologies will generate a lot of opportunities; a situation we see in NZ with several large solar farms being installed. For our smaller Pacific neighbours, solar provides a carbon friendly and cheaper (?) option where, historically, fossil fuels are the main source of energy. Solar can be easily scaled too; from using a small solar panel to charge our phones to large farms that run the airports.
“However, the limitations are many. No generation after the sun sets and less generation when cloudy. It is this intermittency that demands incorporation of other technologies such as batteries, hydro power, nuclear/ thermal power and other non-intermittent technologies into our power systems.
“Lately, the world’s transmission grids are also facing several challenges due to inclusion of large scale solar and wind in their networks. Examples are outages in USA, Ireland, and Spain/Portugal over the last year. With tremendous interest on large scale solar lately, usage of arable land for the purpose has become an issue.
“So solar is a star batsman in cricket who says ‘I only bat between sunrise and sunset’. To win, we need the whole team.”
What factors could determine whether solar becomes widely adopted in NZ?
“Unlike many countries, New Zealand already generates most of its electricity from renewable sources, largely hydro and geothermal. This means solar is not replacing large amounts of coal-fired generation in the way it does elsewhere. Instead, Solar’s value increasingly comes from:
“So for wide adoption in NZ, there needs to be:
“Using the cricket analogy, the question is not “Is solar a good batsman?” but rather “Will New Zealand select it in the playing XI?”
Which innovations are most likely to make a practical difference for NZ over the next decade or so?
“Each innovation in the following areas will make practical difference for NZ:
What does plug-in solar power mean for NZ households?
“This is one of the more interesting developments in NZ energy because it potentially changes who can participate in solar, not just how much solar gets installed.
“Non-solar installed household renters, apartment dwellers and households who are not interested in investing in roof-top solar can benefit from this development. Is it worth it? Possibly, but it is important to consider some issues:
What is one aspect of solar energy in NZ you think is overlooked or misunderstood?
“That ”New Zealand isn’t sunny enough”. New Zealand isn’t Australia, but it’s far from a poor solar country. Wellington receives 2,094 hours of sunshine, Auckland receives over 2,100 sunshine hours a year, while Nelson and Blenheim receive around 2,500. That’s significantly more sunshine than many European countries that have built world-leading solar industries.
“Solar performance depends not only on sunshine hours but also on the intensity of sunlight. Commercial reports note that New Zealand receives approximately 4 kWh/m²/day of solar energy on average, making it a viable solar market.
“NZ has:
“So, solar panels can perform surprisingly well even when total sunshine hours are lower than in parts of Australia.”
Is solar the silver bullet of energy?
“Nothing is a silver bullet, but solar will likely form the backbone of future electricity systems. It’s abundant, clean, deployable almost anywhere, and is now one of the cheapest ways to generate electricity in history.
“The limitation is obvious—there’s no solar at night. But for a country like New Zealand, that pairs well with our hydro lakes, which can act like giant batteries by storing water while the sun does the work. As home batteries get cheaper and the grid gets smarter, many of solar’s current limitations will shrink.”
What factors could determine whether solar becomes widely adopted in NZ? 
“The technology is already here—the real question is how fast we choose to embrace it. New Zealand is falling behind Australia, where more than 35% of homes have rooftop solar compared with around 4% here. That’s partly because Australia has more sunshine, but more importantly because of strong government incentives.
“The biggest factors are cost, policy and how easy it is to install. Falling solar costs, rising power prices and better financing are making solar increasingly attractive, but the upfront cost—typically around $10,000-$15,000—remains the biggest barrier. For most households, the biggest return comes from using your own power, not selling it back to the grid.”
Which innovations are most likely to make a practical difference for NZ over the next decade or so?
“The next decade will be exciting. Perovskites—new printable solar cells—and tandem solar cells could deliver cheaper, higher-efficiency panels that generate more power from the same roof.
“For consumers though, the bigger near-term shift will come from storage. Affordable batteries let households move cheap midday solar into the expensive evening peak, solving one of solar’s biggest weaknesses. Smarter grids and electricity pricing will make that even more valuable.”
What does plug-in solar power mean for NZ households? 
“While not legal yet, the Ministry for Regulation has recently recommended legalising plug-in solar. Once allowed—with the right legislation, safety standards and approved inverters—it could be a genuine step forward, as countries like Germany, and increasingly the UK, have shown have already shown. It lowers the upfront cost and opens solar to renters and apartment dwellers who have traditionally missed out.
“A typical unit won’t power an entire home, but it could offset around 7–15% of a household’s daily electricity use. That’s a modest but worthwhile saving and a simple way for more New Zealanders to start generating their own electricity.”
What is one aspect of solar energy in NZ you think is overlooked or misunderstood?
“The biggest misconception is that because New Zealand’s electricity is already around 82–85% renewable, we don’t need more solar. The opposite is true. As we electrify transport, heating and industry, we’ll need much more electricity, and solar is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to build it.
“The flip side, worth being honest about, is that solar’s biggest benefit in New Zealand is often economic rather than carbon. Because our grid is already highly renewable, a panel displaces less coal than say one in Australia. Its biggest payoff is lower power bills, greater energy security and helping meet our growing electricity demand.”
Conflict of interest statement: “I declare no conflicts of interest”
Is solar the silver bullet of energy? 
“We need a symphony of renewables and storage. Solar, like wind, is a variable resource. Without backup at the point of generation, or elsewhere in the grid, it typically can’t meet the demand.”
What factors could determine whether solar becomes widely adopted in NZ? 
“We need to enable prosumers to participate more actively in the electricity market. They need to be able sell electricity at reasonable prices, preferably at the wholesale market price, so they can earn a decent revenue.”
Which innovations are most likely to make a practical difference for NZ over the next decade or so?
“The solar tech is mature. There will be efficiency improvements, but it won’t be major. The real innovation is around storage – thermal, flywheels, electrochemical (batteries). As they become more affordable it will strengthen solar to supply electricity when it is needed.”
What does plug-in solar power mean for NZ households?
“It means you don’t need to install it, which is really good for rentals, as you can take it with you when you change your address. But I question the real value. The generated electricity will seldom meet the household demand, especially the morning and evening peaks.”
What is one aspect of solar energy in NZ you think is overlooked or misunderstood?
“It should not be considered in isolation.”
Conflict of interest statement: “I have no conflict of interest.”
Is solar the silver bullet of energy?
“Solar represents the lowest cost new generation opportunity, and the only practical generation that scales to the household level. It is safe, reliable, quiet, long-lasting, and has minimal ecological impact. Across NZ we see adoption by grid-scale enterprises, businesses and households.
“However, it is an intermittent energy source that depends on sunshine, so it is not well matched to the demand profile in NZ that is dominated by winter heating. The recent cold snap is a great illustration, with record electricity demand causing generation stress between 7.30-8.30am and 6-7.30pm – when no solar was contributing.
“Solar alone won’t be the silver bullet for our increasing electrification load, it needs to be backed by energy storage, such as batteries. It also needs to be scaled to cover our winter peaks, which will mean an oversupply in summer – but this could present new opportunities for energy intensive summer activities.”
What factors could determine whether solar becomes widely adopted in NZ?
“Electricity supply is a complex balancing act of generation and demand. As a nation we are facing increasing electricity demand through electrification of transport and the move away from coal and gas. At the same time, new generation options really only consist of solar, wind, and geothermal. Both wind and solar are intermittent, depending on sunshine and wind.
“At the moment, as more solar comes online, we face an oversupply on sunny summer days, and don’t fix our shortage on cold dark winter mornings. Oversupply drives down the value of generation, which in turn will throttle investment. Energy storage, such as batteries, pumped hydro, or thermal-electric, will unlock the continued investment. As could market settings to favour using our intermittent energy over stored hydro energy when the sun shines. Regulation changes to encourage and better use home batteries would also be an advantage.”
Which innovations are most likely to make a practical difference for NZ over the next decade or so?
“Without a doubt the biggest innovations will be in energy storage. Being able to store energy through cloudy moments, overnight, and between seasons will allow us to even out electricity supply from intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind to cover our highest demand peaks.
“Batteries are currently too expensive for systemic uptake, and have unsolved environmental concerns, but it is certain new battery innovations will solve these issues. Other promising innovations exist with NZ innovators investigating concepts such as thermal-electric storage, which heats sand or bricks when, for example, the sun shines, and then uses the stored heat for creating steam or hot water for industry processes later. Large scale storage, such as pumped hydro (‘NZ Battery Project’), could also contribute to interseasonal stability.”
What does plug-in solar power mean for NZ households? 
“Plug-in solar is not yet legal in NZ. This has been hugely successful internationally, particularly in Germany, allowing renters to offset their energy use without requiring their landlords to invest. Plug-in solar will not significantly offset electricity bills due to the limited amount of electricity they generate, but for low-income families it will certainly be a meaningful contributor.
“However, while proven safe in other jurisdictions, the NZ and German home wiring systems are very different. Plug-in solar feeds power into the house behind the overload protection systems, and in older NZ homes with retrofitted insulation, it is possible that the additional power injected behind the protection could overheat the wiring and even present a fire risk. There is also some evidence that it could ‘blind’ the electrocution protection as well. We are currently doing some tests on this.”
What is one aspect of solar energy in NZ you think is overlooked or misunderstood?
“Solar is very sensitive to even the slightest shading. The rooftop panels you see are actually made up of a series of smaller cells connected in a string. And the panels themselves are also connected in together in a long string. If we use the water-in-a-hose model of electricity flow, even the shadow of a TV antenna or a small branch on just one panel is like standing on the hose – the flow drops dramatically over the whole system.”
Conflict of interest statement: “Hamish has no conflict of interest in producing these responses.”
Is solar the silver bullet of energy? 
“Solar is not a single solution to all energy problems. However, the big potential and opportunities are real.
(1) Solar energy is free once the system is installed. It works in a much wider range of locations than some other energy sources, e.g., wind, since you just need reasonable sun exposure.
(2) The maintenance is relatively low, compared to other generation technologies, and it suits distributed generation well, e.g., household and businesses can generate their own power rather than fully relying on the main power grid.
(3) Environmentally friendly. Solar system has no emissions.
“Limitation:
(1) The biggest issue with solar power system is intermittency. Solar systems can only generate electricity when the sun is out, and that brings mismatch between the peak generation (mid-day) and demand peaks (usually morning and evening).
(2) There are also seasonal and latitude variations in NZ. NZ spans a large range of latitudes, so the irradiation is totally different from North to south, which cause significant solar system performance difference by region.”
What factors could determine whether solar becomes widely adopted in NZ?
“Policy and electricity price will be the key factors that could determine that, since the electricity price determines the payback and policy shapes the rules people decide. The regulatory framework is still unclear at this point, especially around how the distributed generation, like how household solar can feed back into the grid, will be compensated. This uncertainty makes it harder for people to make the decision.
“Other practical factors include things like the rooftop orientation, the strength of the mounting infrastructure for individual installations, also broader factors like installer availability and access to finance support at a wider market level.”
Which innovations are most likely to make a practical difference for NZ over the next decade or so?
“NZ is quite unique and special. We have already got around 90% of our electricity from renewables, mostly hydro and geothermal. So the core question in NZ is not how to decarbonise electricity, it is more about how to meet growing demand without falling back on fossil fuels for the gap.
“One possible innovation is floating photovoltaic systems where the panels are installed on the existing reservoirs behind hydro dams. These hydro-floating systems can reduce evaporation from the reservoir, which can actually help the hydro system reserve more water, especially during the dry seasons or dry year.
“Apart from the technical aspects, government financial support will be most likely to matter, and with the right support NZ could reach a similar market share to Australia’s.”
What does plug-in solar power mean for NZ households? 
“Plug-in solar power refers to small-scale, portable photovoltaic devices that can be connected directly into a household’s existing wiring. In NZ, the residential electricity price is relatively high, so the users of such plug-in solar power can get benefit from reducing electricity bills.
“Whether it is worth depends on the user’s electricity usage. For household with high electricity usage, I would say it is worth to have one such plug-in solar power. When buying these devices, people should check the regulation and confirm it is allowed to be plugged in and to feed electricity into the household circuit or grid.
“Also, site irradiation also matters: if the installation location doesn’t get enough irradiation, the electricity output will be low.
“Finally, the buyers should also check their physical mounting and supporting hardware for the panels is robust enough for outdoor conditions.”
What is one aspect of solar energy in NZ you think is overlooked or misunderstood?
“Solar is not automatically the best solution for every household. This is overlooked by some consumers. It depends on your using time, electricity usage pattern and sometimes storage cost.
“Payback years are usually based on high self-consumption, using most of what the PV panels generate during the day. If you use little power during the daytime, selling the generated electricity back to grid at a low rate and buying it during the evening peak with a high rate, the payback takes longer. A storage system can fix that, but it will also increase the upfront cost.”
Conflict of interest statement: No conflict of interested declared.
Is solar the silver bullet of energy? 
“It’s not a silver bullet, but for the New Zealand energy mix, it is the most obvious and fastest way to provide lower cost, more resilient power and it works particularly well alongside our hydro generation (especially in a dry year). Rooftop solar is the lowest cost energy most households and businesses can get, including the upfront cost and interest. It also helps lock-in lower costs for the long term as you pay today’s prices for 30 years of power from your roof.
“The biggest opportunities are bill reduction, resilience and speed of deployment. Australia’s biggest power plant is 3.2GW, yet their total rooftop solar is around 30GW. We are a long way behind, but the same will be true here eventually and the biggest power plants of the future will be owned by our communities.
“Historic weather analysis shows the sun shines more than enough to significantly lower bills and provide extraordinary service to our energy system. One short-term limitation is the workforce required to scale solar up, but we should be looking at this as a huge job creation opportunity at a time of high unemployment.”
What factors could determine whether solar becomes widely adopted in NZ? 
“‘Not everyone can afford solar’ is a common refrain, but this misses the forest for the trees. Technically, everyone can afford solar because it will create savings – the problem is that not everyone can access those savings due to the high upfront cost.
“When new power poles in your street need to be built, it costs hundreds of thousands and that money will be charged to your bill in increments each year over the life of the asset. The energy system was designed to make paying for big investments on consumer bills simple, but the regulation has not kept pace with technology.
“Our Electric Homes and Vehicles research shows that if you could buy solar in the same way and finance it over the long-term it would save about $1,000 per year net for an average home. That means your bills would drop by $1,000 rather than increase while also paying off the asset. Subsidies are not necessary because the economics stack up so well, but subsidies do speed adoption up, as we’ve seen in Australia with solar and now batteries.
“There are some who say the grid won’t be able to handle it, but New Zealand is at around 3% adoption while Australia is at over 40% (and in some areas it’s over 80%, so these issues have already been addressed next door. ”
Which innovations are most likely to make a practical difference for NZ over the next decade or so?
“As solar drops in price, it becomes economic in more places. For example, today it’s at a point where even if it’s in the shade for half the day or even mounted along a fence it can still produce electricity cheaper than most people can buy it from the grid. So as the technology improves, it just increases the amount of feasible homes and buildings where it’s an economic win. Even today, a roof does not need to face north for solar to be economic.
“Alongside this, falling battery prices will make solar and battery combos far more common, as we are already starting to see, and batteries are to electricity as refrigeration was to food. Around 50% of systems in New Zealand now also have a battery installed and Australia installed over 1GW of home batteries in one month alone. For context, that is equal in output power to New Zealand’s largest power plant (Huntly).”
What does plug-in solar power mean for NZ households? 
“Plug-in solar systems are quite small and won’t be able to run high draw appliances, but they will be great for renters and apartment owners and some estimates suggest they could reduce grid electricity consumption by up to 20%. One of the biggest things with plug-in solar is it gives people a simple pathway to have some agency in their energy future – and it could be a gateway drug to more electrification.
“Bigger savings are available with a full sized rooftop system but plug-in solar and plug-in batteries will be a quick and easy way for people to lower bills and increase resilience and it will enable far more dinner table conversations about energy, which is a great thing. ”
What is one aspect of solar energy in NZ you think is overlooked or misunderstood?
“How often the sun shines is often overlooked. The free nuclear fusion reactor in the sky is a pretty reliable power plant. People mistakenly believe the sun doesn’t shine enough to help in winter, for example, or that it would help with our dry year. That is flat out not true. You can do the historic weather analysis to show this and it’s quite rare to have many days in a row without sunshine.
“New Zealand already has over a month of energy storage and as far as we know there’s never been a month without sunshine. There’s a lot of nuance to energy system design, but it’s safe to say the positive energy system ramifications of solar are often overlooked by companies with an interest in overlooking them and regulators and officials continue to underestimate the popularity of solar (as well as batteries and EVs). In that same respect, what’s overlooked is that solar and battery systems give households and businesses independence and agency in the power system.”;
Conflict of interest statement: “Rewiring Aotearoa is an independent charity working on energy, climate and electrification research, advocacy and education. The New Zealand-based team consists of energy, policy, communications and community outreach experts and it is funded by New Zealand-based philanthropists including Sir Stephen Tindall and Urs Hölzle. While we are selling the achievable dream of a more secure, resilient, productive, affordable and renewable energy system, we do not financially benefit from sales of solar, EVs or any of the electric technologies we advocate for.”

