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We caught up with Michael Koller, Solutions Director for Europe and the UK with Envision Energy, at this year’s Smarter E Europe trade show in Munich. 
Koller was on hand to discuss how the company’s portfolio is evolving to address the core challenge facing renewable energy at scale: making intermittent generation reliably dispatchable.
The framework he outlines is built around four interlocking layers. Solar, which provides electricity generation, with storage stepping in to make that generation dispatchable and deliver flexibility. Grid-forming technology adds a third dimension, providing the kind of system stability that traditional grid-following inverters cannot, and, finally, binding it all together is AI, which Koller sees as the orchestration layer, optimising the overall system in real time against weather fluctuations, market conditions and grid constraints.
“This is how we define our future roadmap,” Koller explains. “Solar providing the electricity, storage providing the flexibility, grid-forming to provide the stability, and AI to orchestrate it all together in an optimal fashion.”
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The philosophy behind this approach is one of integration from the outset. Koller is clear that the value Envision brings doesn’t come from simply assembling best-of-breed components from different vendors, but from designing the pieces to work together as a unified system. That thinking informs the company’s recent launch of its own solar inverter, because, Koller stresses, tight integration between solar inverters, battery inverters and the plant controller unlock tangible benefits in system sizing, optimal dispatch and long-term asset performance.
It’s a proposition that appears to be gaining traction. Envision’s presence at Smarter E has grown notably across successive editions of the show, reflecting what Koller describes as rapid commercial momentum across its European and UK markets.
Watch the full interview above.

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by NATALIA MITTELSTADT | The National News Desk
WASHINGTON (TNND) — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pushed back on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., saying that China-produced solar panels are taking over New York farmland.
Rollins testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, during which she said to Gillibrand, "And let me tell you what New York is stressed out about: it's the fact that your state is taking prime farmland and turning it into solar farms. That is absolutely inexcusable," according to a video clip the secretary posted on X.
Gillibrand responded, saying, "…New York farmers, you will see that smart farmers do both — do both."
"I have visited the New York farmers two times — two times in Upstate New York," Rollins said, before Gillibrand's time ended.

Rollins followed up on her response in the post, saying, "Since time ran out, let me be clear, @gillibrandny: Why are you ignoring the issues directly hurting farmers and driving up the price of farmland in your own state?
Rollins' remarks come after she, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and country singer John Rich — who is the Trump administration's Special Envoy for American Landowners — sent a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) last month demanding answers about the state taking over farmland for solar farms.

“Nothing is more insulting to hardworking New Yorkers than Albany politicians who think they know it all and enthusiastically override local control and railroad local communities,” Zeldin told The New York Post on Tuesday.
“The recent actions of Hochul and her allies to force upstate communities to take on the burden of far more solar farms on agricultural land is on-brand elitism that New Yorkers have grown to despise.”
Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler told The Post on Tuesday, “New York has two-and-a-half-million small businesses and we’re watching a state apparatus go against these small businesses in favor of 18 large solar farms that are going to only raise the cost of operating for those small businesses, which employ nearly half of New York’s population. This is an example of big government overreach. That is the promise of socialism.”

Many of the multibillion-dollar solar contracts in New York have been given to foreign companies, including Canada’s Boralex, France’s EDF Renewables, and South Korea’s Cypress Creek Renewables, according to The Post.
A spokesperson for Hochul told the media outlet that New York was a “national leader in agricultural land protections” and had “invested hundreds of millions of dollars toward protecting agricultural land since the inception of the State Farmland Protection Program in 1992.”
The state "maintains robust environmental and agricultural protections for the development of new energy infrastructure projects," the spokesperson added. "Under Governor Kathy Hochul, the state has increased its support of the Farmland Protection Program, which has now preserved more than 138,000 acres of prime farmland. New York energy project development is occurring only on land that is willingly leased by landowners."
2026 Sinclair, Inc.

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Poland-based building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) module manufacturer ML System has launched a new solar tile designed for buildings where architectural aesthetics are a key consideration.
“Designed to match conventional tiles in size, thickness, and appearance, they combine timeless roofing aesthetics with advanced solar technology,” a spokesperson from the company told pv magazine. “The Vintage and Modern series are available in three colors, while the Nature line replicates the natural appearance of wood shingles, Alpine slate, and copper roofing.”
Each product line was developed to meet different architectural requirements, from contemporary buildings to heritage renovations, according to the manufacturer.
“The Modern Line features flat, geometric profiles tailored to minimalist and contemporary architecture,” the spokesperson went on to say. “The Vintage Line recreates the appearance of traditional beavertail tiles, making it suitable for restoration projects and buildings where a classic roof aesthetic is required. The Nature Line combines photovoltaic performance with textured surfaces inspired by natural materials, including slate, wood shingles, and copper roofing.”
Each design line is available in two performance-oriented series. The Pure Series is designed to maximize energy generation by increasing the active photovoltaic surface, while the Noble Series places greater emphasis on architectural integration through textured glass structures and customized finishes. Noble variants are available in Grey, Black, Red, Slate, Wood, and Copper.
The Modern Line offers the highest power output within the PhotonRoof portfolio. Depending on the configuration, individual modules deliver between 3.5 W and 88 W, with maximum power density reaching 136 W/m² in Pure Series variants. Modules are available in sizes from 300/328 mm up to 1,828 mm × 465 mm, with a thickness of 13 mm and weights ranging from 3.3 kg to 21.2 kg. Installation is compatible with standard roof battens using a spacing of 360–385 mm.
The Nature Line combines the same modular architecture with finishes designed to replicate slate, wood, and copper surfaces. Module output ranges from 3.3 W to 68.9 W, while maximum power density reaches 106 W/m² in the Pure Copper configuration. Like the Modern Line, Nature modules are 13 mm thick and available in sizes up to 1,828 mm × 465 mm.
Designed for traditional roof applications, the Vintage Line offers a smaller tile format while maintaining photovoltaic functionality. Power output ranges from 1.2 W to 19.3 W per module, with maximum power density reaching 116 W/m² in the Pure Black configuration. Vintage modules range from 180 mm to 1,080 mm × 380 mm and are installed using standard battens with 160–170 mm spacing.
The company said the PhotonRoof tiles comply with key European standards, including IEC 61730, IEC 61215, and EN 13501. They have been tested for resistance to harsh environmental conditions, including hail impacts from 75 mm ice spheres travelling at 140 km/h and wind speeds of up to 250 km/h. They operate within a temperature range of –50 C to 90 C and achieve a scratch resistance rating of 8 on the Mohs scale.
For fire safety, PhotonRoof achieves the European BROOF(t1) external fire classification, with EN 13501 ratings of d0 for no flaming droplets and s1 for low smoke emission.
The manufacturer also stressed tha the PhotonRoof is designed to integrate with conventional roofing systems, allowing photovoltaic tiles to be installed alongside matching passive elements. Passive tiles and custom edge elements provide visual consistency around complex roof details, including dormers, valleys, and chimneys.
The new product can be connected to ML System’s nexuView SCADA energy management platform through standard communication protocols such as Modbus, BACnet, and MQTT. The platform enables real-time monitoring, automated load management, battery storage optimization, heat pump coordination, and remote diagnostics down to the individual string level.
The solar tile is backed by a 30-year manufacturer performance warranty.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2026
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Thursday, July 30, 2026
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
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.
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Long-time Suntech partner Franz Sohm from Solar Energy Anstalt was present at the anniversary celebration. His sons Tobias and Fabian Sohm run Green Future GmbH, received the Austrian Solar Prize 2025 in the category “Industrial, Commercial and Agricultural Enterprises” for the project “Energy-Independent Farm with Photovoltaics and Battery Storage”, which uses Suntech photovoltaic modules.
The Austrian Solar Prize recognizes innovative projects that advance renewable energy applications, improve energy efficiency and support the transition toward sustainable, low-carbon operations.
The award-winning project at Mooshof farm is located in Schwarzenberg in Austria’s Bregenzerwald region. Developed by Greenfuture GmbH, the project represents the next generation of the Sohm family’s commitment to renewable energy innovation.
The story began in 2004, when Franz Sohm, founder of Solar Energy Anstalt and a pioneer in the European photovoltaic industry, chose Suntech as a trusted module partner. Over the past two decades, Solar Energy has become one of Suntech’s longest-standing customers in Europe and globally.
From 2006 to 2013, Solar Energy played an important role as a distributor, helping expand Suntech’s presence in the European market.
Today, the next generation continues this partnership through Greenfuture GmbH, which specializes in customized self-sufficiency solutions, off-grid systems and emergency power applications. By combining technical expertise with the family’s long experience in solar energy, Greenfuture delivers advanced renewable energy solutions for demanding applications.
The Mooshof is a modern dairy farm with around 80 cows, its own cheese dairy and highly automated processes. Milking robots, feeding systems, milk cooling and cheese production all rely on a stable electricity supply.
To ensure uninterrupted operation, Greenfuture developed an integrated solar-plus-storage system. The project features a 300 kWp photovoltaic system using Suntech modules installed on the roof and façade, combined with a 750 kWh energy storage system.
The system supports islanding capability and black-start functionality. In the event of a blackout, the farm can disconnect from the grid and maintain critical operations during grid outages.
The solution includes two independent energy supply units located in the cheese dairy and cattle barn. Energy can be exchanged between the two systems according to demand, improving efficiency and reducing dependence on external power infrastructure.
With annual electricity consumption of around 180,000 kWh, the farm achieves approximately 85% energy self-sufficiency and significantly reduces electricity costs. Additional expansion of solar installations is also planned for other available areas.
The Mooshof project demonstrates the importance of reliable photovoltaic technology in challenging environments. Located in the Bregenzerwald region at around 700 metres above sea level, the system must withstand changing weather conditions, temperature variations and continuous operation.
Tobias and Fabian Sohm selected Suntech modules because of their proven long-term performance. Franz Sohm has relied on Suntech products for more than 20 years through his wholesale business and has reported excellent long-term performance from Suntech modules, with no module replacement required over more than two decades of operation.
For Suntech, the Mooshof project represents more than a successful installation. It reflects decades of partnership, reliability and a shared commitment to advancing renewable energy.
Over the past 25 years, Suntech has continued to develop high-performance photovoltaic technology and integrated solar-plus-storage solutions, supporting customers worldwide in achieving their clean energy goals.
Some partnerships are measured not in years, but in decades. The Mooshof project is a powerful example of what can be achieved through long-term cooperation, innovation and trust.

