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Apostolos Tomaras
The signing of contracts for Cyprus’ first central electricity storage systems marks a major step toward reducing the solar energy that is currently being wasted from both residential and commercial photovoltaic systems.
The project involves the installation of three battery storage systems with a combined capacity of 120MW by the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSO). In simple terms, the batteries will store excess solar power that would otherwise be lost when photovoltaic systems are forced to reduce output to protect the stability of the electricity grid.
According to official figures, Cyprus lost 306GWh of solar energy in 2025 due to these curtailments. That amount of electricity would have been enough to help meet demand even during periods of high consumption, when the grid operator was forced to implement power cuts.
A key role in the project will be played by CYTA, which has been tasked with delivering the systems by the first half of 2027. Under the contract signed between the TSO and CYTA, the batteries are expected to be delivered in January 2027 and installed over the following two to three months, allowing them to become operational before the summer of that year.
The project
The storage systems are being implemented under a decision issued by the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) in June 2025, instructing the TSO to develop energy storage facilities at three existing transmission substations.
The project carries a price tag of approximately €50 million and will be funded through the EU’s Thalia 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy Programme.
The three battery systems will be installed in different parts of the island:
The locations were selected to maximize the benefits of energy storage while allowing direct connection to the transmission network.
According to the TSO, this setup will not only store surplus renewable energy but also provide essential backup reserves to the electricity system without restrictions, benefiting the entire grid.
More projects waiting in the pipeline
Beyond the three government-backed systems, there is growing interest from both public organizations and private investors in energy storage.
The TSO currently has 36 applications on its registry for battery storage projects with a combined requested capacity of around 925MW.
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) is among the most active applicants. According to the latest connection applications list published by the TSO, the EAC has submitted plans for:
Together, the two projects would add 180MW of storage capacity.
Several private-sector projects are also advancing. Among the most mature applications are:
Additional projects are planned in Arediou, Platanisteia, Orounta, Alambra and Palaiometocho, with a combined capacity of 60MW.
Solar cutbacks to continue for now
Until the first battery systems become operational, the TSO will continue curtailing solar production and may still need to implement electricity supply restrictions depending on demand levels.
Cyprus currently has more than 1,040MW of installed solar capacity, while average electricity demand stands at around 650MW.
Because there has been no large-scale storage available, the grid operator has had to regularly limit solar generation. As a result, 306GWh of renewable energy was lost in 2025, up significantly from the 167GWh curtailed in 2024.
According to EAC data, daily peak solar curtailments ranged from around 50-100MW on milder days, mostly during winter, to more than 300-400MW on sunny days during spring, summer and autumn.
Last month alone, daily peak curtailments ranged from roughly 80MW to more than 300MW.
Government sees boost for green energy
The government welcomed the signing of the contract, describing it as a milestone for Cyprus’ energy transition.
Energy Minister Michalis Damianos said the project demonstrates the government’s commitment to energy storage and the broader green transition strategy.
He said the batteries will help increase the use of renewable energy, create a more efficient and reliable electricity system, and reduce pollution.
The TSO also welcomed the growing investment interest from private developers, stressing that all storage projects are needed if Cyprus is to meet its national and European renewable energy targets.
Officials say the expected long-term result will be less wasted green energy, fewer emissions and, ultimately, lower electricity costs for consumers, alongside improvements in the overall reliability of the power system.
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CEO Yair Amsterdam says the company’s flexible solar panels weigh just over 13 pounds, allowing installations on buildings and structures unsuitable for traditional systems
Israeli solar technology company Apollo Power showcased its latest innovations at Intersolar Europe in Munich, one of the world’s largest renewable energy exhibitions, as demand for flexible and scalable clean energy solutions continues to grow worldwide.
Speaking at the event, Apollo Power CEO Yair Amsterdam highlighted the company’s lightweight and flexible solar panel technology, which he said offers a significant advantage over traditional solar systems.
Unlike conventional solar panels, which typically weigh 66 to 88 pounds, Apollo Power’s panels weigh just over 13 pounds, allowing them to be installed on a wider range of surfaces and structures. The reduced weight allows them to be installed on a wider range of surfaces, including older buildings, sports stadiums and curved rooftops that may not be able to support standard glass panels.
“Most solar farms require heavy, expensive construction to support traditional solar panels,” Amsterdam said. “Our technology eliminates much of that need and opens up new opportunities for solar energy generation.”
The flexibility of the panels also enables installations on structures and surfaces that were previously unsuitable for solar power, expanding the potential footprint of renewable energy production.
Apollo Power is using the conference to introduce several new products, including solutions for lightweight structures, defense applications and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
The annual exhibition has drawn more than 100,000 visitors and over 2,000 companies from around the world, serving as a major platform for emerging technologies in the solar industry.
Amsterdam described the event as an important gathering for innovators and industry leaders. “This is the place where the solar industry comes together,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to showcase technology and build partnerships.”
Asked about the reception toward Israeli companies amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, Amsterdam said the focus at the conference remained firmly on business and innovation.
“We are not speaking about politics here, only about solar energy,” he said, adding that discussions at the event have centered on technology and industry collaboration.
Amsterdam also pointed to Apollo Power’s manufacturing base in Israel as a competitive advantage. As Europe and the United States increasingly seek alternatives to Chinese-made solar products, he said the company is well-positioned to meet demand for high-quality solar technology produced outside China.
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That combination would allow electricity generated during the day to be stored for later use.
Photo Credit: Terra-Gen
A huge solar project has just cleared a major hurdle, and it could deliver a substantial financial boost along with cleaner power.
Terra-Gen, a renewable energy producer in the United States, has received county approval to move ahead with the Discovery Solar PV and Storage Project, a 7,700-acre facility. KGET reported that the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved the plan in a 3-1 vote on June 16 for a Mojave-area site in unincorporated Kern County, California.
Power from the proposed 1,400-megawatt solar installation would be paired with an 8-gigawatt-hour battery energy storage facility. That combination would allow electricity generated during the day to be stored for later use, helping keep power available after sunset and during periods of high demand.
Developers expect the site to create 470 construction jobs and begin operating by late 2029, according to KGET. The outlet also reported that Terra-Gen solar development vice president Sam Sours said the project is projected to generate about $44 million in property taxes in its first year, roughly $200 million by year five, and an estimated $750 million over its 35-year lifespan.
Large solar farms paired with battery storage can help strengthen the electric grid, especially during extreme heat, when energy demand tends to surge. That can improve reliability for homes and businesses while reducing dependence on polluting energy sources that contribute to unhealthy air.
The tax revenue could also be significant for Kern County. Property taxes from a project of this scale may help support public services, infrastructure, and other local needs without placing the full burden on residents. Construction jobs and continued energy investment could also bring economic benefits to the region.
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Adding solar panels to your home can lower or even eliminate your energy bills, especially when paired with battery storage and energy-efficient electric appliances.
If you’re interested in going solar, EnergySage is the perfect place to start. It has tons of free resources, including a Solar Calculator that can estimate your energy savings. EnergySage can also help you save up to $10,000 by getting competitive bids from vetted local installers. If buying panels isn’t in your budget, Palmetto’s LightReach leasing program costs $0 down and can save you up to 20% on your utility rate.
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Jupiter International has begun production at its 1.25 GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. The site also houses 2 GW of monocrystalline PERC solar cell manufacturing capacity.
The company additionally operates a 1.3 GW integrated cell-and-module manufacturing facility in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, established in partnership with AMPIN. The facility was developed under the Indian government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Modules produced through the partnership are intended for AMPIN’s captive use as well as supply to third-party developers.
Jupiter International is also developing a 3 GW solar cell manufacturing facility and a 1.5 GW module manufacturing facility in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
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From pv magazine Australia
The next round of the Australian government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) is officially open, providing renewable energy project developers with the opportunity to register and bid for underwriting contracts for generation projects in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
CIS Tender 9 – NEM Generation is seeking an indicative target of 5 GW of renewable energy generation capacity and will be open to all NEM jurisdictions except New South Wales (NSW), where proponents can participate in the re-started NSW Roadmap generation tenders.
AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL), which is delivering CIS Tender 9 on behalf of the federal government, said allocations for the 5 MW total targeted include 300 MW generation target for Tasmania and 1.6 GW for Victoria where a 470 MW capacity limit on solar-only projects will apply following a request by the state government.
The remaining 3.1 GW capacity is yet to be allocated but could potentially be awarded to projects in Queensland or South Australia.
CIS Tender 9 also includes a dedicated 500 MW capacity allocation for projects that commit to implementing First Nations equity and/or revenue sharing arrangements. To qualify, proponents must demonstrate commitments with First Nations partners equivalent to at least 5% equity participation and/or revenue.
According to the tender guidelines, the tender is open to renewable power generation projects with an installed capacity of at least 30 MW and able to show a credible pathway to achieving commercial operations before the end of 2030.
Registrations for CIS Tender 9 close on 6 July 2026 with bids to close later that month. Successful bids are expected to be announced in November 2026.
The launch of CIS Tender 9 coincides with the announcement of the results of Tender 7 under the federal program that aims to deliver 26 GW of renewable generation capacity and 14 GW of clean dispatchable capacity by 2030.
To date the CIS has revenue underwriting agreements to 74 solar, wind and energy storage projects, totalling 24.93 GW of generation capacity and 34.67 GWh storage capacity.
The CIS has also underwritten a further 14 renewable energy projects totalling 1.9 GW of generation and 8.378 GWh of storage in the separate Western Australia market.
The outcomes of CIS Tender 8, which is seeking 4 GW of dispatchable capacity in the NEM, are expected to be announced next month.
Tender 10 – NEM Dispatchable Capacity is expected to open next month.
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AIKO Reinforces Long-Term Commitment to Australia at SNEC 2026 with Multiple Distribution MOUs, Top Brand PV Award, and New Market Milestones The Malaysian Reserve
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Spanning approximately 70 acres and comprising over 29,000 solar panels, Rolleston is now fully operational with a total capacity of 18 MW. It is expected to generate around 17 MWh of green electricity annually, enough to power 6,200 homes.
The project builds on the successful collaboration between Centrica and Push Power Ltd for the 18 MW Codford Solar Farm in Wiltshire, which began generating power in June 2023.
“Rolleston Solar Farm is an important milestone for Centrica and underlines our commitment to delivering clean, secure, and affordable energy” said Dave Kirwan, Managing Director, Centrica Power. “By growing our portfolio of renewables and flexible assets, we are supporting the transition to net zero while delivering the stable, predictable returns that underpin our long-term investment plans.”
In addition to new builds, Centrica continues to expand its clean energy portfolio. In March 2024, the company acquired two further projects:
A 16 MW solar farm and 3 MW battery storage facility in Dorset, expected to begin exporting power from September 2026, capable of powering 4,600 homes annually.
A 13MW solar farm in Wiltshire, commissioned in March 2015, providing energy for approximately 3,200 homes each year.
“The successful completion of Rolleston Solar Farm is a landmark moment in Push Power’s next phase of expansion in the UK solar energy sector” added Andy Khan, Managing Director of Push Power Ltd. “Rolleston was a project that we have developed from the very start and we are proud to complete the project within our longterm collaboration with Centrica. Push Power design, develop, install and maintain bespoke solar solutions for our clients, with a focus on delivering tailored systems that maximise production. Rolleston Solar Farm is a prime example of our expertise in providing optimal systems for large-scale utility solar energy.”
For additional information:
Push Power
Centrica
Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2026-06-24 14:32:32
What if solar panels could do more than generate electricity?
In north China’s Inner Mongolia, they are helping stabilize shifting sands, restore vegetation and revive fragile desert ecosystems, demonstrating how clean energy and ecological restoration can advance hand in hand.■
The result is predictable. Homeowners move in, receive high energy bills, feel uncomfortable temperatures, and eventually pay to retrofit the same features the builder skipped. But that often costs much more than it would have to include them during construction.
Homeowners get a poor outcome, because retrofitting an existing home is harder and more costly than designing it well at the start. This approach to building fills Australia with houses that underperform on energy efficiency, comfort and running costs for decades.
Our research reveals developers could actually make a bigger profit than they do now from new home builds that include more sustainability features.
What our research found
The Business Case for Sustainability program we have developed examines real case-study financial data from completed “build-to-sell” developments. These are projects where developers build and sell homes or apartments within a short time.
This is important because the standard objection to building sustainable houses has been that the financial benefits often go to the homeowner, not the developer – so developers won’t see any profits from being greener.
Our research directly tests that objection, using verified cost and income figures from completed projects.
Data was collected from 30 case-study projects and industry-wide reports covering more than 500 homes (in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia). It shows that developers, in addition to long-term owners, do benefit financially from going green.
The key finding is that developers who embedded sustainability features from the design stage were able to charge a price premium at sale that exceeded the upfront cost.
In projects where multiple sustainability features were incorporated simultaneously, the research found an average 18% return on their investments in more sustainable initiatives.
That means for every dollar spent on greener features during design and construction, the benefit to the developer was $1.18.
The research is careful to measure this accurately. It calculates the additional upfront cost of each green initiative, then compares it against the sales premium (or other financial benefit) achieved.
Savings and profits go to the developer, sometimes before the sale. For instance, if they use sustainable house plans from the NSW government’s free housing pattern book, they can save thousands on architects’ fees.
The green measures we looked at
Our research included solar panels, battery storage systems, correct building orientation to maximise passive heating and cooling, better water use, correct insulation, double-glazed windows, and greener building materials such as recycled aggregate and renewable timber.
Some of these measures generate immediate profits for developers through direct cost savings.
For example, avoiding gas-pipe installation reduces construction cost and removes ongoing gas use costs for buyers.
Why greener apartments make financial sense
Apartments stand out. The research highlights apartment developments as a particularly strong opportunity, because the combined upfront cost per apartment is modest relative to the total extra profit made from selling greener apartments.
The numbers are especially compelling in the current market, where apartment construction is growing again after a prolonged slowdown.