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Spain: Balancing openness, risk management and industrial strategy in dealing with China’s technological rise  Real Instituto Elcano
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Involving communities throughout the development of a floating PV park is key to securing local project support, according to new research.
Researchers Carel Dieperink and Henriëtte Tulp, from the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, developed an analytical framework to compare the social acceptance of three Dutch floating PV projects. Their findings are presented in the paper, Turning rejection into reflection: Exploring factors influencing community acceptance of floating solar photovoltaic systems in the Netherlands, available in the journal Energy Policy.
The three floating PV projects included in the research, named Beilen, Deest and Tynaarlo and located in the municipalities Druten, Midden-Drenthe and Tynaarlo, were selected from a group of the the ten largest floating PV parks in the Netherlands.
Each of the three projects are situated on former sand extraction lakes, are between 15-30 MW in capacity and are situated at similar distances from residential areas with broadly similar socio-demographic characteristics, the research paper says.
While the Beilen project received strong public support, the Deest project saw strong opposition and the Tynaarlo site received a neutral response, allowing for Dieperink and Tulp to compare how acceptance differs across contexts while controlling for key project characteristics.
Tulp told pv magazine that across all three case studies, a combination of factors including visual impact, landscape context, perceived environmental impacts, trust in developers and authorities, opportunities for local involvement and tangible community benefits all played an important role in the level of community acceptance for floating PV projects.
“Although the same factors were consistently considered important across all three case studies, community acceptance differed because these concerns were addressed differently in each project.” Tulp explained.
She added that local residents were actively involved throughout the process and had opportunities for co-ownership in in Beilen while residents felt insufficiently involved and were concerned about the loss of recreational value in Deest, suggesting that the quality of community engagement can be as important for project success as factors such as environmental assessments.
“Our findings suggest that successful floating PV projects depend not only on good technical design, but also on meaningful engagement with local communities,” Tulp told pv magazine. “Social acceptance should therefore be considered an integral part of project development rather than something that is addressed once opposition emerges.”
Tulp recommended involving local communities from the earliest stages of project development, before major decisions have been made, to ensure social acceptance of floating PV projects.
“People are generally more willing to support projects when they feel their concerns are genuinely heard and when they have opportunities to influence the process,” she explained. “It is also important to communicate transparently about both the benefits and the potential impacts of floating PV projects. Open communication helps build trust and reduces uncertainty.”
Encouraging or requiring developers to demonstrate how local companies have been involved throughout the planning processes and how local concerns have been incorporated into project design could help to incentivize this further, Tulp said. 
This would require policymakers to look at how subsidy schemes are designed: “While financial incentives are essential for accelerating renewable energy deployment, subsidy programmes should also allow sufficient time for high-quality community engagement,” Tulp explained. “Otherwise, they may unintentionally encourage rushed, top-down decision-making, ultimately undermining the social acceptance needed for successful implementation.”
Projects should also look to create tangible local benefits, such as community investment opportunities or other forms of local value sharing, Tulp continued, with the research indicating that projects are more likely to gain acceptance when local communities experience clear benefits alongside the broader climate benefits.
Developers should also carefully consider site selection, Tulp added, particularly in regards to the visual integration of projects into the landscape and the potential effects on recreation and nature.
“These issues were consistently important across all three case studies,” Tulp told pv magazine. “This also means looking beyond formal land-use classifications. A site may appear suitable on paper, but local communities may experience it very differently.”
Policymakers should also recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for floating PV, Tulp said.
“Every project is embedded in a unique local context, so policies should create room for meaningful dialogue and locally tailored approaches rather than relying on standardised engagement procedures,” she explained.
A 96 MW floating solar array, set to be one of Europe’s largest once operational, is under development in Rotterdam. The array will not feed energy to the grid, instead serving local businesses. 
The latest round of the Netherlands’ subsidies for large-scale renewable energy projects, announced earlier this month, included support for three floating PV projects with a combined capacity of 58 MW.
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Australia’s Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the country’s small-scale renewable energy scheme (SRES) will be expanded from 100 kW to 1 MW, saying it will address the “missing middle” in Australia’s energy transition.
“The missing middle is mid-scale solar,” the minister said in a statement. “One in three Australian homes have rooftop solar, but larger energy users have been locked out because the existing solar rebate only supports systems up to 100 kW. “
“We’re fixing that by expanding support to systems up to 1 MW, unlocking the potential of commercial rooftops and helping businesses cut power bills, invest in growth and create jobs.” 
Australia stands out as a global leader in rooftop solar adoption, with panels now installed on about 40% of homes. Data from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) shows about 22 GW of residential solar has been installed across the country but businesses have only installed about 5.6 GW.
Bowen said installing systems on commercial and industrial (C&I) and agricultural rooftops could add an extra 80 GW in solar energy.
“That’s an opportunity we should miss no longer,” he said.
Under the changes, new installations and expansions of existing systems up to 1 MW will be eligible for upfront, deemed certificates rather than the progressively priced large-scale generation certificates that currently apply to systems above 100 kW. Eligible systems are also expected to retain a five-year deeming rate through to 31 December 2030, rather than facing the annual step-down that applies to smaller systems as the scheme winds down.
The expanded SRES is expected to commence from 1 October 2026, subject to the necessary regulations being in place. 
The changes are expected to reduce the installation costs of a solar system for C&I and agricultural rooftops by about 20% with government estimates suggesting a discount of about AUD 68,000 ($48,000) when installing a 250 kW solar system or about AUD 230,000 on an 850 kW system.
Bowen said he will also call on also ask the Australian Energy Market Commision to ensure network providers approve C&I solar more quickly.
Smart Energy Council policy head Rob Potter welcomed the expansion of the SRES, saying it will ease investment risk and accelerate deployment.
“Over 10 million Australians have slashed their power bills with solar, now it’s businesses turn to do the same,” he said.
“This is how we power up all those untapped acres of rooftops without solar.”
The announcement comes as new modelling by Victoria-based research firm Nexa Advisory estimates that C&I consumer energy resources, including rooftop solar and batteries, could deliver up to AUD 39.7 billion in gross energy-system benefits every year. This comprises approximately AUD 39.2 billion in annual wholesale market benefits and AUD 500 million in annual network peak-reduction value.
Nexa Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Bashir said the benefits would extend well beyond the businesses installing the equipment.
“Unblocking investment in commercial and industrial solar and batteries would benefit every energy consumer, not just the businesses installing them,” she said. “Our modelling shows that a AUD 2 billion government subsidy could reap up to AUD 39.7 billion in gross system benefits every year, including lower wholesale electricity prices and reduced pressure on the grid.”
Nexa’s analysis identifies the technical potential for 63.3 GW of C&I rooftop solar and 28.7 GW of battery capacity across Australia.
Under the central modelling assumptions, a 30% subsidy on the upfront cost of C&I batteries, costing approximately AUD 2 billion, combined with better tariffs and market access, could support the uptake of 29 GW of rooftop solar and 8.7 GWh of battery storage across the National Electricity Market (NEM).
“Commercial and industrial energy remains the missing middle of Australia’s transition,” Bashir said. “These projects can be delivered quickly, on existing buildings, and close to where electricity is consumed. That means more clean energy and flexible capacity without waiting for every major generation and transmission project to be completed.”
The modelled C&I solar and battery portfolio would also reduce grid-supplied electricity by 35.31 TWh annually and cut emissions by an estimated 21.88 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.
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Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) and US company Source Energy have collaborated on a new line of silicon photovoltaic modules for space satellite applications, designed to significantly reduce the costs of energy generation in space.
The technology seeks to offer an alternative to traditional solar cells based on Group III-V semiconductors, which are currently used in space applications due to their high efficiency and radiation resistance but have high manufacturing costs and limited availability. These factors hinder the expansion of commercial missions, especially for satellites in low Earth orbit.
According to Fraunhofer ISE, the new modules use conventional silicon solar cells interconnected through shingle-matrix technology, which allows for the manufacture of cheaper panels without compromising the robustness required by the space environment. The process is fully automated and uses equipment developed by German company M10 Solar Equipment GmbH. It has been installed at Source Energy’s factory in the state of Colorado since June.
Bryan Mazor, Source Energy’s Chief Technology Officer, says the company can produce the modules for less than $5/W, in addition to reducing the delivery time to less than six months after the order, a performance considered significantly superior to that of solutions based on III-V materials.
In shingle-matrix technology, solar cells are cut into narrow strips and partially overlapped, forming a matrix similar to a bricklaying pattern. Electrical connections are made with a conductive adhesive applied at low temperature.
According to Fraunhofer ISE project manager Najwa Abdel Latif, this architecture offers three main advantages for space applications: greater resistance to localized damage caused by micrometeorites or space debris, flexibility for different electrical configurations and greater tolerance to the intense temperature variations found in orbit.
If part of the module is damaged, the matrix configuration allows the electrical current to automatically bypass the affected region, reducing generation losses. The number of rows and columns of cells can be adjusted according to the voltage and current requirements of each satellite.
Another advantage highlighted by the researchers is the technology’s compatibility with different types of wafer-based silicon cells, including PERC and heterojunction (HJT), without requiring changes to the production line. The low-temperature interconnection process could also be used in the future with perovskite-silicon tandem cells.
The prototypes developed have dimensions of 321 mm × 209 mm, an area of ​​629 cm², and weigh 64 grams.
The modules exhibited an average power output of 15.6 W, reaching 16.1 W in the best specimens, with an average efficiency of 18.8% under AM0 conditions at 25 °C, a standard used to characterize devices intended for the space environment.
The specific power output reached 252 W/kg, a performance considered competitive among silicon-based space modules.
The modules underwent a series of space qualification tests conducted by Source Energy, including tests to withstand the large thermal variations encountered in orbit. The results indicate that the modules remain within the qualification criteria for space applications and should retain approximately 76% of their original power after seven years of operation in space.
Achim Kraft, Fraunhofer ISE’s head of the Photovoltaic Module Technologies department, said the initiative demonstrates that technologies widely used in the ground-based photovoltaic industry can contribute to reducing the costs of energy generation in commercial satellites.
“Together with Source Energy, we developed silicon solar modules for space applications similar to those already successfully and cost-effectively used in terrestrial applications,” Kraft said.
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⚡ Quick Read
The landscape for India solar tender issuance experienced a cooling period in the second quarter of 2026, with total capacity reaching 5.4 GW. This represents a 5.7% decrease from the 5.7 GW recorded in the previous quarter and a significant 21.5% drop from the 6.8 GW issued in Q2 2025. This contraction is largely attributed to evolving procurement strategies among distribution companies (DISCOMs), which are increasingly prioritizing renewable energy solutions that align more closely with their specific demand profiles rather than generic capacity additions.
Despite the slowdown in tender issuance, the regulatory and manufacturing landscape remains active. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has expanded the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) by 11,964 MW, bringing the cumulative module manufacturing capacity under ALMM to 215,522 MW. Furthermore, the MNRE provided critical clarifications regarding the applicability of ALMM List II for various solar project categories.
In infrastructure news, the Power Finance Corporation has successfully auctioned the inter-state transmission system for the Ananthapuram-III PS Renewable Energy Zone Phase-I, which carries a capacity of 3 GW. Additionally, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana continues to gain momentum, having supported rooftop installations for over 5 million households and reaching a cumulative 14.8 GW of commissioned capacity since February 2024.
For EPC contractors and developers, the market is shifting toward more specialized project requirements. While large-scale tender volumes have dipped, the rise in time-of-day tariffs and the expansion of distributed solar markets offer new opportunities in peak-shaving and energy storage integration. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s recent decision to restore 105.84 MW of interstate transmission connectivity grants provides a positive signal for developers facing regulatory hurdles. However, companies must remain agile as DISCOMs shift their focus toward demand-aligned procurement.
The industry is now looking toward the upcoming bidding deadlines, including the SECI collaboration partner tender due September 7, 2026, and the NTPC O&M tender for the 25 MW floating solar project at Simhadri. As India’s energy consumption continues to climb—evidenced by a 10.9% year-over-year increase in July 2026—the renewable energy sector remains the backbone of the country’s power strategy. Stakeholders should monitor further ALMM updates and the impact of rising electricity prices on the Day-Ahead Market to gauge future investment trends.
Aditya Pathre is the Founder of MVApulse and covers India’s renewable energy sector, including solar, wind, battery energy storage systems (BESS), green hydrogen, transmission infrastructure, renewable energy policy and competitive bidding. His reporting focuses on project developments, market trends, government policies and energy transition across India.
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US electric company Southern Power has started commercial operations at the 180MW second phase of its Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell County, Texas.
The second phase is marginally smaller than the first phase of the project—which stands at 200MW—and was announced by Southern Power in 2024 following its acquisition of the Millers Branch project from EDF Renewables. The successful completion of construction work and start of commercial operations at the second phase is in line with Southern Power’s initial timeline for the project, and the phase is notable for the multi-party offtake deal that has been signed to acquire renewable energy credits generated by the project.
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Southern Power has signed a series of virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) with seven buyers for the project’s output. These include Cisco (which will acquire certificates generated by a 50MW portion of the project); Juniper Networks (40MW), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Cadence and IDEXX Laboratories (20MW); and PTC (10MW). A further unnamed “large healthcare company” was also identified as offtaker for the remaining 20MW of capacity.
This multi-buyer approach was coordinated by the Sustainability Roundtable, a US-based platform that aims to facilitate such deals through its ‘Net Zero Consortium for Buyers’ (NZCB) structure. Southern Power has already signed an offtake agreement for the third phase of the Millers Branch project, with a capacity of 132MW, which also uses the NZCB structure, with Synopsys and Keysight signing VPPAs for the project’s output.
Sustainability Roundtable notes that its NZCB structure has facilitated deals for 1GW of renewable energy capacity and plans to add another gigawatt of capacity in the coming years.
The news follows a number of advancements in the massive Texas solar PV sector, including the completion of construction work at a phase of Origis Energy’s 2GW solar-plus-storage project in the state, and the signing of a plethora of more conventional PPAs. Among the offtakers are tech giants Tesla, Meta and Microsoft.