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Thursday, July 23, 2026
The sometimes illegal export of damaged and broken solar panels is causing added headaches for Australia’s nascent PV recycling industry, which is already struggling to survive as it awaits a long-delayed pilot scheme that it hopes will support the industry.
Australia has succeeded in reducing the number of end-of-life solar panels shipped off to other countries, thanks to legislative changes and plunging prices. But it is still going on, says James Petesic, a co-founder of solar recycling company PV Industries, and it’s adding to the woes of the local solar waste management industry.
Petesic says that – despite reports of used and damaged solar modules piling up in landfills and suburban back yards – the solar recycling industry is struggling to secure enough panels to survive.
“We are on the coalface of this industry and seeing where we’re losing panels to,” Petesic said in the latest episode of Renew Economy’s Solar Insiders podcast.
“When we speak to installers, more often than not the response, particularly two years ago, was ‘I’m sorry, I’ve already got someone that gives me $5 a panel, $10 a panel, whatever figure they were getting paid.
“And when we asked the installer where they were going, it was always offshore.” 
In the absence of a stewardship scheme, or at the very least the long promised and now suspended solar recycling pilot, Petesic says the biggest threat to the struggling industry is exports, because he’s still seeing valuable PV feedstock leaking overseas.
In most states, end-of-life panels are still being diverted to landfills, stockpiled in the hopes of a stewardship scheme appearing one day, crushed up indiscriminately to be added to building materials, or exported. 
The recycling pilot is supposed to solve these problems by paying for old panels and setting up 100 collection spots around the country.
The goal is to make it more financially viable and convenient to recycle, as well as to sort out the sort of frustrating logistics and transport issues that plague the recycling industry across the board. 
The pilot was supposed to start now, but was suspended in mid-May after a complaint about the process of choosing an administrator for the scheme. 
Solar recyclers are now stuck in a holding pattern.
“We are able to tread water, we’re able to stay alive, and we’re an okay business,” Petesic says of his company, PV Industries. “We’re not losing copious amounts of money, and our future isn’t threatened tomorrow.
“But if it goes on for too many months or years, then we are unable to secure any form of meaningful investment, we’re unable to grow in a meaningful way, and we’re unable to hit those levels of feedstock that we need to become a viable business and a successful one that can begin to thrive in Australia. 
“So, yeah, without stewardship, whether it be a pilot or a full-blown scheme, we don’t have feedstock certainty, and without that, we aren’t able to make sound investment decisions or grow the business in any sort of meaningful way.”
Exporting to low and middle income countries in Africa or Asia was once the norm for broken and end-of-life solar panels from Australia.
In 2024, Queensland alone was exporting as many as 800,000 panels a year before it launched the first recycling trial, Smart Energy Council stewardship program manager Robyn Cowie said at the time.
But changes to a Basel convention that restricts countries from dumping waste in developing nations came in on January 1, 2025. Combined with the plunging price of panels this has eroded, but not entirely killed off, the export industry.
Australia only gives export permits for hazardous waste that can’t be dealt with in country, and allows exports of panels that can still be used.
But ‘reusable’ means undergoing the same testing as a new panel and packaged up as new. Petesic says most of these so-called reusable panels are stuffed into containers with no padding as they are actually destined to become e-waste.
The left image is a container owner by Weeebytes in Melbourne. The right image is one of the containers uncovered by Australian Border Force during Oper
In February this year, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) fined a Melbourne-based recycling company $20,000 after the Singapore government intercepted one its containers and found broken solar panels.
Earlier this year, Australian Border Force revealed what it found during a global export crackdown last year alongside INTERPOL and Europol, with solar panels and inverters making up two of the four main categories of waste smuggled out of Australia.
Petesic says the regulatory changes and collapse in PV prices are improving feedstock flows to recyclers, but that exports offer a backdoor out of Australia that the industry needs closed.
“There’s more panels in the market, so we’re getting more panels, or it is that less of these operators are out there getting panels and sending them overseas to developing nations,” he says. 
“Anecdotally, I would say we’ve seen that practice halve. 
“We still do see quite often with installers that we speak to [that they] sell their panels to an individual that’s undertaking these practices. However, what we have also seen is their willingness to engage with them has reduced because the threshold for what they will receive has increased.”
Exporters now demand unbroken panels, and the extra labour of sorting through a pile of panels is pushing some installers towards local recyclers. 
“We are also seeing installers, I wouldn’t say wake up to the fact because it’s a bit harsh, but come to terms with the fact that they’re still able to make their $5 on a panel,” Petesic says.
“Although rather than selling it to an individual for $5, we charge our fee [and they] put a $5 margin on it [via a] service to their customer, so they’re still able to take a clip along the way.”
But this will-they-won’t-they supply chain isn’t enough to convince investors that solar recycling is viable enough to put money into. 
Petesic, like all solar recyclers right now, says the industry needs the pilot and a stewardship scheme to divert feedstock away from exporters and landfills and guarantee a supply coming in the door. 
“Guarantee feedstock, and at that point we would have a completely different conversation with investors,” he says. 
“Our prices being $0 at the door, we would see less panels going offshore. So it’s a bit of a double barrel approach where not only are panels free, so we’d get more of them, but we’d also get more of them because it’s more competitive when you compare it with offshore export. 
“So we’d receive not only a greater share of panels that are here, but we’d stop panels leaking from the system as well.”
To join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
Rachel Williamson is a science and business journalist, who focuses on climate change-related health and environmental issues.
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Solar Power World
By Kelly Pickerel | July 21, 2026
Comstock Metals has signed an materials recycling agreement with Illuminate USA, which operates a 5-GW solar panel assembly facility in central Ohio. Comstock Metals will provide comprehensive recycling services for leftover materials from Illuminate’s manufacturing lines. The services include safe transportation, sorting and environmentally responsible recycling for a broad range of solar panel manufacturing byproducts.
“Our partnership with Illuminate USA is a testament to the industry’s growing commitment to circularity and stewardship,” said Dr. Fortunato Villamagna, President of Comstock Metals. “By providing a zero-landfill solution for solar panel manufacturing byproducts, we are helping Illuminate USA ensure that all materials are safely repurposed into new industrial goods, eliminating all downstream liability, and giving their team peace of mind knowing all materials are responsibly recycled. This is a major step toward enabling and aligning a truly systemic solar energy ecosystem.”
Comstock operates a growing, strategically positioned national recycling network, including a recently announced hub in central Ohio, to serve customers throughout the country.
“Our new partnership with Comstock Metals strengthens our commitment to environmental responsibility,” said Bryan Kresak, Illuminate’s VP of Environmental, Health, Safety and Facilities. “Together, we are taking these important steps to ensure that our operations reflect our deeply held values and advance sustainable practices across the industry.”
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Kelly Pickerel has more than 15 years of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World. Email Kelly.

