Solar Now

The City of Cape Town in South Africa has signed two 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) totaling 70 MW with independent solar power producers. The agreements will supply 30 MW from JEMPEC in Atlantis and 40 MW from Make A Difference LLC in Philippi. The city said the power will cost 19% to 21% less than current Eskom rates, with price increases linked to the Consumer Price Index rather than Eskom tariff increases. The two agreements are expected to cover about R8 billion of electricity purchases over 20 years. The city said that the deals are part of a competitive procurement program targeting up to 200 MW from independent power producers (IPPs), with additional agreements expected in the coming months. 
“The deals will help reduce reliance on Eskom, provide greater price predictability through CPI-linked increases and support Cape Town’s transition to cleaner energy,” stated the City of Cape Town. 
CrossBoundary Energy’s solar PV and battery energy storage project for the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is now online. The project includes 233 MW of solar PV and a 526 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). It is designed to provide at least 30 MW of firm baseload power to the mine under a PPA with Kamoa Copper, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group, and the DRC government. The project reached commercial operation on August 12, 2026, and will enable Kamoa-Kakula to produce low-carbon copper.  
SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of POWERCHINA, has announced the full commercial operation of the Saudi Red Sea Utility Infrastructure Project, an integrated energy and utility development in Saudi Arabia. SEPCOIII delivered the project under an EPC contract, and it is part of the country’s Vision 2030 program. The project combines solar PV generation, energy storage, power grid systems, seawater desalination, water supply, wastewater treatment, solid-waste treatment, communications, and district cooling. SEPCOIII describes it as the world’s first large-scale commercial utility facility integrating multiple complementary energy and utility systems, without specifying their individual capacities. 
Earlier in 2021, SEPCOIII had announced Huawei Digital Power as the BESS supplier for 1,300 MWh capacity to be integrated with a 400 MW solar PV system for the Red Sea Project. At the time, it called this the world’s largest energy storage project of its kind (see World’s ‘Largest’ BESS In Saudi Arabia). SEPCOIII said the project also set a Guinness World Record in 2025 for the world’s largest off-grid battery energy storage project by capacity.  
Canadian renewable energy company JCM Power has entered Mozambique with a 30 MW solar project. The Manje Solar PV Project is located in Tete Province. It won the project under Mozambique’s PROLER renewable energy tender program, which is supported by the European Commission and Agence Française de Développement (AFD). JCM Power said it will work with the Mozambican government and state utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) to advance the facility. 
Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Company (LHPC) has announced the commissioning of a 27 MW solar PV plant in Zambia’s Central Province. It claims this is the country’s first solar-hydro hybrid facility. The plant operates alongside LHPC’s existing 56 MW hydropower capacity and is connected to the national grid. The solar plant is designed to generate during daylight hours, allowing water in the hydropower reservoir to be conserved and used to increase hydropower generation during evening peak demand. Construction of the solar power plant began in September 2025 and was completed ahead of schedule. The commissioning follows Globeleq’s acquisition of a 51% stake in LHPC from Norfund in March 2026. LHPC operates two hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 56 MW and is developing additional solar and hydropower projects.
CEI Africa has invested €2 million in Spark, a Netherlands-based provider of modular solar home systems and off-grid energy solutions. The funding will support Spark’s financing initiatives and expansion of services for distribution partners across sub-Saharan Africa. The investment will also support the initial rollout of Spark Catalyse and Spark Connect through which it aims to strengthen financing and connections across the off-grid energy sector. 
Niger has signed a public-private partnership agreement with Niger Electricity Power Production (NEPP) to construct a 200 MW solar PV plant with battery storage in Niamey. According to the Nigerian Press Agency, the project is valued at 126.1 billion FCFA, and will be developed under a 20-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement. Construction is expected to take 24 months, including additional studies. Electricity generated by the plant will be sold to Niger’s national utility, NIGELEC, at 35 CFA francs per kWh. The project is expected to help improve electricity availability and reduce the country’s reliance on imported power.  
TaiyangNews 2024

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Energies Media
A slow worm in rough grass beneath
The survey method is a square of roofing felt.
You lay them out across a site, leave them for weeks, then lift each one and write down what is underneath, which is how almost all reptile counting in Britain is done.
Under one of them was a slow worm.
Not a rarity in itself, but the fourth species logged on that site, and the list did not stop there, which is where an ordinary power station became a record.
Outside the fence, arable.
Ploughed, drilled and sprayed on the usual cycle, which is the condition most of the surrounding county is in and the reason the fence line matters at all.
Three things, and farmland supplies none of them.
Bare warm ground to raise body temperature in the morning, rough cover within a body length of that spot, and soil that is not turned over between one year and the next.
Cultivation removes all three at once.
Open ground with rough grass, scrubby margins and bare patches of warm soil has been ploughed, built on or tidied away across most of lowland Britain, which is why five of the six native species are in decline.
A solar site accidentally rebuilds them.
The land is fenced, taken out of cultivation on the day it is energised, and then left, so rough grass accumulates while the panel edges and the post bases supply exactly the warm bare patches that were missing.
The designation is not a rarity award.
A site enters the national register if it holds three or more reptile species, or two snake species, or an exceptional population of a single one, and any of those alone is enough.
This Dorset site held five.
Adder, grass snake, common lizard, slow worm and sand lizard, which is every native British reptile except the smooth snake, on ground nobody set out to manage for them.
That is the part worth sitting with.
Clearing a conservation threshold by nearly double is not what anyone was aiming at when the racking went in.
The Dorset farm is one entry in a national monitoring set.
The latest edition covers about 6 percent of British solar farms and was launched in Parliament in June alongside policy guidelines from a bird charity and two universities.
The counts are substantial.
259 plant species including endangered wild chamomile, more than 2,800 birds across 77 species with nearly half of them of conservation concern, and 27 butterfly species.
One number reads differently.
The 2,500 bumblebees recorded came from just five species, which is a large count of a narrow group rather than evidence of a rich bee assemblage.
Farmland birds in the UK are down 62 percent since 1970.
Corn buntings are among the worst hit, and at a community owned site in Oxfordshire researchers followed five nests inside the fence where every one fledged, against roughly four in ten failing outside it.
The mechanism is simple enough.
A ground nest fails when something disturbs it during incubation, and a fenced field with no machinery crossing it removes most of what does the disturbing, from the combine down to the dog off its lead.
The sample is the caveat.
Monitoring is submitted voluntarily, so the dataset leans heavily toward operators who already care about biodiversity, which is not the same as a random selection of solar farms.
That limit is stated openly at the launch and in the report itself, which is more than most coverage of it manages.
It does not cancel the result.
It means the figures describe what a well run site can hold rather than what the average one does hold, and those are two different questions.
Not every group does better inside the fence.
A study of 19 English solar farms found bat activity falling by over half compared with matched control sites, with the sharpest drop in the middle of the arrays rather than at the boundaries.
Placement decides more than management.
A site dropped onto species rich grassland or ancient heath destroys habitat that took centuries to assemble, and no seed mix put down afterward gets it back.
The honest reading is conditional.
Solar farms three times richer in bird species than the crop fields beside them are real, and so are the ones that are green deserts under glass.
Which makes the Dorset result a demonstration rather than a rule.
Five reptile species turned up on a solar farm because the ground under the panels was left alone for years, and leaving ground alone is a management choice that any operator can decline to make.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.

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ZAGREB, 1 September 2026 – Croatian households will be able to apply for a share of €38 million in government-backed renewable energy subsidies from Wednesday, with battery storage included in the scheme for the first time. 
Applications open at 9am on 2 September through the electronic system of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (FZOEU).
The programme supports the installation of heat pumps, photovoltaic systems for household consumption and battery storage systems.
Households can receive up to 50% of eligible investment costs, while households at risk of energy poverty can receive up to 70%.
Depending on the investment, subsidies can reach up to €6,250 for a heat pump, €6,000 for a photovoltaic system and €5,600 for a battery storage system. For households at risk of energy poverty, the maximum combined support can be considerably higher.
The introduction of battery subsidies is one of the main changes this year. Batteries can be financed only together with a photovoltaic installation and are intended to allow households to store excess electricity for later use.
The Fund says applications will be accepted electronically and has urged potential applicants to prepare their documentation and ensure they have the required NIAS electronic identification credentials.
The scheme is part of Croatia’s wider efforts to increase household energy independence and renewable energy use.

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The Asia Pacific Photovoltaics Market was valued at $381580 Million in 2025 and projected to reach to $632870 Million by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 10.6%. Asia Pacific’s photovoltaics market is poised for exceptional growth, expanding from USD 381,580 million in 2025 to USD 632,870 million by 2030.

Asia Pacific Photovoltaics Market Trends and Insights

• In 2025, Asia Pacific’s photovoltaics market is estimated at USD 381,580 million, driven by aggressive renewable energy policies, declining solar panel costs, and massive infrastructure investments across the region.
• By 2030, Asia Pacific is projected to reach USD 632,870 million, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 10.6%, significantly outpacing global growth trends. The Asia Pacific photovoltaics market benefits from favorable government incentives, grid modernization initiatives, and rising electricity demand across emerging economies.
• Asia Pacific countries including China, India, and Japan are leading solar installations, supported by manufacturing scale and technological innovation.
• Between 2025 and 2030, Asia Pacific is expected to capture increasing market share as energy transition accelerates and battery storage integration becomes mainstream. Asia Pacific’s competitive landscape features both established manufacturers and emerging players leveraging cost advantages and regional supply chains.
• The region’s photovoltaics market growth is underpinned by corporate renewable commitments, utility-scale projects, and distributed solar adoption across residential and commercial segments throughout Asia Pacific..

Asia Pacific commands the largest share of global photovoltaics capacity, with China alone accounting for nearly 40% of worldwide solar installations. The region’s 10.6% CAGR significantly outpaces the global average of 9.6%, solidifying its position as the engine of solar energy growth.
Declining solar panel manufacturing costs across Asia Pacific, particularly in China and India, have made photovoltaic systems the most cost-effective renewable energy solution. This cost advantage drives rapid adoption across residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects throughout the region.
Aggressive renewable energy targets, government subsidies, and massive infrastructure investments across Asia Pacific nations are accelerating solar deployment. Countries like India and Indonesia are implementing ambitious solar capacity expansion programs to meet energy demands and climate commitments.
Asia Pacific’s rapid urbanization and industrialization create substantial demand for distributed solar solutions. Large-scale solar farms, rooftop installations, and grid-connected systems are expanding rapidly, supported by improving grid infrastructure and energy storage integration.

• This 10.6% CAGR reflects the region’s commitment to renewable energy transition, driven by declining technology costs, supportive government policies, and increasing electricity demand from emerging economies.
• China’s manufacturing dominance and India’s aggressive solar targets will continue to propel regional expansion. The outlook is further strengthened by technological advancements in panel efficiency, energy storage integration, and smart grid solutions.
• Southeast Asian nations are emerging as high-growth markets, while established players like Japan and South Korea focus on advanced solar technologies.
• Investment in manufacturing capacity, supply chain resilience, and grid modernization will sustain the region’s leadership in global photovoltaics through 2030 and beyond..