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India’s rooftop solar program has supported over 5 million households with rooftop solar installations, while cumulative rooftop solar capacity commissioned under the scheme has reached 14.8 GW, according to the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The milestone has been reached just over two years after the scheme’s launch. For comparison, around 794,000 rooftop solar installations were installed in the preceding decade.
The government scheme, known as PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, is India’s flagship residential rooftop solar program. Implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the scheme is backed by funding of INR 750.21 billion ($8.6 billion).
MNRE says the program is adding around 100,000 households every six days, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing clean energy initiatives. The pace of installations has increased 3.2-fold over the past nine months, rising from 5,038 installations per day in October 2025 to nearly 16,328 per day in July 2026.
July 2026 recorded the highest monthly rooftop solar deployment under the scheme to date, with 506,000 households installing rooftop PV systems.
The ministry said it has disbursed INR 280.24 billion in subsidies directly to beneficiaries through India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system. It added that nearly 1.9 million households are now reporting zero electricity bills.
More than 1.2 million households earned a combined INR 4.21 billion from the sale of surplus electricity during the 2024-25 financial year, equivalent to additional annual income of around INR 3,500 per household from exporting electricity to the grid.
The scheme has also supported the growth of a nationwide rooftop solar ecosystem, with 34,219 registered vendors, including 29,469 active installers operating across the country. More than 232,000 people have received training through capacity-building programs supporting the rooftop solar value chain.
The program operates through a fully digital, end-to-end platform, enabling consumers to complete the entire process, from application to subsidy disbursement, online without physical paperwork or visits to government offices.
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⚡ Quick Read
India’s renewable energy transition has achieved remarkable scale, with installed solar capacity poised for significant growth by June 2026. However, this progress is shadowed by a critical strategic vulnerability: an over-reliance on imported technology. While the nation is successfully reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, it has inadvertently traded one form of dependency for another. Approximately 80% of the equipment utilized in typical solar installations remains imported, with supply chains frequently tracing back to China, even when sourced through third-party nations.
The challenge is multifaceted, spanning both solar photovoltaics and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). In the solar sector, over 90% of modules deployed in India utilize crystalline silicon technology. The manufacturing process involves four distinct stages: polysilicon production, ingot and wafer manufacturing, solar cell fabrication, and module assembly. While India has made strides in module assembly, the technologically intensive upstream stages—specifically wafer and cell production—remain largely absent from the domestic industrial base.
China currently dominates the global landscape, controlling over 80% of wafer manufacturing capacity and a significant share of module production. Recent trade data indicates that while imports of finished modules have declined due to domestic assembly growth, India has merely shifted its dependence upstream. Manufacturers are increasingly importing solar cells to assemble modules locally, often sourcing from Vietnam or Malaysia, which themselves rely on Chinese-origin wafers and investment. This creates a facade of diversification without true supply chain independence.
For EPC contractors and solar developers, this landscape necessitates a more sophisticated approach to procurement. The reliance on imported components exposes projects to global price volatility and geopolitical trade risks. As the government enforces measures like the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) and the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), developers must navigate a complex regulatory environment that prioritizes domestic content. EPCs must now account for potential supply chain bottlenecks and the shifting cost structures associated with transitioning from imported finished goods to domestically assembled, yet upstream-dependent, products.
The next phase of India’s energy transition will be defined by industrial depth rather than mere capacity additions. As BESS becomes essential for managing the intermittency of solar power, the government is likely to push for similar localization in battery cell manufacturing to avoid repeating the solar supply chain errors. For the broader India renewable energy sector, the goal is to build a self-sustaining ecosystem that can support the ambitious 2030 targets while insulating the domestic market from global supply chain shocks.
Aditya Pathre is the Founder of MVApulse and covers India’s renewable energy sector, including solar, wind, battery energy storage systems (BESS), green hydrogen, transmission infrastructure, renewable energy policy and competitive bidding. His reporting focuses on project developments, market trends, government policies and energy transition across India.
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Shannen Ace
Published: August 5, 2026
Universal Orlando Resort is introducing the same solar-powered trash cans and recycling bins as Walt Disney World. Disney began installing the bins in June and will continue to roll them out across the parks.
At Universal Orlando Resort, we noticed the bins in CityWalk. They all feature the CityWalk logo on purple decals with neon artwork. This pair of a trash can and recycling bin were on the bridge outside Universal Islands of Adventure.
The bins have built-in solar panels on their curved tops. These power internal trash compactors. The bins can be opened by hand or with a foot pedal — but this has proven confusing for Disney guests.
Universal might just need to release their own instructional video for how to use the cans. We saw a discarded cup sitting on the ground next to one trash can.
Most of the new cans are on the bridges connecting CityWalk to Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.
How do you feel about the solar-powered trash cans? Let us know on social media.
For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.
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Home – Energy – Scientists heard birds calling from under a floating solar farm in the Netherlands, and what is nesting beneath the panels changes how they get built
Solar panels are supposed to be quiet. Yet at Bomhofsplas, a large floating solar farm near the Dutch city of Zwolle, researchers heard birds and ducks beneath the array, suggesting that the sheltered space may be used for resting or even nesting. Below the waterline, another community was taking shape.
A monitoring program carried out from 2020 through 2023 found 431 fish and 1,951 invertebrates using 20 artificial underwater habitats known as “Biohuts.” The finding does not prove that every floating solar plant helps nature. It does show that careful engineering can make an energy project function as habitat as well as infrastructure.
The bird observation came during a 2021 water-quality study at the site. Researchers saw birds on the platforms and between the modules, then occasionally heard birds and ducks beneath the floating structure. They wrote that this suggested the animals were using the protected space to rest and build nests, although the team did not report directly inspecting or confirming nests.
That is not entirely good news, though. The same researchers found heavy bird droppings on the section closest to open water and warned that the waste could reduce panel efficiency and add nutrients to the lake after rain, which led the operator to test an ultrasonic deterrent in that area.
The stronger ecological evidence came from the water. Ecocean installed 20 Biohuts in three zones of the solar park and monitored them during three surveys between 2020 and 2023. These cage-like structures are designed as artificial nurseries where young fish can hide while microorganisms and invertebrates colonize the surfaces.
Across the monitoring campaigns, the team recorded 2,382 individual animals. That total included 431 fish and 1,951 invertebrates, with common perch, cyprinids, a tubenose goby, gammarids, freshwater snails, zebra mussels, and freshwater sponges among the organisms observed.
Those numbers matter because the smallest residents help support everything above them in the food web. Daphnia, gammarids, and other tiny animals become prey for fish and larger species, while the Biohuts give juveniles cover in parts of the lake that otherwise offer little protection. By 2023, Ecocean said the number of species may have been approaching a peak.
Bomhofsplas is not a pristine natural lake. It is a former sand-extraction pit, which made it a more suitable testing ground than a sensitive wetland or protected water body. The floating installation covers about 45 acres, contains roughly 73,000 panels, and has a rated capacity of 27.4 megawatts peak, enough to supply the equivalent of about 8,000 homes.
Design choices appear central to the result. The array is anchored to the lakebed instead of the shore, reducing disturbance around the banks, while spaces in the structure allow some wind, water movement, and sunlight to pass through. In practical terms, the project did not simply place a dark lid over the lake.
Floating solar can also reduce evaporation by shading the water. The water may help moderate panel temperatures and improve output, although the size of that benefit varies with weather, module design, and airflow. That is useful during sticky summer heat, but it is not a guaranteed performance boost everywhere.
For the 2021 study, researchers placed sensors beneath the array and at a reference point in open water, then used an underwater drone to examine conditions at different depths. They found broadly similar values for key water-quality measures and reported no major differences in temperature or dissolved oxygen. Underwater images also showed biofouling and small bivalves colonizing the floating blocks within months.
Still, the authors were careful about the limits. Their work was an initial screening at one artificial sandpit using one particular floating design, not a complete ecological verdict on all lakes. They also said longer monitoring, biological measurements, chemical analysis, and data collected before construction would be needed to understand the full impact.
The question is becoming more important as floating solar expands. An International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme review reported that global installed floating-PV capacity reached 7.7 gigawatts by the end of 2023, up from just over 1.6 gigawatts at the end of 2018. But the same review said limited long-term data and the absence of mature regulatory frameworks still create uncertainty.
Bomhofsplas offers a practical lesson for developers. Habitat features, spacing, mooring, light penetration, and ecological monitoring cannot be treated as decorative extras added after construction. At the end of the day, what the project suggests is simple. The environmental outcome depends to a large extent on how the system is built and where it is placed.
The sound of birds beneath the panels is intriguing, but the measured fish and invertebrate counts are the firmer evidence. For now, Bomhofsplas is best understood as an encouraging case study, not proof that covering water with solar panels is automatically harmless.
The project findings were published by Ecocean.