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The Spanish secondary photovoltaic market has entered a stabilization phase after two years of sharp price corrections. However, valuations are increasingly diverging between projects with regulated revenues or power purchase agreements (PPAs) and those exposed to wholesale electricity markets.
The findings come from Market Insights: Spain Solar PV Asset Price Report (Q2 2026 Update), prepared by renewable asset trading platform nTeaser and shared with pv magazine by CEO Carmen Izquierdo.
The analysis is based on more than 780 expressions of interest, non-binding offers, binding offers, and completed transactions recorded on the platform during the second quarter of 2026.
Operational photovoltaic assets – defined as projects that have reached commercial operation date (COD) – were valued between €490,000 ($560,000)/MW and €720,000/MW during the quarter, with an average price of €595,700/MW. The figure remains virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.
According to nTeaser, the stability suggests that the market correction that followed the valuation peaks of early 2024, when operational assets reached around €1.1 million/MW, has reached a temporary floor.
However, the company noted that the market is becoming increasingly segmented. Plants benefiting from legacy remuneration schemes, including RD 661/2008 and the RECORE framework, continue to attract valuation premiums due to their more predictable revenue streams and lower exposure to electricity price volatility.
By contrast, merchant solar plants selling electricity directly into the wholesale market are facing greater challenges in attracting buyers, unless they are backed by PPAs with highly creditworthy counterparties.
The report links current market dynamics to the growing structural surplus of photovoltaic generation during daylight hours. As a result, solar capture prices have fallen to historic lows of €15/MWh to €18/MWh.
Lower revenues, combined with increasing curtailment risks, have reduced profitability expectations for merchant projects, leading infrastructure funds and utilities to adopt a more selective approach to acquisitions.
Against this backdrop, hybridization with battery energy storage systems (BESS) is increasingly shifting from an optional enhancement to a key investment criterion.
Investors are particularly prioritizing projects with grid connections that support both electricity injection and consumption, allowing batteries to charge during periods of very low or negative electricity prices.
Photovoltaic projects in the Ready-to-Build (RtB) phase are also showing signs of stabilization.
During the second quarter, completed transactions ranged from €10,000/MW to €56,000/MW, with an average value of €32,600/MW. According to nTeaser, these figures confirm the end of the valuation correction cycle observed over the previous two years.
While the continued oversupply of solar generation is limiting revenue expectations for merchant projects, investors are increasingly focusing on asset quality, grid connection conditions, and execution risks.
One of the main market developments identified by nTeaser during the quarter was renewed investor interest in projects below 5 MW following the approval of Royal Decree 7/2026.
The company said the regulation provides greater flexibility for smaller-scale developments and improves their attractiveness to investors. Although valuations remain moderate, liquidity in this segment has increased compared with previous quarters.
As with operational assets, the ability to integrate battery storage is becoming a major differentiating factor for RtB projects.
According to nTeaser, developments designed to incorporate BESS can provide greater protection against declining capture prices, improve financing conditions, and increase long-term revenue potential.
For Carmen Izquierdo, the trends recorded during the second quarter indicate that the Spanish PV market has moved beyond the period of sharp valuation declines. However, future market performance will continue to depend on high solar penetration levels and the widening gap between assets supported by regulation or long-term contracts and those fully exposed to wholesale market conditions.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2026
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Thursday, July 30, 2026
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
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.
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A South Carolina circuit court has upheld a decision by the York County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) that solar panel manufacturing is not a permitted activity in the county’s Light Industrial zoning district. 
The ruling represents another legal setback for US solar module manufacturer Silfab Solar as opposition continues over its planned manufacturing facility in Fort Mill, South Carolina. 
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The court’s decision confirms the BZA’s earlier finding that solar panel manufacturing does not fall within the permitted uses for Light Industrial zones. However, the ruling does not immediately require Silfab to stop operating at the Fort Mill facility, as separate legal proceedings relating to the site remain unresolved. 
Following the decision, opponents of the project renewed calls for York County to enforce the ruling and take action against the facility, arguing that the court decision confirms the manufacturing operation does not comply with local zoning requirements. 
York County said it was not a party to the case and maintained its position that zoning interpretations apply to future decisions rather than projects that were approved before the interpretation was issued. The county said the ruling does not affect approvals granted to developments that existed before the zoning interpretation was made. 
The dispute began after a York County resident requested a zoning interpretation in February 2024 on whether solar panel manufacturing was allowed in Light Industrial zones. The county’s zoning administrator declined to issue the requested interpretation but clarified the county’s position on the matter. 
The resident then appealed the issue to the BZA, which ruled in May 2024 that solar panel manufacturing was not permitted under the Light Industrial zoning classification. The circuit court has now upheld that decision. 
However, York County said the court has not yet decided whether the BZA ruling applies to Silfab’s existing facility. A separate circuit court case examining that issue remains adjourned while the zoning appeal was considered. 
The county said it will enforce whatever decision the courts ultimately reach. 
The latest ruling comes as Silfab continues to operate under restrictions introduced after chemical incidents at the Fort Mill site earlier this year, which the solar cell and module manufacturer disputed some initial reports of chemical spillages back in March 2026.
York County said that, as of 16 March 2026, no chemical manufacturing activities were taking place at the facility and that only solar module assembly operations were being carried out under a compliance agreement involving Silfab, the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 
Under the agreement, Silfab stopped activities involving regulated chemicals until a number of conditions were met. These included completing a root cause investigation, carrying out repairs, receiving an independent engineering review and improving emergency response procedures before regulated chemicals can be brought back to the site. 
The company must also provide SCDES with a 72-hour notice before returning regulated chemicals to the facility, with York County receiving the same notification. 
York County said state and federal regulators concluded there was no threat to public health after inspections following the March chemical incidents. The county also said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found no workplace safety violations. 
The county added that its authority over chemical regulation is limited, with oversight primarily handled by state and federal agencies.
PV Tech contacted Silfab Solar for comment on the ruling and its implications for the company’s Fort Mill operations.

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The plug-in solar revolution will start in the UK from August 27, as government reveals crucial date — and Amazon says it’s ‘looking forward to helping customers access this technology’  TechRadar
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Why are critical minerals suddenly at the centre of global politics?
Every electric vehicle, wind turbine, solar panel, smart phone; they all depend on minerals extracted from the earth.
As countries accelerate the transition to clean (non-fossil fuel) energy, demand for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and graphite is rising rapidly.
For many countries, this presents an unprecedented economic opportunity.
But in some places, competition over these resources has fuelled conflict, corruption, environmental damage and human rights abuses.
This week, the UN Security Council is asking a fundamental question:
Can the minerals powering the green transition also become a foundation for peace and sustainable development?
Demand for critical minerals is growing exponentially as countries expand renewable energy and battery technologies.
Without them, the clean energy transition, to wean the world off climate-busting fossil fuels, cannot happen.
Poor governance can turn valuable natural resources into drivers of conflict, corruption and environmental degradation.
Help ensure mineral wealth benefits communities rather than financing violence.
Critical minerals are essential ingredients in many modern technologies, including:
Without them, many clean energy technologies simply would not exist.
Large deposits exist across Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia.
For many producing countries, they represent an enormous opportunity to create jobs, diversify economies and generate public revenue.
But success depends on how these resources are managed.
The global energy transition is accelerating.
Many analysts now compare their strategic importance to oil during the twentieth century.
Mining is essential, but it also comes with significant environmental costs if poorly managed.
Poorly regulated mining can contribute to:
Many deposits are also located close to Indigenous communities and environmentally sensitive ecosystems.
The challenge is not whether to mine, it is how to mine responsibly.
Natural resources have long played a role in conflict.
The Council is examining concerns that:
The broader question is whether growing global demand for critical minerals could increase geopolitical tensions – or instead become a driver of peace and development.
“A world powered by renewables is a world hungry for critical minerals.”
 UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt are central to the transition to a zero-carbon economy. As the Security Council meets on Thursday to discuss “energy, critical minerals and security,” here is some of the work the UN is doing to ensure that the transition is just and equitable.
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‘Solar sheep’ industry booms in Texas as ranchers and farmers try to co-exist with big energy projects  Lee News Central
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The average price of a solar power purchase agreement (PPA) signed in Europe in the second quarter of 2026 reached €56.59/MWh (US$74.85/MWh), a 2.8% quarter-on-quarter increase.
This is the first time that the average PPA price in Europe has increased from one quarter to the next in a year, according to figures tracked by LevelTen Energy, which attributed this increase to “surging prices in Poland” and an increase in the price of solar PPAs signed in Germany, two countries that have been “disproportionately” impacted by higher wholesale power prices resulting from a restriction of the global gas supply.
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“Although the European average price for solar rose this quarter, individual market trends diverge significantly”, said Placido Ostos, director of European analytics at LevelTen Energy, who added that markets with “severe solar price cannibalisation” saw much lower prices last quarter.
“In markets with severe solar price cannibalisation, two things are occurring simultaneously. The first is immense competition between projects, amid solar oversupply that is causing price cannibalisation,” he said. “This leads to a second issue: solar PPAs face limited captured prices on the market, forcing developers to offer very low PPA strike prices to appeal to buyers. Both contribute to the downward price slide occurring in several markets.”
LevelTen identified France, Germany, Spain and Poland as all suffering from significant curtailment, each recording more negative price hours in the first half of 2026 than during all of 2025.
Solar PPA prices remain the lowest in Europe among the technologies tracked, with solar prices comparing to US$80.21/MWh for blended PPAs and US$95.86/MWh for wind PPAs. However, this quarter’s report tracks ‘hybrid’ PPAs for the first time, covering deals that include both renewable energy generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS). Average hybrid deal prices are a shade higher than blended PPAs—sitting at US$81.68/MWh—after falling from over US$90/MWh at the start of the year.
Batteries have often been touted as a way to minimise curtailment in countries, as they are cheaper and faster to deploy than large-scale grid infrastructure, and Spain and Germany both feature prominently in the hybrid tracker; 29% of European PPA offers recorded in the LevelTen price index for this quarter were from Spanish and German hybrid projects.
While there remains variation between solar PV and wind valuations within these hybrid structures—LevelTen’s figures show that hybrid PPAs are, on average, 24% higher than standalone solar PPAs but 15% lower than standalone wind PPAs—the company notes that hybrid deals “can deliver significantly higher settlement values”, increasing captured values by up to 80%.
Solar PPA prices experienced the opposite trend in North America, according to LevelTen’s figures, with average prices falling by 4.8% quarter-on-quarter, the first decline in two years. Solar PPA prices reached US$61.40/MWh in the market-averaged continental index, lower than the figures reported for blended (US$72.60/MWh) and wind (US$83.79/MWh), as has been the case since 2021.
As was the case in Europe, there was significant geographical variation within this overall trend. For instance, LevelTen reports a “steep quarterly drop” in solar PPA prices signed in the CAISO network in California, and without these figures, the market-averaged trend would have yielded a 1.8% quarter-on-quarter decline in solar PPA prices.
There is a slightly different trend in the continental index, which does not take into account the relative influence of each individual market, such as the CAISO grid. For this index, solar PPA price remains lower than that of wind or blended PPAs, but average wind prices leapt to US$61.19/MWh in the second quarter of this year, marking four consecutive quarters of sustained price increases that have taken wind from the cheapest of the three deal types in this index to the most expensive.
LevelTen also noted that the US policy landscape “remains extremely dynamic” for all technologies, pointing to the passage of the 4 July ‘safe harbour’ deadline as a significant milestone, as now new projects will not be able to access tax credits first introduced under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
This means that there will likely be fewer projects capable of signing PPAs at prices seen during the IRA tax credit era, which LevelTen expects will translate to either “uncharted territory” for US PPA prices, or an increase in average PPA prices.