5 segment dimensions are covered across the global market.
Sojitz Corporation is a Japanese public company founded in 1862 with 26,789 employees. It operates as a diversified trading and investment company serving global markets.
Alfa Laval AB is a Swedish public company established in 1883 with 24,832 employees. The company specializes in heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling technologies.
OCI Company Ltd. is a Dutch public company founded in 2013 with 761 employees. The company operates in the chemical and materials sector.
Borealis AG is an Austrian private company founded in 1994 with 5,887 employees. The company is a leading provider of polyolefins and base chemicals.
Zumtobel Group AG is an Austrian public company founded in 1950 with 5,148 employees. The company is a leading provider of lighting solutions and components.
JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd. is a Chinese public company founded in 2000 with 25,260 employees. The company manufactures photovoltaic products and solar cells.
Tongwei Co., Ltd. is a Chinese public company founded in 1995 with 44,798 employees. The company operates in feed production, aquaculture, and photovoltaic materials.
Canadian Solar is a Canadian public company founded in 2001 with 12,587 employees. The company designs, develops, and manufactures solar photovoltaic modules and systems.
First Solar is an American public company founded in 1999. The company manufactures thin-film photovoltaic solar modules and provides solar energy solutions.
Hanwha Q Cells is a South Korean public company. Insufficient employment and founding data available for complete description.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a Japanese public company founded in 1921 with 150,386 employees. The company manufactures electrical and electronic equipment across multiple industries.
Sharp Corporation is a Japanese public company founded in 1912 with 34,549 employees. The company manufactures electronics, displays, and solar energy products.
Sungrow is a Chinese public company founded in 1997 with 19,006 employees. The company manufactures power conversion and energy storage systems for solar applications.
SMA Solar Technology AG is a German public company founded in 1981 with 3,659 employees. The company develops and manufactures solar inverters and energy management systems.
SolarEdge is an Israeli public company founded in 2006 with 3,576 employees. The company designs and manufactures power optimizers and inverters for solar photovoltaic systems.
HowAsia Pacific compares to the other 3 regional blocs covered in this market.
Asia Pacific’s photovoltaics market is projected to reach USD 632,870 million by 2030, up from USD 381,580 million in 2025.
Asia Pacific photovoltaics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.6% from 2025 to 2030.
China, India, and Japan are the primary drivers of Asia Pacific’s photovoltaics market, accounting for the majority of regional solar capacity installations and manufacturing output.
Key growth drivers in Asia Pacific include government renewable energy mandates, declining solar panel costs, grid modernization investments, and rising electricity demand across emerging economies.
Asia Pacific’s 10.6% CAGR significantly exceeds the global photovoltaics CAGR of 9.6%, reflecting the region’s strategic importance and accelerating energy transition.
The study involved major activities in estimating the current size of the photovoltaics market. Exhaustive secondary research was done to collect information on photovoltaics. The next step was to validate these findings, assumptions, and sizing with industry experts across the value chain using primary research. Different approaches, such as top-down and bottom-up, were employed to estimate the total market size. After that, the market breakup and data triangulation procedures were used to estimate the market size of the segments and subsegments of the photovoltaics.
Secondary sources for this research study include government sources, corporate filings (annual reports, investor presentations, and financial statements), trade journals, articles, white papers, industry news, and business and professional associations. The secondary data has been collected and analyzed to arrive at the overall market size, which has been further validated through primary research. A few important secondary sources referred to for this research study are the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA).
Extensive primary research has been conducted after understanding and analyzing the photovoltaics market scenario through secondary research. Several primary interviews have been conducted with key opinion leaders from the demand and supply sides across four major regions—North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and RoW. Approximately 30% of the primary interviews were conducted with the demand side and 70% with the supply side. Primary data was mainly collected through telephonic interviews, which comprised 80% of the overall primary interviews; questionnaires and emails were also used to collect the data.
Note: Other designations include sales and marketing executives and researchers, as well as members of various photovoltaic technology organizations.
Sales, business development, and product managers are covered under the “managers” category.
Three tiers of companies are defined based on their total revenue as of 2024: tier 1: revenue more than or equal to USD 500 million, tier 2: revenue between USD 100 million and USD 500 million, and tier 3: revenue less than or equal to USD 100 million.
To know about the assumptions considered for the study, download the pdf brochure
In this report, we have implemented top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimate and validate the size of the photovoltaics market and various other dependent submarkets. Key players in the photovoltaics market have been identified through secondary research, and their market shares in respective regions have been determined through primary and secondary research. This entire research methodology includes the study of annual and financial reports of top companies, as well as interviews with experts (CEOs, VPs, directors, and marketing executives) for key insights (quantitative and qualitative). All percentage shares, splits, and breakdowns have been determined using secondary sources and verified through primary sources. All the possible parameters that affect the market covered in this research study have been accounted for, viewed in detail, verified through primary research, and analyzed to obtain the final quantitative and qualitative data. This data has been consolidated and supplemented with detailed input and analysis from MarketsandMarkets and presented in this report. The figures below show the overall market size estimation process employed for this study.
Bottom-Up Approach
Top-Down Approach
After arriving at the overall market size through the process explained above, the overall market has been split into several segments. To complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all the segments, the data triangulation procedure has been employed wherever applicable. The data has been triangulated by studying various factors and trends from the demand and supply sides. The market has also been validated using the top-down and bottom-up approaches.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), photovoltaic (PV) devices generate electricity directly from sunlight via an electronic process that occurs naturally in certain types of materials called semiconductors. Electrons in these materials are freed by solar energy and can be induced to travel through an electrical circuit, powering electrical devices or sending electricity to the grid.
With the market data given, MarketsandMarkets offers customizations according to the company’s specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:
Full forecast, segment splits, and company analysis for all Photovoltaics Market.
Customize this report to your needs
Get 10% FREE Customization
MarketsandMarkets is a competitive intelligence and market research platform providing over 10,000 clients worldwide with quantified B2B research and built on the Give principles.
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Swedish solar energy company Midsummer halts its plans for a factory for the production of solar cells in Sweden and declines the EU grant the company has been awarded for this purpose. Instead, Midsummer wants to focus on continued international expansion with a different, significantly less capital-intensive business and financing model for new factories.
Midsummer has decided to put previously communicated plans for a solar cell factory in Flen, Sweden on hold. The commercial opportunities for expanding production capacity are considered to be greater outside Sweden and together with partners rather than local self-financed facilities.
“We are happy to establish a new factory in Sweden in the future when the commercial and financial conditions allow it, but it will not happen within the framework of the specific project we have been awarded time-limited EU support for. A major reason is that we have strategically decided to choose other financing models for new factories than self-financing,” said Midsummer's CEO Eric Jaremalm.
The financing of the factory in Flen was negatively affected when Midsummer was denied financial support from the Swedish Energy Agency's Industriklivet program. Subsequently, new attractive and significantly less capital-intensive opportunities for establishing factories abroad in collaboration with established global and very large industrial players have opened up.
“Asset light” model for new factories
Midsummer has changed its long-term production strategy to a so-called asset light model that is based on collaboration with large industrial partners. Instead of owning and operating all the factories itself, the company supplies machinery, raw materials and know-how to enable local production of solar cells on different continents. This provides significant early income in the form of machine orders and also ongoing income after the factory is operational.
Last year, Midsummer was commissioned to deliver machinery with operational responsibility to a solar cell factory in Colombia, with an annual production capacity of at least 100 MW. So far, the company has received machinery orders worth approximately SEK 380 million [EUR 34.5m] for this purpose. Midsummer also continuously expands production in its own factory in Bari, Italy, which, fully operational, produces 50 MW annually.
“Even with the EU grant, self-financing a completely new factory of this size in Flen would have cost us several hundred million SEK, and we do not find it responsible to take such large loans or ask our shareholders for such amounts when we have found other ways to finance our expansion, which in addition to being financially more advantageous are also geographically closer to the fastest growing markets today”, commented Mr. Jaremalm.
Links to images and other press material: Press – Midsummer.
For additional information contact:
Eric Jaremalm
CEO, Midsummer
Email: eric.jaremalm@midsummer.se
Tel: +46 8 525 09 610
Robert Sjöström
Chairman of the Board, Midsummer
E-mail: robert.sjostrom@midsummer.se
Tel: +46 708 705308
About Midsummer
Midsummer is a Swedish solar energy company that develops, manufactures, and sells solar cells to construction, roofing and solar cell installation companies and also manufactures, sells and installs solar roofs directly to end customers. The company also develops and sells equipment for the production of flexible thin film solar cells to strategically selected partners and machinery for research. The solar cells are of CIGS technology (consist of copper, indium, gallium and selenide) and are thin, light, flexible, discreet and with a minimal carbon footprint compared with other solar panels.
The solar roofs are produced in Sweden using the company’s own unique DUO system which has taken the position as the most widespread manufacturing tool for flexible CIGS solar cells in the world. The Company’s shares (MIDS) are traded on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. The Company’s Certified Adviser is Tapper Partners AB. For more information, please visit: midsummer.se
Attachments
Midsummer shelves plans for new Swedish solar cell factory in Flen and declines EU grant
Select market data provided by ICE Data Services. Select reference data provided by FactSet. Copyright © 2026 FactSet Research Systems Inc.Copyright © 2026, American Bankers Association. CUSIP Database provided by FactSet Research Systems Inc. All rights reserved. SEC filings and other documents provided by Quartr.© 2026 TradingView, Inc.

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Ireland has surpassed 3 GW of installed solar capacity, driven by rapid growth in utility-scale and rooftop solar (Irish government press release, 27/08/2026). The milestone comes just over a decade after the country had only 2 MW of solar capacity. The announcement follows a new record for solar generation on Ireland’s grid, with utility-scale output exceeding 1.3 GW earlier this week and supplying more than one-third of national electricity generation at the time. According to EirGrid, solar generation first exceeded 1 GW in April 2026, enough to supply around 500,000 customers.
Solar deployment has also accelerated in the residential sector, with more than 200,000 homes installing solar panels and over 120,000 households receiving Solar PV grants. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland received more than 31,000 solar PV applications in the first seven months of 2026, up 76% from 2025.
The country continues to target 8 GW of solar capacity by 2030, supported by the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), the Small-Scale Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (SRESS) and the Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS).
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Headquartered in San Diego, EDF Power Solutions North America, a renewable energy developer active since 1987, has signed two 25-year PPAs with NV Energy for the Winston Energy Project. This includes a 400 MW AC solar farm on private land in Lyon County, Nevada, paired with a co-located 400 MW/1,600 MWh battery. The project is expected to begin delivering electricity in October 2029 and generate about 1,110,000 MWh of renewable power annually. While enough for roughly 100,000 Nevada homes, it also avoids CO2 emissions equivalent to more than 187,000 passenger vehicles driven for a year. Peak construction is expected to employ more than 400 workers, with about $100 million in local tax revenue projected over the project’s operating life. EDF Power Solutions North America has developed 26 GW of wind, solar, and storage projects across the region to date. 
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Editor | Quantity Surveyor
China’s installed solar power capacity has overtaken coal power for the first time, making photovoltaics the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration (NEA) announced on Tuesday.
As of the end of July, installed solar capacity stood at 1.286 billion kilowatts, narrowly ahead of coal power’s 1.285 billion kilowatts, according to figures released by the administration. The gap between the two sources remains small, but the milestone marks a symbolic shift in a power system long dominated by coal.
Newly installed photovoltaic capacity added in July alone totalled 13.73 million kilowatts, a 43 per cent increase compared with the same month last year. That pace of installation has been a major driver behind solar’s rise to the top of China’s generation mix.
Photovoltaic power generation reached 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours in July, up 15.5 per cent year-on-year. That growth rate ran 10.8 percentage points ahead of the increase in overall social electricity consumption over the same period, indicating solar’s expanding share of the country’s total power supply.
Solar power accounted for 13 per cent of total social electricity consumption last month, according to the NEA, a rise of 1.7 percentage points compared with the full-year figure recorded in 2025.
The NEA said installed solar capacity and generation output have both maintained rapid growth in recent years, playing an increasingly central role in securing electricity supply while supporting the country’s broader transition toward green energy sources.
China has spent much of the past two decades building out renewable energy infrastructure at a scale unmatched globally, driven by a combination of industrial policy, manufacturing capacity in solar equipment and rising domestic electricity demand.
Coal has historically anchored the country’s power system, prized for its reliability and existing infrastructure, even as pollution and carbon emissions concerns pushed policymakers toward cleaner alternatives.
Despite solar’s new lead in installed capacity, the shift does not immediately translate into a coal-free grid. Installed capacity measures the maximum output a power source could theoretically generate, not the electricity actually produced.
Coal plants typically run at higher and more consistent utilisation rates than solar installations, which depend on weather and daylight hours, meaning coal is likely to continue supplying a substantial share of China’s actual electricity generation even as its capacity lead narrows or disappears.
Even so, the milestone reflects the scale of China’s renewable buildout. Total installed power-generating capacity across the country reached 3.99 billion kilowatts by the end of April this year, according to earlier NEA figures, marking continued growth across the power sector as a whole.
China’s rapid solar expansion has occasionally drawn criticism from some Western commentators over curtailment, the practice of intentionally reducing renewable output when grid capacity or demand cannot absorb it. Chinese state media has pushed back on that framing, arguing it understates the pace and scale of the country’s clean energy transition.
The NEA did not indicate in its announcement whether it expects the gap between solar and coal capacity to widen in the months ahead, though the current trajectory of installation growth suggests solar’s lead is likely to continue expanding.
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Covering geo-political news and current affairs across Asia
Indonesia wants China’s help building enough solar power to electrify 100 mid-sized cities without actually owning the capacity.
On July 17 in Shanghai, Indonesia’s economy minister, Airlangga Hartarto, asked China’s trade minister, Wang Wentao, to invest in developing 100 gigawatts of new solar capacity by 2029 — a new energy buildout so ambitious it would rival the power output of a major industrialized nation.
Indonesia has already launched 14 projects at different stages totaling 5.3 gigawatts, including 1 gigawatt with battery storage in Bali. The government now says the full plan will require US$73 billion.
Airlangga used the word “invest” while making his pitch in Shanghai, but the better word for what China can bring to the table is “build.”
An investor puts in money and shares the risk. A builder, on the other hand, gets paid a fee and walks away. China fits the builder role far better in President Prabowo Subianto’s massive solar ambition.
In 2025, trade between the two countries hit $154.6 billion while Chinese companies poured in $8.1 billion, marking 13% of all foreign investment in the country. Even with such buoyant trade and investment flows, China’s appetite for Indonesia’s $73 billion solar plan isn’t a given.
From Jakarta’s perspective, Cirata offers a hopeful precedent: the largest floating solar plant in Southeast Asia, situated on a lake in West Java. The $140 million, 145-megawatt plant was developed through a joint venture between PLN Nusantara Power, part of Indonesia’s state power utility, and Masdar, a UAE renewable energy firm.
China’s state-owned PowerChina served as the project’s EPC contractor, while the Indonesian-UAE project joint venture retained ownership. Cirata illustrates a model PowerChina can use elsewhere: acting as an EPC contractor without taking an ownership stake in the generating asset.
The arrangement is broadly consistent with Xi Jinping’s post-2021 emphasis on a “small and beautiful” Belt and Road Initiative, which placed greater weight on more targeted projects alongside the large infrastructure deals that had characterized the BRI’s earlier years.
At the same time, Chinese sovereign lending to developing countries has fallen sharply. New Chinese sovereign loan commitments reported in the World Bank’s debtor system have been about $7 billion a year since 2023, while net flows turned negative by $34 billion in 2024.
Indonesia doesn’t necessarily need Chinese capital to bankroll its solar plan. In 2025, Indonesia introduced a government-guarantee framework for renewable-energy projects, including guarantees against certain payment risks involving PLN and other state-owned entities. Such guarantees can make projects more bankable for lenders.
Danantara, Indonesia’s new state investment fund, has already said it will help fund the scheme. On August 26, Pahala Mansury, the fund’s managing director for global relations and governance, said Danantara can act as an equity investor in projects like this one, backed by new multi-source bonds.
Jakarta has also eased a longstanding rule that once scared off foreign investors by requiring too many locally made components in local projects. Together, these moves open the project to lenders and investors well beyond China.
This setup would seem to suit China. Chinese factories can now produce about 1,200 gigawatts of solar panels a year, far exceeding global annual demand.
That excess capacity has crushed prices and profits: revenue from Chinese solar exports fell from $42.3 billion in 2022 to $23.7 billion in 2025, even as shipment volumes rose.
Panel prices fell from 25 US cents a watt in 2022 to about 7 cents in 2025, and several of China’s major solar manufacturers are now losing money, meaning they need new buyers.
Indonesia fits that bill amid estimates that its solar capacity is projected to grow from 2.15 gigawatts in 2025 to almost 15 gigawatts by 2031. Simply put, Chinese companies arguably need Indonesia’s market more than Indonesia needs any single Chinese supplier.
At the same time, Indonesia isn’t picking China over the West so much as taking what’s on offer. The US canceled its own $7 billion solar program for low-income households while recently cutting foreign aid for clean energy.
The EU’s Team Europe package for Indonesia’s energy transition totals 3.4 billion euros — significant, but small relative to the roughly $73 billion investment requirement for the 100-GW solar program.
On July 30, Indonesia’s environment minister, Moh Jumhur Hidayat, met China’s climate envoy, Liu Zhenmin, to discuss deeper cooperation on clean energy, marking a real and welcome step.
China is well suited to help build Indonesia’s solar dream. That could mean supplying equipment and construction expertise, paid through capital Indonesia raises internally, including through partners like Danantara.
For Jakarta, that is the opportunity: use China’s extraordinary manufacturing scale and construction expertise without handing Beijing a stake in Indonesia’s power system. China can supply the panels, batteries and engineering; Indonesia can raise the capital and retain the assets.
The smartest deal, in other words, may be one in which China helps build Indonesia’s solar future—but Indonesia owns it.
Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is director of the China-Indonesia Desk at the Jakarta-based Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) independent research institute. Yeta Purnama is a researcher at CELIOS.