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The government of Thailand is looking to officially register certified solar installers and PV equipment ahead of plans to accelerate the rollout of rooftop systems across the country.
Thailand’s Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) are now accepting registrations for vendors and equipment used in solar panel installations. 
In order to complete registration, vendors must meet qualifications and standards set by the electricity authorities, while equipment must be certified according to international standards such as IEC and Thai Industrial Standards. The registration process will be open until September 30.
According to a press briefing published by the Thai government, the registration forms part of preparations for expanding solar rooftop installations for the general public.
Last month, Thailand’s Finance Minister, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, revealed the government is preparing a two-phase THB 200 billion ($6 billion) energy transition program, with the first phase targeting rooftop solar deployment.
In the latest update, Lalida Periswiwatana, Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, said the government is still implementing measures to support the cost of rooftop solar installations. The measures will be funded under an emergency decree authorizing the Ministry of Finance to borrow money to address the impact of the energy crisis. 
Periswiwatana added that the goal of the first phase of the measures is to enable 500,000 households to install solar rooftops. She also shared that all operators, engineers, installers and equipment registered by the government must prove they can deliver a high-quality, safe, efficient solar system with a lifespan of at least 20 years.
MEA and PEA will jointly oversee the standards for service providers, installation and after-sales service once the program kicks off.
“The government believes that upgrading the standards for solar rooftop installations will build public confidence, reduce electricity costs, support the use of clean energy and enhance the country’s long-term energy security.” the government’s latest statement adds.
The registration represents Thailand’s latest move to ensure the high quality of solar installations as the buildout of rooftop solar continues. In May, the country’s Office of the Consumer Protection Board opened an investigation into substandard solar system installations following reports of faulty equipment, including signs of melting and burning.
Last month, Thailand’s National Energy Policy Council approved measures to open its clean-electricity market to greater competition.
According to reporting from Reuters, the plans include expanding direct renewable power purchase agreements to allow businesses to purchase clean electricity from producers via third-party grid access. Energy ⁠Minister Akanat Promphan added that the measures also feature a community solar plan, first unveiled late last year, which is aiming to add up to 1.5 GW of capacity through small ground-mounted projects. 
Thailand’s cumulative solar capacity reached 6,842 MW at the end of 2025, according to figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), compared to 3,388 MW at the end of 2024.
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Home – Tech – Irish farmers are fighting a $1.14 billion data center: the solar farm would swallow prime tillage land
A coalition of 40 residents has asked Ireland’s national planning body to overturn approval for a roughly $1.14 billion data center and energy complex on 600 acres near Rochfortbridge in County Westmeath.
The appeal puts a difficult question at the center of Ireland’s digital expansion. Can a project be considered sustainable when its power plan includes solar generation but its physical footprint removes productive farmland and worries nearby families about wells and flooding?
Westmeath County Council approved Red Admiral DC Limited’s plans on June 2, 2026, subject to 32 conditions. Ten valid third-party appeals have since moved the proposal to An Coimisiún Pleanála, which currently lists Oct. 27, 2026, as the target decision date.
The dispute is now about much more than electricity, testing how Ireland weighs technology investment against land, water, emissions, and trust in rural communities.
The plan calls for six two-story data center buildings on a roughly 96-acre campus about 1.2 miles southwest of Rochfortbridge. An adjoining decentralized energy resource would cover about 474 acres and combine a solar farm, battery storage, solid-oxide fuel cells, and a connection to the nearby 220-kilovolt grid substation.
At 250 megawatts, the proposed data center is a major industrial load, not a warehouse with a few server rooms. Lumcloon Energy, which owns Red Admiral, says the energy system is designed to generate, store, and manage electricity close to the campus while tracking its demand.
The company wants the site to carry more of its own power burden instead of leaning on the national grid.
That design is the project’s strongest environmental argument. It is also why the appeal matters. Solar panels and batteries may improve the energy profile, but they do not answer every question about where the complex is built.
The joint appeal from 40 local residents argues that prime agricultural land would be lost while farms and homes could face pressure from construction, drainage changes, traffic, noise, lighting, and visual intrusion. Residents have also raised concerns about private wells and flooding in a landscape where everyday life depends on reliable ground and surface water.
Willie Carey, a local cattle farmer, described a community strained by the proposal. “People who have grown up together are no longer speaking,” he said. That is not an environmental measurement, but it matters because large infrastructure projects often lose public confidence where technical plans meet daily life.
For the appellants, the issue is not whether solar power is useful. It is whether a renewable component justifies converting land they describe as high-quality tillage ground. A server campus can be redesigned, but once a rural landscape is industrialized, turning the clock back is much harder.
One council condition requires Red Admiral to show that electricity used by the development will be matched by new renewable generation through a corporate power purchase agreement. The council framed that condition as being “in the interests of climate action and sustainable development.”
But matching power over a reporting period is not necessarily the same as running on solar electricity every hour. Data centers operate around the clock, while solar output rises and falls with daylight and weather.
That is why batteries, fuel cells, grid imports, and the exact accounting rules behind the power agreement will be central to understanding the real environmental outcome.
The applicant has estimated that the campus could produce about 543,000 U.S. tons of carbon dioxide per year. The official appeal record also says part of the project will require an Industrial Emissions License from Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency, making emissions oversight a separate process from planning permission.
The broader national numbers explain why this one site has attracted so much attention. Ireland’s Central Statistics Office reported that data centers used 23% of all metered electricity in 2025, up from 5% in 2015. Their consumption reached 7,663 gigawatt-hours and rose 10% in one year, while use by all other customers increased 2%.
That does not mean every new data center should be rejected. These facilities support cloud computing, banking, health services, remote work, and the wider digital economy. But Ireland’s own policy says grid constraints and decarbonization require planners to consider location, additional renewable supply, flexibility, employment, and community benefits.
Red Admiral’s approach tries to answer that challenge by placing generation and storage beside the servers. The trouble is that energy independence on paper does not automatically settle land use, biodiversity, water, or local acceptance. Those are different ledgers, and planners now have to read all of them.
Westmeath County Council would receive about $9.4 million in public infrastructure contributions plus a special levy of roughly $330,000. One set of application documents projected an annual economic dividend of about $133.5 million and roughly 440 operational jobs, giving the development a strong regional investment argument.
But the distribution of benefits is part of the controversy. Tax revenue, data capacity, and wider investment may be spread across the county or the national economy, while the most immediate risks fall on neighboring farms and homes. Who carries the cost when the upside and downside land in different places?
Lumcloon says it conducted “extensive consultation with the local community” and changed the project design and solar boundaries in response to feedback. The company also says it will continue engaging with residents and other stakeholders through the development process.
An Coimisiún Pleanála will now review the appeals alongside the Environmental Impact Assessment Report. Its current case record lists 10 third-party appellants and says a decision is due by Oct. 27, 2026, although planning timetables can change.
The test is not whether the project is good or bad. It is whether its renewable and economic promises are specific, enforceable, and large enough to outweigh the permanent change to a 600-acre rural site. For families living beside it, details about wells, drainage, noise, lighting, and construction traffic will matter just as much as megawatts and investment totals.
This is the kind of case Ireland will face more often as digital demand grows. A solar farm can lower a data center’s power impact, but it cannot make land, water, and community concerns disappear.
The case record was published by An Coimisiún Pleanála.

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Alpha Colour boosts resilience with solar install  Printweek
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Eskom Green eyes solar energy, battery storage next  News24
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IEEFA Report Highlights Rooftop Solar as Key Driver of Distributed Energy Growth Across Australia, India and Bangladesh  solarquarter.com
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A standard residential solar installation in Ireland typically runs between €3,500 and €6,000, after grants and VAT savings. For a household already stretched, that’s too much, even with a five- to seven-year payback on paper.
Imagine you wanted to buy a house but couldn’t afford the deposit. You wouldn’t just give up on having a home, you’d rent instead. In a lease-to-own model, over time those rent payments build toward something real. Eventually, the key turns and the house is yours. Apply that same thinking to solar panels and it could genuinely change how Ireland powers itself. So why isn’t it catching on here?
Ireland’s solar journey is a good news story. By the end of 2025, we had passed 2GW of installed solar capacity, with over 1GW of that coming from rooftops on more than 170,000 homes, farms, sports clubs and businesses. 
By May 2025, solar was supplying 6.5% of the country’s electricity. About 370,000 Irish homes have solar panels. The numbers are heading in the right direction.
Even with all of that, Ireland is wasting up to €2.7m worth of renewable energy every single night — an estimated €450m a year — because the grid doesn’t have the storage to capture it. And at the very same time, more than 550,000 Irish households are living with the effects of energy poverty. Those two facts shouldn’t be able to exist side by side. Yet here we are.
The people who need cheaper energy most are the people least able to afford the upfront cost of generating their own. 
A standard residential solar installation in Ireland typically runs between €3,500 and €6,000, after grants and VAT savings. For a household already stretched, that’s too much, even with a five- to seven-year payback on paper.
This is where the lease-to-own model, also called ‘solar as a service’, comes in. It’s a bit like a phone contract — nobody pays €1,000 upfront for a smartphone any more. You pay a manageable monthly fee, you use the phone from day one, and eventually it’s yours outright. Solar can work exactly the same way.