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Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) has published Portaria Normativa No. 140 in the Official Gazette (DOU), establishing a financial compensation mechanism for wind and solar generators affected by curtailment events.
The regulation defines the conditions for recovering revenue losses caused by two types of curtailment events that occurred between Sept. 1, 2023, and Nov. 25, 2025. It also sets the eligibility criteria for generators seeking compensation.
The regulation confirms that only curtailment events classified as external unavailability – such as delays or limitations affecting transmission infrastructure – and those caused by electrical reliability requirements determined by Brazil’s National System Operator (ONS) will qualify for compensation.
Curtailment caused by energy oversupply remains excluded. These events occur when electricity generation exceeds system demand and are considered by the government to be a market risk assumed by generators.
To receive compensation, project owners must sign a commitment agreement. In doing so, they must waive claims related to existing legal proceedings concerning the curtailment events covered by the regulation and withdraw ongoing lawsuits related to the same period.
According to the MME, the measure aims to increase legal certainty and reduce litigation surrounding curtailment, which has become a growing concern as renewable energy penetration has increased and operational restrictions have affected wind and solar generators since 2023.
The ministry also said the mechanism will help preserve the financing capacity of future renewable energy projects, as some plants have experienced unexpected revenue reductions due to grid constraints.
Portaria No. 140 establishes that compensation will be calculated according to the electricity market arrangement of each project.
For energy contracted under Brazil’s Regulated Contracting Environment (ACR), compensation will be based on the contract price when a specific provision exists. For uncontracted energy, calculations will use the Settlement Price of Differences (PLD) applicable to the respective electricity submarket.
The regulation assigns the ONS responsibility for classifying curtailment events. The operator will apply more detailed criteria to determine the main cause of each reduction in generation.
When multiple causes occur simultaneously and their individual impacts cannot be separated, the event will be classified as external unavailability, in accordance with the commitment agreement.
The regulation also states that energy generation lost due to compensated curtailment events will be considered effective generation when reviewing the physical guarantee of projects. This aims to prevent additional impacts on future plant revenues.
Although the new regulation addresses part of the accumulated financial impact from curtailment, it does not change the treatment of cuts caused by energy oversupply, which remain outside the compensation framework.
The government considers these events part of electricity market dynamics and an inherent risk for generators.
The rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity, combined with delays in transmission infrastructure development and operational constraints in Brazil’s National Interconnected System (SIN), has increased pressure on wind and solar projects in recent years.
Industry stakeholders expect compensation measures to be accompanied by structural solutions to reduce the need for curtailment, including transmission expansion, greater system flexibility, and increased deployment of energy storage technologies.