One recent analysis of 20 building projects showed the average cost of meeting energy-efficiency targets for apartments was $6,547 per dwelling. The potential gain for owners was $21,000 in the first 12 months.
Buyers are willing to pay more for green housing
This is not happening in isolation. Major real estate listing platforms, the websites where most Australians search for homes, have introduced “sustainability” or “eco” filters.
Buyers can now search specifically for more sustainable homes and compare them directly with “standard” homes.
This now makes the green premium visible and measurable. This market signal is becoming hard to ignore. Buyers are willing to fork out more for eco-friendly and sustainable homes.
Australia is entering a sustained period of large-scale residential construction. Hundreds of thousands of new homes will be built over the coming years to meet the federal government’s housing targets, which aim for 1.2 million new homes over five years.
The decisions made at the design stage of those homes – by developers, planners and local councils – will determine how those homes perform on energy, comfort and running costs for the people who live in them, from day one.
Our research is ongoing and its data set is growing. But the direction is already clear: building green from the start is not just the right thing to do environmentally. The numbers say it is the right thing to do financially too – with better returns for developers in the short term, and lower living costs for homeowners in the long term.
Authors: Tom Keel, Associate Lecturer in Property and Real Estate, Deakin University; Ameeta Jain, Associate Professor, Deakin Business School, Deakin 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.
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Chinese PV module manufacturer Trina Solar has introduced its Vertex NG TSM-NEG19RC.20 TOPCon solar module series at the Smarter E trade show in Munich, Germany, this week.
“Our new bifacial dual-glass module series will be available in two variants aimed at covering the majority of utility-scale project requirements,” Adele Zhao, Head of Product Solutions & Marketing, Europe, at Trina Solar, told pv magazine. “The TSM-NEG19RC.20Q is a standard-format module designed for flexibility, particularly in projects with complex terrain or space constraints. Alongside it, Trina Solar is also launching a larger-format flagship version, the NEG21C, which is optimized for maximum power output and reduced system costs.”
“The 19R version offers flexibility for more challenging site layouts, while the 21-format delivers higher power and helps reduce balance-of-system costs such as cabling and mounting structures,” Zhao added. “Both versions are expected to enter mass production in the coming quarter, with availability beginning as early as next month.
The Vertex N G3 series is based on n-type i-TOPCon Ultra cell technology. The company describes the “Ultra” designation as the next evolution of its platform, incorporating further improvements to cell efficiency. “We improved passivation on both the front and rear sides, as well as at the cell edges, which enhances efficiency and improves both front- and rear-side performance,” Zhao stated, noting that bifaciality has increased to around 85%, supported by these cell and module-level optimizations. “The combination of improved passivation and bifacial performance contributes to higher overall energy yield while maintaining the same physical module footprint.”
In addition to cell-level upgrades, Trina Solar has introduced design changes at the module level, including optimized cut-cell configuration and an increased number of cells per module without changing overall dimensions. This allows for higher power density and improved land-use efficiency, which the company says is increasingly critical for utility-scale projects. Trina Solar also highlighted compatibility with its new Vanguard 1P tracker system, stating that the modules are designed for seamless integration into its tracker portfolio and are fully prepared for deployment in utility-scale projects.
The new module series is available in six power classes ranging from 645 W to 670 W and with efficiency ranging from 23.9% and 24.8%. Open-circuit voltage ranges from 49.56 V to 50.70 V, while short-circuit current varies between 16.27 A and 16.48 A. A low-voltage design enables higher string power, which the company says can help reduce balance-of-system (BOS) costs and lower the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by 1% to 5%.
Structurally, the module features a dual-glass design combining 2.0 mm anti-reflective coated, heat-strengthened front glass with a 2.0 mm heat-strengthened rear glass layer. It is framed in anodized aluminum alloy and equipped with an IP68-rated junction box. Each module measures 2,382 mm × 1,134 mm × 30 mm and weighs 33.0 kg, and incorporates 264 cells produced using non-destructive cutting techniques intended to reduce micro-crack formation and improve mechanical reliability.
The modules operate across a temperature range of -40 C to 70 C and feature a temperature coefficient of -0.26%/ C. The company also claims that, thanks to their bifacial architecture, they achieve a bifaciality factor of around 85%, enabling rear-side energy gains of approximately 10% to 20%, depending on ground albedo conditions. Under a 10% rear-side gain scenario, the 670 W variant can purportedly reach up to around 737 W of effective output.
In terms of reliability, the modules are certified for a maximum system voltage of 1,500 V DC and a 35 A series fuse rating. They are designed to withstand a range of environmental stresses, including salt mist, ammonia, sand, potential-induced degradation (PID), light-induced degradation (LID), and light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID).
Trina Solar backs the Vertex NG series with a 12-year product warranty and a 30-year linear power warranty. The performance guarantee includes no more than 1% degradation in the first year, followed by an annual degradation rate of 0.35%, resulting in a guaranteed output of 88.85% of nominal power after 30 years.
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University of Adelaide researchers, along with scientists from Japan’s Tohoku University, the Tokyo University of Science, and Vanderbilt University in the United States, have successfully developed microscopic iridium catalysts that could result in improved production of green hydrogen.
The researchers said the tiny catalysts comprise only 15 atoms of iridium and outperform commercially available iridium catalysts by 1.5 times in mass activity while demonstrating excellent durability.
Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. One of the biggest challenges associated with the process is oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This chemical reaction takes place in a highly acidic and corrosive environment and iridium has proven one of the few catalysts capable of enduring that environment but due to costs and limited availability, there have been attempts to reduce the amount of the rare metal used while maximising its reaction activity.
One approach to minimise the amount of iridium used is to create atomically precise metal nanoclusters, tiny aggregates of metal atoms. Downsizing metal particles into ~1 nanometre (nm) clusters increases their specific surface area and active sites. The downside of increasing the surface area is that iridium becomes oxidated when exposed to air and thereby unstable.
To overcome this instability, the research team devised a polyol reduction method with ethylene glycol and a ligand-exchange process to protect the iridium atoms.
By encapsulating the core of iridium atoms with carbon monoxide and triphenylphosphine molecules, they were able to obtain 15-atom iridium nanoclusters that remain highly stable and resistant to oxidation, even when synthesised entirely in open air.
The researchers then attached the nanoclusters to a carbon black support to create a solid catalyst with an average particle size of 0.9 nm.
Testing showed that the new material had about 1.5 times greater mass activity than conventional commercial iridium catalysts. The catalyst also demonstrated excellent durability, operating continuously for more than 20 hours without significant performance loss.
Further analysis showed that the ultra-miniaturisation of the iridium particles altered their electronic properties in a way that made chemical reactions occur more efficiently.
Tohoku University representative Yuichi Negishi said the breakthrough could result in improved production of green hydrogen.
“We expect these findings to mark a new milestone in metal nanocluster and green hydrogen research, as it may help us create cost-effective, high-performance metal nanoclusters in order to solve pressing global energy and environmental challenges,” he said.
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
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German clean energy solutions company RCT Group has launched a subsidiary focused on the development and supply of crystalline silicon solar cells and modules for space applications.
The new company, named RCT Space, will target customers in low Earth orbit (LEO), with its first commercial deliveries planned following qualification under European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) requirements in 2027.
“Our in-flight radiation annealing IP is what makes silicon viable for the missions that today belong to gallium arsenide. We have validated the underlying physics in our laboratory, and our roadmap takes us through ECSS qualification within 18 months,” said Wolfgang Jooss, chief technology officer of RCT Space.
“Combined with the flight heritage our team brings from previous engineering work, RCT Space arrives in the market not as a newcomer but as a credible technical alternative,” he added.
RCT Space said its business model is aimed at satellite programs seeking secure and scalable supply chains, shorter lead times, and lower costs. The company also said it sees strong demand for solar cells in the LEO segment.
“Space solar is at an inflection point. Constellation operators and national space programs need solar cells that are scalable, affordable, and available through a secure supply chain,” said Peter Fath, chairman of RCT Space. “With RCT Space, we are bringing two decades of crystalline silicon expertise from RCT Group into orbit, with patented technology that no other supplier can match.”
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The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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MUNICH, June 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. ("GCL SI" or "the Company") has announced at Intersolar Europe 2026 held from June 23 to 25 in Munich to officially establish back-contact (BC) cell technology as the core strategic pillar of its next-generation photovoltaic roadmap, as a response to the rising demand for high-efficiency, aesthetically driven solutions. It also unveiled the GPC 3.0 full-screen all-black module at one of the most influential solar industry trade fairs worldwide.
GCL SI BC Modules Officially Launch in Europe
As China's solar sector faces mounting efficiency bottlenecks and increasingly diverse end-market demands, the shift to BC technology is driven by both evolving market needs and the company's accumulated expertise in passivation and contact techniques.
"BC is the ultimate architecture for crystalline silicon cells," said GengWeng Huang, Executive Dean of GCL SI's Cell Research Division. "We've already explored TOPCon and HJT extensively, but both are reaching their physical limits. BC is opening a broader window for future efficiency gains."
GCL SI's GPC (Graphical Precise-doping Passivation Contact) product line is its flagship BC technology development. GPC 3.0 targets the premium distributed segment of residential rooftops, C&I rooftops, and BIPV-style applications, where full-screen all-black aesthetics, higher energy yield, and stronger reliability are increasingly valued. GCL SI describes GPC 3.0 as a high-efficiency BC-based module designed to deliver greater real-world rooftop value.
Notably, GCL SI confirmed that the first containers of GPC 3.0 modules are already on their way to Europe, marking the beginning of its commercial rollout in the European distributed solar market.
The GPC residential full-screen all-black modules offer a proven benchmark: 475–500 W output, 23.27%–24.05% efficiency, dimensions of 1,800 × 1,134 × 30 mm, a 30-year linear power warranty with 0.35% annual degradation, and a 30-year product warranty. GCL SI has indicated that GPC 3.0 is designed to further enhance both efficiency and reliability beyond this baseline.
According to GCL SI, GPC 3.0 integrates several upgraded technologies including MAX design, advanced passivation, multi-layer gradient dielectric films, GPC metallization, and FBR granular silicon, to boost module efficiency, durability, and suitability across distributed scenarios. The technology offers four core advantages:
Looking ahead, GCL SI is committed to driving the global large‑scale adoption of BC technology to support worldwide carbon neutrality goals. With GPC 3.0 as a strategic cornerstone, the company will continue pushing efficiency boundaries and low‑carbon innovation across distributed solar applications, and to build a cleaner, more resilient energy future.
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The largest solar panel recycling plant in North America has opened in Yuma, Arizona just as the flow of used and spent solar panels sharply ramps up. We Recycle Solar can process 345,000 pounds of modules in a single day, or roughly 69 million pounds per year.
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Centrica, a UK-based energy company, has switched on an 18 MW solar farm at Rolleston Park Farm in Burton on Trent. The project was developed alongside Push Power Ltd and extends across approximately 70 acres with more than 29,000 solar panels. The Rolleston project is now fully operational, with 18 MW of capacity and expected annual green electricity generation of around 17 GWh, enough for 6,200 homes. The development follows Centrica and Push Power Ltd’s successful partnership on the 18 MW Codford Solar Farm in Wiltshire, which began producing power in June 2023. In March 2024, Centrica added two more projects to its clean energy portfolio under its GBP 4 billion (~$5.28 billion) investment plan.
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KITCHENER, ON, June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company” or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ) today announced the launch of its new TOPCon 3.0 high-power-density photovoltaic module, tailored for utility-scale power plants as well as commercial and industrial (C&I) PV systems. With a power output of up to 670 Wp and a conversion efficiency of up to 24.8%, the new product is scheduled for global mass shipment starting in August 2026.
The TOPCon 3.0 high-power-density module delivers higher energy yield and lower Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), improving project economics and long-term returns.
Higher power density: With a power output of up to 670 Wp, the module features a multi-cut technology based on large-format rectangular cells and enhanced light utilization, while maintaining a standard module size of 2382 × 1134 × 30 mm for optimum logistics and easy system integration.
Higher bifaciality: Cell poly-patterned technology and optimized back-side design enable PV module bifaciality of up to 90%, delivering an additional 0.4%–0.5% system-level energy gain.
Lower temperature coefficient: Advanced passivation technologies on cell edge and surface lower the PV module temperature coefficient to -0.26%/°C, improving PV system performance in high-temperature environments.
Together, these advanced cell and module technologies deliver high reliability and reduce degradation to ≤1% in the first year and 0.35% annually thereafter, ensuring over 88.85% output after 30 years.
For demanding conditions such as glare-sensitive, high-load, corrosive, and dusty environments, the TOPCon 3.0 module portfolio can be equipped with anti-glare glass, IoT (Internet of Things)-enabled junction box, and steel, composite, or anti-dust frames, enhancing PV system safety and visibility.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Canadian Solar, said, “With the launch of our TOPCon 3.0 module, we continue to advance high-efficiency PV technology, delivering up to 1.6% higher energy yield and up to 1.4% lower LCOE, translating into stronger lifecycle value and more predictable long-term returns for our global partners.”
The TOPCon 3.0 high-power-density module will be showcased at Intersolar Europe from June 23 to 25 in Munich, Germany. Visit Canadian Solar at booth B2.250 to explore the new generation of high-efficiency PV technology.
For additional information about the Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit http://www.canadiansolar.com.
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Canadian Solar Inc.
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The largest solar panel recycling plant in North America has opened in Yuma, Arizona just as the flow of used and spent solar panels sharply ramps up. We Recycle Solar can process 345,000 pounds of modules in a single day, or roughly 69 million pounds per year.
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Companies/ Energy Transition
The LEGO Group announced the launch of construction of its largest solar park to date near its headquarters in Billund, Denmark, anticipated to generate enough renewable electricity to match 100% of the company’s total electricity consumption in Billund.
The company has several sites in Billund, including its LEGO Campus, the Kornmarken manufacturing plant, Our LEGO Agency (OLA) in-house creative agency, and Innovation House, among others.