MySolar is already offering this in Ireland: zero upfront cost, a fixed monthly fee from as little as €29.50, guaranteed performance for up to 10 years, and full ownership at the end of the term. No loan. No grant paperwork headache. No gamble on where electricity prices go next. 
On the commercial side, Pinergy has launched a €30m fund letting businesses access solar with no capital outlay at all, simply buying the electricity it produces at a fixed agreed rate. Power-purchase agreements, where a third party installs, owns and maintains the system and sells the power back at a discount, have been standard for large corporates and pharma for years. 
The lease-to-own model works
The model works. It’s just been stubbornly slow reaching the people who need it most: homeowners, renters in managed buildings, SMEs and communities.

This works at scale in the UK already. The UK’s Solar Together scheme, a group buying and financing initiative run in partnership between local councils and iChoosr, has helped more than 191,000 homeowners across the UK install solar PV and battery systems since 2015, through more than 200 council-backed schemes. It works because the council does the heavy lifting on trust and negotiation, and the household just has to say yes. 
The UK generated 14.43 billion kWh of solar electricity in 2025 alone, and renewables overtook fossil fuels for the first time to supply 37% of UK electricity.
Germany has done this too, and it didn’t lean on grants alone. Germany’s Solarpaket 1 legislation, passed in 2024, made storage systems easier to operate and connect to the grid, while a temporary 0% VAT rate on home solar and battery systems, running through the end of 2026, cut the cost of going solar overnight without a single grant application. 
That one creative fiscal move has helped drive more than five million solar arrays installed countrywide. It’s a reminder grants are only one tool in the box, and often the slowest, most bureaucratic one. 
What Ireland is missing is a funded, policy backed pathway that makes ‘solar-as-a-service’ the default offer for households who can’t afford ownership today.
Bundling a battery into a solar lease is still the exception in Ireland rather than the rule, largely because storage remains the most expensive part of the system and insurance and planning treatment of batteries is still a grey area. 
But the direction of travel is unmistakable. Global battery storage costs fell 27% year-on-year to a record low of $78 per megawatt hour in 2025, with BloombergNEF forecasting a further 25% drop by 2035. 
Solar panel and battery prices already fell 22% and 25% respectively between 2020 and 2025. Lithium iron phosphate batteries — safer, longer-lasting and increasingly the standard choice for home storage — are expected to dominate the residential market through 2026. 
Second-life EV batteries offer a genuinely circular and lower cost storage route that Irish innovators like Second Life Battery Services are already piloting. As battery costs keep falling and second-life supply grows from Ireland’s expanding EV fleet, bundling storage into a lease-to-own solar package will stop being a premium add-on and start being the standard offer. That will make the whole proposition far more attractive for exactly the households this piece is arguing for.

This matters well beyond the electricity bill. Energy security, climate resilience and social equity are the same conversation. When Ireland can generate the renewable electricity and then wastes it for want of storage infrastructure, while still subsidising fossil fuels instead of redirecting that money to low-income solar access, we’re failing on all three counts at once.
This isn’t a uniquely Irish problem, but other countries have cracked it. Uruguay, with 3.5 million people, not unlike Ireland in scale, now generates 98% of its electricity from renewable sources. The architect of that transformation, former national energy director Ramón Méndez Galain, put it simply: “The key is not technology; it is institutions. Once the rules are fair and predictable, the system builds itself.” 
The Netherlands reached 3.5 solar panels per person, the highest rate ever recorded anywhere globally, largely by making the rules simple, predictable and financially accessible. 
Research across Europe confirms low-income households respond far more to upfront cost reductions than to promises of future savings. If you want equity in the energy transition, you have to remove the barrier at the door, not just dangle a reward down the corridor. 
A SolarPower Europe study found families in Germany, Italy and Spain could save over €1,000 annually with rooftop solar. The EU’s own Renewable Energy Directive explicitly requires member states to make renewable self-consumption accessible to low-income and vulnerable households.
So why isn’t it taking off in Ireland?
The honest answer is a mix of poor awareness, clunky policy design and plain inertia. The SEAI grant scheme, capped at €1,800 and only available to homeowners in homes built before 2021, is well-intentioned but structurally skewed toward those who can already afford the balance. 

There’s no standalone battery storage grant for residential. Insurance and planning complications around battery installation remain a grey area. Apartment dwellers and renters are largely locked out. 

What’s your view on this issue?
You can tell us here

The community Solar Meitheal model, pioneered by Sustainable Energy Communities around the country, is quietly brilliant, pooling local demand to negotiate competitive quotes and lower costs, but it still requires upfront capital from participants.
The lease-to-own solar model isn’t a silver bullet. But it is a key. And right now it’s sitting in the door, unused.

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Ilikwa 50 MW Solar Facility Begins Commercial Power Supply in South Africa  solarquarter.com
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Solar power was, for the first time, the main source of electricity generation in Portugal, dominating supply in July.
According to data released by Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN (source in Portuguese)), renewable energy sources accounted for 53% of electricity consumption in the seventh month of the year. Photovoltaic generation tops the table with 19%, ahead of hydropower (16%) and wind (13%), as well as biomass (5%).
REN specifies that the peak of solar production in Portugal was reached on 29 June at 13:30, with a record value of around 3,800 megawatts (MW).
Clean energy sources continue to play a dominant role in the country. In the first seven months of 2026 they supplied 68% of consumption,although over this longer period solar photovoltaic (12%) loses ground to hydropower (27%), which tops the ranking, followed by wind (24%). Biomass once again accounted for 5% of electricity generation in the year to date.
In July, both solar (0.89) and wind (0.71) were below their historical average productivity, with indices lower than that of hydropower (1.26).
Non-renewable generation supplied 13% of the electricity system in July, with the remaining 34% imported from Spain.
Electricity consumption rose by 3% last month and was up 3.5% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
From January to July this year, natural gas consumption increased by 4.1%.
Nigeria and the United States remain the main source markets for the natural gas consumed in Portugal, accounting for 53% and 33% of the total respectively.


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Tesla Megapacks are now helping support the Texas grid at Ørsted’s new 250 MW/500 MWh Old 300 battery storage project.
Old 300 Storage in Needville, southwest of Houston, is fully connected to the ERCOT grid. At full output, the battery energy storage system (BESS) can deliver 250 MW of power for two hours.
The Megapacks were built at Tesla’s Megafactory in Lathrop, California, the largest industrial utility-scale BESS factory in the US.
Each Tesla Megapack arrives with battery modules, inverters, thermal management, and controls integrated into one unit. That reduces the amount of equipment that needs to be assembled on-site. Tesla’s current two-hour Megapack configuration provides about 1.9 MW of power and 3.85 MWh of storage per unit.
Megapacks can charge when electricity is plentiful and discharge when the grid needs more power. They can also provide grid services that help manage voltage and frequency – important in Texas, where demand is climbing, and extreme weather can sharply tighten the balance between electricity supply and use.
Old 300 Storage sits next to Ørsted’s 430 MW Old 300 Solar, but the BESS and the solar farm operate independently. The battery isn’t limited to storing electricity generated by the solar farm; it can charge from and discharge to the wider ERCOT grid.
Old 300 Solar has been operating since 2024 and generating enough power annually to serve around 80,000 Texas homes and businesses, according to Ørsted. Together, the solar and battery projects are expected to generate around $110 million in property tax revenue for local schools, infrastructure, and emergency services.
“Battery energy storage has played a large role in providing much-needed power to ERCOT in times of tight supply and demand margins,” said Melissa Peterson, president of Ørsted Americas Onshore.
The project adds another 500 MWh deployment to Tesla’s growing stationary storage business and expands Ørsted’s operating US onshore portfolio to around 6 GW. Tesla says it has more than 58 GWh of industrial storage systems operating in over 65 countries.
Read more: Ørsted’s largest solar farm in the world is now online in Texas
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Home – Energy – A Colorado farm parked 3,000 solar panels over its crops, and the third thing the shade produced was neither food nor power
What if a solar farm did not have to stop being a farm? Outside Longmont, Colorado, Jack’s Solar Garden is showing how the same land can generate electricity while remaining available for crops, habitat and other agricultural uses. It turns a familiar rural argument into a practical question about design.
Across five acres of a 24-acre family farm, 3,276 elevated panels form a 1.2-megawatt community solar project capable of producing enough electricity for more than 300 homes. The larger lesson is business as much as technology. Agrivoltaics can give landowners another source of revenue while helping solar developers answer one of the industry’s hardest questions, which is where all those panels should go.
The panels at Jack’s Solar Garden are mounted at heights of roughly 6 feet and 8 feet, creating space for people, vegetation and some farm activity below. Researchers have used the site to study crops, pasture grass, pollinator habitat and broader ecosystem effects rather than treating the ground as empty space beneath electrical equipment.
The project grew from a real farm problem. When owner Byron Kominek returned to the property in 2016, warmer summers and lower rainfall were making the farm’s traditional grass production less reliable. Instead of choosing between abandoning agriculture and covering the land with a conventional solar array, the family tried to stack both activities on the same acreage.
This is also a community solar project, not an off-grid farm powered only for its own use. Electricity generated on the property enters the local system and is purchased by community customers. In practical terms, the farm produces a crop of electrons alongside its agricultural output.
Agrivoltaics means placing solar infrastructure so agricultural production can continue beneath or between the panels. That sounds simple, but the height, spacing, tracking system and crop choice determine whether the arrangement works. A panel designed only to maximize electricity may create a poor field, while a farm-first layout may sacrifice too much power production.
Research from Colorado State University and Cornell University adds evidence that the shade can be useful in dry landscapes. Using four years of data from a Longmont agrivoltaic site, the team found that partial shade and water collected by the panels could reduce plant stress and improve soil moisture.
During a dry year, overall plant growth rose by about 20% or more compared with open areas, while grasses east of some panels were up to 90% more productive in certain cases.
Those numbers are not a promise for every crop or every season. The study focused on cool-season perennial grasses, and the researchers noted that reduced sunlight can also create trade-offs. Still, Matthew Sturchio said, “With small changes in array design, configuration and management, we may even realize untapped benefits, particularly those related to water use.”
For a farmer, the appeal is easy to understand. Crop income can swing with drought, market prices and weather, while a solar agreement may create a steadier second revenue stream. When the electric bill, irrigation costs and a hot summer all move in the wrong direction, diversification can make the difference between keeping land productive and selling it.
But agrivoltaics costs more than dropping standard panels into a field. Elevated structures, wider rows, grid interconnection, specialized maintenance and room for workers or machinery can all affect the economics. The U.S. Department of Energy has warned that cost, liability, legal and regulatory questions still need answers before the model becomes widely available.
The easiest version may not involve rows of delicate vegetables. Sheep grazing, pasture, pollinator habitat and low-intensity crops often need less machinery and can fit more naturally around solar equipment. Agrivoltaics is not a magic trick, but a land management system whose details decide whether it pays.
Colorado already has 5,687 megawatts of installed solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Solar now represents an estimated 14.18% of the state’s electricity, with enough installed capacity to serve the equivalent of more than 1.2 million homes.
SEIA also projects another 6,039 megawatts of growth over five years, so the pressure to find acceptable sites is unlikely to fade.
State policy is beginning to support the dual-use model. Colorado’s 2023 agrivoltaics law provided $500,000 for project grants, included wildlife consultation and created a property-tax exemption for qualifying equipment. In August 2025, the Colorado Department of Agriculture announced another $300,000 for five agrivoltaic projects, its third funding round.
That matters because rural opposition to solar is often less about the technology than about what communities fear losing. A project that preserves real farming, supports local income and produces electricity has a different footprint from one that simply replaces agricultural activity. The key test is whether farming remains measurable and economically meaningful, not just a label attached to a power project.
Jack’s Solar Garden proves coexistence is possible, but it does not prove every farm should copy the same design. Soil, rainfall, crops, livestock, machinery, grid access and local rules all change the calculation. For the most part, successful projects will be designed around a specific farm rather than built from a standard solar blueprint.
At the end of the day, agrivoltaics tries to make one acre do two jobs, easing pressure on farmland while creating clean power and another source of rural income. Colorado’s experiment matters because it treats the farm as part of the energy system instead of an obstacle standing in its way.
The latest agrivoltaics funding announcement was published by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