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Solar Landscape Named No. 1 Commercial Rooftop Solar Developer for Second Consecutive Year  Business Wire
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(WAND) – Residents heard more about a proposed solar project in rural Macon County just west of Dalton City Tuesday night.
Solar energy company Leeward Renewable Energy will lead the project.
According to the company’s timeline, construction is expected to begin in 2028. If approved, the solar farm will be operational by 2030.
Leeward stated that the project will generate about $30 million over its lifetime.
Leeward Public Affairs Manager Kristen Rosenberger said that money can be used to benefit local communities.
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“That can really benefit the schools, the fire department, infrastructure here, whatever the county and township feel like they have those needs, that money is available to them,” Rosenberger said.
Rosenberger added that the project’s lifetime is estimated to be around 30 years.
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A hotel has invested £300,000 in a new solar and battery system to cut its carbon footprint and energy costs.
Avisford Park Hotel, located between Chichester and Arundel in West Sussex, made the investment as part of its efforts to improve sustainability and meet rising environmental expectations from guests.
The newly installed system is expected to generate around 161,000kWh of clean electricity each year, reducing the hotel’s carbon emissions by an estimated 33 tonnes annually.
Jason Hiley, managing director of Crest Hotels Limited, said: “The hospitality industry is facing increasing pressure from rising energy costs, amongst many other challenges, whilst guests quite rightly expect businesses to demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainability.
“This £300,000 investment at Avisford Park Hotel shows that environmental responsibility and commercial resilience can go hand in hand.
“By generating our own renewable electricity and incorporating battery storage, we are reducing our reliance on the grid, lowering our carbon emissions and creating greater certainty around one of our largest operating costs.
“It’s an investment that will benefit our guests, our business and the wider environment for many years to come, and reflects Crest Hotels’ commitment to investing in a more sustainable future.”
Read more:
Sussex hotel named among the top 10 per cent in the world
Seafront hotel repainted in boost for town centre appearance
Hotel launches charity cocktail to support good causes
As the hotel’s electricity usage does not align with peak sunshine hours, the battery storage is critical. (Image: Avisford Park Hotel)
Designed and installed by Novalux Solar, the 163.24kWp system includes 308 bifacial solar panels and battery storage with a capacity of 200kWh.
The panels are mounted on a previously unused tennis court and are supported by two hybrid inverters and battery cabinets.
The battery system is essential for storing energy for use outside peak sunlight hours, allowing the hotel to use more of the power it generates on site.
Over 25 years, the hotel expects to avoid several hundred tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Mr Hiley said the investment not only advances the hotel’s environmental goals but also supports financial stability by locking in significantly lower energy costs.
Spread over the 25-year lifespan of the system, the cost of electricity generated on-site will be just 5.88p per unit—well below current and forecasted grid rates.
Avisford Park Hotel is a former Georgian manor with 140 rooms, a restaurant, an 18-hole golf course and 12 event spaces.
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NOVA Strengthens Its Position as a High Quality Solar Inverter Supplier in China with Advanced Energy Solutions  EIN News
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Renewables Now is a leading business news source for renewable energy professionals globally. Trust us for comprehensive coverage of major deals, projects and industry trends. We’ve done this since 2009.
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Georgia manufacturer QCells moves toward fully US-made solar panels  wabe.org
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The Pepper and Lucky 7 solar power projects will deliver renewable electricity to Meta as part of a long-term agreement.
Energy infrastructure firm GameChange Energy has been selected to provide its Genius Tracker solar tracking systems for two utility-scale projects in Texas, US.
The two solar projects, Pepper and Lucky 7, are developed by Sabanci Renewables. They will together add around 286MWdc of new solar generation capacity and are scheduled to start commercial operations in the second half of 2027.
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Pepper, which is located in McLennan County, has a capacity of 156MWdc. Lucky 7 is of 130MWdc capacity and is located in Hopkins County.
Both projects will use 620Wp bifacial modules manufactured by Waaree.
Pepper and Lucky 7 will supply renewable electricity through a long-term agreement with Meta. This move is aimed at meeting the rising power demands linked to hyperscale data centre operations.
According to GameChange Energy, the projects reflect a wider trend in the US, where increased investment in AI, digital infrastructure, and cloud computing have driven the rapid expansion of data centres, making them one of the largest sources of new electricity demand.
Developers across Texas and other major markets are responding by combining utility-scale solar facilities with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
These initiatives are intended to deliver stable, cost-efficient renewable energy to support technology sector growth.
GameChange Energy’s Genius Tracker platform was chosen to be deployed at both the Pepper and Lucky 7 sites.
The company described the decision as part of its ongoing involvement in supplying solar systems for high-performance and mission-critical energy applications.
GameChange Energy CEO Phillip Vyhanek said: “The rapid expansion of data centres is fundamentally changing how new power generation is being developed.
“We’re proud that Genius Tracker was selected for the Pepper and Lucky 7 projects, which demonstrate how utility-scale solar can help support the enormous energy requirements of modern digital infrastructure.
“We believe this represents just the beginning of a significant growth opportunity as developers and hyperscale customers continue investing in new renewable energy projects.”
Texas has emerged as a major hub for both data centre growth and utility-scale solar deployment.
GameChange Energy said that it expects similar projects to become more common across the US as investment in AI and cloud computing infrastructure rises.
Its Genius Tracker systems are intended to maximise energy output while reducing installation and operating costs.
The company has delivered more than 68GW of solar tracker and fixed-tilt systems globally, supporting renewable energy developments in a variety of environmental conditions.
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Recently, the Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs, and State Taxation Administration jointly issued the “Announcement on Adjusting Some Battery Consumption Tax Policies”, which will resume levying consumption tax on mature energy storage, power, and photovoltaic batteries in phases, while granting a phased tax exemption window for sodium-ion, solid-state, fuel cells, and new types of photovoltaic batteries.
This new policy ends the universal tax exemption for batteries that has been in place for more than a decade. Together with the adjustments to the new energy vehicle purchase tax and new energy vehicle and vessel tax regulations launched this year, it forms part of the country’s new energy tax system reform. The successive introduction of multiple new tax policies means that the entire new energy vehicle industry chain is bidding farewell to the era of universal subsidies, and the industry chain will usher in a new round of reshuffling and upgrading.
From the perspective of policy adjustment logic, the battery consumption tax, like the new energy vehicle purchase tax, will gradually “phase down” subsidies through phased taxation. For widely used and technologically mature lithium-ion batteries, primary lithium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, and all-vanadium flow batteries, a 2% consumption tax will be levied starting from September 1, 2026. After a one-year transition period, the tax rate will increase to 4% from September 1, 2027. For photovoltaic batteries (also known as solar cells) whose production capacity has continued to expand in recent years, a 2% consumption tax will be levied starting from April 1, 2027; a one-year transition period is also set, and the tax rate will increase to 4% from April 1, 2028.
For cutting-edge innovative categories such as “sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, fuel cells, and perovskite cells, tandem cells, gallium arsenide cells among photovoltaic batteries”, a phased tax exemption will be implemented, with consumption tax exempted from September 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028.
The above three differentiated taxation standards reflect the policy logic of resuming taxation on mature products in phases and extending the tax exemption window for innovative technologies. This not only helps the industry achieve a smooth transition but also avoids impacting new technology batteries that are still in the industrialization breakthrough stage.
The background for the adjustment of the battery consumption tax is very clear: China included batteries in the consumption tax scope in February 2015, with a benchmark tax rate of 4%. However, a large-scale tax exemption list was set up to cultivate the new energy industry chain, including mercury-free primary batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, primary lithium batteries, lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaic (solar) cells, fuel cells, and all-vanadium flow batteries, all of which are exempt from consumption tax; only lead-acid batteries with high pollution have been subject to a fixed 4% tax rate since 2016. After more than a decade of support, the production capacity of lithium-ion batteries, crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and other products has grown to the world’s largest, with a complete industrial chain, and their commercial applications and market competition are already very mature.
Universal tax incentives can no longer accurately target next-generation innovative technologies. Against this backdrop, the three ministries and commissions launched the optimization of the battery consumption tax, redefining the tax orientation, restricting and phasing out low-end production capacity, and encouraging and accelerating the research and development of cutting-edge low-carbon technologies.
Lithium-ion batteries and other products widely used in new energy vehicles are the first to resume taxation, which is consistent with the overall direction of tightening the new energy tax system.
Under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new energy vehicle purchase tax has been adjusted from full exemption to half collection since January 1 this year, while the maximum tax reduction limit has been lowered, with a maximum tax reduction of 15,000 yuan for a single new energy passenger car. On July 3, the three ministries and commissions issued an announcement, clarifying that starting from January 1, 2027, the policy of levying a 50% reduction in vehicle and vessel tax on energy-saving vehicles will be canceled, and the policy of exempting pure electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including range-extended) hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell commercial vehicles from vehicle and vessel tax will be abolished.
In terms of time cycle, the new energy vehicle and vessel tax exemption policy, the new energy vehicle purchase tax exemption policy, and the battery consumption tax exemption policy were launched in January 2012, September 2014, and February 2015 respectively, covering more than a decade from the initial budding stage to the explosive growth of new energy vehicles. From 2015 to 2025, a large-scale universal tax exemption was implemented in the domestic new energy industry chain, such as full exemption from lithium-ion battery consumption tax, full exemption from new energy vehicle purchase tax, and full exemption from vehicle and vessel tax for pure electric commercial vehicles. These policies were once favorable factors driving the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry.
Now that the three types of tax incentives are entering the countdown to exit, it clearly demonstrates the policy orientation: when the industry matures, universal incentives will be phased out in an orderly manner, to achieve fairness in the taxation system for fuel and electric vehicles, eliminate low-end production capacity through tax leverage, provide targeted support for cutting-edge innovation, and improve the green fiscal and taxation system.
The battery consumption tax targets upstream battery manufacturing and cell technology iteration, the purchase tax targets automobile consumption and vehicle energy-saving upgrading, and the vehicle and vessel tax covers the vehicle usage link. The three types of tax adjustments cover the entire chain of “production, purchase, and ownership” of new energy vehicles.
Supported by more than a decade of universal tax exemption policies, China’s new energy vehicle and battery industries have achieved leapfrog development. At present, the penetration rate of new energy passenger cars has exceeded 60%, entering a transition period of stock competition, quality improvement, and upgrading. At the same time, long-term zero tax has lowered the industry’s cost threshold, leading to structural contradictions such as low-price internal competition and weak profitability for passenger car companies. This is the main reason why the fiscal and taxation authorities implement the phase-out of incentives and restart the tax adjustment function.
According to the upcoming battery consumption tax adjustment, based on the ex-factory price of mainstream LFP cells at 0.35-0.40 yuan/Wh, for a passenger car equipped with a 60kWh lithium battery, the battery cost will increase by about 400-700 yuan (2% tax rate) and 800-1200 yuan (4% tax rate) respectively. This means that the costs of both battery companies and vehicle manufacturers will rise. Leading battery manufacturers and vehicle companies that independently develop batteries in-house can moderately pass on costs to downstream parties, with limited pressure on profits. However, small and medium-sized battery manufacturers and car companies that purchase batteries externally face the risk of cost being directly squeezed by taxes.
In addition, in accordance with the regulation that “taxpayers’ self-produced taxable battery products for continuous production of taxable batteries/automobile products are not subject to consumption tax”, if a car manufacturer’s self-produced batteries are directly installed for its own use, the battery consumption tax can be exempted. This may force vehicle manufacturers to accelerate independent battery R&D and promote the industry to move towards industrial vertical integration. At the same time, the two-year tax exemption window reserved for solid-state batteries and other new technologies is expected to accelerate the research and development of related technologies in these emerging fields.
This article is from the WeChat official account “Economic Observer”, written by LIU Xiaolin, and published with authorization from 36Kr.
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CLEAR LAKE — Xcel Energy on Tuesday, July 21, announced the completion of Sherco Solar Phase 3, marking a milestone in the company’s transformation of a retiring coal plant into a renewable energy hub.
Located near the existing Sherco plant in Becker, Sherco Solar is the largest solar facility in Minnesota and one of the biggest in the Upper Midwest. With the first three phases online, the site now produces 710 megawatts of electricity powered by 1.7 million solar panels.
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A proposed fourth phase would bring Sherco Solar’s total generating capacity to 910 megawatts — capable of powering more than 190,000 homes, according to Xcel — by 2029. The expansion also would create an estimated 300 union construction jobs and $90 million in local economic benefits, according to information from the utility company.
“Completing Sherco Solar Phase 3 is a significant step in our efforts to deliver the reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy our customers expect,” Bria Shea, president of Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota said in a statement. “This project demonstrates how we can build upon existing infrastructure and workforce expertise to meet growing energy needs, create economic opportunities for Minnesota communities and continue advancing our renewable energy transition.”
Sherco Solar is an effort by Xcel to maintain reliability while expanding renewable energy resources and keeping costs down. Luke Molus, senior operations manager for Xcel Energy’s solar and storage sites, coincidentally grew up in the area.
“For decades, the Sherco plant has helped power our region, and today Sherco Solar is continuing that legacy,” Molus said in a statement.