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Australia recorded its strongest quarter yet for rooftop solar installations, household battery storage uptake and large-scale solar investment in Q2 2026, according to the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) latest Quarterly Carbon Market Report.
The CER, the federal body responsible for administering Australia’s carbon and renewable energy schemes, said 1GW of rooftop solar was installed in the June quarter, breaking the previous quarterly record of 942MW set in the final quarter of 2023.
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Large-scale solar investment also reached a new high, with 1.8GW of generation capacity reaching final investment decision (FID), the strongest quarterly result since the CER began tracking investment activity and the strongest quarter for solar investment overall since 2022.
All of that capacity came from solar. No wind projects were approved or reached FID during the quarter, the CER revealed.
CER acting chair Carl Binning said the results reflect the accelerating pace of Australia’s energy transition.
“The speed of the transition is accelerating,” Binning said.
“We are seeing ongoing growth and record outcomes across the CER’s administered schemes and markets, from rooftop solar and household batteries to large-scale solar investment and the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) market.”
Binning pointed to a combination of factors driving the results, including progress on Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) projects, falling battery storage costs, demand generated by the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, and growing recognition of the ACCU market’s role in supporting the Safeguard Mechanism.
The quarter’s record battery storage uptake was closely tied to changes made to the Cheaper Home Batteries Program on 1 May, which introduced revised small-scale technology certificate (STC) rates intended to provide more consistent support across battery sizes, equivalent to roughly a 30% reduction in installation costs.
More than 111,000 battery installations, representing 3.6GWh of storage capacity, were approved under the programme during the quarter, with the CER noting it had received more than 500,000 applications since the scheme launched.
“We’ve now received more than 500,000 battery applications since the programme started, which shows the scale of household demand when the economics stack up,” Binning said.
Installation activity is split into two distinct phases around the 1 May changes. In April alone, 78,000 installations representing 2.8GWh of capacity were approved, with average home battery size reaching 36kWh as installers worked through weekends and public holidays to complete larger systems before the revised incentive rates took effect.
Following the changes, installation rates moderated and average battery size fell to around 23kWh across May and June, though the CER said underlying demand remained strong even as system sizes shrank.
That battery surge also pulled forward solar installation activity. More than 80% of small-scale solar installations in April were paired with a battery storage system, compared with less than half in May and June, because eligibility for the Cheaper Home Batteries Program requires an existing or concurrent solar system.
April alone accounted for an estimated 480MW of small-scale solar capacity, the strongest month on record and a marked departure from typical seasonal patterns, in which April has historically been comparatively weak for installations.
Beyond the residential segment, large-scale solar investment activity strengthened considerably during the quarter.
Major projects reaching FID included the 690MW Turner River Solar Hub in Western Australia; the 300MW Guthrie’s Gap and Smoky Creek solar power stations in Queensland; the 281MW Lower Wonga Solar Farm in Queensland; and the 135MW Muswellbrook Solar project in New South Wales.
Three of these, Smoky Creek, Guthrie’s Gap and Lower Wonga, are supported by the CIS.
The record quarter follows sustained warnings from analysts and government bodies about the scale of deployment Australia still needs to meet its renewable energy targets.
AEMO’s 2026 Integrated System Plan, published in June, called for nearly 120GW of utility-scale wind and solar by 2050, roughly five times current levels, alongside close to 40GW of grid-scale storage and hydro, as coal-fired generation continues to retire from the National Electricity Market (NEM).
AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman said the roadmap for that larger, more complex system was clear, with the focus now firmly on delivery.
While utility-scale and residential solar both posted record results, the CER’s report points to a persistent gap in mid-scale deployment, systems between 100kW and 1MW typically installed by businesses, schools, farms and community organisations.
Approvals for mid-scale renewable energy projects have run below historical averages through the first half of 2026, a trend consistent with earlier analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), which found that Australian businesses have installed only a fraction of their available rooftop solar potential despite favourable underlying economics, describing the segment as a “missing middle” between household and utility-scale solar.
The federal government has moved to address that gap directly. From 1 October 2026, solar systems up to 1MW will become eligible for STCs under an expansion of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, a change the CER expects to support increased investment across the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors, alongside a request to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to consider rule changes that could streamline grid connection processes for mid-scale systems.
“Expanding the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, expected from October, will help businesses, farmers and community organisations install mid-scale solar and reduce their energy costs,” Binning said.
The CER noted that systems of this size typically take at least eight months from design to approval, meaning the full effect of the policy change is likely to build gradually rather than appear immediately in installation data.
The quarter’s results also build on continued government investment in solar research and development.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) recently committed AU$105.6 million (US$70.5 million) to 20 research and development projects aimed at reducing the cost of large-scale solar, spanning advanced cell and module efficiency work alongside innovations targeting the balance-of-system and installation costs that have increasingly come to dominate total project expenses as module prices have fallen.
Renewable energy generation accounted for around 42% of NEM generation in the June quarter, up from 37% a year earlier, contributing to a record quarterly total of 15.2 million large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) created.
Wind and solar each grew their share of generation over the year, while coal and gas-fired generation declined.
Binning acknowledged that challenges remain despite the quarter’s records, particularly regarding social licence issues affecting wind investment and the ongoing development of new ACCU methods and participation in the Guarantee of Origin.
“Across our markets, progress has exceeded the expectations of many industry participants, but much work remains to be done,” he said.

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China Says Solar Power Capacity Surpasses Coal for First Time
China’s installed solar energy capacity has surpassed that of coal-fired power for the first time, the national energy body said Tuesday, hailing the milestone.
China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases that drive climate change, has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
“As of the end of July this year, China’s installed solar power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts,” the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.
“For the first time, photovoltaic installed capacity surpassed coal-fired power, becoming the largest power source category in China,” it added.
The country’s coal-fired power installed capacity, the energy body said, stood at 1.285 billion kilowatts.
Solar generation rose 15.5 percent on-year in the first seven months of 2026 to 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, about one-eighth of the country’s total, the NEA said in another statement.
It did not detail in these statements what the total generation of coal-powered energy was for the first seven months of this year.
The NEA said China’s installed solar power capacity and power generation “have maintained a steady trend of rapid growth”, with it playing an “increasingly prominent role” in guaranteeing electricity supply and driving the energy transition.
Coal has been China’s key power generation source for decades and a key driver of its planet-warming emissions.
But the country’s coal-fired power generation fell by nearly two percent in 2025, despite rising energy demand in the world’s largest emitter, data reviewed by AFP showed in February.
It marked the first decline in six years, with some analysts saying it was the first time on record that coal generation dropped at the same time as power demand rose.
China has seen an explosive growth in its renewable installation, with coal’s share in its energy mix edging down in recent years.
The country installed a record 315 gigawatts of solar power and 119 gigawatts of wind power capacity last year — over 80 percent of total newly installed power generation capacity, according to the China Electricity Council.
Oil Extends Gains, Stocks Drop as Trump Issues Fresh Iran Warning
Oil prices extended gains Tuesday amid fears of a fresh bout of military exchanges between the United States and Iran following a flare-up at the weekend and Donald Trump’s warning that he will hit the country “hard”.
The latest bout of strikes between the foes has further stoked worries about inflation that has put pressure on central banks to hike interest rates, which has in turn jolted equity markets.
After six months of war, the conflict remains at an impasse, with Tehran keeping the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed and Washington continuing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
The United States carried out strikes on an Iranian island in the waterway on Sunday, with Tehran quickly retaliating by attacking US military targets in the Middle East.
The exchange raised fears of a return to major hostilities, with the US president vowing to respond.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump said, according to a Fox News reporter who spoke to him briefly. “There will be a response.”
US officials said it hit rocket launchers on the island of Larak to prevent Tehran planting mines in the strait, while Iran targeted US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE denied reports of the attack.
The exchange of fire came after weeks of relative calm, with the Trump administration recently pivoting to “economic warfare”.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “We are going to continue exerting pressure, and we’ve had very good discussions here already.”
He told reporters at a G20 meeting in North Carolina that a turning point in the pressure campaign could come “within weeks or months”.
Both main crude contracts rose Tuesday, extending the previous day’s jump of more than two percent.
“The calibrated nature of the initial actions suggests neither side is actively seeking a return to sustained conflict, but stalled talks and the strategic importance of keeping the Strait open leave the situation vulnerable to further escalation,” said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.
Trump will be meeting oil refining executives on Tuesday in a bid to tame soaring US domestic gas prices that have been a political headache for his Republican Party heading into November’s midterm elections.
Stocks mostly fell, with traders now awaiting the release of key data this month ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on September 16.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington were all down, though Taipei, Manila and Jakarta rose.
The jobs and consumer price index reports could play a major role in whether the bank hikes rates, with bets on an increase surging after boss Kevin Warsh’s hawkish speech on Friday.
Expectations for elevated inflation and rising borrowing costs pushed the yield on 10-year US Treasuries to their highest level since January 2025.
That has bled into Asia, with 10-year Japanese government bond yields touching a 30-year high on Monday.
In company news, fast-fashion giant Shein fell more than nine percent on its long-awaited Hong Kong trading debut, having raised US$1.7 billion in a high-profile initial public offering.
And shares in MediaTek soared nearly 10 percent after US tech giant Nvidia announced it has injected US$3.5 billion into the Taiwanese chipmaker.
LEAP 2026: Saudi Arabia Leads AI Era with Over $15 Bn in Technology Launches, Investments
LEAP 2026, the fifth edition of the world’s largest tech event, kicked off in Riyadh on Monday under the theme “Into New Worlds,” bringing together leading technology and artificial intelligence (AI) figures, investors, and innovators from around the world.
The conference saw the announcement of major launches, investments, and partnerships worth more than $15 billion in AI and advanced technologies, strengthening Saudi Arabia’s leadership in digital infrastructure and advanced computing and reinforcing its position as a global destination for technology investment in the intelligent era.
Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha said in his opening speech that the launches and investments were made possible through the support and empowerment of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.
Saudi Arabia is steadily advancing toward leading the AI era in partnership with major companies, innovators, and investors from around the world, he added.
Alswaha stressed that Saudi Arabia has established a global model for turning technological ambitions and commitments into tangible achievements, underpinned by agility, reliability, and speed of execution.
Technology and national talent, particularly young people, are driving the Kingdom’s progress, he went on to say.
The launches and investments are contributing to the development of an integrated AI ecosystem spanning energy, connectivity, semiconductors, data centers, accelerated computing, AI models, cloud services, and sector-specific applications, supporting the growth of the digital economy and enhancing its global competitiveness.
The conference is organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and Tahaluf, a joint venture between SAFCSP, global events company Informa, and the Events Investment Fund.
LEAP 2026 will run until September 3 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center in Malham, featuring more than 1,000 speakers, 1,900 investors, 1,800 global technology brands, and 600 startups across 16 stages and more than 20 tracks exploring the future of AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, smart cities, fintech, healthcare, space, gaming, and mobility.
Saudi-Jordanian Business Council Recommends Boosting Economic Cooperation
Meetings of the Joint Saudi-Jordanian Business Council were held in Jordan’s capital, Amman, to strengthen bilateral partnerships, promote joint projects, and address obstacles to trade and investment flows, SPA reported.
The council’s sectoral committees recommended a package of practical measures and initiatives to strengthen economic and investment cooperation, boost bilateral trade, and facilitate the movement of investors, businesspeople, and goods between the two countries.
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Hamburg-headquartered clean-tech firm 1KOMMA5°  has found that German households switching from gas heating to a solar, battery storage and heat pump package could save over 12,000 euros across 25 years, even after financing costs. The analysis compared a 10,000-euro gas heating system against a 60,000-euro clean-energy package, factoring in a 5.99% interest rate and a 16,500-euro government subsidy. Total cost came to 104,542 euros for the electrified setup versus 116,993 euros for gas over the period. 1KOMMA5° said pairing the system with its Heartbeat energy management software, which automatically stores or trades solar power, could cut electricity bills by a further 42 euros per month. The findings arrive as heat pumps became Germany’s best-selling heating technology in 2025, accounting for 48% of new installations.
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China’s solar power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, marking a milestone in the country’s transition toward cleaner energy, official data showed Tuesday.
Solar power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, edging past coal-fired capacity of 1.285 billion kilowatts, according to figures announced by China’s National Energy Administration and reported by state-run Xinhua.
Solar power has consequently become China’s largest electricity source in terms of installed capacity.
Centralized solar plants accounted for 704 million kilowatts of the total, while distributed photovoltaic systems made up 582 million kilowatts.
“This marks a milestone in China’s green and low-carbon energy transition,” said Liu Zhiqiang, an expert at the China Electricity Council.
China’s total installed power-generation capacity stood at 4.08 billion kilowatts at the end of July, with solar power accounting for more than 30% of the total.
The country added 193.97 million kilowatts of generation capacity during the first seven months of the year. Solar accounted for 85.65 million kilowatts, or more than 40% of the newly installed capacity.
Installed capacity, however, does not directly correspond to electricity production because solar generation is affected by daylight hours and weather conditions.
Photovoltaic facilities generated 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity between January and July, equivalent to about 13% of China’s total power consumption.
Coal-fired power is therefore expected to remain a key source of reliable electricity and provide support for grid stability in the short term.
China supplies more than 80% of the world’s photovoltaic modules and about 70% of its wind-power equipment, according to Xinhua.