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Sedgwick County denies permit for one of two proposed solar farms outside Wichita  Wichita Eagle
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Bangladesh’s rooftop solar capacity is growing faster than other distributed energy resources and might already stand in excess of 1 GW.
New analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) identified 667 MW of rooftop solar capacity across 239 establishments, including groups of companies, compared to government data which reported 418 MW of rooftop solar capacity as of June 2026. As of the same month, Bangladesh’s grid-scale solar and wind capacity was 859 MW.
The analysis did not include hundreds of units with capacity below 150 kW due to poor information availability, but if included, IEEFA estimated Bangladesh’s rooftop solar capacity might already be around 1 GW.
Shafiqul Alam, lead analyst for Bangladesh Energy at IEEFA and one of the reports authors, told pv magazine the latest analysis did not include Solar Home System installations – an off-grid deployment program credited with bringing electricity to 20 million people, according to World Bank data.
Further growth is expected, with IEEFA finding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies holding a 500 MW rooftop solar project pipeline. The Bangladesh government wants to see 5.5 GW of new capacity from rooftop solar by 2030.
There are some obstacles to deployment and the IEEFA report noted a new duty structure has increased the cost of rooftop solar projects in industries from 1% to 17%. The government has reduced import duties for rooftop solar systems, but small projects in rural areas are unlikely to benefit due to stringent conditions that need to be met, IEEFA says.
Given the Bangladesh government’s goal of installing 10,450 MW of renewable energy capacity between 2026 and 2030, relying on rooftop solar to provide more than 50% of new capacity, Alam recommended a full duty waiver to all rooftop solar projects.
Other policy recommendations from IEEFA include taking steps to speed up the net metering connections process. IEEFA found that despite a fixed timeline of 10 to 15 days for approving applications for net metering connections, both rooftop solar and solar irrigation projects have seen delays in obtaining net metering connections.
Net metering has played a role in supporting solar deployment in other markets in South Asia, such as Pakistan, however the policy can bring challenges in markets with existing obligations to pay independent power producers (IPPs). In Pakistan, the energy system has come under financial strain due to fixed capacity payment obligations for IPPs, which are exacerbated by growing net metering payments and more self-consumption on the network.
Alam told pv magazine that Bangladesh’s net metering capacity “is still significantly less” than Pakistan’s, and noted that IEEFA has recommended smart meters for “better predictability and management on the part of utilities.”
IEEFA’s briefing note followed July analysis of the impact higher electricity tariffs in Bangladesh are having on the country’s clean energy transition, which concluded rooftop solar could save industries $0.061/kWh.
The research found levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for rooftop solar hovering around $0.028 to $0.032/kWh, compared to a current daytime grid tariff of $0.094/kWh for industrial offtakers with a sanctioned load of up to 5 MW. Savings would be increased beyond the gap in kWh rate as these users pay 5% value added tax on bills against their grid-based electricity consumption.
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Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
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ContourGlobal expands Chilean portfolio via solar project  enlit.world
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Colombia grants environmental license to the…  BNamericas
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“It has become clear there is a regulatory gap.”
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A brush fire at a Connecticut solar project has had effects that outlasted the emergency response. 
According to pv magazine, state regulators said the episode revealed uncertainty over who can oversee the operation of privately owned solar plants after they are built.
On July 15, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority unanimously issued its final decision on the March 2025 equipment failure and brush fire at East Windsor Solar One.
PURA said Eversource Energy’s maintenance was “reasonable,” but it also directed Eversource and NextEra to complete a power quality study and an equipment inspection at the site. Their plans are due by August 12, 2026, per pv magazine.
Although the blaze was quickly contained, the Broad Brook Fire Department said that when it arrived on March 11, 2025, “crews found a 100 foot by 50 foot area of dried grass and shrubs aligning the fence to the solar field on fire, with the area rapidly spreading due to high winds.”
The incident was also part of a wider pattern of issues. East Windsor first selectman Jason Bowsza told Patch at the time that residents had been complaining about noise from that same area.
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PURA said another complaint about sparking wires was linked to the utility’s recloser rather than NextEra-owned equipment. The agency also said the plant has remained shut down as broader technical questions continue to be reviewed.
For nearby residents who had already raised concerns about noise and technical issues, the seeming lack of accountability is only adding to their frustration.
PURA said it can take action involving Eversource, but it does not have the same direct leverage over the private owner of the plant, according to pv magazine. Vice chairman David Arconti Jr. said NextEra’s position was that the agency “has no authority over the construction of solar facilities and cannot regulate the ongoing operation of solar facilities.”
The East Windsor project, first approved in 2021 and later acquired by NextEra, includes three facilities totaling 4.975 megawatt AC, with 7.59 MW in solar modules, pv magazine reported.
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While solar facilities are important to the cleaner energy transition, if they are operated without regard to safety and the local community, they can spark backlash. 
Fires are high-profile events that can degrade trust in clean energy projects, including solar farms and battery storage. When there is little accountability and oversight, that can build resistance to future projects and put a once-promising installation out of commission.
The order calls for more technical work at the site, including the power quality study and equipment inspection that must be submitted in 2026. PURA also pointed to Eversource’s interconnection agreement as a limited mechanism for affecting certain work at the facility.
But regulators say the broader oversight problem is unresolved, pv magazine documented. Arconti said in the public discussion of the ruling that “it has become clear there is a regulatory gap that would not allow this agency or another agency to properly investigate and issue remedial orders.”
Arconti concluded that “this regulatory gap can be addressed by the legislature.”
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South East Asia Weekly: Sabah Launches RM4,000 Rebate; MPA Installs 1,092 Solar Panels; Aboitiz Starts 239 MWp Solar; SIM Signs 14-Year Solar PPA; Marina South Goes Solar and More…  solarquarter.com
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A news producer at WKOW 27 News, Piersen Maass is a Wisconsin native. Originally from Sun Prairie, she went to UW-La Crosse and majored in communications. After obtaining that bachelor’s degree, she obtained another at UW-Whitewater in film studies.
LODI (WKOW) — The school district of Lodi got to celebrate a new addition to their district recently — solar panel arrays.
The 880-kilowatt project spans all five district buildings and is expected to produce up to 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy each year. That’s equal to 150 homes’ energy use for an entire year.
“This milestone proves what is possible when conservative fiscal planning meets modern energy technology,” said Vince Breunig, District Administrator.
Officials say the project could save the district millions over the next 25 years.
The district was able to secure 650-thousand dollars in one-time incentives — including federal energy tax credits and rebates to pay for the panels.
News Producer

A news producer at WKOW 27 News, Piersen Maass is a Wisconsin native. Originally from Sun Prairie, she went to UW-La Crosse and majored in communications. After obtaining that bachelor’s degree, she obtained another at UW-Whitewater in film studies.
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For people on the road, keeping all your devices charged can be challenging. Unless, of course, you have your own solar panel with you. There are plenty of compact solar panels from reputable manufacturers that you can plug directly into your mobile phones, cameras, fans, or laptops. But if you need a solar panel that can also work with your power tool system, you might want to take a look at Ryobi.
One of the brand’s many backpack-sized offerings, Ryobi now offers two foldable solar panels, one 14-watt ($79) and the other 21-watt ($99). When folded, both models measure 12.25 inches by 6.5 inches, which make them even more compact than a 13-inch MacBook Air. Both options share a lot of core features, such as USB-A and USB-C output ports, compatibility with Ryobi power sources, and multiple usage options. You can either lay them flat on the ground or hang them from something with their built-in loops.
Although they do have a few key differences. First and most obvious is that the 21-Watt model is slightly thicker when folded, since it has three panels instead of two. While it is half a pound heavier than the 14W, the 21W model is more efficient and Ryobi claims it can charge your phone about 30 minutes faster. Both are covered under Ryobi’s 3-Year Limited Warranty.
There aren’t many reviews yet for either unit, but early feedback has been generally positive. For the 14W model, it has a perfect 5-star rating on the Ryobi website, where one owner said that they used it more often than they thought they would. They praised its size and said, “I highly recommend this product to anyone who spends time outdoors!” On Home Depot, it has a slightly lower rating of 4.4 stars from 15 people.
As for the 21W model, it has a slightly higher rating of 4.9 stars from 7 people on the Ryobi website, but it does have a significantly lower rating on Home Depot, wherein it holds 3.8 stars from 43 reviewers. One reviewer noted that it does take some time to charge devices, but also highlighted how it worked for both their personal and professional needs. They said it was a great companion from the beach to the job site.
Another customer on the 14 watt model’s page mentioned that they bought and loved both. Apart from the thickness, they said both worked as expected. While they’re not as powerful as the 60W foldable solar panels, both seem to hit the mark for many users. Apart from charging your small electronic devices regularly, it’s also capable of charging your Ryobi 18V ONE+ power sources.
One popular option that Ryobi lists as compatible is the 18V ONE+ 150W Battery Power Source and Charger Kit. Priced at $129, this kit includes a 150-watt power source and charger, 2Ah battery, and dual-port wall plug. For output, it has a pair of USB-A ports and a 120V outlet, plus an external LED lamp. It’s also a product we’ve previously recommended to level up your fishing game. As of July 2026, more than 170 people have rated it an impressive 4.8 stars on average on the Ryobi website. On the other hand, it holds a 4.6-star average from 870 Home Depot customers.
If you want something that can power larger appliances, Ryobi also notes that it works with the 18V ONE+ 1,800W Power Station Kit. Retailing for $899, it can be quite the investment, but it does include a slew of practical features worth considering, since it can hold up to 8 batteries and even power full-sized fridges and television sets. On the Ryobi website, more than 20 people rated it 4.2 stars. On Home Depot, the unit itself has the same rating but from 260 people.
Both units are compatible with all 18V ONE+ batteries. When not used with the Ryobi solar panels, you can also power them via wall chargers and car adapters. Ryobi also sells different cables at different lengths between 4 inches to 10 inches that you can purchase.