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AMPYR Solar Europe secures $455 million to develop 2 GW of Solar Projects
February 20, 2022
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
Spain-based renewable energy company Enfinity Global announced the acquisition of a 250 MW solar PV portfolio in Japan with an enterprise value of $1 billion. This acquisition consolidates Enfinity Global’s platform in Japan and positions the company for further expansion in the country. The acquisition includes three operational large-scale solar projects and five projects currently under construction throughout Japan. The operational projects currently total 70 MW, and 180 MW are under construction, with 80 MW planned to reach operations in 2022 and 100 MW in 2023.
European solar power producer AMPYR Solar Europe (ASE), a joint venture between AGP Sustainable Real Assets, Hartree Partners, and NaGa Solar, secured a €400 million (~$454.7 million) facility from CarVal Investors to develop over 2 GW of the solar projects by 2025. The initial focus will be on Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. The facility can expand to other European states and allow for the funding of energy storage projects.
SunSource Energy, a provider of solar-based energy solutions to commercial & industrial (C&I) customers, has entered into a Project Financing agreement with SunFunder – an international solar finance company. This investment will enable the company to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. The investment will provide project financing for an industrial solar installation in Thailand and is the beginning of a broader partnership as the company expands its footprint in other Asian countries.
Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren announced an agreement with Invenergy, a developer, owner, and operator of sustainable energy solutions, to acquire a 150 MW solar project being developed in southeastern Illinois. The deal is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. With timely regulatory approvals, the project could begin generating clean energy by 2024.
CleanCapital, a clean energy investment platform, acquired 65.3 MW of solar portfolio from the developer BR Group. The portfolio spans 12 states in the U.S. and comprises 39 projects and 91 total sites ranging from 0.2 MW to 6.5 MW in size. The portfolio includes various projects providing solar power to schools, including 20 carport assets serving California’s Stockton Unified School District and 16 sites serving the Hawaii Department of Education. The portfolio includes 11.5 MW of Minnesota community solar projects with various C&I off-takers.
CleanCapital also announced that it had closed debt financing with CIT, a division of First Citizens Bank, and a tax equity transaction with Nelnet, both relating to a portfolio of new construction solar assets in Maryland. CIT’s Power and Energy business served as coordinating lead arranger on the $71.4 million debt financing; Nelnet served as the coordinating lead tax equity investor.
Atlas Renewable Energy, a renewable energy company, has secured a R$407 million (~$76 Million) loan from Brazil’s Northeastern Bank’s ‘Northeastern Constitutional Financing Fund’ to construct the 239 MW Lar do Sol – Casablanca II solar project. The project will be located in Pirapora, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Atlas Renewable Energy will be the main investor and operator and will partner with Unipar, who will co-invest.
Spanish renewable energy company Acciona Energia acquired Red-Tailed Hawk, a 350 MWac/458 MWdc solar PV project from Avondale Solar and Solar Plus Development. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The Red-Tailed Hawk solar project is located near Houston, Texas, and the project will be developed by Avondale Solar’s affiliate, AP Solar Holdings, and Solar Plus Development. The construction of the Red-Tailed Hawk project starts in the third quarter of 2022, and operations can be expected in 2024.
US Solar Fund, an investment firm, announces it has exercised its option to acquire a further 25% interest in the 200 MW Mount Signal 2, taking its total ownership of the project to 50%. USF committed to acquire an initial 25% (Tranche One) of MS2 in December 2020 and had twelve months from Tranche One completion (which was in March 2021) to exercise its option over a second 25% (Tranche Two). The purchase price for Tranche Two is $21 million, taking USF’s total equity investment for 50% of the project to $44 million.
For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.
Read last week’s project finance brief.
Utsav Sinha
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Sporting goods retailer Intersport has spoken of a move towards “energy self-sufficiency” by deploying solar panels at its headquarters in Germany.
The company has invested in a large-scale 2.2MWp photovoltaic (PV) system at its site in Heilbronn. It is expected the system will cut approximately 16,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions over the system’s lifetime and strengthen the retailer’s grid independence.
Intersport said half of the energy generated from the PV system will be used for self-consumption, covering the HQ, its 27,000 sq m logistics centre, and its ‘Redblue’ venue which hosts over 40 events a year, with the remaining energy sold to the grid and therefore serving as a new revenue stream for the organisation.
The PV system spans four rooftops and a ground-mounted installation in the outdoor area.
Installer SO.LE. designed the Heilbronn project, and it said it had to overcome significant technical challenges in order to do so.
With three separate grid connection points, the PV system had to be divided into multiple interconnected units. The safety requirements were met thanks to SolarEdge’s SafeDC technology, an integrated fire protection mechanism, which the manufacturer said enables automatic module-level shutdown in the case of emergencies.
Meanwhile, SolarEdge power optimisers were chosen to deliver what was described as a significantly higher energy yield compared to conventional PV technology. By allowing each panel to operate at its individual maximum output, the manufacturers said the system maximises overall production to deliver both higher environmental and economic returns.
What’s more, SolarEdge offers monitoring that ensures the retailer has panel-level, real-time performance monitoring and fault detection.
Intersport noted it is expecting a significant reduction in operational costs and electricity bills as a result of the move. It also operates a combined heat and power system, with most of the electricity generated by this plant also consumed on-site, and the resulting waste heat used to warm the buildings.
Thomas Storck, chief financial officer and deputy chairman of the board at Intersport Germany, said: “It is crucial for us as a company to become more independent in our energy supply, especially in times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
“The energy crisis of recent years has clearly shown how important a forward-looking and independent energy policy is. By investing in the PV system, we have taken an important step toward energy self-sufficiency for our site in Heilbronn – a significant milestone on our path to greater energy independence.”
He added: “Our customers can rest assured that acting responsibly and with an eye to the future is part of our corporate DNA as a cooperative. By investing in solar, we are reinforcing this commitment.”
Read more about solar panels in retail on Green Retail World
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The project is planned to enter in-operation by the end of Q3 2022
February 8, 2022
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
Mytilineos, through its Renewables and Storage Development (RSD) Business Unit, agreed to sell a 100 MW solar portfolio in the South of Spain to Aquila Capital, a sustainable investment and asset development company.
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The solar projects, Jaen and Guillena, each with 50 MW capacity, are in Andalucia and are currently under construction by the RSD Business Unit. Upon completion, projects will produce approximately 200 GWh of clean energy per year.
Mytilineos has a pipeline of more than 4 GW of solar PV and energy storage projects under various stages of development in Iberia, Italy, the UK, Cyprus, Romania, Chile, Australia, and South Korea. The company’s operating solar projects are located in Australia and Cyprus.
According to the press release, Aquila Capital manages over 13 GW of wind, solar PV, and hydro assets worldwide and has more than 60 projects in operation, development under construction in Spain.
Nikos Papapetrou, General Manager of the RSD Business Unit of Mytilineos, stated: “We are excited about this transaction in Spain. This is yet another important milestone for our development strategy in Europe and follows closely on our recent agreement in Romania to dispose of two solar PV projects. Spain is one of the most important markets for solar PV in Europe, with significant capacity increase targets, and we are proud to contribute towards that direction. We are also delighted to enter into this agreement with Aquila Capital and envisage furthering the cooperation of the two organizations.”
In addition to the deal, Mytilineos, through its RSD Business Unit, is implementing a project development and investment platform for solar PV and storage projects and has in operation approximately 118 MW of solar PVs in Australia and 3.5 MW in Cyprus. These projects are part of a total pipeline of solar PV and energy storage projects under various stages of development that exceed 4 GW and are in Iberia, Italy, UK, Cyprus, Romania, Chile, Australia, and South Korea, for which it will assess options to monetize or integrate with its operations.
According to Mercom’s recently published Q4 2021 solar funding and M&A report, over 68 GW of solar projects were acquired in 2021. More Recently, Viridi RE and Solar Ambition (a subsidiary of Green Enesys Group) and Aquila Capital, a sustainable investment and asset development company, have signed an agreement to sell 500 MW of solar projects under development in Spain.
Utsav Sinha
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© 2026 by Mercom Capital Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Microinverters: Powering the Next Generation of Rooftop Solar in India  SolarQuarter
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By: Luis Reyes
Published: Jul 22, at 9:00am ET
Most fights over a wind farm sound the same. Neighbors object to the look of the towers on a ridgeline, or the low hum, or the aircraft lights blinking after dark.
The row now building around a wind farm near Yass, in southern New South Wales, is not that one. Over 18 months, its turbines killed 20 wedge-tailed eagles, the largest bird of prey in Australia, and the number has pulled a question back into the open that the clean-energy build-out keeps trying to walk past: what a turbine is allowed to kill, and who gets to decide.
The farm is Rye Park, run by Tilt Renewables. At 396 megawatts and 66 turbines, it is one of the biggest onshore wind farms in the state. It is also, by the company’s own account, the deadliest for eagles that Tilt operates anywhere.
Tilt disclosed the toll at a meeting of the project’s community committee this month. Within days it had hardened into a fresh demand for national rules on how wind farms are built around wildlife.
Tilt did not bury the figure. A spokesperson said the company takes bird strikes seriously and has monitored them since the farm switched on, using trained detection dogs to search the ground around each turbine and reporting every eagle death to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
What the monitoring turned up was the uncomfortable part. The wedge-tailed eagle deaths, the spokesperson said, were running higher than expected at Rye Park compared with the rest of the company’s fleet, and it was acting on it.
This is not a problem that surfaced last week. Tilt has told RenewEconomy it has been consulting ecologists and government agencies about the eagle deaths for more than a year. The count and the pace of the strikes crossed the reporting threshold written into the project’s approval long ago.
That threshold is specific. Under the farm’s bird and bat plan, two or more eagle carcasses or injured birds found near the same turbines inside any two-month window forces Tilt to notify the state’s conservation regulator within one working day, then file a full report within 15 working days. The system is built to catch a cluster, and it did.
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At the community meeting, local representatives wanted more than reassurance. The committee formally asked Tilt to hand over a detailed report in October covering every recorded bird and bat strike at the site, the measures already in place, and whatever else it intends to try.
Yass Valley Councillor Alvaro Charry, who sits on the committee, called the deaths “deeply saddening and concerning.” He noted that the wedge-tailed eagle is a sacred totem of the Ngunnawal people, and argued that clean energy and wildlife protection cannot be run as an either-or.
This is where it splits. On the mainland, the wedge-tailed eagle is common. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, and it soars over farmland across most of the continent, with a wingspan that can reach 9 feet 4 inches (2.84 m).
In New South Wales it is not listed as a threatened species. It is, though, a fully protected native animal, which means killing one is never a free action, even when the bird is abundant.
That gap between “protected” and “endangered” is exactly what people are fighting over. To one camp, 20 deaths across 18 months is a small number against a healthy population, and a thin reason to bolt costly gear onto a working power station. To the other, an apex predator that breeds slowly and patrols a wide territory is worth defending well before the numbers turn bad, and the tools to do it already exist.
The distinction changes what Tilt is actually required to do. Under the farm’s management plan, the automatic shutdown of turbines is reserved for the genuinely endangered species on site: the superb parrot, the large bentwing bat, the white-throated needletail. For the wedge-tailed eagle, the plan leans on other measures instead of stopping the blades.
The math looks different in Tasmania, where the local subspecies of wedge-tailed eagle is endangered and thought to number in the low thousands. There, a run of deaths like this one would land far harder.
Tilt’s opening moves are cheap and low-tech. The company has started clearing dead sheep and cattle and collapsing rabbit warrens across the site, on the logic that removing carrion and prey stops drawing eagles down into the rows of spinning blades in the first place.
The heavier tools are the ones conservation and farming groups keep pointing at. Cameras wired to software that halts a blade when an eagle approaches. Radar that tracks birds in flight. And painting one of the three blades black, so the rotor stops smearing into an invisible disc at speed.
That last one has real evidence behind it, though not the kind that ends the debate. In a Norwegian trial at Smøla, painting a single blade black cut the annual death rate at the treated turbines by nearly 72 percent. But the birds saved there were white-tailed eagles, and nobody has shown the trick still works on the far larger rotors going up today.
Farmers for Climate Action, a pro-renewables group, points to Tasmania as proof the camera approach delivers. It says the two farms that fitted AI cameras there, Woolnorth and Cattle Hill, effectively stopped killing eagles without a meaningful hit to output. Its spokesperson, Peter Holding, argued that a wind farm should not clear planning at all unless the mitigation goes in first, and the group put it plainly: the time for consideration is over.
There is a catch that slows every one of these down. Bolting cameras onto turbines or repainting blades counts as a material change to an approved project, which means Tilt cannot simply do it. Each fix has to clear planning on its own.
Some of the industry’s answers run further out, chasing turbine designs that barely sweep any air at all. Those are years away from a ridgeline in Yass, and they do nothing for the eagles dying now.
The reason Rye Park’s eagles became a national argument is that Australia has no single rulebook for this. Every project negotiates its own bird-and-bat plan through its own approval, and the conditions drift from farm to farm.
That patchwork is drawing scrutiny at an awkward moment for the industry. The Australian Financial Review reported that the NSW government has floated a crackdown on so-called ghost projects clogging the planning queue, with the Yass Valley, thick with proposals, squarely in frame. The same reporting quoted Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman blaming the eagle deaths on rushed planning approvals, and a federal environment spokesperson calling the toll concerning while noting Canberra’s role is limited to nationally protected species.
None of this is unique to wind, or to Australia. The friction between building clean power fast and protecting the wildlife already living where you build keeps turning up wherever the turbines go. Offshore, scientists have tracked seals hunting the exact rows of North Sea foundations, a reminder that these machines reshape the ecosystem around them whether anyone planned for it or not.
What Rye Park adds is a stark version of the trade-off on land, with a bird most Australians recognize on the losing side of it.
The pressure sits on one report. When Tilt returns to the community committee in October with its full strike record and its list of fixes, the argument stops being about a single number and starts being about whether the measures actually move it.
The harder question outlasts that meeting. A wind farm that offsets a lot of carbon is also killing a protected bird faster than its operator expected, and the country still hasn’t decided whether “common but protected” is worth the cameras, the radar, and the black paint. Rye Park just made everyone answer it out loud.
Did we nail it or blow it?
Luis Reyes · Jun 23, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 5, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 7, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 4, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 6, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jun 29, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 22, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 22, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 21, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 21, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 21, 2026
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MERC adopts levelized tariff for 750 MW RTC project
July 23, 2026
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy updated the ALMM List-II for solar cells, adding Avaada Electro as a new manufacturer and expanding Fujiyama Power Systems’ approved manufacturing capacity. As per the MNRE ALMM List-II update dated July 22, 2026, the total ALMM-listed domestic solar cell manufacturing capacity is 31.76 GW.
The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission adopted a weighted-average levelized tariff of ₹6.38 (~$0.066)/kWh for procuring 750 MW of round-the-clock (RTC) power from grid-connected renewable energy projects, complemented by power from other sources. The procurement will be undertaken by Adani Electricity Mumbai Distribution under a 10-year power purchase agreement with Powerpulse Trading Solutions.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Mercom India Renewables Summit held in New Delhi on July 1 and 2, Hardip Singh, Chief Operating Officer at Grew Solar, said the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) requirement for cells was a welcome step, as was the one for ingots and wafers that will come into force in 2028. He also spoke about Grew Solar’s reverse merger with one of its group companies and plans to go public within this year.
Recognizing the benefits of rooftop solar, packaging materials and solutions company Uflex installed a 2,909 kW system at its facility in Dharwad, Karnataka, to reduce its electricity costs.
GAIL (India) issued a tender to set up a 600 MW solar project integrated with a 275 MW/550 MWh battery energy storage system at the Tusco Jhansi Solar Park in Uttar Pradesh. Bids must be submitted by August 20, 2026. Bids will be opened on the following day.
In the calendar year 2025, 119 GW of solar modules and over 9 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity were added in the country, according to Mercom India’s State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India 2026 report. Buoyed by large utility-scale project pipelines, residential rooftop targets and ambitious government schemes, India’s solar sector is brimming with opportunities for manufacturers, product suppliers, developers and distributors.
Independent power producer JSW Energy reported consolidated revenue of ₹54.37 billion (~$564.59 million) in the first quarter of the financial year 2027, remaining largely flat from ₹54.11 billion (~$561.89 million) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Global markets for air conditioners have expanded rapidly in recent years. Annual AC unit shipments are now 25% higher than they were five years ago, driven largely by growth in emerging and developing economies, according to the International Energy Agency. In 2024, amid exceptional heatwaves, global AC shipments reached 200 million units. That year, shipments grew by about 10% in India, the Middle East, the U.S. and Europe, and by 40% or more in Latin America and Africa.
Mercom Staff
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© 2026 by Mercom Capital Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Long waits for domestic solar cells have forced many Indian panel factories to pause production. The disruption could imperil thousands of jobs and billions in investment.
As informed by Reuters
Indian solar panel manufacturers are being forced to idle factories due to long queues for domestic components needed to replace imports from China as part of government efforts to boost local production, according to industry sources.
Disruptions caused by the enforcement of the relevant rules on June 1 threaten thousands of jobs and about $4 billion in investments, according to manufacturers and analysts, while jeopardizing India’s 2030 target to increase solar power capacity.
“We have faced significant difficulties due to the lack of domestic solar cells over the past three months.”
– Shailendra Shukla
Nearly a third of the 140 small and medium solar module manufacturers, which account for 60% of capacity, have halted production, while others have shortened cycles to three-to-four days, according to the All India Solar Module Manufacturers Association.
Manufacturers without their own cell-fabrication capacity report waits of six to eight months for domestic cells, causing the cost of panels manufactured domestically [sic] to rise almost twice as much as those using Chinese cells.
The Ministry of Energy in the Clean Energy sector said it had not received official notices of production stoppages from independent module manufacturers, but is watching prices and expects to secure adequate cell production within six months.
However, India faces challenges in ramping up supply as building high-tech cell-manufacturing plants takes time, and China restricts export of technology, equipment, and technical support for the solar industry, industry sources say.
Supply disruptions would push back solar projects and raise costs, potentially slowing India’s plan to reach 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, industry sources and analysts warn, given that it currently stands at around 288 GW.
Rising demand for electricity means that slower deployment of solar energy will have to be offset by greater use of fossil fuels, primarily coal, delaying the transition to cleaner energy.
Solar energy accounts for about 29% of India’s current non-fossil capacity and is forecast to grow to over 292 GW by 2030 from 162 GW today, according to the Central Electricity Authority.
Although India has built around 200 GW of panel manufacturing capacity, the actual output of solar cells is only about 27 GW, government estimates show.
The real-world picture reveals an even bigger gap: the effective cell production capacity stands at roughly 16–18 GW, according to EUPD Research and the industry.
According to experts, the official figures reflect installed or nominal capacity, much of which is not yet commissioned or operates well below nominal.
“India is facing a significant shortfall in cell supply, and closing this gap is likely to take three to five years.”
– Ryan Kalsotra
“Over time, China may seek to maintain dominance in the solar industry, where it already wields strong influence in nearly all manufacturing segments,” said Cosimo Ries, an analyst at the consulting firm Trivium China.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment. Industry estimates say China controls about 95% of India’s solar cell imports, and imports from China rose about 37% in the last financial year to around $1.86 billion.
At least three module manufacturers Reuters spoke to have temporarily halted production due to a lack of domestic cells, and another four have cut capacity to about a third.
Building new cell manufacturing capacity takes significantly longer than the government expects, manufacturers say.
“It is not possible to start cell production with only an 18-month lead time due to the complexity of the technology and the needs for land and raw materials.”
– Chetan Shah
He was referring to the government deadline for using domestic solar cells, which had been set for June 2026 and had previously been slated for December 2024.
India pushed the date to December 2026 for certain projects amid concerns about shortages and the need to safeguard manufacturers’ investments.
The manufacturers association said such concessions would provide limited help if they do not apply to the entire industry.
Standalone module manufacturers without cell fabrication capacity employ about 75,000 people, of which 45,000 are in Gujarat, where a number of plants are located, according to the state industry group.
Energy leaders forecast that near-term capital costs could rise by about 35% before domestic cell manufacturing capacity reaches the required scale, said Pinaki Bhattacharya, executive director of AMPIN Energy Transition.
Despite all the problems, government efforts to support domestic production continue to shape the new value chain in India’s solar sector, while underscoring the need for long-term solutions to ensure stable and affordable supply as the transition to cleaner energy proceeds.