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India’s solar module output is outpacing demand, leading to reduced factory utilisation at 35–40%  Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)
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Solar Panel Fan Kit 100W – 10 Inch Ventilation Fan For RV, Greenhouse, Shed Solar Power Fan  umlconnector.com
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In a 2023 China tea-field trial, bushes grew beneath…  inkl
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Malaysia issues long-awaited rooftop solar rules for homes under NEM programs  yahoo.com
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Ceigall India Commissions 5 MW Solar Power Plant in Maharashtra Under MSKVY 2.0  SolarQuarter
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What would happen if these trends continue? It’s tempting to picture a future where Australian homes and cities could power themselves using these two decentralised technologies.
But while rooftop solar and batteries can take us a long way, they aren’t enough to take most households off-grid – let alone run entire cities.
The real question is how much household power demand can be met by solar and batteries, at what times of day, and under what conditions. These five charts show what’s possible – and what’s not.
As of April 30, the National Energy Market had close to 26 gigawatts installed capacity of small-scale rooftop solar, which includes small-scale rooftop PV installed on homes, businesses and other eligible premises.
Solar panels never produce at their full capacity. Clouds cut output, and there’s no sun at night. As a result, that 26GW of panels produced 4GW of power on average from January to March this year.
That’s still significant. It’s equivalent to 16% of demand, and almost four times higher than the same quarter eight years ago. Solar-rich South Australia had 28% of underlying demand met by rooftop solar. During sunny, low-demand periods, rooftop solar can meet around 60% of National Energy Market demand.
Rooftop solar capacity has been increasing rapidly since 2017. But it could go much higher still. Australia’s energy market operator (AEMO) projects small-scale solar capacity (rooftop and other small systems) could almost triple by 2050 to around 87GW.
If all suitable household rooftops were fully used for solar, capacity could reach around 61GW. But homes are only part of Australia’s rooftop solar potential. Once commercial, industrial and other buildings are included, the technical potential is much larger – around 179GW.
This also helps explain why AEMO forecasts for small-scale solar capacity eventually rises above 61GW – its forecast includes rooftop and other small-scale systems on businesses and other premises as well as homes. When large-scale solar farms are also counted, Australia is likely to pass 61GW of total solar capacity within a decade.

This progress is significant. But it also changes the problem that the grid must solve.
Before the rise of wind, solar and batteries, coal plants supplied much of Australia’s electricity. These work best when running steadily, as they can increase or decrease output relatively slowly.
Solar changes this equation.
Power from rooftop solar first meets demand within homes and businesses. At times, solar can exceed local demand, requiring excess power to be exported to the grid, stored or curtailed. As the sun sets, solar output falls rapidly. Demand for grid-supplied electricity then rises sharply, often peaking in late afternoon or evening.
This pattern of low daytime demand and high evening demand is known as the “duck curve”. It poses challenges for grid operators, who have to manage very low grid demand during the day and then rapidly bring on other generation or storage as solar output falls and evening demand rises.
The problem can be partly solved by coordinating home batteries and other types of energy storage, as they can store excess solar and release it at peak times.
While rooftop solar and home batteries have clear promise, they’re not a simple substitute for the grid, especially during evenings, heatwaves or prolonged cloudy periods.
Heavy industry, data centres and other big power users require substantial and often continuous supplies of electricity which cannot be wholly met by small-scale energy production.
Home batteries are already reducing how much power households buy from the grid.
But their usable stored energy remains limited relative to the amount of rooftop solar generation available. They’re good at reducing how much expensive power households buy at peak times, but not so good at providing extended backup over an extended cloudy period or during evenings amid an intense heatwave.
What we’re likely to see is rooftop solar and household batteries operating alongside large-scale solar and wind farms to supply much of Australia’s electricity as conditions allow.
We will still need local networks to supply electricity when solar output is low, and carry surplus power in the opposite direction. New transmission lines are needed to better connect large scale renewable areas with cities and heavy industry.
Long-duration energy storage, such as pumped hydro and grid-scale batteries, will be necessary to keep Australia running through periods of low wind and sunlight. A few gas plants will have to be kept as backup.
As the renewable transition progresses, we will need to judge progress not by how many solar arrays and home batteries have been installed, but by how well we can make use of them alongside larger-scale renewables and storage.
We should not aim for a future where household after household quits the grid. Far better to build a resilient, integrated system where homes produce and store more electricity, power grids deal with two-way flows of power intelligently and large-scale renewables and storage cover the periods rooftop solar and batteries can’t respond to.
Author: Magnus Söderberg, Professor and Director, Centre for Applied Energy Economics and Policy Research, Griffith University
This article was initially published in The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons Licence.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: [email protected].
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An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows maintenance workers patrolling an aquaculture-photovoltaic hybrid project in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
China's installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country's largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China's installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, edging past coal-fired power capacity of 1.285 billion kilowatts, according to the administration.
"This marks a milestone in China's green and low-carbon energy transition," said Liu Zhiqiang, an expert from the China Electricity Council, adding that the country's new power system, with new energy as the mainstay, is taking shape at an accelerated pace.
By the end of July, PV power accounted for more than 30 percent of China's total installed power generation capacity. Measured by newly added capacity, the share rose to more than 40 percent in the first seven months, underscoring the rapid expansion of the PV sector.
China has built a complete PV industry chain covering research and development, design and integrated manufacturing. Technological advances, including repeated breakthroughs in PV conversion efficiency, have helped drive continuous upgrades and rapid cost reductions.
China's rapid development of PV power and other forms of new energy is also making a positive contribution globally.
With the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, the country supplies more than 80 percent of the PV modules and 70 percent of the wind power equipment around the world, assisting the green transition in many countries.
In particular, amid uncertainties in global supplies of energy and key raw materials, China's growing new energy capacity helped it meet domestic energy demand while contributing to the stability of global energy markets and supply chains, experts said. 
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DVC Inaugurates 8 MW Ground-Mounted Solar PV Plant at Panchet  SolarQuarter
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Solar overtakes coal as China’s largest source of installed power capacity  Reuters
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Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2026-09-01 13:36:16
China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday. #XinhuaNews

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Savings grow as energy prices in Great Britain rise and cost of panel installation falls, analysis finds
Households in Great Britain’s cloudiest regions could still save more than £400 a year on their energy bills by installing rooftop solar panels, research has found.
Rising wholesale energy prices mean the potential savings from a home solar panel system have climbed in recent years, as the cost of installation has continued to fall, leading to increased demand.
An analysis carried out for the Guardian has found that in areas with the fewest sunny days, solar panels could bring annual savings of about £450 a year on the average household electricity bill. In areas with the brightest skies, this figure could climb to more than £600.
The findings, provided by the UK solar firm Recharge Renewable, show that households in southern Scotland could save on average £440 a year, based on the estimated solar generation in Glasgow over a year, while homes in the north-west of England could save £463, based on the generation likely in Manchester.
In southern England, where brighter weather means more solar generation, savings on bills could climb to between £571 and £618 a year for households in Brighton and Southampton, respectively, according to the figures.
The potential savings have increased in recent years as conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East have compounded Britain’s rising electricity prices, leading to a boom in rooftop solar installations. Large-scale installations have also climbed under the Labour government, which has set a target to triple the UK’s solar farms by 2030.
A Guardian analysis of the government’s official figures revealed there were more new solar power installations in the first half of this year than in any six-month period since 2011, the year the UK built its first large-scale solar farm, in Cornwall.
Most of the new solar panels recorded are on household rooftops, with these smaller solar installations making up slightly less than a third of the country’s total solar power capacity.
The increase in capacity allowed solar power to supply 14.4% of Great Britain’s electricity in July, more than in any previous month, after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year. The rise was due to the summer heatwaves, made more severe by the climate crisis, which has triggered drought and record temperatures across Europe.
Recharge Renewable, a Somerset-based solar provider, warned that households hoping to save on their energy bills from solar panels need to pay attention to the set-up of each rooftop system as well as the regional potential.
“Even in cloudier parts of Britain, a typical 4kW system can still be worth around £450 a year in electricity used at home under the current price cap,” a spokesperson said.
“The catch is that this is the value of the units displaced, not a finished bill, and a north-facing or shaded roof will not match a modelled south-facing array. Households should compare any regional headline with their own annual use, then look at whether a battery or more daytime demand would keep more of that generation on site.”
The company’s analysis used the typical electricity output from a standard, south-facing 4kW rooftop solar system, and data for the average energy use of the typical household. These figures were then adjusted for each of Great Britain’s 14 regions, using satellite imagery to measure the different levels of annual sunshine across big cities and accounting for varying electricity rates.
The calculations do not include the use of a battery and assume that each household uses only 50% of the electricity generated over a year. This means that bill payers who use more solar power while working from home, for example, or by timing appliances to run during daylight hours, could make even greater savings.
However, a typical 4kW solar system costs about £7,000 after the government removed VAT for solar upgrades. This puts the upfront cost out of reach of many families and has prompted calls for the government to step in to help make rooftop solar more affordable for people on lower incomes.
Plug-in solar panels went on sale in the UK for the first time last week, allowing households unable to use rooftop set-ups to generate power from their balconies.