The new solar park, scheduled to begin operations in late 2027, will have an installed capacity of 116 MW, and is expected to generate approximately 99 GWh of renewable electricity annually.
In addition to generating renewable electricity, the solar park has been designed with a focus on biodiversity and community access. The site will include 65 hectares of solar panels surrounded by vegetation intended to reduce visual impact, while the remaining 35 hectares will be dedicated to natural habitats, wetlands, open landscapes, and water features designed to support local wildlife, the company said.
The surrounding nature areas will be accessible to the public, with walking paths and boardwalks aimed at creating recreational and educational opportunities focused on local biodiversity, LEGO Group added.
According to LEGO Group, the launch of the new facility forms part of its initiative to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2050. In 2025, owned renewable energy accounted for 5.8% of the company’s total energy consumption at its production sites, up from 3.6% in 2024. LEGO Group said that the new facility will increase its installed renewable energy capacity by 204% compared to 2025.
Annette Stube, Chief Sustainability Officer at the LEGO Group said:
“The Billund solar park is an important milestone towards our ambition to expand our renewable energy capacity globally and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, it has been thoughtfully designed to support local biodiversity and provide a welcoming space for the community to enjoy.”
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Wednesday, June 24, 2026
A record 664 gigawatts (GW) of new solar PV capacity was installed across the world in 2025, helping to take the total solar fleet across the 3 terawatts(TW) mark in early 2026, tripling global capacity in just four years.
The new Global Solar Market Outlook 2026-2030, published this week by SolarPower Europe, says the 2025 capacity installation of 554 represented an increase of 69 GW compared with 2024, and 212 GW compared with 2023.
Solar PV accounted for 77 per cent of all new renewable capacity additions recorded in 2025, and finished the year by generating 2,778 terawatt-hours (TWh) – around 9 per cent of global demand.
However, the rate of growth is slowing, from 85 per cent in 2023 to 32 per cent in 2024 and 12 per cent in 2025, and SolarPower Europe also expects a temporary decline in overall installations in 2026, before growth resumes in 2027.
“The solar age is firmly established,” said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe. “With another record year in capacity additions in 2025, solar continues to outperform all other energy technologies.
“However, the slowdown in growth we observed in 2025 and the expected dip in 2026 are important signals highlighting a new reality: scaling solar is no longer just about deploying more capacity but about how well it can be integrated into the system.”
The global solar market remains concentrated in a handful of countries, led of course by China, which installed 382GW in 2025, accounting for 57 per cent of all global installations.
India stepped into place as the world’s second-largest solar market, installing 45.7 GW, beating out the United States which slipped to third as well as slipping in total capacity additions, reaching only 43.2 GW, down from 50 GW added in 2024.
It is partly China’s ongoing dominance which will lead to the first contraction in the solar market in over 20 years, where domestic policy changes are expected to see their annual capacity installations drop by 24 per cent.
As a result, global solar installations are expected to decline by 8 per cent in 2026 to 612GW in SolarPower Europe’s “Medium Scenario”.
The dip in annual capacity additions is expected to be temporary, though, with growth returning in 2027 on the way to reaching an annual market of 864GW in 2030.
“Despite the expected dip in 2026, the long-term outlook for solar remains robust,” said Markus Elsässer, CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH.
“Annual installations are projected to reach around 864 GW by 2030, while total global capacity is expected to grow to 6.6 TW, with upward potential to 7.6 GW in the High scenario.
“Solar will continue to be the main pillar of the energy transition, also in the short-term delivering around 60% of the renewable capacity needed to meet global 2030 targets.”
The report also carved out a sizeable chunk to highlight the role that solar PV plays in Australia, where solar capacity surpassed 45GW at the end of 2025 – up from only 5.1GW at the end of 2015.
Australia’s solar capacity remains predominantly rooftop based. For example, in 2025, around 2.8 GW of the 4.8 GW of new solar installed came from rooftop residential, commercial, and industrial systems.
The dominance of rooftop solar in Australia’s energy mix is due in large part to long-standing consumer incentives and strong political support.
However, this rooftop solar dominance also highlights the need for utility-scale solar to accelerate if Australia is to reach its 2030 target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent compared to 2005 levels, and pushing the renewable energy share to 82 per cent.
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Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
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Nextpower has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Germany's Zimmermann PV-Steel Group for up to EUR 330 million, a transaction expected to close in the second half of fiscal 2027 and expand the company's addressable solar market in Europe by more than twofold.
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Germany-based Next2Sun has introduced Fields2Sun Max, a vertical mounting system designed for utility-scale solar PV plants. The system adapts a concept previously used in agrivoltaics and distributed generation, extending it to large-scale ground-mounted applications with vertical, east–west oriented PV installations.
According to the company, vertical systems differ substantially from conventional fixed-tilt and tracking systems in their generation profile. The east–west orientation increases electricity production in the morning and late afternoon, while reducing output around midday. This results in a generation profile that can better align with periods of higher wholesale electricity prices, particularly in markets such as Spain.
Next2Sun says the system reflects a shift in project optimization criteria, where revenue timing is increasingly considered alongside total energy yield.
Fields2Sun Max is designed for utility-scale applications and is compatible with standard commercially available PV modules. It requires high-power modules rated above 700 W.
The company adds that vertical PV configurations offer improved resistance to wind, hail, and snow loads compared with conventional mounting systems.
Technical details and further information are expected to be presented at Intersolar Europe trade fair from June 23 to 25 at booth A4.130.
Separately, Next2Sun announced it entered a strategic partnership with Norwegian company Over Easy Solar to expand the distribution and marketing of vertical PV solutions. Over Easy Solar develops lightweight vertical PV modules for flat and green roofs, designed for low weight and simplified installation, which are intended to complement Next2Sun’s vertical mounting systems.
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The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, July 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Be part of the high-level European conference on solar and energy storage, exploring bankable BESS projects, warranties, and energy management for residential and C&I sectors
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy.
Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way!
We are participating in Intersolar 2026 again this year! Visit us at our Booth Hall 2 A2.250 to discuss the latest trends within the photovoltaic industry with the pv magazine team.
June 23-25, 2026 | MUNICH, GERMANY
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The Northern America Edge Sealing Tapes for Solar Modules market functions as a critical intermediate input layer within the region’s rapidly expanding photovoltaic manufacturing ecosystem. These tapes serve as a high-reliability moisture and corrosion barrier, applied during the module lamination process to seal the edges of the laminate stack and prevent premature degradation. Although they represent a small fraction of total module bill-of-materials cost, their role in ensuring 30-year durability makes them a non-negotiable performance component for grid-connected projects.
Northern America is undergoing a historic shift from being a net importer of solar modules to a region building a substantial domestic manufacturing base. This transition directly drives the demand for all module BOM components, including edge sealing tapes. The market is characterized by close technical integration between tape formulators and module manufacturers, rigorous quality certification requirements, and a complex global supply chain for specialty feedstocks. The product archetype is that of a formulated intermediate chemical good: specification-driven, reliant on contract purchasing, and sensitive to raw material price cycles.
Volume expansion in the Northern America Edge Sealing Tapes for Solar Modules market is fundamentally a derivative of the region’s solar module assembly capacity additions. With announced and under-construction module facilities in the United States alone targeting over 60 GWdc of annual capacity by 2027, the linear meters of edge sealing tape consumed in the region could more than double by the early 2030s relative to a 2025 baseline. This creates a sustained, multi-year demand boom that aligns closely with the IRA-driven investment cycle.
Growth is not uniform across all product tiers. The high-growth, high-value segment is centered on tapes compatible with n-type cell technologies and dual-glass module constructions. This segment is projected to grow at a pace 3–6 percentage points higher than the functional grade segment over the 2026–2035 horizon. Volume growth is also supported by the large-scale replacement and lifecycle support market: as the installed base of modules in Northern America ages, aftermarket demand for field-applied edge sealants and repair tapes is expected to contribute a modest but stable revenue stream, particularly in regions with high hail and wind exposure.
Demand segmentation in Northern America is defined by three factors: cell technology (p-type vs. n-type), module construction (glass-backsheet vs. bifacial dual-glass), and laminator compatibility. High-purity edge sealing tapes, characterized by ultra-low moisture vapor transmission rates and superior electrical insulation properties, are the fastest-growing segment. These tapes are formulated with advanced butyl and silicone compounds and are required for the TOPCon and heterojunction modules that dominate new capacity announcements in the region.
Functional grades, used largely in standard polycrystalline and mono PERC modules, still account for the majority of volume shipped but face gradual demand erosion as legacy production lines are converted or retired. End users are concentrated among OEMs and system integrators who operate module assembly plants in the US Southeast, Ohio Valley, Texas, and emerging facilities in Mexico. Procurement teams and technical buyers at these plants drive specification and qualification decisions, emphasizing consistency of supply, long-term reliability testing, and total cost of ownership over unit price alone.
Pricing in the Northern America edge sealing tape market is layered across functional grades, premium specifications, and volume contracts. Functional grade tapes for standard modules transact in a range broadly estimated at $0.50–$1.00 per module, while high-purity, specialty tapes for advanced modules command a premium of 15–25% or more, reflecting tighter quality control thresholds, more expensive feedstock blends, and the cost of maintaining rigorous certification documentation.
The dominant cost driver is the global price of synthetic rubbers and tackifiers—specifically butyl rubber, polyisobutylene, and moisture-cure silicones. These feedstocks have experienced structural price volatility driven by competing demand from the pharmaceutical, automotive, and construction sectors. Contract pricing for tier-1 OEMs typically features a fixed base component with a raw material indexation escalator, meaning price adjustments pass through with a 6–12 month lag. Volume contracts and service-and-validation add-ons create an additional pricing layer, where module makers pay for expedited qualification, on-site technical support, and customized slitting widths.
The competitive landscape for Edge Sealing Tapes for Solar Modules in Northern America comprises a mix of global adhesive formulators, specialized coating manufacturers, and a growing cohort of local convertors. Companies with established track records in long-duration damp heat and UV testing hold a decisive advantage in OEM qualification processes. Competition centers on technical performance—peel adhesion, moisture barrier effectiveness, thermal cycling resistance—and on the reliability of supply for consistent, defect-free rolls.
New entrants face a steep qualification barrier: the 12–18 month cycle required to achieve approval on a major module maker’s production line, coupled with the demand for 25-year field performance data, limits the pace at which new capacity can achieve commercial traction. The market is witnessing a consolidation trend, with larger specialty chemical firms acquiring smaller tape coaters to gain access to established qualification lists and customer relationships. Distributors and channel partners play a secondary but important role in serving smaller laminators and aftermarket demand, though direct OEM supply agreements dominate volume flows.
Northern America currently operates as an import-dependent market for finished edge sealing tapes, with over 60% of volume sourced from coating facilities in Europe (Germany, France) and Asia (Japan, South Korea, China). The production process is technically specialized: it requires precision coating of multi-layer film laminates with moisture-cure adhesives under strict cleanroom conditions. These production assets are geographically concentrated, and replicating them in Northern America involves significant capital expenditure, environmental permitting for solvent-based processes, and the development of skilled workforces.
The supply chain model is evolving. Historically, tapes were manufactured overseas, warehoused in regional distribution hubs (Houston, Los Angeles, Savannah), and shipped to module assembly lines on an as-needed basis. The IRA’s domestic content requirements are accelerating a shift toward localized finishing operations: slitting, rewinding, and custom packaging facilities are being established near major module manufacturing clusters. Bottlenecks remain in the upstream supply of specialized release films and high-purity silicone feedstocks, which are still largely sourced from overseas specialty chemical suppliers. Input cost volatility and the logistical complexity of coordinating just-in-time delivery across multiple tiers create ongoing supply chain management challenges.
Northern America is a net import market for Edge Sealing Tapes for Solar Modules, with trade flows dominated by inbound shipments from Europe and Asia-Pacific. Germany and Japan are prominent sources of high-purity, premium tapes, leveraging their strong positions in automotive and electronics-grade adhesives. South Korean and Chinese suppliers are active in the functional grade segment, offering cost-competitive products that serve the price-sensitive portion of the market.
Tariff and trade policy considerations add a layer of structural uncertainty. The product classification of edge sealing tapes under Harmonized System codes for adhesive films means it is potentially subject to Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods and Section 232 tariffs if imported as part of a finished module. Intra-regional trade patterns are also emerging: modules assembled in Mexico often incorporate tapes sourced from outside the region, representing an indirect import flow that complicates domestic content calculations. As US domestic coating capacity ramps, a modest export flow of specialty tapes to Canada and Mexico is a plausible medium-term development, particularly for products optimized for Northern American climate conditions and certification standards.
The United States is the dominant demand center and the focal point of manufacturing expansion in Northern America. Module assembly plants in the Southeast (Georgia, South Carolina, Florida), the Ohio Valley (Ohio, Michigan), Texas, and the Southwest (Arizona, Nevada) are driving the bulk of edge sealing tape consumption. The US market is also the primary location for IRA incentive-driven supply chain investments, including the emerging tape coating and finishing capacity.
Canada represents a secondary but stable demand center, with a growing project development pipeline and a federal clean electricity standard that supports long-term solar deployment. However, Canada has limited domestic module assembly capacity, making its edge sealing tape market almost entirely import-dependent. Mexico has developed a meaningful module assembly base, often serving as a manufacturing platform for US-bound solar equipment. This creates intermediate demand for edge sealing tapes within Mexico, though these products are frequently specified and sourced by the same global OEM procurement teams that operate in the United States.
Compliance with international safety and reliability standards is the foundational regulatory requirement for edge sealing tapes used in Northern America. UL 61730 and the IEC 61215/61730 series govern the qualification testing of photovoltaic modules, and the edge sealing tape’s performance is directly validated through rigorous damp heat (85°C/85% RH), thermal cycling, and UV preconditioning tests. Tape failure during these certification procedures is a common and costly bottleneck for module manufacturers, making pre-qualified tape formulations a significant competitive asset.