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MNRE’s 8th ALMM List-II Revision Adds New Solar Cell Makers and Advanced Technologies in India  SolarQuarter
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The Indianapolis International Airport is installing 10,701 solar panels to help power the terminal, airfield and parking garage.
The solar panels are being installed through three projects, said Todd Cavender, Indianapolis Airport Authority Director of Environment and Sustainability. The Terminal Energy Resilience project consists of installing canopy covers with solar panels at the airport’s surface parking. Energy captured through the solar panels will be stored in a battery and utilized to power about 10 percent of the airport terminal, Cavender said.
The Parking Garage Resilience Project is similar to the Terminal Energy Resilience project. It will have solar canopy with battery storage to power about 90 percent of the parking garage.
“The existing parking garage did not have a cover on top,” Cavender said. “ Do you just build a roof or do you utilize and provide added value by utilizing solar as the roof and providing energy through that through that capability.”
Read more: Study shows regulations on renewables harm local economies
The third project has two components: a microgrid for the airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Facility No. 2 and a microgrid on the airfield’s electrical vault which will power 50 percent of the airfield.
Cavender said installing a microgrid in the airfield area was rooted in taking steps to ensure the airport is prepared for an emergency in Indianapolis.
“We have to be able to stay operational,” Cavender said. “And having a functioning airfield is critical to bringing disaster relief in, bringing the critical emergency aircraft in that would need to serve the community.”
The Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Facility No. 2 project will be complete by October, the parking garage project will be finished by the of December, and the terminal energy project will be done in April or May.
“Our number one goal is to ensure we can be a resilient airport,” Cavender said. “We want to stay operational. We want to make sure we have clean power for the airport. We have redundant power.”
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“Act Independently” is one of the basic creeds of journalism ethics, and we claim it proudly. The WFIU/WTIU News facilities are located on the campus of Indiana University, which does hold our broadcast license and contribute funding to our organization. However, our journalists and senior news leaders have full authority over journalistic decisions — what we decide to cover and how we tell our stories. We observe a clear boundary: Indiana University and RTVS administrators focus on running a strong and secure organization; WFIU/WTIU journalists focus on bringing you independent news you can trust.