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R&M, the globally active developer and provider of infrastructure solutions for data and communications networks, based in Wetzikon, Switzerland, has expanded its offering for wind and solar farms.
The solutions cover the requirements for network connections ranging from outdoor applications to local data networks in operation centers.
Digitalization is helping to increase the value of every megawatt-hour produced. The exchange of information between power plant operators, electricity exchanges and public utilities is increasing. They are increasingly using cloud services, AI, big data models, virtual power plants, and data-driven trading strategies. Energy production and consumption therefore require a fail-safe flow of data in both directions.
The complete integration of distant and extensive onshore and offshore parks into robust data networks is crucial. The facilities must be continuously accessible for decades, regardless of the weather, as the players rely on real-time data.
R&M focuses on non-application-specific cabling systems. These support all network architectures and communication requirements based on the universal data network and Internet protocol Ethernet/IP. Parallel wiring, for example for bus systems, is superfluous in many cases or can be integrated.
Wind farms are subject to challenging operating conditions. Installed high up, the power plant nacelles move, vibrate, and are exposed to temperature fluctuations. Offshore farms also have to contend with salty air. In the facilities, strong electromagnetic fields can also interfere with electrical data transmission. This is why R&M recommends fiber optic cabling and optical data transmission. These ensure the most stable solution for data traffic over long distances.
Wind and solar farm operators should not compromise on the quality of cables, splice closures, and connectors. Network components must be designed to operate within a temperature range of -40° C to +85° C, have a tensile strength above 450 N and be UV-resistant. Outdoor products must be dust-tight and waterproof, impact-resistant, and non-corroding in accordance with the requirements of protection class IP68. Plug-and-play solutions that enable fast and safe assembly are the ideal installation method.
R&M has designed its outdoor connectivity portfolio for use in harsh environments, such as mobile phone masts, wind and solar farms. The key element is the Harsh Environment Connector (HEC) for optical data links. The dust-tight and waterproof, tensile and shatterproof housing of the HEC connector meets Telcordia standards. Compared to the IEC standard common in Europe, Telcordia defines relevant disturbance parameters such as vibration, temperature change, and mechanical robustness more strictly. In addition to the HEC-QR connector, the pre-terminable and maintenance-free LUNAR Box is recommended for fiber optic plug-and-play installations in harsh environments.
In addition to the resilience of the products, cost efficiency is an important aspect for operators of wind and solar farms, and is achieved as the solution comes from a single source and is professionally coordinated from the outset. Cost efficiency considers the costs of purchasing materials, installation, and maintenance over the entire life cycle of the wiring.
R&M supports projects ranging from planning to the launch of the data network, and offers the pre-termination of assemblies, connection boxes, splice closures, and distributors. The units are delivered ready for assembly. R&M service teams provide technical support remotely or on site. The infrastructure solutions and services for wind and solar farms from R&M are available worldwide.
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Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2026-09-01 14:30:15

A drone photo taken on Sept. 2, 2025 shows a new energy base in Kubuqi Desert, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday. China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)
BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity has surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, edging past the coal-fired power capacity of 1.285 billion kilowatts, according to the administration.
“This marks a milestone in China’s green and low-carbon energy transition,” said Liu Zhiqiang, an expert from the China Electricity Council, adding that the country’s new power system, with new energy as the mainstay, is taking shape at an accelerated pace.
By the end of July, PV power had accounted for more than 30 percent of China’s total installed power generation capacity. Measured by newly added capacity, the share rose to over 40 percent in the first seven months of 2026, underscoring the rapid expansion of the PV sector.
China has built a complete PV industry chain covering research and development, design and integrated manufacturing. Technological advances, including repeated breakthroughs in PV conversion efficiency, have helped drive continuous upgrades and swift cost reductions.
China’s speedy development of PV power and other forms of new energy is also making a positive contribution globally.
With the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, the country supplies over 80 percent of PV modules and 70 percent of wind power equipment around the world, assisting the green transition in many countries.
In particular, amid uncertainties in global supplies of energy and key raw materials, China’s growing new energy capacity helped it meet domestic energy demand while contributing to the stability of global energy markets and supply chains, experts said.
Installed capacity, however, does not equate to actual power generation. From January to July, PV power generation totaled 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, accounting for 13 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption.
“PV power is highly intermittent and volatile due to day-night cycles and weather conditions, with utilization hours far lower than those of coal-fired power. In the short term, coal-fired power will remain a major source of support for the power system in China, serving as a backstop for power system security,” Liu said.
China is now moving to strengthen the role of renewable energy in ensuring a secure and reliable power supply. Several energy plans for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) have set out specific measures to better integrate renewable energy into the power system.
For example, the country aims to achieve around 6 trillion kilowatt-hours in annual renewable power generation by 2030, with wind and PV power generation expected to exceed 4 trillion kilowatt-hours.
China will strive to make PV power more predictable and dispatchable through continued technological innovation and diversified applications, including integrated PV-storage systems and PV hydrogen production, Liu noted. ■

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 27, 2026 shows a view of a photovoltaic power project in Sanxing Town of Shizhu County, southwest China’s Chongqing. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

This photo taken on June 1, 2026 shows an aquaculture-photovoltaic power project in Xiaojiazhuang Town, Liaocheng City, east China’s Shandong Province. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Photo by Ma Hongkun/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 30, 2026 shows photovoltaic panels in Wutou Town of Xin’an County in Luoyang, central China’s Henan Province. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Photo by Huang Zhengwei/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on May 30, 2026 shows a wind-photovoltaic power project in Yuantou Town of Zanhuang County, north China’s Hebei Province. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 19, 2026 shows an aquaculture-photovoltaic power project in Gongdao Town of Hanjiang District, Yangzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 27, 2026 shows an aquaculture-photovoltaic hybrid project in Fengdu County, southwest China’s Chongqing. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

A drone photo taken on May 20, 2026 shows a view of a photovoltaic power station at Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

A drone photo taken on Aug. 25, 2026 shows the rooftop photovoltaic devices of a company in Huzhou City, east China’s Zhejiang Province. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 6, 2025 shows a view of the Shichengzi photovoltaic power station in Hami City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration. (Photo by Feng Yang/Xinhua)

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LONGi Reports RMB 27.05 Billion Revenue in H1 2026 as BC Module Shipments Surge 125%  SolarQuarter
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Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2026-09-01 13:36:16
China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday. #XinhuaNews

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China's installed solar energy capacity has surpassed that of coal-fired power for the first time, the national energy body said Tuesday, hailing the milestone.
China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases that drive climate change, has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
"As of the end of July this year, China's installed solar power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts," the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.
"For the first time, photovoltaic installed capacity surpassed coal-fired power, becoming the largest power source category in China," it added.
The country's coal-fired power installed capacity, the energy body said, stood at 1.285 billion kilowatts.
The NEA said China's installed solar power capacity and power generation "have maintained a steady trend of rapid growth", with it playing an "increasingly prominent role" in guaranteeing electricity supply and driving the energy transition.
Coal has been China's key power generation source for decades and a key driver of its planet-warming emissions.
But the country's coal-fired power generation fell by nearly two percent in 2025, despite rising energy demand in the world's largest emitter, data reviewed by AFP showed in February.
It marked the first decline in six years, with some analysts saying it was the first time on record that coal generation dropped at the same time as power demand rose.
China has seen an explosive growth in its renewable installation, with coal's share in its energy mix edging down in recent years.
The country installed a record 315 gigawatts of solar power and 119 gigawatts of wind power capacity last year — over 80 percent of total newly installed power generation capacity, according to the China Electricity Council.
AFP
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
 
 
 