Beyond product safety standards, the regulatory environment in Northern America is increasingly shaped by domestic content regulations. The Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) and the IRA’s Title 17 loan program incentivize or require that a minimum percentage of a project’s materials, including module components, be manufactured in the United States. This regulatory push is directly reshaping procurement strategies, encouraging module OEMs to source edge sealing tapes from domestic or regional coating facilities to maximize project tax credit eligibility. Import documentation and sector-specific compliance with EPA chemical management rules (TSCA) add further administrative requirements for international suppliers.
The outlook for the Northern America Edge Sealing Tapes for Solar Modules market is strongly positive, anchored by the structural buildout of domestic solar manufacturing capacity. Over the 2026–2035 forecast horizon, demand is projected to grow at a compound annual rate in the low-to-mid teens, with high-purity specialty tapes consistently outpacing functional grades. The regional market value will increasingly reflect the premium product mix as n-type cell architectures achieve dominant market share.
By the early 2030s, Northern America’s edge sealing tape market could see annual consumption volumes equivalent to over 100 GW of module production, making it one of the largest consuming regions globally. The pace of supply chain localization will be a critical variable: if domestic coating capacity scales faster than anticipated, the market will shift from import-dependence to a more balanced self-sufficiency model. However, any slowdown in the US module manufacturing ramp—due to policy changes, trade disputes, or grid interconnection bottlenecks—would directly temper tape demand growth. Separately, the aftermarket segment will expand steadily as the installed base in Northern America matures, creating a recurring service revenue stream that partially buffers cyclical module production swings.
The most significant near-term opportunity in Northern America lies in establishing localized edge sealing tape coating capacity that meets IRA domestic content thresholds. Suppliers that successfully build US-based formulation and coating lines, pre-qualify their products with major module OEMs, and can demonstrate a domestic supply chain for key feedstocks will be strongly positioned to capture the premium segment of the market. This opportunity is particularly acute for high-purity grades, where import dependence is highest and buyer willingness to pay for supply security and compliance is strongest.
A second major opportunity is in technology innovation for next-generation module architectures. The emergence of perovskite-silicon tandem cells and thin-film flexible modules creates new demands on edge sealing materials. Tapes must be compatible with lower-temperature lamination processes, provide exceptional barrier properties against moisture and ion migration, and maintain performance over the module’s full operational life. Suppliers that invest in R&D and early qualification partnerships with leading cell and module developers can secure long-term specification positions.
Finally, the expansion of building-integrated photovoltaics and vehicle-integrated photovoltaics in Northern America presents a smaller but high-margin niche, as these applications often require customized edge sealing solutions with specialized aesthetic and structural properties.
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Edge Sealing Tapes for Solar Modules market in Northern America, covering market size, growth trajectory, demand structure, supply capability, trade flows, pricing, competitive landscape, and forecast to 2035.
The study is designed for manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, investors, procurement teams, advisors, and strategy teams that need a consistent, data-driven view of market dynamics and a transparent analytical definition of the product scope.
This report covers the global market for edge sealing tapes specifically designed for solar modules. These tapes are used to seal and protect the edges of photovoltaic panels from moisture, dust, and mechanical stress, ensuring long-term durability and performance. The analysis encompasses various product grades and formulations tailored to different manufacturing and end-use requirements.
The report combines the standard market-statistics backbone with strategic chapters that are useful for commercial planning, sourcing decisions, market entry, competitor monitoring, and portfolio prioritization.
The market is segmented into decision-relevant buckets so that demand drivers, pricing logic, supply constraints, and competitive positions can be compared across the same analytical frame.
The classification coverage includes edge sealing tapes categorized by product type (functional, high-purity, specialty), application (industrial materials, industrial processing, formulation and compounding, specialty end-use), and value chain stage (feedstock sourcing, processing and formulation, quality control and certification, distribution and end-use manufacturing). The report does not assign specific HS codes but provides a framework for trade classification analysis.
Coverage includes the regional aggregate, member-country demand, supply capability where present, regional trade flows, import dependence, and country profiles for: Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, United States.
The report combines official statistics, trade records, company disclosures, product-level evidence, and analyst validation. Data are standardized, reconciled, and cross-checked to keep market sizing, trade flows, pricing, and forecasts comparable across countries and time periods.
All indicators are mapped to a consistent product definition and reviewed against the segmentation framework used in the Table of Contents.
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Brazil’s relatively high residential electricity prices are one of the main reasons rooftop solar has expanded so rapidly. In many parts of the country, residential consumers face elevated retail electricity rates due to a combination of distribution costs, taxes and surcharges, and cross-subsidies embedded in the tariff structure, designed to subsidise the low tariffs paid by low-income residential dwellings. As a result, households can often offset electricity that costs approximately $0.15–0.30 per kWh, depending on location and tariff, allowing solar systems to achieve attractive payback periods (typically 3 to 5 years). The introduction of net metering in 2012, coupled with a sharp acceleration in adoption after 2020, drove substantial growth in solar photovoltaic generation. As a result, solar PV rose from the seventh largest to the second-largest component of the country’s energy mix. This contrasts with several neighboring countries. Argentina and Bolivia have historically maintained heavily subsidized electricity prices, reducing the economic incentive for rooftop solar. Paraguay benefits from some of the lowest electricity costs in the world thanks to the Itaipu hydropower plant, while Peru’s residential tariffs are generally more moderate. Chile has comparatively higher electricity prices, but other market and regulatory barriers have constrained residential solar adoption. When grid electricity is already inexpensive, the economic case for rooftop solar becomes significantly less compelling.
Brazil created a very favorable net-metering system
A key factor behind Brazil’s rooftop solar boom was the creation of a highly favorable net-metering framework. For many years, distributed generation regulations allowed homeowners to receive nearly full credit for excess electricity exported to the grid, substantially improving the economics of residential solar projects. This regulatory stability gave households confidence that they would be able to recover their investments, while also providing banks with a reliable basis for financing solar installations and enabling installers to scale their operations. The result was a rapidly expanding residential solar market supported by both consumer demand and access to capital. In contrast, many neighboring countries adopted distributed generation policies later or implemented less generous compensation mechanisms, reducing the financial attractiveness of rooftop solar and slowing market development. Consequently, Brazil stands out globally: nearly 70% of its installed solar PV capacity (over 70 GW) consists of small-scale distributed generation systems, with rooftop installations accounting for roughly 80% of that capacity.
Financing became widely available
A further major driver of Brazil’s residential solar market has been the widespread availability of financing. In many ways, Brazil’s advantage lies not only in its abundant solar resources but also in its ability to make solar systems financially accessible to households. Over time, the country developed a robust ecosystem of solar-specific loans, consumer financing programs, and installment plans that often extend five to ten years or more. As a result, many homeowners can purchase solar systems with monthly payments that are roughly equivalent to, or even lower than, the savings generated on their electricity bills. This significantly reduces the upfront cost barrier that often limits adoption. By contrast, several neighboring countries have less developed consumer credit markets, higher borrowing costs, and fewer dedicated solar financing products. Consequently, even when equipment prices are similar, differences in financing availability can lead to dramatically different rates of solar adoption.
Massive market scale lowered installation costs
The rapid growth of Brazil’s distributed solar sector has also created a powerful scale advantage that continues to lower installation costs. Today, Brazil has one of the largest absolute and per capita rooftop solar markets outside Australia, North America, Europe, and China, and this market size has fostered a highly competitive ecosystem of installers, suppliers, and service providers. There are more than 30 thousand PV system integrators scattered all over the country. Greater competition has helped improve supply chains, reduce labor costs per project, and lower customer acquisition expenses, all of which contribute to more affordable solar installations for consumers. As thousands of firms compete for market share, efficiency increases and prices tend to decline further, reinforcing the market’s growth. In contrast, countries such as Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru have much smaller residential solar industries and therefore benefit less from these economies of scale, making solar installations relatively more expensive and slowing adoption.
Brazil imports huge volumes of Chinese equipment
Brazil’s widespread adoption of solar has also enabled it to benefit from substantial economies in equipment procurement. Like most countries, Brazil relies heavily on solar modules, inverters, and other components manufactured in China. However, what distinguishes Brazil is the sheer volume of its imports. High demand has allowed distributors and installers to secure more favorable pricing from suppliers, establish efficient distribution networks, maintain local inventories, and develop extensive technical expertise throughout the industry. These advantages help reduce logistical costs, shorten installation timelines, and improve overall project efficiency. As a result, the total installed cost of residential solar systems is often lower than in neighboring markets where import volumes are smaller and supply chains are less developed.
The electricity grid creates opportunities
The characteristics of Brazil’s electricity system have also created favorable conditions for the growth of distributed solar generation. As a vast country with long transmission distances and regional grid constraints, Brazil faces challenges that can increase system costs and contribute to electricity price volatility. In addition, the country’s heavy reliance on hydropower makes electricity prices vulnerable to periodic droughts, which can reduce reservoir levels and require the use of more expensive backup natural gas generation. These factors have encouraged many consumers to view rooftop solar not only as a way to lower electricity bills but also as a means of reducing dependence on the grid and insulating themselves from future tariff increases. By contrast, Paraguay benefits from abundant and low-cost hydroelectric generation from power plants such as the Itaipu Dam and the Yacyretá Dam, which helps keep electricity prices exceptionally low and reduces the economic incentive for widespread residential solar adoption.
Why Chile is the interesting exception
Chile represents an interesting exception in the South American solar landscape. The country possesses some of the world’s best solar resources, particularly in the Atacama Desert, where solar irradiation levels are among the highest on Earth. Yet, unlike Brazil, Chile’s solar expansion has been driven primarily by utility-scale projects, power supply for the mining sector, and large commercial installations rather than widespread residential rooftop adoption. These segments have benefited from strong demand for large-scale renewable energy and favorable project economics in regions with exceptional solar conditions. While Chile’s residential solar market has grown steadily in recent years, it has not achieved the same broad-based, mass-market penetration seen in Brazil, where supportive policies, financing availability, and market scale have made rooftop solar accessible to a much larger share of households.
The key point is that Brazil’s success is not mainly because it has more sun. Northern Chile, southern Peru, and much of Paraguay have solar resources that are just as good or better. The decisive factors have been electricity prices, financing, regulation, and market scale, which together made rooftop solar a compelling household investment in Brazil.
Authors: Prof. Ricardo Rüther (UFSC), Prof. Andrew Blakers /ANU
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ISES, the International Solar Energy Society is a UN-accredited membership NGO founded in 1954 working towards a world with 100% renewable energy for all, used efficiently and wisely.
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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The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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Recent German court decisions require PV system registration; DGUV updates testing intervals for office, workshop, and construction equipment; balcony solar limits and critical infrastructure thresholds also change.
A series of recent court decisions in Germany is forcing electricians, roofers, and facility managers to rethink their obligations. The Oberlandesgericht Koblenz ruled in early June 2026 that comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) packages — spanning planning, installation, and maintenance — require registration in the Handwerksrolle (the official register of trades). The judgment, not yet legally binding, directly impacts electrical professionals and roofing contractors alike.
That ruling is part of a broader wave of regulatory updates affecting everything from office toasters to large-scale power connections.
On 23 June 2026, the Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV) published updated mandatory reference intervals for inspecting electrical equipment. For portable devices in offices, the standard check is now due every 24 months. In workshops that interval shrinks to 12 months, and on construction sites equipment must be tested every three months. Fixed installations are to be inspected every four years.
With the employer’s risk assessment now acting as the deciding factor for inspection frequencies, having well-documented, up-to-date risk assessments is more critical than ever. Yet many organisations still rely on incomplete or outdated documentation that leaves gaps in compliance. A free risk assessment toolkit provides 41 ready-to-use templates and checklists covering everything from fire safety to lone working — all designed to help you meet current UK requirements. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
The DGUV emphasises these are guidelines, not hard rules. The employer’s risk assessment remains decisive. A key trigger for shortening intervals: if the fault rate during inspections exceeds two percent, checks must happen more frequently. Notably, privately owned electrical devices brought into the workplace by employees also fall under the testing regime.
One day earlier, on 22 June 2026, the revised DGUV Information 203-07 was released. It targets persons qualified to perform inspections and serves as a practical companion to the VDE standards VDE 0701-0702 (for portable equipment) and VDE 0105-100 (for fixed installations).
Alongside the regulatory updates, digital inspection tools are gaining traction. Since June 2026, new software solutions allow inspectors to document legally compliant checks using smartphones or tablets. These systems enable photo documentation, link inspection reports to job orders, and support automated maintenance scheduling.
Two state courts — the Landgerichte Bochum and Osnabrück — clarified safety requirements for balcony solar systems (Balkonkraftwerke) on 22 June 2026. Storage systems with a PV capacity exceeding 960 watts may no longer be sold without specific line-overload protection. The underlying standard, DIN VDE V 0126-95, permits simple plug-in feeding only up to that threshold.
At the end of May 2026, the Federal Ministry of the Interior released a draft for a new Kritisverordnung (Critical Infrastructure Ordinance). Under the proposal, facilities connecting generation plants to the grid would be considered critical infrastructure from a capacity of 104 MVA. The thresholds are based on the supply needs of 500,000 people.
As the pace of regulatory change accelerates, keeping your entire health & safety documentation aligned with current standards is essential. Over 37,000 UK businesses already trust a free health & safety toolkit that includes risk assessments, COSHH checklists, and more – all immediately available for download. Download the free Health & Safety Toolkit
Given the accelerating pace of rule changes, ongoing professional training has become essential. Specialised seminars covering annual instruction for portable equipment testing or the model line-installation directive for fire protection help companies stay compliant with evolving safety standards.
Last year, Ohio legislators almost unanimously enacted a sweeping law meant to get energy generation online faster and meet surging electricity demand.
The law, House Bill 15, is meant to be apply evenly to all types of energy when it comes to adding new generation, according to some leading state lawmakers.
“We said we’re going to have a level playing field. Let the free market work,” Republican Sen. Brian Chavez, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, said of HB 15 during a legislative panel at the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners in Columbus last week.