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South East Asia Weekly: Sabah Launches RM4,000 Rebate; MPA Installs 1,092 Solar Panels; Aboitiz Starts 239 MWp Solar; SIM Signs 14-Year Solar PPA; Marina South Goes Solar and More…  SolarQuarter
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Platts to extend Solar PV price assessments in India  spglobal.com
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Daily press, 2026-08-05, 02:00 pm
thyssenkrupp Rasselstein – Germany’s sole manufacturer of tinplate – is constructing a large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic system on its plant grounds. The construction project is being carried out in collaboration with VSB Integrated Energy Solutions GmbH, a subsidiary of the VSB Group, which has been part of TotalEnergies since 2025. The PV plant is part of the comprehensive green power concept for the Andernach site and is being implemented under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). VSB Integrated Energy Solutions is responsible for the construction, financing, and operation of the plant. thyssenkrupp Rasselstein is providing two sites and will purchase 100 percent of the electricity generated for an initial term of 20 years. The solar power generated will help reduce the site’s and its products’ carbon footprint in the future.
“Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026,” said Dr. Thorsten Krenke, CTO of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH, who is one of the signatories to the PPA. “Completion of the PV system is scheduled for mid-2027.” The steel substructure for the approximately 12,000 solar modules will be constructed using thyssenkrupp Steel’s CO₂-reduced bluemint^® Steel with the durable ZM EcoProtect^® Solar coating, which was developed specifically for ground-mounted photovoltaic systems. The PV plant is being built directly on the factory grounds on two previously undeveloped areas and covers 5.2 hectares, which is roughly equivalent to the area of seven soccer fields. With a peak capacity of 8 megawatts, it will generate approximately 8 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. This could supply around 2,000 households with electricity each year. “Our goal was to meet part of our green electricity needs locally. The result is the construction of an on-site PV plant, which demonstrates that this is also possible in an established industrial setting,” said Krenke.
“With the project in Andernach, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein is demonstrating how renewable electricity can be used directly at the plant site. As the implementation partner, we are handling the planning, financing, construction, and operation of the system. In this way, we are creating a reliable on-site solution that contributes to decarbonization and offers long-term planning security,” explains Frederic Wagner, Managing Director of VSB Integrated Energy Solutions GmbH.
The on-site photovoltaic system serves as a model within thyssenkrupp Steel. It represents another step toward a sustainable energy supply. “Green power purchase agreements are a key component of our decarbonization strategy,” says Dennis Becher, Head of Energy Management at thyssenkrupp Steel. “As the Steel Europe business segment, we already cover more than 20 percent of our electricity procurement through Power Purchase Agreements. The new on-site PPA between thyssenkrupp Rasselstein and VSB Integrated Energy Solutions combines local generation and local consumption with long-term price hedging and sustainability – making it another building block in our growing green power portfolio.
About thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH
thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH is one of the world's leading suppliers of high-quality tinplate. At its site in Andernach, Germany – the largest facility of its type worldwide – the company has an annual production capacity of up to 1.5m tons of packaging steel. More than 2,000 employees serve international customers across a wide range of markets – from producers of food and pet food cans to manufacturers of aerosol cans, packaging for paints and coatings or containers for hazardous goods, as well as crown corks and closures. This makes thyssenkrupp Rasselstein the first port of call for experts who know exactly what counts in the packaging industry. With the excellent expertise of its employees and thanks to the high efficiency of its innovative packaging steels, the company finds reliable solutions for the diverse requirements of its customers.
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Business Unit Packaging Steel
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thyssenkrupp Rasselstein and VSB Integrated Energy Solutions sign an on-site Power Purchase Agreement. Dr. Thorsten Krenke, CTO of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH; Frederic Wagner, Managing Director of VSB Integrated Energy Solutions GmbH (from left to right).
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Chatbot nearly botches solar install after calling own recommendation a ‘bad idea’  Yahoo Tech
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Aurora Solar has announced the launch of the Aurora Solar Marketplace, an online platform where U.S. homeowners can get cost and savings estimates for rooftop solar installations and reach out for service on their existing installations. 
After providing details including an address and average electricity bill, homeowners can see estimates of system size in kW, energy storage size in kWh, cost per watt, and estimated savings and payback period. 
During the process, homeowners are offered the option to chat with Aurora’s Sunny AI chatbot or call a phone number to receive live support.
In certain markets, the tool displays the estimated cost of monthly payments for a solar loan or power-purchase agreement (PPA). The tool allows homeowners to adjust the system size to see how it affects the estimated costs and savings. 
Aurora cautions that the online estimates are non-binding and will be confirmed by the installer following a site visit.
“The U.S. needs every electron it can get, and homeowners want to take control of their power instead of just paying more for it,” said Aurora co-founder Chris Hopper in a statement. “With so much solar energy uncollected from rooftops, the Aurora Solar Marketplace empowers people to see what solar and storage means for their own home on their own terms, delivered by the company the industry already relies on to design and price solar.”
The platform joins a group of online solar quote tools like EnergySage, Electrum and SolarReviews, but the Aurora Solar marketplace is unique because solar companies already use the company’s software for design, sales and permitting workflows. 
The company said its software is used by “7 in 10 top U.S. solar contractors,” but it has not disclosed how many of its installer users are participating in the online solar marketplace.
In testing the platform, pv magazine USA found several markets in which one or zero solar companies provided estimates, but also discovered markets in which several installers provide competing quotes. In general the process is straightforward, with only very simple information required to see the initial estimates. 
The news of the launch comes as residential installers continue to look for ways to deliver residential solar to homeowners at lower cost, following the termination of the Section 25D solar tax credit at the end of 2025.
According to the most recent Solar Installed System Cost Analysis, so-called “soft costs” like labor and overhead account for nearly $1.50 per watt of the finished cost of a solar installation, or $11,960 of the $23,592 average cost of an 8 kilowatt benchmark system, with customer acquisition accounting for $3,560 of that portion of the cost. 
The Aurora Solar Marketplace can be found at https://quote.aurorasolar.com/
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Tandem PV Acquires nexTC to Bring Critical Coating Technology In-House  businesswire.com
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Home – Energy – Volkswagen let 40 sheep graze under 31,000 solar panels, and the animals changed how the whole plant produces electricity
Volkswagen has turned part of its Września factory complex in Poland into an unusual test of industrial efficiency. Nearly 100 Wielkopolska sheep now graze beneath more than 31,000 solar panels, maintaining vegetation while an 18.3 megawatt installation supplies electricity to the plant.
The sight is charming, but the business idea is more serious than it first appears. The same roughly 67 acres are being used for power generation, livestock grazing, and scientific research, with biodiversity among the outcomes being examined.
The photovoltaic system is one of the largest on-site industrial solar installations of its kind in Europe, according to Volkswagen Poznań. Built and operated by Quanta Energy, it can cover the factory’s full electricity demand on sunny days and about 25% of that demand across a full year.
The latest figures are higher than those Volkswagen published in January 2025. At that time, the company listed 25,000 modules and 15.2 megawatts at Września, while its July 2026 release lists more than 31,000 panels and 18.3 megawatts.
Then there is the grass. Instead of repeatedly sending mowing equipment through rows of supports, cables, and electrical components, the company is allowing sheep to keep the vegetation under control. In practical terms, that can mean fewer machine movements around sensitive infrastructure and less noise from routine mowing.
This approach is known as agrivoltaics, which combines solar generation with agricultural activity on the same land. It can include crops, pollinator habitat, or livestock, and sheep are particularly practical because they can usually move beneath standard utility-scale panels without major changes to the structures.
That does not mean the animals can be dropped behind a fence and forgotten. Safe solar grazing still requires protected wiring and proper livestock management, while Volkswagen says the flock will remain under the continuous care of breeders. The sheep arrived in late April and are expected to stay until fall.
The animals may also gain something from the arrangement. The panels create shade and shelter during hot weather, and researchers are testing whether that reduces heat stress. Flock owner Justyna Nowak-Gajek said the sheep have adapted well and now graze calmly in smaller groups, behavior she considers a sign that they feel secure.
The sheep are not just natural lawnmowers. Scientists from Poznań University of Life Sciences are studying pasture quality, animal behavior and welfare, soil properties, vegetation, microclimates across different parts of the site, and selected environmental effects such as ammonia emissions.
Dr. Joanna Składanowska-Baryza described it as one of Poland’s first studies of this type on a large-scale solar farm. Her team is examining whether panel shade improves animal comfort and how the installation changes the ecosystem beneath and between the rows.
There is an important distinction here. Volkswagen and the university have reported encouraging observations about how the flock is settling in, but they have not published final scientific results showing that the project has already improved biodiversity or soil quality. The solar farm is a research site, not yet proof of every claimed benefit.
Solar panels may look almost maintenance-free from the road, but vegetation management is a recurring operational task over an installation that can remain in service for 25 years or more. Site upkeep matters for safe access, system performance, and long-term operating costs.
Sheep offer a low-tech response to that problem. They do not replace technicians, sensors, or electrical maintenance, but they may reduce one repetitive landscaping job while keeping the land in agricultural use. That is where the model becomes interesting for manufacturers watching the electric bill as closely as their production targets.
Volkswagen has not published a cost comparison between grazing and mechanical mowing. Without those figures, it would be premature to call the project a guaranteed money saver, and international research shows that savings depend heavily on contracts and site conditions.
Still, reducing equipment use while adding research and agricultural value gives the company more than one possible return from the same piece of land.
The flock belongs to the Wielkopolska breed, developed in the surrounding region and now covered by a genetic resources conservation program. That choice connects the solar project to local farming rather than treating the animals as interchangeable maintenance equipment.
It also makes the arrangement more than a corporate sustainability photo opportunity. Researchers can collect data from a working industrial site, breeders retain responsibility for the animals, and the factory gains a chance to test whether dual-use land management works at commercial scale.
“Modern industry can work in harmony with nature,” Września plant director Marzena Pillich-Grońska said. The line captures Volkswagen’s ambition, but the measurements now underway will determine how much of that promise can be repeated elsewhere.
A flock will not suit every solar installation. Panel height, cable routing, soil conditions, water access, local weather, vegetation, and animal welfare requirements can all decide whether grazing is practical. The arrangement also requires cooperation among the site owner, solar operator, researchers, and livestock managers.
For other companies, the most useful results will be hard numbers. They will want to know how grazing changes maintenance spending, equipment access, energy output, animal welfare, soil condition, biodiversity, and safety over several seasons. A pleasant first summer is encouraging, but industrial decisions need longer records.
Even so, Volkswagen’s experiment makes a sharp point about innovation. The answer to every factory problem is not another robot, algorithm, or autonomous machine. Sometimes the smartest piece of equipment in the field is not a machine at all.
The research update was published by Poznań University of Life Sciences.

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Australian remote and off-grid power specialist Zenith Energy said its hybrid power plants are now consistently achieving renewable energy penetration rates above 80% at mine sites, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and putting to rest any concerns that high-renewable energy systems cannot reliably support energy-intensive industrial operations.
Perth-based Zenith said mining companies are increasingly investing in renewables-based hybrid energy systems as they seek to reduce exposure to diesel costs and logistics, improve energy security and support emissions reduction targets.
Zenith Chief Executive Officer Hamish Moffat said the hybrid power systems are now operating well beyond the pilot stage and achieving levels of renewable integration that exceed many grid-connected industrial operations while maintaining reliable supply in some of the country’s most demanding operating environments.
“These are not demonstration projects or research programs. They are critical industrial operations that require reliable power around the clock,” he said.
“What is significant is that these systems are now consistently achieving very high levels of renewable energy penetration while supporting continuous production in remote environments where there is no interconnected grid to fall back on.”
Zenith, which has more than 1.2 GW of contracted capacity across grid-connected and islanded power systems secured under long-term contracts, said Australian mining company Lynas Rare Earths’ Mount Weld operation in the state’s Goldfields region achieved a 95.7% renewable energy share in the March 2026 quarter.
The hybrid power station, that includes a 7 MW solar farm, a 12 MW / 12 MWh battery energy storage system and a 24 MW wind farm, backed by gas and diesel generation, reduced diesel use by more than 870,000 litres compared with the same period last year.
A 90 MW hybrid power plant at Bellevue Gold’s mine site in the northern Goldfields region delivered a record monthly renewable energy share of 93.8% in February 2026.
Zenith said the site, powered by 27 MW of solar, 24 MW of wind and a 15 MW / 30 MWh battery energy storage system, along with 24 MW of thermal generation, also achieved a record 155 consecutive hours of “engine-off” operations with the facility running entirely on renewable energy.
At Liontown’s Kathleen Valley lithium mining project in the northern Goldfields, a hybrid renewable energy system comprising 16 MW of solar, 30 MW of wind capacity, and a 17 MW / 19 MWh battery energy storage system, delivered an 82% renewable energy share in the six months to the end of June.
Moffat said the operational results challenge lingering perceptions that high-renewable energy systems can not maintain reliable supply for energy-intensive industrial operations in some of the country’s most demanding operating environments.
“The national energy debate is often focused on future targets and long-term pathways. What these operations demonstrate is that high-renewable energy systems are already operating today at commercial scale in some of the most technically demanding conditions in Australia,” he said.
“These sites have no tolerance for instability or interruption. If high-renewable energy systems can perform reliably in remote mining operations, it broadens the discussion around what is technically and commercially achievable across the wider economy.”
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Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
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Perovskite solar manufacturer Wuxi UtmoLight Technology has connected a 6.7 MW rooftop distributed PV project in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, to the grid.
The company said the installation is the world’s largest single commercial perovskite rooftop project to date, using around 15,000 self-manufactured 2.81 m² perovskite modules. Operating under a ‘self-consumption with excess to grid’ model, the project is expected to generate more than 6.56 million kWh of electricity annually.
Beyond rooftop installations, UtmoLight also deployed perovskite modules across 13,240 m² of curtain walls, corridors and other building surfaces within the industrial park. According to the company, the integrated system has achieved an overall energy-saving rate of 86.18%.
Last month, UtmoLight released results from a 172-day field test of its 2.81 m² perovskite modules, installed at a project that was connected to the grid in January 2026 (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
China has released the ‘National 15^th Five-Year Plan for Addressing Climate Change,’ outlining measures to accelerate the development of a new energy system, expand renewable energy deployment and increase green electricity use.
The plan targets a 17% reduction in CO₂ emissions per unit of GDP by 2030 compared with 2025 levels while advancing a dual-control system covering both total carbon emissions and carbon intensity.
It also promotes Green Electricity Certificates (GECs), zero-carbon factories and industrial parks, and renewable energy substitution. In addition, the plan calls for improving carbon footprint management through a national database, product labeling and certification, and closer alignment with international standards.
China’s roadmap targets more than 2.8 TW AC of combined wind and solar capacity by 2030 (see China Targets 2.8 TW AC Solar & Wind In 15th Five-Year Plan).
China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited (Energy China) has commenced full-scale operation of the first phase of its Shapotou livestock-PV-storage project.
The project comprises 400 MW AC (508.13 MW DC) of solar capacity and a 220 MW/880 MWh independent energy storage system (ESS). It also features an integrated monitoring platform coordinating PV generation, energy storage, and synchronous condensers for centralized plant operation.
The project is expected to generate 924 million kWh of electricity annually while supporting livestock grazing beneath the solar arrays, demonstrating the integration of renewable energy generation with pasture development.
Earlier this year, Energy China started construction on a 900 MW solar thermal and PV project in Damxung County, Lhasa, Tibet (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
TCL Solar and Yingli Solar have won a 429 MW TOPCon module procurement tender issued by GD Power for the second phase of the 1 GW Haijing salt-solar complementary project in Tianjin.
The tender covers n-type TOPCon bifacial double-glass modules with a minimum output of 590 W. TCL Solar secured the first and third sections totaling 289 MW with bid prices of RMB 0.728/W and RMB 0.731/W, while Yingli Solar won the remaining 140 MW section with a bid price of RMB 0.745/W.
China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) has released its ‘2026 China New Energy Storage Development Report,’ showing cumulative installed new energy storage capacity reached 136 GW/351 GWh by the end of 2025, up 84.3% year-over-year.
Average storage duration increased to 2.58 hours, while average annual utilization reached 1,195 hours and 256 equivalent charge-discharge cycles. The report said new energy storage enabled the utilization of more than 30 billion kWh of renewable electricity, improving renewable energy utilization by around 2 percentage points.
Lithium-ion batteries accounted for about 96.1% of installed capacity, while compressed air and flow battery technologies continued to develop. Looking ahead, the NEA said it will continue improving policies, technical standards and innovation to support the sector during the 15^th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
TaiyangNews 2024