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Waaree Energies’ board has approved the consolidation of some of its module manufacturing operations in Gujarat. The company plans to relocate plant and machinery from its 1 GW Tumb facility and 1.11 GW Nandigram facility to its existing manufacturing site in Chikhli.
Waaree said in December 2025 that its total solar module manufacturing capacity in India, including Indosolar, had reached 20.17 GW. Its Chikhli facility accounted for 16.44 GW of capacity approved under India’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM). The company also operates 5.4 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity in Chikhli. The relocation of the Tumb and Nandigram equipment is a consolidation of existing production assets and therefore does not, by itself, represent an additional 2.11 GW of group manufacturing capacity.
The board has also approved approximately $37 million of capital expenditure by Waaree Solar Americas Inc. (WSA), a wholly owned subsidiary, to revamp its module manufacturing facility in Arizona, United States.
The project will replace the facility’s existing module production lines with higher-efficiency equipment and increase its annual manufacturing capacity from 1 GW to 1.6 GW.
Following the expansion, Waaree Energies said its total module manufacturing capacity in the United States will reach 4.8 GW, comprising 3.2 GW in Texas and 1.6 GW in Arizona.
The company said the Arizona investment will be financed through a combination of debt and internal accruals.
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The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced it would provide University of Sydney researchers with AUD 7.25 million ($5.2 million) towards a AUD 19.5 million project to develop more durable Silicon (Si)-perovskite tandem solar cells in order to maintain their high efficiencies for commercial use.
The University of Sydney team will partner with Brisbane-based solar panel manufacturing startup Unison Solar Energy and scientists from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University to take the next-generation technology from research towards commercial-scale production. 
“Our ambition is to pioneer a new era of Australian solar manufacturing and commercialize leading technologies here at home,” Unison Solar Chief Executive Officer Allen Guo said.
Si-perovskite tandem cell technology has demonstrated the potential to overcome the performance limitations of current solar technologies that rely on silicon as the sole semiconductor. Silicon’s conversion rate – the amount of solar energy it converts into electricity – currently peaks at about 25% but the researchers said Si-perovskite tandem cell technology could theoretically deliver conversion efficiencies of about 40%.
Team leader Professor Anita Ho-Baillie, John Hooke Chair of Nanoscience at the University of Sydney Nano Institute and School of Physics, said the researchers’ efforts have focused on stacking perovskites, made from synthesising metal with halogens, on top of silicon to form a tandem solar cell, rather than using silicon as the sole semiconductor. 
“There isn’t much room for silicon to improve because its theoretical limit is only 30%, but for perovskite-silicon tandem, it is about 40%,” she said. 
The research team has already shown the greater efficiency of the Si-perovskite technology, achieving Australia’s first 30% efficient Si-perovskite tandems on small and large areas. The team has also reported tandem cells passing industry standard tests against thermal extremes and moisture.  
Despite the potential of the technology, scaling devices beyond the laboratory and ensuring their stability under real-world conditions has proven challenging. Perovskite materials can break down when exposed to light, heat, moisture and mechanical stress.
Ho-Baillie said the new funding will help the researchers prove the reliability of Si-perovskite cells under a series of industry standards and take tandem-cell technology one step closer to becoming commercially viable. The ultimate goal is to improve the cells’ ability to maintain their conversion rate over the life expectancy of solar panels. 
“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to make research we’ve been doing at the university for the last six years translational,” she said. “Our next round of testing will prove this technology’s ability to cope with UV light and mechanical stresses.”
Unison Solar, which is establishing a solar panel production facility in Brisbane’s outer suburbs with an initial 500 MW manufacturing capacity, will work with the researchers during the commercialisation stage.
Guo, a former chief operating officer at Jinko Solar, said the Queensland-headquartered company will assess manufacturing costs, supply chains, customer needs and pathways to pilot production and scale-up.
“This project marks the beginning of collaboration with leading Australian research institutions for Unison Solar Energy,” he said, with the company aiming to establish gigawatt-scale production of advanced solar products in Australia.
Goa, a former chief operating officer at Jinko Solar, said Unison’s goal is to establish a manufacturing-ready technology platform capable of delivering next-generation tandem solar products with outstanding performance and long-term field reliability.
“Australia has been at the forefront of global solar research for more than 50 years, but local manufacturing remains limited and has not reached the scale our energy transition demands,” he said. “By combining Unison’s capability, technology and vision with ARENA’s support and the University of Sydney’s research expertise, we intend to deliver affordable, high-quality Australian-made solar products to Australian families. This is the start of our exciting journey.”
The project is one of 20 research and development initiatives to secure funded as part of a $105.6 million funding round announced by ARENA.
The funding will support projects spanning improved efficiency, cost and stability across advanced cells and modules, to innovations that can help improve solar farm deployment, operations and maintenance. and reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).
“Australia has played a leading role in the development of solar technology, and these projects will help ensure we continue to strengthen that position,” ARENA acting CEO Chris Faris said.
“The portfolio brings together a mix of near-term improvements and breakthrough technologies that have the potential to lower costs, improve performance and accelerate the deployment of solar energy both in Australia and around the world.”
“Achieving ultra low-cost solar requires innovation across the entire value chain. From the solar cells and modules themselves through to the way solar farms are built, operated and maintained, these projects will help unlock practical solutions that support a faster, more affordable energy transition.”
The funding is to be delivered over five years, commencing in 2027.
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The global perovskite solar cell market size was valued at USD 241.68 million in 2025 and is estimated to grow from USD 346.47 million in 2026 to USD 6181.48 million by 2034, registering a CAGR of 43.36% during the forecast period (2026–2034). Asia Pacific dominated the perovskite solar cell market with a market share of 47.14% in 2025.
Perovskite solar cells are photovoltaic devices that use perovskite structured semiconductor materials to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. These cells offer high power conversion efficiency, low-cost manufacturing potential, and compatibility with flexible and lightweight solar modules. They are widely used in utility-scale solar projects, building integrated photovoltaics, portable electronic devices, and tandem solar cell applications.
The perovskite solar cell market demand is increasing due to the growing adoption of renewable energy, the rising focus on high-efficiency photovoltaic technologies, and the need for cost-effective solar power generation. Manufacturers are adopting perovskite solar cells to improve energy conversion efficiency and reduce production costs. Advances in material stability, increasing investments in the next generation of solar technologies, and expanding renewable energy infrastructure are also contributing to the perovskite solar cell market growth.
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The perovskite solar cell market is highly exposed to supply chain disruptions due to its dependence on specialty precursor materials, transparent conductive substrates, encapsulation materials, and advanced manufacturing equipment. Disruptions in the supply of critical materials and production equipment have delayed pilot-scale manufacturing, increased production costs, and slowed the commercialization of perovskite solar technologies across global markets. Logistics constraints and trade uncertainties have also affected research collaborations, technology transfer, and the expansion of manufacturing capacity within the photovoltaic ecosystem. The market is experiencing a J-shaped recovery, supported by accelerating investments in next-generation solar technologies, expanding commercial production capacity, and strong policy support for clean energy deployment.
Shift toward Lead-Free and Eco-Friendly Perovskite Materials
Environmental regulations and sustainability goals are encouraging manufacturers to develop lead-reduced and lead-free perovskite materials. This transition improves the environmental profile of perovskite solar cells and supports their adoption in commercial and utility-scale projects. It also helps manufacturers meet future regulatory requirements while expanding market acceptance. For example, Oxford PV is advancing more sustainable perovskite silicon tandem solar technologies for commercial deployment.
Adoption of Protective Barrier Films in Perovskite Solar Cells
The need for improved durability is driving the adoption of advanced encapsulation materials and protective barrier films in perovskite solar cells. This transition enhances resistance to moisture, heat, and ultraviolet exposure, resulting in longer operational life and better performance. Improved reliability is supporting the commercialization of perovskite solar technology for outdoor energy applications. For example, Microquanta Semiconductor has developed encapsulation solutions to improve the stability of its perovskite photovoltaic modules.
The perovskite solar cell market forecasts continued investment activity driven by the growing adoption of renewable energy, increasing demand for high-efficiency photovoltaic technologies, and the commercialization of next-generation solar cells.
Key Investment and Funding Activities in Perovskite Solar Cell Market, 2025–2026
Sofab Inks
USD 6 Million
In July 2026, Sofab Inks secured a seed funding round led by Cloudberry Ventures to accelerate the commercialization of its specialty durability-focused layers for perovskite solar modules.
Tandem PV
USD 50 Million
In March 2025, Tandem PV secured a Series A and debt financing round led by Eclipse to build a commercial-scale manufacturing facility.
Demand for Efficient Solar Panels and Government Support for Advanced Solar Technology Drives Market
The need to generate more electricity from limited installation space is driving demand for high-efficiency solar panels. Perovskite solar cells offer higher energy conversion efficiency and lightweight designs, making them suitable for residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects. This is encouraging manufacturers and developers to accelerate their adoption. For example, Oxford PV has commercialized perovskite silicon tandem solar cells with higher efficiency than conventional silicon modules.
Government funding and clean energy policies are accelerating the development of advanced photovoltaic technologies. Financial incentives and demonstration programs are encouraging manufacturers to scale perovskite solar cell production and commercial applications. This support is reducing commercialization barriers and strengthening demand from renewable energy developers. It is also accelerating the transition toward next-generation solar technologies.
High Commercialization Costs and Lack of Standardized Manufacturing Processes Restrains Market Expansion
High commercialization costs remain a major restraint for the perovskite solar cell market. Scaling production from laboratory research to commercial manufacturing requires significant investment in production facilities, process optimization, and quality control. This increases financial risks for manufacturers and slows the large-scale adoption of perovskite solar technologies.
The lack of standardized manufacturing processes is limiting the commercial deployment of perovskite solar cells. Variations in material composition and fabrication methods make it difficult to achieve consistent product quality and large-scale production. This affects customer confidence and delays adoption across residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications.
Integration with Electric Vehicles and Growth in Off-Grid & Remote Power Applications Open New Revenue Avenues
The growing adoption of electric vehicles is creating opportunities for perovskite solar cell manufacturers and automotive companies to integrate lightweight solar cells into vehicle roofs and body panels. This enables auxiliary power generation and improves vehicle energy efficiency without adding significant weight. As vehicle-integrated photovoltaics gain commercial acceptance, demand for flexible perovskite solar cells is expected to increase. For example, Hanergy and Toyota have explored solar-powered vehicle technologies using lightweight photovoltaic materials.
The need for reliable electricity in remote locations is creating opportunities for perovskite solar cell manufacturers, telecom operators, and rural energy providers. Their lightweight design and easy deployment make them suitable for off-grid homes, telecommunications infrastructure, disaster relief systems, and remote monitoring equipment. As rural electrification and decentralized renewable energy projects expand, the adoption of perovskite solar cells is expected to accelerate.
Limited Bankability for Large-Scale Projects and Complex Certification & Qualification Requirements Hinder Growth
The limited long-term operating history of perovskite solar cells makes it difficult for developers to secure financing for utility-scale projects. Investors, lenders, and project developers continue to prefer commercially proven photovoltaic technologies with established performance records. This slows large-scale project deployment and delays market growth.
Perovskite solar cell manufacturers face challenges in meeting international reliability and certification standards required for commercial deployment. Extensive testing under different environmental conditions increases product validation time and delays market entry. This slows technology adoption across residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications.
The rigid perovskite solar cells segment accounted for a share of 54.74% in 2025, owing to the deployment in utility-scale and commercial solar projects, higher structural stability, and compatibility with conventional photovoltaic module manufacturing processes. Continuous improvements in module durability, large-area fabrication, and production scalability further supported the segment’s dominant position.
The flexible perovskite solar cells segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 45.26% during the forecast period, driven by the demand for lightweight and bendable photovoltaic solutions across portable electronics, wearable devices, and building integrated applications.
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The perovskite silicon tandem solar cells segment accounted for a share of 58.84% in 2025 due to higher power conversion efficiency, compatibility with existing silicon manufacturing infrastructure, and growing commercialization by photovoltaic manufacturers.
The single junction perovskite solar cells segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 41.57% during the forecast period, fueled by lower manufacturing complexity, ongoing material innovation, and expanding research for lightweight photovoltaic applications. Their cost-effective production potential is supporting adoption across emerging solar technologies.
The utility scale power generation segment accounted for a share of 42.74% in 2025, supported by investments in renewable energy infrastructure, deployment of large-scale solar farms, and demand for high-efficiency photovoltaic technologies. Utility developers are evaluating perovskite solar cells to maximize energy generation while optimizing land utilization.
The building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44.83% during the forecast period, propelled by increasing construction of energy-efficient buildings, demand for aesthetically integrated solar solutions, and supportive green building regulations. The ability of perovskite solar cells to be integrated into windows, façades, and rooftops is supporting segment expansion.
The solution processed segment accounted for a share of 61.48% in 2025 due to its low production cost, simple fabrication process, and compatibility with large-area manufacturing. High material utilization, reduced manufacturing waste, and scalability further supported its widespread commercial adoption.
The vacuum deposition segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 40.92% during the forecast period, driven by its ability to produce highly uniform thin films with improved device quality and performance. Investments in precision manufacturing and high-efficiency photovoltaic technologies are supporting the adoption of vacuum-based fabrication methods.
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Asia Pacific: Market Dominance Led by Strong Solar Manufacturing Base and Large Scale Renewable Energy Deployment
The Asia Pacific perovskite solar cell market accounted for the largest regional share of 47.14% in 2025. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Asia accounted for the majority of newly installed renewable power capacity globally in 2025, supporting demand for advanced photovoltaic technologies.
The China perovskite solar cell market was valued at USD 89.41 million in 2025, driven by its dominant position in global photovoltaic manufacturing, continuous investment in next-generation solar technologies, and expanding pilot production of perovskite and tandem solar cells. Government support for clean energy manufacturing, strong research capabilities, and the presence of major photovoltaic companies are accelerating commercialization across the country.
The India perovskite solar cell market was valued at USD 21.75 million in 2025, supported by expanding solar power capacity, government initiatives to strengthen domestic photovoltaic manufacturing, and growing investments in advanced renewable energy technologies. India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is supporting the development of next-generation photovoltaic technologies, including perovskite and tandem solar cells, through its renewable-energy research and development programs, strengthening the country’s advanced solar technology ecosystem.
The Japan perovskite solar cell market was valued at USD 18.63 million in 2025, supported by strong research and development activities, commercialization of lightweight and flexible solar technologies, and increasing adoption of building-integrated photovoltaics. Japan is targeting the deployment of approximately 20 GW of perovskite solar power by 2040, supporting long-term commercialization and adoption of lightweight solar technologies across buildings and other space-constrained applications.
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Europe: Fastest Growth Driven by Strong Research Funding and Commercialization of Next-Generation Solar Technologies
The Europe perovskite solar cell market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44.82% during the forecast period, showcasing the fastest regional growth. According to the European Commission, the EU Solar Energy Strategy continues to support the deployment of advanced photovoltaic technologies and strengthen Europe’s solar manufacturing ecosystem.
The Germany perovskite solar cell market was valued at USD 19.42 million in 2025, driven by strong investments in photovoltaic research, expanding pilot production facilities, and collaboration between research institutes and solar manufacturers. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is supporting the “PrOSub” project with around USD 3.2 million to develop industrially scalable perovskite solar-cell production processes, strengthening the country’s domestic perovskite PV manufacturing ecosystem.
The United Kingdom perovskite solar cell market was valued at USD 12.84 million in 2025, supported by increasing investments in advanced photovoltaic research and commercialization of perovskite silicon tandem solar technologies. In 2025, UK-based Oxford PV began commercial production of perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells at its Brandenburg facility, supporting the transition of perovskite technology from research toward commercial-scale manufacturing.
The France perovskite solar cell market was valued at USD 10.96 million in 2025, driven by growing investments in advanced photovoltaic research, supportive clean energy policies, and increasing collaboration between research institutes and solar technology companies. The country’s focus on carbon neutrality, expansion of solar power capacity, and development of next-generation photovoltaic materials is supporting the commercialization of perovskite solar cell technologies.
The perovskite solar cell market competitive landscape is moderately fragmented, with competition centered on technology developers, photovoltaic manufacturers, research institutions, and clean energy companies advancing next-generation solar technologies. Leading players compete through improvements in power conversion efficiency, material stability, and scalable manufacturing processes. Emerging companies are focusing on pilot-scale production, strategic collaborations, and innovation in flexible & lightweight photovoltaic solutions. The perovskite solar cell market ecosystem is shaped by continuous research & development, supportive government funding, and expanding renewable energy deployment.
June 2026: Oxford PV and Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) announced a technology collaboration to integrate perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells with Matrix Shingle interconnection technology for the development of high-efficiency photovoltaic modules.
February 2026: First Solar and Oxford PV signed a patent licensing agreement for the U.S. market, enabling First Solar to develop and commercialize perovskite-based photovoltaic technologies using Oxford PV’s patent portfolio.
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Solar Surpasses Coal as China’s Top Source of Power Capacity  Bloomberg.com
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The global solar PV operations and maintenance (O&M) market reached 348 GW at the end of 2025, after adding 61 GW during the year. The expansion came amid accelerating industry consolidation, with the 15 largest providers managing 200 GW, or 57% of the capacity analyzed.
The figures come from Wood Mackenzie’s “Global Solar PV O&M Service Provider Dynamics 2026” report, which examines portfolio sizes, cost trends and service strategies among more than 130 active providers across the Americas, Asia-Pacific excluding China, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Consolidation accelerated in 2025, with the 15 largest providers adding a combined 41 GW to their portfolios to reach 200 GW of managed capacity. NovaSource Power Services retained its position as the world’s largest solar PV O&M provider, with 38.4 GW under management at the end of the year.
RES Energy Global Services, Solv Energy, Solarig Energy Services and Recurrent Energy retained their positions among the five largest providers globally. Several are pursuing cross-regional expansion strategies as scale becomes an increasingly important competitive factor.
The rankings also saw new entrants. BayWa r.e. Services and Origis Energy Services joined the global top 15 after adding 2.6 GW and 1.8 GW, respectively, to their managed portfolios.
Engie more than doubled its O&M portfolio in 2025, rising six places to rank eighth globally. Growth was driven primarily by the Americas, where its portfolio expanded by 172%.
Sterling & Wilson recorded 53% year-on-year growth, taking its managed capacity to 13.5 GW and placing it sixth globally. The company also leads the Asia-Pacific market, where it manages 12.2 GW.
Among smaller providers, megaom, the independent O&M unit of FRV, recorded the strongest percentage growth. Its portfolio expanded by 243% to 3.8 GW, taking the company into the global top 30 for the first time.
Regional markets showed markedly different trends. Wood Mackenzie described North America as a mature and highly competitive market, with pricing pressure pushing down the cost of comprehensive O&M services. Prices for “full-wrap” contracts fell 18% year on year.
By contrast, O&M volumes in the Middle East and Africa nearly doubled in 2025. Historically lower market penetration, combined with rapid growth in PV installations, is attracting new service providers to the regions.
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Photovoltaic panels in a local village in Hukou County, Jiujiang City convert sunlight into clean electricity, Jiangxi Province, China, August 19, 2026. /VCG
China’s installed solar capacity has overtaken coal-fired power for the first time, making it the country’s largest power source, the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday.
By the end of July, installed photovoltaic (PV) power accounted for 31.5% of China’s total power capacity – 1.286 billion kilowatts. In the first seven months of the year, solar generation topped 802.4 billion kilowatt-hours, up 15.5% from last year. That’s one in every eight kilowatt-hours of electricity generated in China.
China already makes eight out of every ten photovoltaic modules worldwide, and its next-gen tech is moving fast.
Over the next five years, investment in the solar industry is expected to surpass 2 trillion yuan (about $297.6 billion). That means more green power, stronger energy security and a cleaner economic engine.

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Solar rooftop photovoltaic power generation facilities are seen on a building in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province, on June 23, 2026. Photo: VCG
Western media outlets have long viewed China’s renewable energy progress with a bias rooted in competitive anxiety, warning …
China’s total installed power-generating capacity reached 3.99 billion kilowatts (kW) by the end of April, rising 14.2 percent …
The total capacity of China’s wind turbines and photovoltaic panels reached 820 million kilowatts by the end of …

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ARENA backs next solar generation with over $100 million  manmonthly.com.au
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From pv magazine Global
Utraviolet (UV) radiation has been long recognized as a key driver of PV module degradation. This factor, however, is significantly underestimated in current testing standards, particularly for modern system designs and high-irradiance regions.
With this in mind, a group of researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia has developed a high-precision global UV irradiance model on tilted surfaces, capturing the impact of system design, climate, and atmospheric conditions.
“Our new model demonstrates that identical module technologies degrade differently depending on deployment location, highlighting the need for climate-specific reliability assessment,” corresponding author Bram Hoex told pv magazine. “It also offers a pathway to move beyond generic accelerated testing toward regionally relevant degradation modeling and qualification protocols.”
The researchers highlighted that global UV irradiance can range from below 30 W/m² in high-latitude regions to over 80 W/m² in deserts and dry climates. In some locations, the UV dose specified in the IEC 61215 standard, which is just 15 kWh/m², can be reached in less than two months. By contrast, real-world exposure over a module’s lifetime is orders of magnitude higher.
“Current testing thresholds are simply too low to replicate long-term field conditions,” the authors noted, adding that even enhanced protocols fall short of simulating 25–30 years of operation.
One of the most striking findings of the study relates to system design. The researchers compared fixed-tilt installations with single-axis tracking (SAT) systems and found that trackers receive significantly more UV radiation due to their orientation toward the sun throughout the day.