Yet now state lawmakers are advancing a bill that would expand preferences for natural gas and nuclear generation while adding even more hurdles for solar and wind — energy sources that the state has already stymied over the last decade.
On June 10, the Republican-dominated Ohio Senate voted along straight party lines to pass Senate Bill 294, which is based on a model bill from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, and calls for electricity generation to “employ affordable, reliable, and clean energy sources.” Louisiana and Utah have passed similar laws, and bills are also under consideration in Arizona, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and West Virginia, according to an April report from ALEC.
But the bill’s current definition of “reliable” could cause the Ohio Power Siting Board to block many utility-scale solar and wind projects, even after many groups testified against the original version, introduced in the General Assembly last October.
“We need more supply, not less,” said Democratic Sen. Kent Smith, ranking minority member of the Senate Energy Committee, who also spoke at the conference. He cited calls by both grid operator PJM Interconnection and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for an all-of-the-above approach to adding new generation. “We need to be generation-agnostic. We need to let the market work.”
Chavez said the current version of SB 294 could allow solar and wind to qualify as reliable if they are combined with batteries. And developers wouldn’t need to meet the bill’s criteria for projects that are below the threshold needed for state review: under 50 megawatts for solar and under 5 MW for wind.
“If it goes to the Power Siting Board, we just said you have to have 50% reliability,” said Chavez, who has worked in and has had multiple connections to the oil and gas industry. But, he continued, “flat land is at a premium. … So we would say, if you’re going to put your bigger power supplies in Ohio, you shall consider if it is dispatchable more than 50% of the time.”
Still, it’s not clear how many wind or solar projects could qualify. SB 294 mandates that any “reliable energy source” have a “site-combined minimum capacity factor” of 50%. The capacity factor describes the ratio of a generator’s actual electricity output over the course of a year to the maximum that source could theoretically produce.
The average capacity factor for photovoltaic solar farms in the United States was just 24.4% last year, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. If solar projects are required to install enough battery storage to reach a 50% threshold, project costs would significantly increase.
“Capacity factors are not measures of reliability and the wrong thing to focus on,” said Andrew Linhares, Midwest director of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Ohio won’t solve its energy challenges by sidelining solar and storage, which are the fastest-growing and most affordable sources of new power on the grid.”
Further, SB 294 demands that power be readily available and dispatchable “at all times” of high usage and “in times of need.” Facilities often discharge batteries’ energy at high-usage times to take advantage of higher prices, but whether that could qualify as “at all times” is also unclear.
The bill’s focus on the reliability of any single resource is misguided because of how the grid functions, according to Democratic Rep. Tristan Rader, the ranking minority member of the House Energy Committee, who spoke at the conference as well. “That’s why we have peaker plants.”
While states issue permits for different facilities, and state policies affect what types of generation investments they attract, PJM is responsible for ensuring the reliable operation of the regional grid for Ohio and all or parts of a dozen other states and the District of Columbia.
“PJM is not favoring or disfavoring any resources class during this time when we need every megawatt of power generated to manage our supply/demand imbalance being driven by data center growth,” said spokesperson Jeffrey Shields.
The grid operator already accounts for variability in power production and the likelihood that resources will be able to supply electricity when needed, noted Andrew Gohn, a senior strategist for the energy developer Innergex Renewables who also attended last week’s conference and heard the Ohio lawmakers’ comments. The tool for that is a metric called the effective load-carrying capacity, which is meant to capture how reliable a given resource is for purposes of PJM’s capacity market.
“Ultimately, the grid is reliable because it is a diverse mix of resources,” Gohn said. “It’s not reliable because of any one particular resource.”
No single facility is immune from problems. PJM tweaked its methodology for calculating effective load-carrying capacity after multiple gas plants failed during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022. That storm’s high winds also caused water levels to fall near the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Numerous gas plants also failed during Winter Storm Fern this January, while wind farms performed above their expected output, according to a Grid Strategies report for the Niskanen Center, which was released in March.
Affordability remains a major issue, too. Prices reflect energy markets, the capacity market, and an ancillary services market, which helps maintain balance on the electric grid and minimize blackouts.
“If you look at the wholesale price in each of those markets, energy is actually the biggest factor in a consumer’s bill, not capacity,” Gohn said. And while there are roles in the system for different types of generation, “energy is provided best by cheap electrons, which is what wind and solar provide.”
Proponents of SB 294 during its Senate hearings included ALEC and the Heartland Institute, which both have multiple links to fossil fuel interests and a history of undermining climate science and lobbying against renewables. The Oil & Gas Workers Association also supported the bill.
Opponents include the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum, American Clean Power, the Utility Scale Solar Energy Coalition, multiple environmental organizations, and dozens of individuals.
The bill is now in the Ohio House, where it was introduced on June 16 and is likely to be taken up when lawmakers return from their summer recess.
While the bill no longer states that its requirements apply “in all cases,” as in the original version, it does preserve other siting criteria under Ohio law — including a requirement that projects serve the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.”
Serving the public interest broadly is a good thing. However, officials at the Power Siting Board have taken a narrow view in some cases where local townships have objected to solar and wind projects, treating such opposition as “controlling” on the public interest question, even over environmental, economic, and other considerations. If SB 294 becomes law, there’s a risk that regulators might similarly rely on it to rule against renewable energy projects — in contrast to the state’s lax stance toward permitting fossil fuel infrastructure.
“If you create a policy, that policy drives investments,” said Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis. And when and if it’s passed by the General Assembly, “it’s out there. It is policy.”
Kathiann M. Kowalski
is a contributing reporter at Canary Media who covers Ohio.
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After two years of construction, an 800-megawatt solar farm/battery storage project has begun generating energy in Emery County.
Dubbed the Green River Energy Center, the project spans over 2,500 acres (about 4 miles) of Utah’s desert, becoming the largest solar and storage project in PacifiCorp’s service territory: Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and northern California.
The project will generate 400 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity and have 1.6 gigawatts hours of energy storage, Sundt Renewables President Tom Dodson said. Sundt worked as a contractor for rPlus Energies on the project.
Sundt Construction, the project’s contractor, installed 996,000 solar panels and 385 miles of underground cables. The idea for the Green River Energy Center began nearly a decade ago.
“Green River Energy Center represents the kind of large-scale energy investment we need to deliver reliable energy, support rural Utah and help power the next generation of prosperity across our state,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement.
Utah Sen. John Curtis added that the project strengthens the state’s energy infrastructures and “helps ensure reliable, affordable power for families and businesses across the West.”
The Green River Energy Center is proof that Utah still knows how to build.
rPlus Energies’ 400-megawatt solar and battery storage project is making a major contribution to energy abundance and affordability under Operation Gigawatt. 🔋
But this is about more than energy. When… pic.twitter.com/llufu1kLBi
The Green River Energy Center has locked in $1.6 billion in funding — $1.1 billion in construction debt and more than $500 million in tax equity, Cliff Smith, the COO of rPlus Energies, said.
The CEO and founder of Nextpower, Dan Shugar, told the Deseret News that 100% of the steel used in the Green River Energy Center was made in the U.S., as well as a “vast majority” of all other materials.
Nextpower is a California-based company that manufactures intelligent solar-tracking systems. Shugar and his team helped the project’s developer, rPlus Energies, design their solar farm to include smart-tracking mounts and software that turns the panels toward the sun throughout the day to maximize energy yields.
“COVID was a bit of a catalyst,” he said. “There was sort of a meltdown of global logistics.”
Shugar said following the COVID-19 pandemic, his company “reimagined” their supply chain and started manufacturing in the United States.
“COVID was a bit of a catalyst,” he said. “There was sort of a meltdown of global logistics.”
In the 10 years leading up to the pandemic, supply chains were reliable in terms of cost and speed. “Both of those things went out the window” as the world shut down in 2020.
The issue was compounded by global conflicts in the Middle East and environmental issues in the Panama Canal.
“We took that opportunity to really increase domestic manufacturing in the states to serve the local market,” Shugar said. “And that provided other benefits.”
U.S.-made steel is significantly cleaner than steel made overseas. “In the U.S., it uses an electric-arc furnace process, which uses predominantly scrap and recycled steel — it’s way cleaner than using a blast furnace with iron ore and products from coal,” he said, adding that customers also benefit from a greater level of certainty in avoiding tariffs.
“The tariff policy has been extremely volatile, and so the customers have much greater certainty of stability of supply that they’re protected from wildly oscillating tariffs,” Shugar said.
On Monday during the project’s on-site ceremony, project partners said they donated $375,000 in scholarship money for local students.
Bayley Hedglin, a development officer from Utah State University, said that 30 students in the area have already benefited from the commitment.
Project partners also donated $45,000 to the Ferron Fire Department.
While fires in solar farms are uncommon, their high-voltage infrastructure increases risk minimally.
‘Someday the sun will shine and have-not will be no more,’ Brian Peckford famously said. Solar ‘someday’ can’t come soon enough, writes Angela Antle
Renee Keough and Sean Penney live in a 19th century home in downtown St. John’s. The sun is often blocked by neighbours’ houses or the large oak in their front yard. Their roof is also flat, making it “not ideal” for solar panels. In fact, “you probably can’t get much worse,” says Keough.
Despite their impeded access to direct sunlight, almost a quarter of the couple’s energy needs are met by the solar array on their roof. They also sell excess power back to the grid via the province’s net-metering program.
Penney and Keough are among this province’s early solar adopters. With fewer than 100 solar projects currently connected to our grid, it’s not like the technology is taking off here. But Keough and Penney are passionate about renewable energy (they also drive an electric vehicle) and, convinced that solar power was possible here, they dove in.
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Ashley Smith, a St. John’s-based climate change consultant with Fundamental Inc., slays the myth that Newfoundland and Labrador doesn’t get enough sunshine for solar power.
“Solar panels need ‘light’, not ‘sunshine’ to produce electricity. They need the type of radiation that our eyes and brains interpret as ‘the visible spectrum’ to make electrons jump their orbits and create the ‘flow’ of electricity,” she explains. In fact, she says, the province’s cooler temperatures make solar panels more efficient here.
“Solar panel power production decreases as the panels themselves heat up – so the sunny cool days, or bright overcast days, or sunny days with wind, will all maintain a higher production overall than a hot summer sun.”
The Keoughs’ experience affirms Smith’s claims about daylight versus sunlight. “We have enough sun,” says Keough. “When there is daylight, electricity is being produced by our solar panels. That means foggy days, rainy days, snowy days.” Keough says the couple had just one day in the 16 months since their solar panels were installed when no energy was produced. “It was the day after a snowstorm and the panels were still covered in snow,” she says. “The next day we were back to production.”
Keough and Penney used the (now-dormant) Canada Greener Homes interest-free loan program to purchase and install their solar panels. They’ve been solar-curious for decades, ever since Penney bought a solar cell home in the ’80s just to see what it was all about. “At that time what it could produce in terms of energy was enough to power [a radio], and only in bright sunlight. The music would fade as a cloud passed over,” Keough recalls. “We also used it once to trickle charge a car battery.”
Last year, Keough and Penney produced more than 7,000 kWh with their solar panels. “Our house and car required 31,995 kWh, so we bought 24,923 kWh [from NL Power],” Penney explains. “Some [41 per cent] of what we produced by solar was sold back to NL Power, and 59 per cent was used directly for our EV and house.”
Measuring the sun’s ability to produce energy in a particular location is described as ‘solar production value’ (SPV). Ashley Smith says the federal government measures the island’s SPV at around 950, and most of Labrador at around 1050, pointing out that Newfoundland and Labrador’s solar values are higher than Berlin and Tokyo’s SPV of 700.
Bill McKibben of 350.org and author of Here Comes the Sun, calls solar the “Costco of energy,” arguing it’s “cheap, in bulk, and available off the shelf” at a time when we “can’t depend on fossil energy.” The renowned climate advocate points to research showing that the cost of solar has now fallen below oil and gas — a point further reinforced by global geopolitical instability that has resulted in even less predictable availability and pricing of oil.
McKibben’s book details how since 2024, the world’s fifth-largest economy California has been generating 100 per cent of its electricity from solar most days (with the help of batteries). The Cali solar revolution represents a 25% drop in natural gas use in that state from 2023 to 2024. While the illegal US war in Iran may be temporarily boosting oil and gas companies’ bottom lines, McKibben is betting on a longer term sea change in the acceptance of renewable energy. Facetiously, he says, “without meaning to, President Trump is speeding up the world’s conversion to renewable energy.”
Also called ‘balcony solar’, plug-in Photovoltaic (PV) refers to solar panels with either a built-in inverter or an accompanying one that you plug directly into an electrical outlet. The solar energy flows from the panel into your electrical outlet and is then used by your appliances. How does that work? The solar inverter overrides the power coming into your home from the grid so that your appliances and lights run on solar first, before drawing on more costly grid electricity.
Mckibben says this form of solar power is transforming countries such as Pakistan, where balcony solar now generates half of the country’s electricity. The Pakistan government, he points out, recently turned back 24 boatloads of LNG from Qatar, preferring to pay a penalty because they no longer needed the gas to make electricity.
Plug-in PV is not yet CSA-approved for use in Canada, though the technology is being used in the US. CSA communications specialist Claire Brassard says the plug-in configuration falls outside the scope of the Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) and the National Electrical Code (NEC). But she indicated that CSA could soon approve the technology noting that in December 2025, they began an “outline of investigation’ through UL 3700,” to establish safety and performance requirements for plug‑in photovoltaic systems. However, Brassard says once CSA approval is achieved, access to plug-in for Canadians will ultimately rest with provincial and territorial governments, and utilities.
Where a balcony solar system typically benefits a single household, community solar projects benefits more than one individual, family, or business. The start-up costs and benefits are shared with energy shared by neighbours, a town, or for example amongst co-op members. Sometimes the projects are on closed-loop microgrids, meaning the power created stays within the community, powering homes and businesses without excess energy flowing back to the grid.