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Daily press, 2026-08-05, 02:00 pm
thyssenkrupp Rasselstein – Germany’s sole manufacturer of tinplate – is constructing a large-scale ground-mounted photovoltaic system on its plant grounds. The construction project is being carried out in collaboration with VSB Integrated Energy Solutions GmbH, a subsidiary of the VSB Group, which has been part of TotalEnergies since 2025. The PV plant is part of the comprehensive green power concept for the Andernach site and is being implemented under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). VSB Integrated Energy Solutions is responsible for the construction, financing, and operation of the plant. thyssenkrupp Rasselstein is providing two sites and will purchase 100 percent of the electricity generated for an initial term of 20 years. The solar power generated will help reduce the site’s and its products’ carbon footprint in the future.
“Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026,” said Dr. Thorsten Krenke, CTO of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH, who is one of the signatories to the PPA. “Completion of the PV system is scheduled for mid-2027.” The steel substructure for the approximately 12,000 solar modules will be constructed using thyssenkrupp Steel’s CO₂-reduced bluemint^® Steel with the durable ZM EcoProtect^® Solar coating, which was developed specifically for ground-mounted photovoltaic systems. The PV plant is being built directly on the factory grounds on two previously undeveloped areas and covers 5.2 hectares, which is roughly equivalent to the area of seven soccer fields. With a peak capacity of 8 megawatts, it will generate approximately 8 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. This could supply around 2,000 households with electricity each year. “Our goal was to meet part of our green electricity needs locally. The result is the construction of an on-site PV plant, which demonstrates that this is also possible in an established industrial setting,” said Krenke.
“With the project in Andernach, thyssenkrupp Rasselstein is demonstrating how renewable electricity can be used directly at the plant site. As the implementation partner, we are handling the planning, financing, construction, and operation of the system. In this way, we are creating a reliable on-site solution that contributes to decarbonization and offers long-term planning security,” explains Frederic Wagner, Managing Director of VSB Integrated Energy Solutions GmbH.
The on-site photovoltaic system serves as a model within thyssenkrupp Steel. It represents another step toward a sustainable energy supply. “Green power purchase agreements are a key component of our decarbonization strategy,” says Dennis Becher, Head of Energy Management at thyssenkrupp Steel. “As the Steel Europe business segment, we already cover more than 20 percent of our electricity procurement through Power Purchase Agreements. The new on-site PPA between thyssenkrupp Rasselstein and VSB Integrated Energy Solutions combines local generation and local consumption with long-term price hedging and sustainability – making it another building block in our growing green power portfolio.
About thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH
thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH is one of the world's leading suppliers of high-quality tinplate. At its site in Andernach, Germany – the largest facility of its type worldwide – the company has an annual production capacity of up to 1.5m tons of packaging steel. More than 2,000 employees serve international customers across a wide range of markets – from producers of food and pet food cans to manufacturers of aerosol cans, packaging for paints and coatings or containers for hazardous goods, as well as crown corks and closures. This makes thyssenkrupp Rasselstein the first port of call for experts who know exactly what counts in the packaging industry. With the excellent expertise of its employees and thanks to the high efficiency of its innovative packaging steels, the company finds reliable solutions for the diverse requirements of its customers.
Carmen Tschage
Business Unit Packaging Steel
Telephone: +49 2632 3097-2764
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thyssenkrupp Rasselstein and VSB Integrated Energy Solutions sign an on-site Power Purchase Agreement. Dr. Thorsten Krenke, CTO of thyssenkrupp Rasselstein GmbH; Frederic Wagner, Managing Director of VSB Integrated Energy Solutions GmbH (from left to right).
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US independent power producer (IPP) Avantus has closed a US$1.05 billion corporate credit facility, doubling the US$522 million facility it secured in July 2024.
The expanded financing will support the company’s IPP strategy and accelerate the development of its solar and energy storage portfolio across California and the Desert Southwest.
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Avantus currently has a 24GW development pipeline, including 13GW of solar paired with 44GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS).
“This upsized facility provides Avantus with the flexibility to advance our pipeline of high-quality solar and storage assets, moving projects swiftly from development into construction and operations,” said Omar Karar, executive vice president of capital markets and M&A at Avantus. “The strong demand reflects deep institutional conviction in our platform, and we’re grateful to be expanding and extending our relationships with leading firms long rooted in our sector.”
The lending consortium comprises existing lenders that extended or increased their commitments, including SMBC, which served as administrative agent, collateral agent and lead arranger, alongside ING Capital, HSBC, KKR and Truist Securities. New lead arrangers include BHI (Bank Hapoalim), CIBC, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Mizuho, National Bank of Canada Capital Markets and Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking.
The financing follows a series of project milestones for the developer. In July, Avantus achieved commercial operation of the Aratina 1 project in Kern County, California, comprising 200MW of solar generation and 500MWh of battery energy storage.
The company also recently secured more than US$525 million in construction financing for the adjacent Aratina 2 project and signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Rexford 2 project in Tulare County, California. Rexford 2 will comprise 200MW of solar generation and 800MWh of BESS.
Avantus said it remains on track to bring 788MW of capacity into commercial operation and have a further 800MW under construction by the end of 2026.
Avantus develops, owns and operates utility-scale solar and energy storage projects across California and the Desert Southwest, backed by strategic investments from KKR and EIG.

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JinkoSolar, LONGi Green and Canadian Solar have held investor briefings recently, sharing views on China’s mandatory PV efficiency standard; the outlook for tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon), back contact (BC) and heterojunction (HJT) technologies; and energy storage strategies both home and abroad.
The major players agree that the new standard will accelerate low-efficiency capacity phase-outs, shifting industry competition from price wars to technological value.
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The standard, jointly issued by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Development and Reform Commission and State Administration for Market Regulation, covers the full PV chain and is set to take effect on 1 January 2027.
It imposes tiered efficiency entry requirements across the three mainstream cell technologies. Modules below the Grade 3 threshold will be barred from production, sales and domestic project bidding, fundamentally reshaping the industry’s supply structure. The Grade 3 minimum conversion efficiency is set at 23.2% for TOPCon and HJT modules.
At its investor briefing, JinkoSolar said the new standard tightens energy consumption and efficiency requirements across polysilicon and wafer production. In centralised procurement, SOE bidding criteria have moved beyond price to include lifecycle returns, brand track records and product reliability.
JinkoSolar has a mature TOPCon platform, with an annual production capacity of more than 80GW, and the company expects to retain core shares in large-scale domestic procurement, while smaller players without upgrading capabilities will face accelerated capacity phase-outs.
LONGi Green, focusing on the BC route, noted the new standard sets the minimum entry efficiency at 23.5%, equivalent to 635W for the standard module size of 1134mm × 2382mm.
Its mass-produced hybrid passivated back contact (HPBC) modules all exceed 650W, and all existing lines meet the strictest national criteria. On the R&D front, the company continues to advance crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem cells and has repeatedly set lab efficiency records, though the technology remains an R&D reserve with no near-term mass-production plans.
Canadian Solar said the dual efficiency-cost framework will steer the industry away from destructive price wars that have affected the Chinese solar sector in recent years. Its TOPCon 3.0 modules deliver up to 670W and 24.8% in efficiency, with mass shipments starting in August 2026. The idea is that, as low-efficiency capacity is phased out and demand rebounds, the profitability of the PV value chain should gradually improve.
All three agreed the mandatory standard marks an inflection point for high-quality industry development. Near-term oversupply and margin pressures will persist, but long-term capacity optimisation will raise the share of high-efficiency products.
A clear technology hierarchy has taken shape. TOPCon retains centralised procurement dominance due to cost and maturity. BC is steadily gaining penetration with higher efficiency. Perovskite tandem remains a next-generation reserve and is not expected to displace current mass-production technologies in the near term.
Energy storage is scaling up rapidly as a second growth driver for all three leaders, with domestic and global rollout timelines and capacity plans disclosed.
LONGi Green launched its LONGi ONE integrated storage portfolio in April, leveraging its established PV channels to secure orders home and abroad and achieving volume deliveries in Q2. It has yet to release 2027 capacity plans and will adjust capacity expansion pace flexibly based on demand.
Canadian Solar has posted solid storage results and remains bullish on long-term growth. The company expects the global utility-scale storage market to sustain strong momentum in 2027, driven by renewable expansion, grid peaking needs and supportive policies in Europe and the US.
Canadian Solar recently reached a key overseas manufacturing milestone, with its Indiana cell plant coming online in July. Phase one, with a nameplate capacity of 2.1GW, is ramping up, while phase two is under construction. By 2027, the company will fully activate its integrated US capacity to align with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) domestic content incentives.
JinkoSolar plans to leverage TOPCon channel synergies to expand PV-storage projects, offering bundled solutions including inverters and full storage systems, targeting large domestic bases, overseas decentralised markets and utility-scale plants.
The new standard may then accelerate consolidation. Leaders with efficient mass production, comprehensive storage operations and localised overseas manufacturing will widen their lead over smaller rivals, as the industry enters a new competitive phase defined by advantages in technology, storage and global operation capabilities.

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Another solar farm is set to be built on Norfolk countryside, despite several major renewable projects already planned for the nearby area.
The project on 236 acres (95 hectares) of land between Beeston and Gressenhall, near Dereham, has been approved by Breckland councillors.
However the planned 4,000-acre (1,619 hectares) High Grove Solar Farm will be just 900 metres from the nearest part of the Dykewood scheme, and both projects are going to be accessed by the same road.
Meanwhile, the 2,075-acre (1,133 hectares) Droves solar farm will be six miles west of the site.
While the Dykewood project was approved at a planning meeting on Tuesday, questions were raised about how it would benefit local people.
Michael Westman, a Reform UK councillor, asked officials about what perks would be offered to the two communities affected.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the councillor for Thetford Priory said there was "little benefit" from what he could see.
Representatives of the developer have insisted there will be a community benefit fund of £10,000 per year for the 40-year lifetime of the scheme.
And council officials argued the community benefit was the provision of solar energy, with the scheme able to power 18,000 homes.
Councillors backed the proposals, with seven votes in favour and three against.
More stories from Norfolk
The solar farm will be near the two far larger solar farms planned along the A47 corridor.
Because of their size and scale, final approval of those lies with the new energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.
Seven battery storage sites are also planned for the area.
The energy schemes form part of the government's drive to meet its ambitious target of reaching net zero by 2050.
Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
A driver is held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and death by careless driving.
Plans were refused but the Planning Inspectorate says renewable energy benefits outweigh its harm.
Councillors approved solar EV charging scheme for Mereoak Park and Ride near Reading.
Mountaineer Alan Hinkes voices concerns over a proposed wind farm comprising 23 wind turbines.
The application for a former RAF airfield is with North Northamptonshire Council.
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