In high-irradiance regions, such as deserts, single-axis tracking (SAT) systems can be exposed to up to 1.5 times more UV radiation than fixed-tilt systems, leading to degradation rates that are nearly twice as high. This results in annual UV-driven degradation rates of up to 0.35% per year for SAT systems, compared with approximately 0.25% per year for fixed-tilt installations.
Over the course of a typical project lifetime, this difference can accumulate to several percentage points of additional power loss, directly impacting the economics and long-term performance of the PV system.
The study also showed that identical PV modules can degrade at markedly different rates depending on their installation location. The key factors driving this variability include UV irradiance, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions such as ozone levels, aerosols, and cloud cover. Among the most challenging environments are tropical and desert regions, where high UV exposure combines with intense thermal and environmental stress, accelerating module degradation.
“Current standards significantly underestimate real-world UV exposure, in some cases by orders of magnitude relative to lifetime conditions,” Hoex stressed. “UV exposure varies significantly with location and system configuration, with tracking systems experiencing up to around two times higher degradation rates in high-irradiance regions. In arid and tropical climates, UV-induced degradation can reach about 0.25–0.35%/year, contributing substantially to long-term performance loss.”
The novel high-precision model to estimate UV radiation in PV systems was presented in the paper “Closing the UV-Induced Photodegradation Gap Through Global Scale Modeling of Fixed Tilt and Tracking Photovoltaic Systems,” pubished in the IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics.
“This work forms part of our group’s broader effort to connect fundamental degradation mechanisms with system-level impacts in the field, combining targeted accelerated testing—such as UV, damp heat, and contamination—with physics-based and data-driven modeling at the system scale to quantify how both established and emerging failure modes translate into real-world energy yield losses across diverse climates and system designs,” Hoex concluded.
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Solar Power World
By Kelly Pickerel | August 31, 2026
Of the many developments in the solar industry over the last decade, one of the most exciting to witness has been the build-out of solar panel recycling facilities across the country. Once just a problem for later down the road, solar panel recycling is already happening at scale by companies fully invested in the specialized industry — We Recycle Solar, SolarCycle, SolarPanelRecycling.com (SPR) and many more.
Solar panel recycling process. Credit: SPR
Although part of a green-minded industry, recyclers don’t process solar panels just for the good feelings; they are running a business after all. Right now, the primary moneymakers with recycled silicon solar panels are the aluminum frames and extracted copper, silicon and silver.
“At the end of the day, for recycling to work, someone has to be able to consume the products you’re generating and consume it at scale,” said Brett Henderson, CEO of SPR. “When you take a silicon panel and break it down to all of its base commodities to be recirculated back into manufacturing industries, the bulk of any panel is glass. Glass isn’t a very valuable commodity. Silicon panels are economically viable to recycle [because] you’re getting to subsidize it by collecting aluminum, silver.”
Just as recyclers play the commodities market, so do manufacturers. Recent high prices for silver have led some panel manufacturers to explore models that use less of the precious metal. No-silver panels would be cheaper to manufacture, but they’d also be less valuable to recycle. Manufacturing trends like this are forcing recyclers to be some of the most knowledgeable solar panel experts on the market.
The recycling processes described here are for silicon solar panels, the dominant panel choice in the global solar industry. Although cadmium-telluride (CdTe) thin-film panels are installed on many utility-scale solar projects in the United States thanks to First Solar’s domestic manufacturing base, their unique design is not as attractive to third-party recyclers. Thin-film panels are frameless (no aluminum), and the market today isn’t asking for cadmium or tellurium.
The first step to recycling silicon solar panels is carefully removing their junction boxes and frames. The bulk of what’s left is that insignificant glass, but the cleaner and more successfully that glass is removed, the easier it is to access the more valuable components.
Glass cullet after recycling solar panels. Credit: SPR
Most R&D by solar panel recyclers is spent on glass removal, whether through grinding, force or another method altogether. SPR just completed a $12 million upgrade at its three recycling plants (in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas) to better remove glass without nicking the silicon wafers and encapsulants beneath. OnePlanet, a solar panel recycler operating outside Jacksonville, Florida, has developed a recycling process that CEO André Pujadas said can remove 99.5% of module glass at 99% glass purity. OnePlanet does this with high-velocity airflow — extreme wind fractures and breaks the glass away from the other components.
Once the glass is removed, all recyclers generally follow the same path — shredding the silicon wafer and its connections into a fine powder and sending it through density separation, which leaves copper and a silver-silicon mix. Copper is an easy sell for recyclers, while refineries can better split the silver and silicon to sell to larger purchasers.
“To bring [refining] in house wouldn’t be a competitive advantage. They’re doing this at major scale for industries around the world. SPR isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel,” Henderson said.
However, OnePlanet’s proprietary recycling process could bring an element of refining to the recycler. When cleaner glass is removed, Pujadas said that the silver-silicon mix is less contaminated by crushed glass, which concentrates the end result into 95% pure silicon with 1% silver — a more valuable commodity by refineries.
“The whole business philosophy here would be to extract and recover minerals and reintroduce them into the supply chain for re-consumption, encouraging a circular economy,” he said. “A big part of that is how much value is extracted across the entire value chain. This recycling process is very focused on a high-purity silicon. [Eventually] we will have enough silicon that it can become a feedstock for metallurgical-grade silicon production.”
Panel recyclers are already looking into future manufacturing trends to determine how they will affect their ability to stay in business, and they might show up sooner than expected too.
Shredded materials during the solar panel recycling process. Credit: SPR
With most silicon solar panels expected to successfully function for 25 years and beyond, there hasn’t been an influx of decommissioned panels from the first major wave of U.S. installations from the early 2010s. But there’s enough supply of damaged panels from shipping and handling incidents, adverse weather and manufacturing errors that recyclers have to be on top of tomorrow’s trends today.
Henderson said that SPR added bifacial recycling equipment to its processing sites barely two years after launching. “We’re getting new technology into our stream right away,” he said.
SPR has dedicated research analysts on staff to quickly follow manufacturing trends and determine if the recycler may need a new processing technology or new offtakers for different material compositions. If solar panels use less silver, the copper may be more valuable, but the silicon-silver mix might be less attractive to certain refineries. Recycling is the easy part; finding the right commodity buyers is more challenging.
“We’re starting to see technology out there to not use any silver on a solar panel, or much less of it. If it’s still this silicon-based technology, it’s just going to change the economics of it,” Henderson said. “Over time, insurance costs go higher, equipment costs go higher, labor costs go higher, regulatory costs go higher. And then if you’re going to remove one of the components that helps subsidize it, it will probably mean that asset owners are going to have this roller coaster on how recycling pricing may be.”
For example, tandem perovskite-silicon panels are still new to the market, yet many recyclers are considering how to process them. One concern is their use of lead, which would require stronger encapsulants to keep out moisture that are harder to break to get to the valuable components. There’s also the challenge with lead’s toxicity.
“It can become a hazardous material, and then you have to deal with transportation and full framework disposal under a hazardous waste scenario,” Pujadas said. “Then you have to beef up your emission systems and safety culture. It could be done, but when do you start doing it?”
That’s the conundrum in the solar panel recycling space: when is it time to invest in new processes and when can a steady stream of old technologies be relied upon? That’s why efforts that can be controlled today — improving glass removal and silicon purity — will be advantageous for any type of solar panel design.
“It’s a strange industry,” Henderson said. “Solar panels are the one singular item you’re bringing in, but there’s so many flavors.”
Kelly Pickerel has more than 15 years of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World. Email Kelly.

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Heat waves are becoming the norm. Strong sunlight isn’t the problem. The critical factor is temperature. Solar modules are evaluated under standard test conditions: 1,000 watts per square meter of irradiance and a cell temperature of 25 degrees (77 F) Celsius. In the field, cell temperatures on hot days are significantly higher. Modules can get considerably hotter than the ambient air temperature.
In crystalline solar cells, power output typically decreases with increasing temperature. If the cell temperature is not 25 degrees Celsius (77 F) but 65 degrees Celsius (149 F), this corresponds to a power loss of approximately 16 percent compared to standard conditions, assuming a temperature coefficient of minus 0.4 percent per degree.
For operators, this distinction is crucial. Those who only look at raw yield figures are missing the bigger picture. The more important question is: did the photovoltaic system produce as it should under the actual irradiance and temperature conditions?
Extreme temperatures are rarely the sole cause of a problem. Often, they reveal existing weaknesses. These include, among other things, dirty modules, partial shading, vegetation, and damaged cell areas. Under high irradiance, current flows and thermal stresses increase. Small imbalances can therefore become more apparent.
A typical example is hotspots. These occur when individual cell areas are subjected to higher loads than the rest of the module. Under strong irradiance, a local electrical effect can turn into a thermal problem.
With battery storage, the issue of heat becomes even more relevant, as it changes the operating logic of the entire system. A storage system can absorb excess solar energy, smooth feed-in peaks, reduce curtailment, shift electricity to more valuable hours, provide grid services, and stabilize load profiles. This is precisely why storage is becoming increasingly important in markets with a high share of photovoltaics.
But energy storage devices have their own physics: lithium-ion batteries age through calendar aging and cycle aging. Temperature, state of charge, depth of discharge, C-rate, idle times, and operating strategy all influence how quickly capacity and performance decline. Studies clearly show that high temperatures, high states of charge, and deep cycles can accelerate aging.
Heat also affects storage systems on several levels. Cooling systems have to work harder, self-consumption increases, and thermal reserves decrease. Battery systems can reduce their performance when cell, rack, or container temperatures reach critical limits. At the same time, prolonged periods of high temperature and high state of charge can accelerate calendar aging.
This is particularly relevant in photovoltaic-coupled applications, where storage systems are quickly charged at midday and then remain at a high state of charge and high ambient temperature for hours.
Safety is also a key issue. Modern battery systems feature battery management systems, temperature sensors, fire protection concepts, and shutdown logic. Nevertheless, thermal runaway remains a significant risk. Studies indicate that an internal cell defect after leaving the manufacturing process cannot be completely ruled out by operational technology. Therefore, it is crucial to prevent propagation, measure off-gas, and design and operate systems in such a way that a single fault does not become a systemic event.
In hybrid systems, two effects converge: the photovoltaic system produces substantial energy under high irradiance but loses some of its potential output due to high cell temperatures. The storage system is intended to absorb surplus energy, shift peak loads, and stabilize the power grid, but it too is subjected to greater stress due to high temperatures.
This creates conflicting objectives in operation. A storage system can be fully charged at midday, even though the ambient temperature is high. It can remain at a high charge level for hours. It can be heavily discharged in the evening while cooling, grid load, and price signals are all at play. Each of these decisions can be economically sound. Or it can become expensive in the long run.
Therefore, what matters is not a single operating mode, but the continuous evaluation of use cases. The potential gains from trading, optimizing self-consumption, or grid services must be constantly weighed against efficiency losses, thermal stress, and additional aging. Modern energy management systems perform this task and continuously reassess technical conditions, market and grid signals, and derive the appropriate operating strategy from this analysis. Here’s what operators should pay attention to:
1. Heat logic begins with plant design
Shading is generally detrimental to solar panels because it reduces yield, exacerbates mismatch effects, and can promote hotspots. However, targeted shading can be beneficial for battery storage systems because it reduces thermal stress and eases the load on the cooling system.
This sounds trivial, but in practice it quickly becomes a real conflict of objectives. What yields maximum output for the photovoltaic area is not automatically the best solution for storage containers, inverters, transformer stations or switch cabinets.
Therefore, the design of a system should also consider how the system behaves on hot days. Where do heat build-up occur? Which components are permanently exposed to direct sunlight? How well are storage systems, inverters, and electrical infrastructure ventilated or shaded? How easily accessible are critical components for maintenance, inspection, and fire department access?
2. Test regulatory capacity under stress conditions
For photovoltaic-plus-storage systems, it’s not enough to simply check whether individual components are functioning. The crucial factor is whether the system as a whole remains controllable when multiple demands are at play simultaneously: high irradiance, high temperatures, grid requirements, storage strategy, inverter limits, and economic operating schedules.
Operators should therefore not only evaluate the control concept on paper, but also validate it in operation. Are setpoints reliably adopted? Does the system react correctly to specifications at the grid connection point? Do active and reactive power control function even under high load? Are ramp rates maintained? Is storage operation adjusted if temperature, state of charge, or derating limits contraindicate it? And is it clearly documented when and why the system was regulated or curtailed?
3. Data quality is the basis of every evaluation.
The next step is a clean data foundation. Irradiance, ambient temperature, module temperature, wind, inverter data, string data, battery temperatures, state of charge and operating conditions must be plausible.
Faulty sensors lead to incorrect diagnoses. Incorrect diagnoses lead either to unnecessary call-outs or to overlooked problems.
4. Performance must be evaluated with temperature correction.
Operators should also use comparison logic. Individual strings, inverters, tracker sections, subsystems, or storage containers should be compared against similar units over the same period.
If all areas react similarly to heat, this suggests a general temperature effect. If individual areas differ significantly, this indicates a local problem.
5. Consistently prioritize local risks
Hotspots, shading, and pollution should be consistently prioritized. Especially under high solar irradiance, local effects can have a greater impact. Vegetation control, cleaning strategies, thermography, and visual inspection should therefore not be considered in isolation, but rather as part of a comprehensive risk management strategy. Electrical infrastructure also deserves more attention: connectors, cables, junction boxes, distribution boxes, switch cabinets, and transformers are all subject to stress during periods of heat.
6. Storage devices need thermal transparency
For battery storage systems, good operation begins with thermal transparency. Cell, module, rack, and container temperatures must not only be measured but also evaluated in context. Not only is the absolute maximum temperature is relevant, but also the temperature distribution. Large temperature variations within a system can indicate cooling problems, airflow issues, sensor malfunctions, or uneven load distribution.
7. Consciously control charge level and aging
State-of-charge (SOC) windows should be carefully selected. A storage system doesn’t need to be constantly maintained near 100 percent SOC just because a lot of photovoltaic energy is available. Especially at high ambient temperatures, it can be beneficial to design operating strategies so that high SOCs aren’t maintained unnecessarily long.
The cooling system must also be treated like a critical component. HVAC or liquid cooling systems are not secondary components. They ensure performance, lifespan, and safety. Filters, air ducts, refrigerants, compressors, pumps, sensors, and redundancies must be included in maintenance plans.
8. Take early indicators and alarms seriously
Important early indicators also include: increasing temperature differences between racks, noticeable cell voltage deviations, increasing internal resistance, decreasing round-trip efficiency, more frequent derating, unexpected SOC drifts, communication errors, or unusual HVAC runtimes.
A single signal does not constitute an emergency. Together, they can form a pattern.
9. Systematically follow up on heat waves
After a heat wave, the system should not automatically return to normal operation. Hot days provide valuable data: Which inverters derated first? Which strings showed deviations? Which sensor data was implausible? Which storage areas exhibited unusual thermal activity? Which alarms were helpful, and which were just noise? Such analyses lead to improved operation.
Heat waves are therefore more than just a seasonal extreme. They are a practical test of whether photovoltaic, storage, and hybrid systems can be understood and managed throughout their entire life cycle. Systematic evaluation of such phases provides insights not only into individual components but also into the quality of the overall operating model.
From ESS News
About the authors
Andreas Kern is a Senior Technical Consultant. His responsibilities include providing technical consulting services within the Technical Consulting department. These services include, for example, yield assessments, technical inspections, technical due diligence, and BESS yield assessments.
Philippe Staudinger is Technical Director at mc Energy and is responsible for building and developing the technical organization. He also shapes the operational structures in the C&I energy sector and focuses on the development and implementation of decentralized battery energy storage systems (BESS) for commercial and industrial customers.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2026-09-01 10:29:15
BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) — China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, according to the administration.  ■