In Nunatsiavut, there are five solar microgrid projects in Makkovik, Nain, Hopedale, Postville, and Rigolet. The Nunatsiavut Government website says the combined projects will produce over 70 megawatts of clean electricity annually and reduce GHG emissions by more than 60 tonnes, “which is equivalent to over 20,000 liters of diesel fuel per year.”
Nunatsiavut Regional Energy Manager Jamie Hewlett says the projects represent energy independence and are a, “significant step forward in how we generate and manage energy in northern and remote communities.” He says the projects “strengthen energy security” by diversifying Nunatsiavut’s energy mix and reducing reliance on fuel shipments, which he points out are “vulnerable to weather and logistical challenges.”
“By building, owning, and operating these systems locally, Nunatsiavut is developing the capacity to generate its own clean energy and retain the economic benefits within its communities,” Hewlett continues, explaining the projects operate under power-purchase agreements or net-metering arrangements, meaning the direct financial benefits — through reduced energy costs — “flow to the building owner, which in this case is the Inuit Community Government in each community.”
In Nunatsiavut, the biggest challenges encountered so far relate to logistics and the environment, such as “transporting materials to remote communities, short construction seasons, and designing systems that can perform reliably in harsh northern conditions,” Hewlett says. Coordinating projects across Nunatsiavut’s coastal communities also requires “strong partnerships and careful planning.”
Over time, Hewlett says, the community solar regime will not only reduce emissions, but also “create opportunities for revenue generation and reinvestment in the region in a way that aligns with [Nunatsiavut’s] sustainability goals.
“Solar is not only viable in Nunatsiavut,” he adds, “but an important part of our energy future.”
Most people will be familiar with rooftop solar panels. Unlike balcony solar panels, rooftop solar arrays are made up of heftier, longer lasting (tier-1) panels that are professionally mounted on your rooftop and wired into your electrical panel like the solar panels on Penney and Keough’s roof. “In the summer there are days we produce more than 100 per cent of what we use,” says Penney. “And every day of the year we produce some solar electricity and thus offset the cost paid to NL Power by that amount. So the benefit translates into less paid to NL Power or we sell to them and they credit our account.”
Eamon Minty, a Stardust Solar rep in Newfoundland and Labrador, lays out the roadmap for going solar.
Minty admits the high upfront cost of investing in solar is a barrier for many, explaining he has seen financing rates in the industry, “as high as 29.99 per cent of the value of your system for the longest loan period.” He says this barrier could be addressed with provincial government policies that incentivize solar. Currently Take Charge NL offers rebates of approximately $20,000 to transition homes from oil to electric heat or heat pumps, but they do not support the installation of solar panels. Some municipalities such as Mount Pearl offer small solar grants of $5000 to businesses.
Keough and Penney say solar was a good investment for them because once they paid the upfront costs, their access to solar energy remains constant, and their costs won’t increase. As an added bonus, Penney says, “the cost of buying from NL Power will continue to increase, [so too] will the cost per kWh they pay to us.”
High start-up costs aren’t the only barrier to building a solar economy in Newfoundland and Labrador, there are also a number of policy roadblocks.
In 2015 the province released its net-metering policy framework, which put a five-megawatt limit on how much solar energy could be produced in the province. Under this cap, only early adopters able to afford the current high cost of (unsubsidized) solar will be able to access this renewable energy source. Once the 5 MW cap is met, NL Power will not permit any additional solar projects. Early adopters already account for “approximately 19.8% of the 5.0 MW aggregate capacity limit for net metering generation within the province,” the Public Utilities Board said last year. This represents a barrier because it introduces uncertainty.
Let’s talk kilowatts. Whereas a kW is a measurement of power, a kWh is a measurement of the use of energy over an hour. Here’s an example from Alberta’s Direct Energy “If you are running a 2 kW appliance, such as a clothes dryer, you only need to power it for 30 minutes to reach 1 kWh.”
N.L. Power’s 100 kW cap on solar systems favours smaller domestic users like Penney and Keough whose array, for example, is rated at a maximum output of 8.1 kW.
The 100 kW cap discourages larger community and commercial solar installations. In a 2024 submission for the provincial government’s Climate Change Action Plans consultations, Municipalities NL, which represents the many communities on the front line of the climate crisis, called on the provincial government to either increase or do away with the 100 kW cap. “As in other jurisdictions, there are significant opportunities here for municipalities to offset their energy use,” the organization says. “Town halls, community centres, hockey rinks – operating costs for all of these public facilities could conceivably be reduced as our renewable energy sector diversifies.”
On a recent bus ride in Halifax, I lost count of the rooftop solar arrays and wondered why we don’t see the same thing here in N.L. Dave Brushett of Solar Nova Scotia says that province’s Solar Homes Rebate (a PACE program – more on that to come) kickstarted residential solar installation uptake in Nova Scotia. “Then, when the [now dormant] Canada Greener Homes Grant and Loan Program came along, we had an existing industry that could continue to drive uptake. And it worked. Nova Scotia now has over 13,000 net metering installations (domestic and business) compared to just 83 in Newfoundland.”
Nova Scotia has what Bruschett calls a ‘right to solar’ law, whereby residents aren’t required to sign a net-metering contract with the utility — “and importantly, the utility cannot create fee structures or system access charges that discourage customers from developing, installing, and using their own renewable generation or energy storage,” he explains. “That’s an important consumer protection. It means rooftop solar isn’t just a utility program. In Nova Scotia, the right to generate your own clean electricity is protected in law.”
Nova Scotia has a thriving solar economy in part because the province amended its Municipal Government Act in 2010 to allow municipalities to enact what are called ‘property assessed clean energy’ — or PACE — programs. PACE programs provide “upfront capital for eligible projects and use municipal property assessments as the repayment vehicle over a set period (typically 10 to 20 years),” according to the Green Municipal Fund.
In Nova Scotia and other PACE provinces, municipalities can create bylaws to allow the financing and installation of renewable energy equipment for homes and businesses. The PACE incentives can take the form of rebates or low-interest loans, all managed by the municipality.
As of 2024, PACE-enabling legislation existed in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Yukon, but not in N.L.
I contacted Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for an explanation as to why this federal money to encourage renewable energy is being left on the table. The department said it was aware of PACE, but it is not actively developing PACE-enabling legislation because, “ [it] would require careful review of several pieces of legislation, including municipal and assessment-related statutes, as well as consideration of potential impacts for municipalities, property owners, lenders, and taxpayers.”
Under PACE, Alberta offers incentives up to $500,000 to retrofit or build solar projects, combined with renewable heat and electricity generation systems on municipal buildings or land. Communities like Airdrie, Banff, and Medicine Hat also offer Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP) initiatives to support domestic solar by residents with up to $50,000 for residential properties, $1 million for non-residential properties, and $300,000 for farms. Participants’ annual CEIP repayments cannot exceed the annual municipal property tax amount over the lifetime of the measure.
Without PACE programs, solar in Newfoundland and Labrador is only accessible to those who can afford the high upfront costs. Why isn’t the province making the changes necessary to enable more citizens to access affordable and secure renewable energy?
While a solar revolution in Newfoundland and Labrador is technically possible, the caps, no access to PACE programs and the high upfront costs are all major barriers. A just solar transition would enable more affordable and more secure energy for all residents and communities. Solar installations could guarantee energy affordability, and dependable energy during emergencies as well as help rural communities transition from expensive, loud, inefficient, and polluting diesel. Not only would communities save money on energy costs, selling excess solar energy back to the grid could be a revenue stream.
To learn more about the possibilities of solar energy, Bruschett says he “would love to see representation from Newfoundland and Labrador at the December 2026 Atlantic Canada Solar Summit.”
Angela Antle is the 2025 Rachel Carson Writer in Residence at Germany’s Ludwig Maximilian University, host and producer of the podcast GYRE, an interdisciplinary PhD candidate (Memorial University) and a member of Norway’s Empowered Futures: A Global Research School Navigating the Social and Environmental Controversies of Low-Carbon Energy Transitions.
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The shift has been building for several years. Tightening net metering policies, volatile electricity prices, and a housing stock across Northern Europe where apartments represent the majority of urban dwellings in major cities have driven demand outward from the traditional rooftop segment. For the basic S4800 configuration, no wall drilling or dedicated distribution box is required, though grid-tied installations in some jurisdictions still fall under electrician oversight. Setup is rated at approximately 30 minutes across five main steps, a figure the company says is consistently among the aspects European users cite first in post-installation feedback.
Photovoltaic input reaches 4,800 W, enough to support eight to ten 450 W panels on a typical balcony or small roof array. Peak MPPT efficiency is rated at 99.8 percent. Base battery configurations start at 3 kWh or 5 kWh, scaling to 15 kWh or 25 kWh through stackable expansion modules. Grid-tied AC output spans 800 W to 3,000 W; off-grid capacity reaches 3,600 W. AC charging is rated at 3,000 W, allowing the battery to refill from grid power during overnight low-tariff periods and extending economic viability into winter months when solar generation drops. The EV charging port supports up to 6.6 kW and can add roughly 40 to 55 km of driving range per charge under optimal solar conditions, sufficient to cover weekday transport demand for households with daily commutes under 50 km, largely from local generation. IP65 enclosure protection supports outdoor installation on balconies and in gardens.
The intelligence layer does as much economic work as the hardware. LumeGret Orbit pulls dynamic pricing data from more than 860 energy providers across major European markets, according to MOVA LumeGret, to optimize charge and discharge schedules against real-time tariffs. Discharge concentrates in peak-price windows; charging prioritizes low-cost periods. Stored solar energy is increasingly treated as a dispatchable resource rather than a passive backup sitting behind a breaker panel, and the difference in financial return between managed discharge and unmanaged export grows as feed-in rates compress. FluxCharge modulates EV charging power based on live solar generation to maximize self-consumption. When cloud cover drops PV output, charging scales down automatically; when generation peaks, it ramps up to capture surplus before export at unfavorable rates. Shelly-based smart meter integrations are supported, with additional ecosystem expansion planned according to market demand. Integration with existing home automation infrastructure allows homeowners to add storage without replacing their entire monitoring stack.
The S4800 sits between theA4000, which targets whole-home storage, and the A2000, a safety-oriented balcony system. The A4000 scales to 20 kWh for households with high consumption or rooftop arrays. The A2000 is built for compact balcony rail mounting with safety certifications for apartment building approval. The S4800 adds EV charging and dynamic pricing intelligence to bridge both use cases, giving installers a single platform to cover apartments, suburban homes, and EV-ready households in one product conversation.
"We believe future residential energy systems will be judged not only by how much energy they can store, but by how intelligently they can manage and utilize energy across the entire home," said Roger Shen, President ofMOVA LumeGret."The S4800 is designed to give channel partners a wider range of customer applications and greater long-term value from a single installation."
Certification covering European safety, EMC, battery, and grid standards has been completed for Germany, France, and the Netherlands, clearing the path for market entry. A regional headquarters in the Netherlands, backed by local warehousing and customer support capabilities, underpins the rollout. Volume production begins by the end of June, with commercial availability targeted for Q4 2026. Current sales run through e-commerce and installer networks; expansion into major home improvement retail channels including OBI and Bauhaus is planned for the second half of 2026. Shelf presence in DIY retail marks a shift from online early adopters to mainstream consumers who evaluate physical products before a four-figure purchase, and places the brand alongside established names in the installer supply chain. Local stock and service infrastructure also shorten delivery lead times and warranty response cycles, factors that influence installer loyalty in a market where after-sales support is increasingly competitive.
As residential storage expands beyond detached solar homes and into apartments, retrofit properties, and EV-enabled households, system architecture is becoming an increasingly important differentiator. The S4800 will make its public debut at Booth C1.556.
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A group of American solar manufacturers has filed a petition with the United States Department of Commerce requesting an anti-circumvention inquiry into companies that import solar materials from South Korea.
The group, calling itself American Manufacturers for Energy Resilience (AMER), consists of three members: Jeffersonville PV Cells Corporation (a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Canadian Solar), SEG Manufacturing Inc. and Heliene USA Inc.
The companies are asking the Commerce department to rule that crystalline-silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells imported from South Korea that use Chinese-origin components are circumventing existing antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on solar products from China.
The petition specifically focuses on the effects of Hanwha Q CELLS’s production of CSPV materials in Korea, noting that the company no longer has an in-country source for upstream materials like raw polysilicon, ingots and wafers, and instead gets these materials from Chinese suppliers.
While the petition also names Korean companies HD Hyundai Energy Solutions and Shinsung E&G, AMER is officially requesting a country-wide inquiry that would cover all producers and exporters of CSPV cells operating in the Republic of Korea.
The core of AMER’s legal argument is that the companies are performing only “minor or insignificant” processing of the Chinese materials, which AMER alleges constitutes tariff circumvention.
Past AD/CVD cases
The present request from AMER finds Hanwha Q CELLS on the opposite side of the antidumping argument compared to its role in similar petitions of the recent past.
As a member of trade groups called The American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee and the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, Hanwha Q CELLS USA participated as a petitioner in two AD/CVD cases filed in 2024 and 2025.
The first case, against companies operating in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam resulted in high tariffs on CSPV materials from those countries in a final determination issued in April 2025.
More recently, the Department of Commerce released a preliminary determination in the second case, against companies in India, Indonesia and Laos. The preliminary determination resulted in immediate AD/CVD tariff levies of approximately 234% on solar cells from India, between 121% and 178% for Indonesia, and 103% for Laos. Final determinations in the case are expected later this year.
While it continues to import solar cells to supply its domestic module manufacturing operations, Hanwha Q CELLS has begun to make its own solar ingots, wafers and cells in the U.S. at its plant in Cartersville Georgia.
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Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany have reached record-high power prices due to the current heat wave in Europe and its implications, said energy market intelligence provider Montel, arguing that extremely high temperatures reduce the efficiency of solar panels and of CCGT power plants.
CCGT plants operate less efficiently at high temperatures, losing between 0.5% and 0.9% of their output for every additional degree Celsius.
The Norwegian company said that, according to exchange data, Belgium set a new all-time high for the quarter-hourly electricity price at €1,038.25 ($1,181.63)/MWh for the 15-minute time slot starting at 8:45 p.m. (CET).
“The Netherlands also reached a new quarter-hour record price of €902.47/MWh, while the Danish bidding zone DK1 rose to €786.83/MWh. In Germany, Europe’s largest electricity market, quarter-hour prices also reached a record level of €747.10/MWh during the same evening period,” said Montel.
Figures from the Montel EQ platform show that Germany’s residual load rose to 51.5 GW. The portion of electricity demand not covered by wind and solar power was approximately 10.4 GW above the typical level for this time of day and year.
“As temperatures have risen, demand for air conditioning and cooling systems has increased significantly in parts of Europe. However, the sharpest price spikes occurred during the evening peak – at a time when solar power generation declines rapidly as sunlight fades, while temperatures and cooling demand remain high,” said Montel. “This combination led to periods of increasing scarcity and forced markets to rely on increasingly expensive generation sources to maintain the balance between supply and demand.”
According to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the current heat wave is expected to persist across large parts of Central and Western Europe into the first days of July.
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Solar PV is one of the pillars of Europe’s energy transition. With more than 65 GW of new capacity installed in 2025 and more than 405 GW already operating, the European Union is pressing on toward its target of 750 GW of solar PV by 2030. Reaching that target will require installing a further 345 GW or so over the next five years. The geography of solar PV capacity additions is changing. The large, well-oriented rooftops, the easily connected sites and the most favourable locations are gradually being used up. At the same time, ground-mounted solar projects in some countries face concerns over competing land uses, the protection of farmland, biodiversity and local acceptance.
We recently argued in these pages that lightweight modules could unlock more than 85 GW of structurally constrained European rooftops. The pressure behind that argument is the same one, pushing developers to look beyond the most straightforward sites. The question is no longer whether Europe wants more solar; it is where, exactly, the next gigawatts will physically go, and how the electricity they generate will be integrated into the grid and turned to value.
Some of the most promising new segments share a single idea, gathered under the banner of ‘PV everywhere’: rather than searching for new land, share the surfaces we already use. Agrivoltaics keeps farmland in production while generating energy. Floating PV, building- and vehicle-integrated PV turn reservoirs, facades, cars, and more into electricity production assets. In every case the breakthrough is the same: solar no longer competes for space but shares it.
Another category of space, less often discussed, fits this same logic: the land that runs alongside our transport and water infrastructure. Motorway verges and embankments, railway tracks and cuttings, noise barriers, the faces of flood dikes, canal banks, cycle paths and technical rights-of-way border almost every road and rail line on the continent. The sector is still settling on a name: infrastructure-integrated PV (IIPV) in the research literature, ‘linear PV’ for its geometry, or more plainly solar highways, solar railways and canal-top solar in the press. The logic, however, is familiar. This land is already developed, already controlled by a public body or a concession holder, and already serving a primary function. Adding generation on top of it while preserving natural and rewilded corridors, tends to raise far fewer acceptance objections. Not a new kind of terrain, but a new relationship with the terrain we have already built on.
The potential is anything but marginal. In a pan-European assessment, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre estimates that applied PV across rooftops, reservoirs and road and rail infrastructure could exceed 1 TW of installed capacity, well beyond the EU’s 2030 target. The linear-infrastructure share is particularly striking: this study puts the gross potential for vertical PV along the EU’s roads and railways at 403 GW, roughly 50% of the 2030 goal. Analysis also finds that deploying vertical, east-west bifacial PV at scale would raise the market value of solar generation and dampen the midday price cannibalisation that increasingly erodes the revenue of conventional south-facing arrays. While these are technical potentials rather than market forecasts, even a fraction of the potential would be significant.
Taking a realistic linear power density of between roughly 0.3 MW per kilometre for a single row of vertical bifacial modules and more than 2 MW per kilometre for wider systems, the orders of magnitude add up quickly once applied to tens of thousands of kilometres of infrastructure corridors.
The opportunity, moreover, extends beyond land. Many of these infrastructure assets (motorways, railways, canals) already consume electricity or sit adjacent to existing grid connections. That proximity turns a land-use argument into an energy-system argument: generation sited on infrastructure can feed directly into a local load or an existing connection point, reducing curtailment risk and easing the grid-integration challenge that constrains so many conventional solar projects.
China has moved fastest and at by far the largest scale, developing a transport-linked PV market with no equivalent elsewhere. Highway-linked solar reached about 1.7 GW by the end of 2024, and the China Academy of Transportation Sciences estimates the roadside potential at close to 944 GW. Multiple provinces are now developing near-zero-carbon highway service areas. The flagship Jinan–Weifang corridor for example carries 68 MW generating some 68 GWh a year according to its operator.
Asia offers other demonstrators of several kinds. South Korea’s Daejeon–Sejong cycle path canopy runs down a motorway’s central corridor since the mid-2010s; with some 7,500 panels over 4.8 km as shared by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea.
India pioneered canal-top solar in Gujarat over a decade ago: the Narmada Canal Public Authority reports scaling from a 1 MW pilot in 2012 to roughly around 35 MW today, while cutting evaporation. In Japan, interest in transport-integrated PV is accelerating. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has launched a national programme to evaluate road-surface solar technologies, while motorway operators are exploring the use of embankments, sound barriers and service-area land for photovoltaic generation.
In the United States of America, The Ray, a demonstration corridor along Interstate 85 in Georgia hosts a 1 MW roadside array, while a University of Texas at Austin analysis suggests interchange land alone, representing some 21,000 ha, could theoretically generate up to 36 TWh a year. On the water side, the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona switched on what it describes as the Western Hemisphere’s first operational solar-over-canal project around 1.3 MW in 2024, with California’s state-backed Project Nexus close behind.
European examples are multiplying too. Noise barriers are the most mature pathway. Published surveys put the larger German motorway installations at 1 to 2 MWp apiece, the Dutch roads authority runs a bifacial ‘solar highway’ pilot on the A50, and Austria’s and Switzerland’s motorway and rail operators are increasingly opening their noise barriers to PV at scale. Beyond barriers, the variety of surfaces is striking: removable modules between the rails on a Swiss line near Buttes, vertical bifacial arrays on the Rhône’s dikes, roughly 900 m of canopies over a French cycle route, and even a solar jetty at a Mediterranean marina.
None of this is easy. The defining challenge of linear PV is co-usage: the panels must never compromise the primary function of the infrastructure, whether the stability of a dike, the emergency access of a motorway, the maintenance access to a railway or the navigability of a waterway. Each typology carries its own constraints, whether glare studies, emergency access, hydraulic transparency or mechanical loads.
Spreading electricity generation over kilometres also multiplies connection points or step-up transformers, cabling runs and losses, and pushes developers toward new architectures. A French research project is exploring medium-voltage direct current to carry power efficiently along a cycle path, while in Switzerland work on a ‘railway smart grid’ treats the corridor as a genuine microgrid, combining trackside solar, traction supply, recovered braking energy and EV charging.
Because a single project can cross many jurisdictions, fragmented permitting can be an obstacle; add the variety of land tenures, from public domain to concession holders and private owners, and the business models become markedly more complex than for a conventional plant.
Like any solar plant, an infrastructure-integrated system can sell its electricity (under a state-supported offtake mechanism such as a contract for difference or feed-in tariff, or at wholesale market prices), consume it on or near the site, or combine both routes. The business case can nonetheless be more demanding than for ground-mounted solar: upfront costs can be higher, reflecting a more complex linear electrical architecture, elevated mounting and specific module coatings, while operating costs too can be elevated by soiling, restricted access and exposure, even where land is cheap or free. In practice, self-consumption by nearby off-takers and contract for difference obtained in dedicated calls for tenders appear to be the most reliable routes to project viability.
The way forward is not to treat linear PV as a single product, but as a portfolio of typologies at different stages of maturity contributing to one pathway among several toward the 2030 target, complementing rooftops, agrivoltaics and floating PV. The pragmatic path starts with the least-constrained, most easily replicable configurations. A critical parallel task is to continue building the evidence base that operators need: structured monitoring of early deployments to show both that PV system and generation does not interfere with the primary infrastructure function and that the infrastructure’s operation, maintenance and vibrations do not degrade PV performance.
Three levers would accelerate the move from demonstrators to deployment. (1) Large-scale demonstration projects are needed to build the evidence base. (2) Projects need clear permitting doctrines and coordinated approvals. (3) And these sites should be explicitly included in public tenders, whether through a dedicated envelope for infrastructure-sited projects or a price premium that offsets their higher development cost, at least for now.
Europe’s solar story is far from over, but it is entering a more demanding chapter. The next gigawatts will increasingly come from sites that are more constrained and more inventive. Dual use answers the constraint of surface availability, and linear PV alone puts hundreds of gigawatts of technically accessible potential along the continent’s roads, railways and canals. The land has been there all along. The opportunity now lies in learning to share it.
Authors: Caroline Plaza, Managing Director, Becquerel Institute France, and Philippe Macé, COO, Becquerel Institute
Becquerel Institute is a strategic consulting company and applied research institute specialising in solar photovoltaics and energy transition. Founded in Brussels in 2014, with regional offices in France, Italy and Spain, it provides strategic advice across all segments of the PV value chain and is a recognised partner in European and international research programmes. Becquerel Institute has launched Solarintelligence.ai, an AI-powered platform giving PV stakeholders immediate access to verified, actionable market intelligence.
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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The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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Thursday, July 9, 2026
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The Balcony Solar System Market is estimated to be valued at USD 762.65 million in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 2734.44 million by 2035, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.62% over the forecast period.
The balcony solar system market has experienced significant growth, driven by urbanization, rising energy costs, and decentralized energy needs. As of 2024, over 1.1 million balcony solar systems were installed globally, with more than 700,000 units in one leading European country alone. In the first half of 2024, approximately 220,000 new systems were deployed in that country, contributing nearly 200 megawatts of decentralized capacity. These systems are primarily designed for apartment dwellers and urban residents who lack access to traditional rooftop installations.
Balcony solar systems are compact photovoltaic kits that typically range between 300 and 800 watts in capacity. Their plug-and-play nature allows users to install them without professional assistance, connecting directly into household power outlets. System costs have steadily declined, with prices falling by 15% between 2022 and 2024, making them more accessible for middle-income consumers. Asian countries dominate manufacturing, contributing to 96% of global solar panel production. Government policies are increasingly favorable, with regulatory reforms in various countries permitting plug-in systems of up to 2,000 watts without landlord approval. These shifts have transformed balcony solar from a niche offering to a mainstream urban energy solution.
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Top Driver reason: Soaring urban electricity costs and the rise of DIY plug-and-play kits rated at 300 to 800 watts are enabling self-sufficient energy generation.
Top Country/Region: A leading European country has surpassed 700,000 units, accounting for nearly 65% of the global total balcony solar installations.
Top Segment: The most dominant segment is DIY solar kits, which form the bulk of all newly sold balcony solar systems due to ease of use and affordability.
Several key trends are shaping the balcony solar system market. The rise in compact urban living has increased the demand for decentralized solar power. Households using balcony systems have reported reductions in monthly electricity bills by up to 30%, particularly for homes using high-efficiency kits rated between 600 and 800 watts. In one prominent European nation, more than 565,000 units were installed by mid-2024, showing strong year-on-year growth.
Flexible panel technology is another notable trend. New generation modules are lighter, thinner, and easier to mount on railings, balconies, and facades. These developments allow consumers to install solar systems even in buildings with structural limitations. Inverters have also become smarter, with real-time data capabilities and mobile connectivity. Users can now track energy production, consumption, and grid feed-in through smartphone applications, optimizing usage and reducing waste. Battery storage integration is also becoming common. By early 2024, residential photovoltaic battery installations exceeded 1.2 million units in one European country, with expectations to reach 2 million by year-end. Many balcony solar kits now include compact 1 to 2 kilowatt-hour batteries for energy storage, enhancing energy autonomy during peak hours or outages.
Legal reforms have created a more favorable landscape. In mid-2024, a European government allowed installations up to 2,000 watts per apartment unit without landlord permission, significantly broadening access. DIY kits have become widely available online and in retail chains, with more than 500,000 mounting kits sold to date. Additionally, urban governments have begun incorporating balcony solar units into building energy policies, including sustainability certifications and municipal tax credits. Finally, environmental awareness continues to grow. Balcony solar systems are increasingly viewed as tools for reducing carbon emissions. In response, municipalities and energy agencies are launching awareness campaigns, promoting balcony solar as part of broader climate goals.
“Rising demand for urban energy independence”
The main driver of the balcony solar system market is the growing need for energy self-sufficiency among urban residents. Over 1.1 million systems have been installed globally, with year-on-year growth fueled by increasing electricity prices and grid instability. DIY plug-and-play kits rated between 300 and 800 watts offer immediate savings and require minimal setup. In major European cities, renters and apartment dwellers are adopting these systems in large numbers. One country reported over 220,000 new installations in just the first six months of 2024, contributing nearly 200 megawatts of clean energy. Regulatory policies enabling installations without landlord approval have accelerated this trend.
“Limited physical space and inconsistent regulations”
A primary restraint on market growth is the limited physical space on balconies. Most units can only accommodate one or two solar panels, restricting energy output to 300–800 watts per household. Additionally, inconsistent grid standards and varying safety codes across countries and regions make standardization difficult. Some jurisdictions require permits or prohibit plug-in systems, while others impose wattage caps. Shading from adjacent buildings, balcony orientation, and seasonal sunlight availability further reduce performance. These challenges create uncertainty for both consumers and manufacturers, slowing market expansion in some regions despite strong interest.