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Vatican City is the world’s smallest country, but despite covering just 0.17 square miles, it is fully recognized as a sovereign nation. However, despite its independence, Vatican City has previously relied on electricity imported from Italy. As of May 28, 2026, however, a new agreement between the Vatican’s Holy See and the Italian government has entered into force (via Vatican News). A solar farm project in the Vatican’s territory of Santa Maria di Galeria will produce renewable energy for the tiny principality and, at last, make it energy-independent.
This solar farm will reportedly have a capacity of up to 90 megawatts, making it one of the largest agrivoltaic plants throughout Italy. That would power more than 15,500 homes in the United States. By comparison, the largest solar farm in America has almost two million panels and boasts a capacity of 1.3 gigawatts.
Considering that Vatican City has a population of fewer than 1,000, it’s easy to imagine how this project can sustain the city-state with ease. The solar panels will not interfere with agriculture on the Santa Maria di Galeria property, and any surplus electricity generated at the plant will be made available to Italy. It’s a true win-win for everyone involved.
As a small country, Vatican City requires relatively little electricity to power its grid. However, it also faces the unique challenge of having so little space to build a fully operational solar farm. The Vatican overcame this obstacle by collaborating with Italy, which should serve as inspiration for other nations on the road to achieving sustainability.
That’s not to say that other nations aren’t trying. Solar power has officially overtaken coal in the U.S. for the first time in 2026. And as of 2025, the European Union generates 30% of its electricity from wind and solar (via Ember). This is positive progress, though it’s not without its caveats. Europe’s solar farms face an unexpected threat from the Sahara when dust storms blow through. Countries and communities will have to devise ways to circumvent inclement weather as they continue to rely more and more on solar power.
While Vatican City might become the first solar-powered nation, it won’t be the first fully solar city. Several cities already have that honor, such as Babcock Ranch, Florida, which was dubbed the “world’s most sustainable city” as far back as 2016. Babcock Ranch’s solar-powered operations were actually able to continue unimpeded when Hurricane Ian passed right over the town in 2022. Some states now generate more electricity from solar than from coal or natural gas, so we’ll likely see more sustainable cities across the country and the world very soon.

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Home > News > ARENA invests $105.6 million in next wave of solar innovation
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced up to $105.6 million for 20 research and development projects aimed at tackling the next frontier in ultra low-cost solar, reducing the cost of designing, building, operating and maintaining large-scale solar farms.
The funding represents ARENA’s largest single investment in solar PV research and development and will support a portfolio of projects spanning improved efficiency, cost and stability across advanced cells and modules, to innovations that can help improve the performance of solar farms and reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE).
The investment builds on ARENA’s ultra low-cost solar ambition to help reduce installed solar costs to 30 cents per watt by 2030 to drive down the costs of solar-generated electricity.
ARENA acting CEO Chris Faris said the projects would help ensure Australia remained at the forefront of solar innovation while addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the renewable energy industry.
“Australia has played a leading role in the development of solar technology, and these projects will help ensure we continue to strengthen that position,” Mr Faris said.
“The portfolio brings together a mix of near-term improvements and breakthrough technologies that have the potential to lower costs, improve performance and accelerate the deployment of solar energy both in Australia and around the world.”
“Achieving ultra low-cost solar requires innovation across the entire value chain. From the solar cells and modules themselves through to the way solar farms are built, operated and maintained, these projects will help unlock practical solutions that support a faster, more affordable energy transition.”
“ARENA initially allocated $60 million to the Ultra Low-Cost Solar PV Research and Development Funding Round. When we saw the quality of applications, we decided to increase funding to support a broader portfolio of high-quality projects that can help accelerate progress towards ultra low-cost solar.”
The projects are being supported across two streams and six focus areas:
Stream 1: Cells and modules
Stream 2: Balance of systems and operation and maintenance
Read more about ARENA’s Ultra Low-Cost Solar priorities.
The 20 projects selected for funding are listed below.
Stream 1: Cells and modules
Stream 2: BoS and O&M
Download this media release
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The Indonesian government has officially launched its 100 GW solar power plant program.
Speaking during a groundbreaking ceremony, President Prabowo Subianto said the government is serious about realising the program and is aiming to develop 100 GW within three years.
According to a statement published by the government, the program will be carried out in phases with the initial phase targeting 17 GW of new capacity.
Under this first phase, 14 solar plants with a combined capacity of 5.2 GW are already in various stages of development. Reports from Reuters add that two of these plants are already in operation, with six in the construction phase and another six to be offered to investors.
Indonesia’s flagship solar program will target the deployment of ground-mounted, rooftop and floating solar power plants, as well as decentralised, smaller-scale solar systems, in order to replace diesel generation, electrify rural areas and villages and strengthen the country’s energy security and independence.
The program will also deploy battery energy storage systems (BESS) in efforts to support a more reliable power system. The official launch of the program coincided with the start of construction of a 305 MW solar project alongside a 1 GWh BESS in the port town of Gilimanuk, west Bali. The project belongs to Indonesia’s power utility PLN.
The 100 GW target surpasses Indonesia’s current electricity generation capacity, which stands at around 88 GW. According to the country’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, it will require approximately $73 billion in investment and has the potential to create over 5.5 million jobs.
In a statement sent to pv magazine, Indonesian think tank Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) said that achieving the 100 GW target in less than four years is highly ambitious and will require innovative approaches to implementation.
“For the program to succeed, Indonesia needs a strong and consistent national implementation architecture backed by regulatory certainty,” IESR said. “The government must immediately establish clear program leadership with the authority to coordinate across ministries, PLN, local governments, industry, financial institutions, and businesses.”
IESR’s Chief Executive Officer, Fabby Tumiwa, added that success of the program should not be measured by how many projects break ground, but by how many gigawatts of solar can be built, connected to the grid, and reliably generate electricity before 2029.
“The biggest challenge now is to translate the President’s political commitment into an implementation engine capable of delivering tens of gigawatts of solar PV every year,” Tumiwa added.
IESR is recommending six priority measures to ensure the program achieves its 100 GW target, beginning with immediately finalzing a presidential regulation as the legal framework for the program, and aligning the country’s national energy general plan and PLN’s electricity supply business plan to accommodate the additional capacity.
It also recommends developing a clear annual project pipeline through 2029, accelerating procurement through competitive, transparent, and bankable tenders, ensuring power system readiness, developing a national supply chain and adopting a multi-track implementation so the program is not solely dependent on PLN projects.
Earlier this year, IESR released a report exploring how Indonesia can mobilize its 100 GW solar target as it warned against trying to adopt a one-size-fits all approach to electrifying the 80,000 villages targeted by the program.
Indonesia surpassed 1 GW of solar capacity in 2025, with total capacity reaching 1.49 GW by the end of the year.
From pv magazine Global
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Solar Power World
By Kelly Pickerel | August 31, 2026
Over the weekend, the California State Senate passed AB 1813, the Community Renewable Energy Program Act, moving the bill toward the governor’s desk. Industry advocates say that this is a workable community solar and storage program that the state has yet failed to deliver for more than a decade. The bill has one procedural step in the Assembly before going to the Governor’s desk. 
“In the midst of rising energy bills and an affordability crisis, this is a popular and sensible policy solution to lower bills for every Californian while moving us closer to our climate goals,” said Derek Chernow, Executive Director of Californians for Local, Affordable Solar and Storage (CLASS). “California has fallen behind more than 20 other states on community solar, but Governor Newsom now has a tremendous opportunity to reverse that trend and help pave the way towards California becoming the national leader in community solar projects.”
This weekend’s vote caps a long road marked by fits and starts. California passed a strong community solar law, AB 2316, back in 2022, directing the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to build a program that would let renters, low-income households, and others who cannot install rooftop solar subscribe to local projects and save on their bills. Instead, the CPUC produced a program built to fail, and not a single community solar project has come online under it.
The Legislature responded to this inaction by passing legislation that directs regulators to value community solar and storage using the CPUC’s own Avoided Cost Calculator, an existing tool the state has declined to apply, and requires paired battery storage so projects deliver power when the grid needs it most.  Research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) identified AB 1813 as a step toward community solar success, as it directs the state to use the CPUC’s own Avoided Cost Calculator to value community solar subscriptions and requires paired storage so projects deliver power when the grid needs it most.
With the legislation clearing the Senate, Gov. Newsom now has an opportunity to sign AB 1813, positioning California to build the nation’s largest community solar and storage program, delivering:
Clean power for more than 2.2 million Californians, from a conservative 5.4 GW of new community solar and storage built across the state. A study by Kevala finds opportunity for more than 17.5 GW of community solar and storage to serve California’s grid during summer peak demand.
Lower bills with no cost shift. Subscribers save roughly $190 a year on average, and closer to $250 a year for low-income households, while every ratepayer benefits and no cost is shifted to people who do not subscribe.
$6.5 billion in ratepayer savings statewide for subscribers and nonsubscribers alike, according to independent analysis from Aurora Energy Research, by cutting reliance on expensive gas generation and easing grid congestion.
More than 160,000 good-paying local jobs and over $20 billion in new investment across California, including $700 million to modernize the state’s aging grid.
Real equity by design. A majority of projects must serve low-income subscribers, reaching renters, small businesses, and Central Valley farmers who can host projects on unproductive land and keep farms in the family.
A stronger, cleaner grid. Paired storage discharges during peak evening demand, easing strain on the system while reducing reliance on natural gas and lowering emissions.
News item from CLASS

Kelly Pickerel has more than 15 years of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World. Email Kelly.

mike says
August 31, 2026 at 10:47 am
Will AB1813 apply to municipal utilities like DWP and SMUD? Hope so. In many respects the “munis” have lagged far behind the IOUs (due to PUC action) in deploying solar. I should know as I worked for SMUD when it was a solar leader in the early days. Since than, SMUD has made it particularly difficult for solar in it’s service territory acting more like an IOU than a publicly owned utility.
John Targasian says
August 31, 2026 at 11:04 am
SMUD lags on solar because their rates are half of what PG&E charges. Much lower incentive for people to do a mass capital purchase like rooftop solar.
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