“Integration of battery storage and smart systems”
The integration of battery storage presents a major opportunity. In 2024, over 1.2 million residential battery units were installed in one European country alone, expected to rise to 2 million by year-end. Many balcony systems now include 1–2 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion batteries, allowing users to store daytime generation for evening use. Additionally, smart inverters and IoT-enabled applications provide real-time monitoring, remote control, and predictive maintenance. These features make balcony systems more reliable, user-friendly, and efficient. Manufacturers are also exploring peer-to-peer energy trading and shared community grids, which could multiply value and application scope.
“Price pressures and oversupply in the solar module market”
One of the biggest challenges in 2024 has been the oversupply of solar panels, leading to price collapses and financial strain on manufacturers. Several European companies exited the market due to falling margins and rising interest rates that made financing less attractive. Cheap imports from Asia dominate the supply chain, accounting for 96% of global panel production. This cost disparity limits the competitiveness of domestic producers, making it difficult to sustain local manufacturing ecosystems. Additionally, as prices drop, consumers delay purchases in hopes of further discounts, reducing immediate demand and destabilizing cash flow for sellers.
The balcony solar system market is segmented by type and application. In terms of type, the market includes Solar Panels, Inverters, Batteries, Solar Chargers, and Mounting Systems. By application, it includes Residential Buildings, Green Energy Solutions, Apartments, Eco-friendly Developments, and Commercial Buildings.
Get Comprehensive Insights on the Market Segmentation in this Report
Global performance is concentrated in Europe, followed by North America and Asia-Pacific, with initial traction in the Middle East and Africa.
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North America holds substantial untapped potential. Urban areas with high energy rates, such as New York and California, are seeing increased adoption. Plug-and-play systems retail between USD 500 and 1,200, and regulatory support is growing. However, unit adoption remains under 5% of total residential solar installations, constrained by varying state policies.
Europe is the dominant region, with one country alone accounting for over 700,000 units by late 2024. Another major market reported an additional 500,000 systems in apartments and eco-projects. Legal reforms now allow plug-in systems up to 2,000 watts, accelerating demand. Total installations across Europe surpassed 1.1 million by mid-2024.
Asia-Pacific is driven by dense urban populations. In China and Japan, high-rise living conditions have triggered interest in balcony systems. However, adoption remains under 100,000 units per country due to regulatory barriers. Manufacturing in Asia remains dominant, accounting for nearly all solar panels and 95% of wafers.
The Middle East and Africa are in the early stages of adoption. Countries with rising electricity costs and grid instability are beginning pilot programs. In South Africa, photovoltaic capacity grew from 6.3 to 8.1 gigawatts between 2022 and 2024. However, balcony solar accounts for fewer than 10,000 units in the region.
The balcony solar system market presents strong investment opportunities across manufacturing, distribution, and integration of smart energy solutions. As of 2024, over 1.1 million units have been installed globally, with unit growth expected to continue amid falling hardware costs and increasing electricity prices. The average cost of a balcony kit fell by 15% between 2022 and 2024, making it viable for middle-income households in major urban areas. Investments in module production, particularly in ultra-light and flexible panels, are gaining momentum. Manufacturing in Asia dominates, but there is rising interest in local production within Europe and North America. Investors have shown increasing interest in vertical integration—combining module, inverter, battery, and software into complete kits. Companies offering bundled packages that simplify installation and usage have experienced double-digit growth in unit sales.
Battery storage remains a critical area of focus. Compact 1–2 kilowatt-hour units tailored for balcony systems are gaining popularity. By the end of 2024, one European country is expected to have 2 million battery installations, up from 1.2 million at the start of the year. Investment into energy storage technology for small spaces can yield high returns as battery adoption continues to rise. Distribution channels also offer robust returns. Direct-to-consumer models via online platforms, as well as retail partnerships with home improvement stores, are expanding rapidly. In Europe, over 500,000 mounting kits were sold by late 2024. Offering financing plans and government rebate integration further enhances accessibility. There is also a strong market for ancillary products—mounting hardware, monitoring sensors, and installation support—which generate high-margin sales.
Smart energy software platforms linked to balcony systems provide opportunities for service-based recurring revenue. These platforms enable users to monitor energy production and optimize usage patterns. In some cities, shared energy networks using balcony systems have created microgrid business models, allowing for energy trading within residential buildings. Risks include market saturation, policy reversals, and increased competition from larger rooftop systems. However, the shift toward self-sufficiency, regulatory support, and growing urbanization continue to make balcony solar a promising and scalable market segment for targeted investments.
Innovation in balcony solar technology is accelerating across multiple fronts. Product development is focused on enhancing usability, increasing efficiency, and integrating intelligent features. Recent advancements include ultra-light panels, modular battery units, compact inverters, and fully integrated plug-and-play kits. Ultra-light solar panels now weigh 15–20 kilograms for a 600-watt output, making them easier to mount on balcony railings. Flexible designs enable installation on curved or irregular surfaces, expanding their applicability. These panels retain over 95% efficiency even in ambient heat, and their performance degradation over time has been reduced significantly with improved materials.
Compact inverters have become smarter and smaller. New models feature automatic voltage regulation, real-time diagnostics, and wireless connectivity. They synchronize seamlessly with home circuits and meet evolving safety standards. Inverters with remote shut-off and energy throttling functions are being introduced to optimize performance during grid fluctuations. Battery innovation is another major development area. Many manufacturers now offer balcony kits with 1–2 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion batteries. These units store excess daytime energy for nighttime use, increasing system self-sufficiency. Recent battery designs offer faster charging cycles, improved thermal management, and longer life cycles.
Product bundles now often include mobile apps that display real-time energy data. Users can view generation statistics, consumption patterns, and environmental impact. Predictive maintenance alerts and seasonal optimization suggestions are also becoming common features. These intelligent systems enhance user engagement and improve long-term reliability. Quick-install mounting kits are also being redesigned for speed and stability. New rail brackets include pre-drilled templates, vibration isolation features, and telescoping clamps that reduce installation time to under 30 minutes. These kits are compatible with most balcony types and require minimal tools, encouraging DIY installations.
Developers are also experimenting with building-integrated balcony panels. Instead of mounting external units, some new constructions now feature solar-active parapets and façade sections. These integrated units contribute to a building’s total energy output while maintaining architectural aesthetics. Pilot projects in European urban developments have shown monthly outputs of 100–200 kilowatt-hours per unit. Overall, new product development is focused on making balcony solar systems more accessible, efficient, and aesthetically compatible with modern urban living. These advancements are widening the market appeal and enabling broader adoption across income levels and building types.
This report covers the global balcony solar system market in detail, including installations, technology trends, regional performance, segmentation, competitive landscape, and future outlook. The scope includes micro-solar systems designed for installation on balconies, terraces, and facades, primarily in urban residential settings. The report provides in-depth analysis by type, including solar panels, inverters, batteries, chargers, and mounting systems. Each segment is evaluated based on unit sales, technological advancements, market share, and adoption patterns. Application areas such as residential buildings, eco-friendly developments, and commercial offices are also examined with supporting data.
Geographically, the report includes detailed coverage of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. Europe emerges as the leading market, with over 1.1 million units deployed and regulatory support for up to 2,000-watt installations. North America shows emerging adoption in select urban centers, while Asia-Pacific continues to dominate manufacturing with 96% of panel production. The report tracks recent developments such as legal reforms, battery storage integration, and smart inverter deployment. It also highlights challenges like limited installation space, regulatory inconsistencies, and market volatility due to oversupply. The competitive landscape features established manufacturers and innovative startups offering integrated solutions.
Investment opportunities are analyzed across manufacturing, distribution, energy storage, and software platforms. New product innovations are detailed, including lightweight panels, modular batteries, IoT-enabled inverters, and building-integrated systems. Market dynamics such as urban energy demand, policy incentives, and consumer behavior are also covered extensively. Overall, the report provides stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of the balcony solar system market, helping them identify growth areas, mitigate risks, and plan strategic investments.
Market Size Value In
US$ 762.65 Million In 2026
Market Size Value By
US$ 2734.44 Million By 2035
Growth Rate
CAGR of 13.62% from 2026-2035
Forecast Period
2026-2035
Base Year
2025
Historical Data Available
Yes
Regional Scope
Global
Segments Covered
By Type
By Application
To Understand the Detailed Market Report Scope & Segmentation
What value is the Balcony Solar System Market expected to touch by 2035
The global Balcony Solar System Market is expected to reach USD 2734.44 Million by 2035.
What is CAGR of the Balcony Solar System Market expected to exhibit by 2035?
The Balcony Solar System Market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 13.62% by 2035.
Which are the top companies operating in the Balcony Solar System market?
Anker Innovations (China), Y Solar (Germany), Priwatt (Germany), WeDoSolar (Lithuania), Plugin Energy (Germany), DABBELT (Germany), Easy Solar (Germany), Revolt (Germany), Solarkraftwerke Dresden (Germany), Sonnenkraft Basilikum (Germany)
What was the value of the Balcony Solar System Market in 2025?
In 2025, the Balcony Solar System Market value stood at USD 671.22 Million.
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Column | The advice about rooftop solar panels is changing. Do this instead. The Washington Post
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PPC Renewables’ agreement with MORE marks a clear shift in Greek renewable energy M&A: utilities are moving beyond joint development exposure and taking full control of assets that can strengthen near-term capacity growth, balance-sheet visibility, and regional market positioning. PPC is not simply adding megawatts. It is converting a shared solar development position into 100% ownership of a 1,175 MW photovoltaic portfolio while also acquiring 107.1 MW of operational wind farms from Motor Oil Group’s renewables arm. For PPC, the commercial value lies in control: control over construction timing, route-to-market decisions, financing strategy, and portfolio integration across Greece and the wider Balkans.
The transaction covers two different asset profiles. The first is a development-stage solar portfolio made up of 12 special purpose vehicles across Greece, where PPC Renewables already owned 49% and will now acquire MORE’s remaining 51% stake. The second is an operational wind portfolio comprising six wind farms with 26 turbines in Fthiotida, Fokida, and Florina, with individual projects ranging from 3.5 MW to 43.2 MW. PPC identified the largest asset as the 43.2 MW Kellas wind farm in Florina, alongside the 22 MW Tsamadorachi project, the 19.2 MW Kato Lakomata project, two 9.6 MW wind farms, and the 3.5 MW Opountia project.
This matters because the deal combines pipeline consolidation with operating cash-flow acquisition. The 1.17 GW solar portfolio gives PPC scale in under-development PV at a time when grid access and permitting are becoming the true scarce assets in Southern Europe. The 107 MW wind portfolio gives it immediate operating exposure, production history, and lower execution risk. That mix is commercially different from a pure pipeline acquisition. PPC is buying both future optionality and current operating capacity, which can support lender confidence and internal capital allocation.
The solar portfolio also appears more valuable than a greenfield pipeline because PPC and MORE had already advanced part of the development base. In April 2025, MORE and PPC Renewables secured final grid connection offers for eight Greek solar parks totaling 882.4 MW, a milestone that materially improves transactable value because buyers can underwrite interconnection visibility rather than speculative development upside. In European M&A, that distinction increasingly separates premium portfolios from stranded pipelines.
The seller behavior is equally important. Motor Oil Group, through MORE, is monetizing a large renewable position while PPC deepens ownership. That reflects a wider capital rotation pattern in European renewables: industrial and oil-linked players are increasingly selective about where they retain full development exposure, while utilities with balance-sheet depth and long-term generation targets are better positioned to absorb large portfolios. MORE’s sale does not signal weak renewable appetite. It signals portfolio rationalization, with value crystallized at the point where a utility buyer can take the assets forward at scale.
PPC’s strategic rationale is reinforced by its group target to expand installed renewable capacity to 18.8 GW by 2030, compared with 7.2 GW at the end of 2025. The company has also been using financing to support regional expansion, including an EBRD loan of up to EUR 175 million for a 400 MW renewables portfolio across Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. The MORE acquisition therefore fits a broader capital deployment pattern: PPC is building a multi-market renewable platform across Greece, Romania, Italy, and Bulgaria, but its home market remains central to that scale-up.
The valuation signal is indirect because PPC and MORE did not disclose financial terms. However, Enerdatics’ European M&A benchmarks show why the asset mix would matter in pricing. Enerdatics data indicates that operating utility-scale solar assets in Europe traded at $0.8 million–$1.7 million/MW in recent precedent deals, with some assets reaching up to $2.3 million/MW, while operating onshore wind assets traded at $1.3 million–$3 million/MW. For development-stage European solar, premiums typically rise sharply as projects secure grid access, permits, EPC visibility, or offtake arrangements, with ready-to-build or hybrid-ready assets commanding higher pricing.
For PPC, this creates a clear buyer advantage. Full ownership of the SPVs removes governance friction and gives PPC flexibility to decide whether to build, finance, hybridize, contract, or selectively recycle assets later. In a market where grid-connected renewable projects are becoming harder to originate, acquiring the remaining 51% stake is a way to protect future capacity rather than compete for equivalent assets in an auction process. The wind assets add operating generation, which can help balance development risk from the solar portfolio.
For sellers and developers in Greece, the implication is sharper. Minority stakes in large development portfolios may become harder to justify unless partners bring either capital, grid access, execution capability, or route-to-market strength. Utilities are likely to push for control once projects reach a bankable stage. Smaller developers and corporate renewable arms may still originate portfolios, but monetization windows will increasingly form around grid milestones, permitting progress, and construction readiness rather than headline pipeline size.
The forward signal is that Greek renewable M&A is moving toward consolidation around buyers that can combine development execution with financing capacity. PPC’s transaction with MORE shows that large utilities are no longer satisfied with passive exposure to joint pipelines. They want ownership, timing control, and operating assets that strengthen near-term portfolio quality. As Greece and Southeast Europe absorb more solar, wind, and eventually storage capacity, the next premium will sit with portfolios that already have grid visibility, credible development pathways, and a buyer capable of turning pipeline MW into owned generation.
Want to track the latest M&A, financings, PPAs, and key developments across the industry? Explore the Enerdatics Insights page.
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