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SINGAPORE/SYDNEY —For 64-year-old transport worker Paul Tyler, who lives 160 km (100 miles) north of Sydney, installing solar panels had long been financially out of reach.
Australia’s federal battery subsidy changed that, helping him cut upfront costs by 30% and install 18 solar panels and a 28-kilowatt-hour battery this year for A$9,000 ($6,247.80).
“I would never have afforded it if not for the subsidies,” he said, adding that his monthly power bill dropped to around A$50 from A$275.
Tyler is one of the hundreds of thousands of Australians driving a battery rush that is boosting new solar connections and upgrades to larger panels to store more power.
The rooftop solar boom shows how countries stifled by transmission line logjams can continue reducing emissions, analysts say.
Australians spent a collective A$8.69 billion on home batteries in the five months through May, according to a Reuters calculation based on average prices on the Solar Choice website and installations data from consultancy SunWiz.
The splurge followed the government’s decision in December to more than triple the value of its Cheaper Home Batteries Program announced last July to A$7.2 billion over four years.
The 7.7 gigawatt-hours in home installations between January and May exceeded uptake in the previous six years combined, SunWiz data showed, benefiting battery makers including Tesla TSLA.O, BYD 002594.SZ, Sungrow 300274.SZ and Fox ESS.
Future
“Lightweight” regulations reduced installation costs to a third of U.S. levels, helping one in three Australian homes adopt rooftop solar – the highest penetration in the world, according to a report by the CHARGED initiative.
Now, batteries are driving rooftop solar installations even higher, with SunWiz forecasting 2026 additions to surpass a 2021 peak and surge 41% to a record 4 GW – equivalent to more than two-thirds of the country’s large renewable additions in 2025.
“It’s a sign of what the future can look like. The solution we need most is already above people’s heads, on their roofs,” said SunWiz Managing Director Warwick Johnston.
Australia’s coal-fired output, its main power source, has declined for 10 straight months amid the solar resurgence, according to monthly National Electricity Market data through June from the OpenElectricity platform.
Lifestyle choice
Stored power is increasingly meeting evening demand and reducing the case for some new transmission lines, said Commonwealth Bank of Australia energy economist John Oh. Australia’s energy market operator expects pooled home batteries to eliminate A$5 billion in grid-scale battery investments.
“Distributed energy driven by batteries is a great alternative to circumvent delays in grid transmission buildout, and this can be replicated across the Asia-Pacific,” said Climate Energy Finance Director Tim Buckley.
Higher evening supply from home batteries to the grid is also helping lower wholesale prices, said Brian Spak, general manager of advocacy and policy at Energy Consumers Australia (ECA).
“Even people who don’t have batteries receive benefits from their neighbours taking up the program,” he said.
Still, nearly half of Australian households cannot access solar or batteries because they rent, live in apartments or earn less than A$50,000 a year, according to ECA.
“Seeing all the houses around you with solar panels, but not having access to solar panels on yours is a bit annoying,” said Dale Best, a 25-year-old engineer who rents a house with three others in southern Sydney.
But for homes with solar, storage is giving occupants more control over costs as they choose when to use and export power instead of paying rigid retail tariffs, said Geoff Eldridge, principal adviser at energy consultancy Global Power Energy.
“The battery is not the revolution by itself. The revolution is that electricity is moving into everyday household decisions.” —Reuters

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Looking to shoot remotely, like really remote, but worried about power? This new foldable solar panel from CAME-TV could be the solution you’re looking for.
CAME-TV VOLTRABLE 30W Foldable Solar Panel
Well, this is pretty cool. The other day, we covered an inflatable light mat that could double as a water raft for navigating a river, and today we have a foldable solar panel that can be carried like a backpack to power your remote shoots.
And for remote shoots, we mean like very, very remote. Introduced by CAME-TV, this new VOLTRABLE Foldable Solar Panel V30A aims to be the ultimate power solution for explorers, adventurous filmmakers, and content creators.
Here’s what you need to know about this new remote power solution.

Credit: CAME-TV
Tailored for the adventurous outdoorsy type of explorers and possible content creators, this foldable solar power solution is quite unique—as far as portable solar panels go. Capable of being folded down to a quite compact size, this solution from CAME-TV fits in your backpack and can be folded or unfolded to capture the sun’s energy when you’re out on your adventures.
Ideally designed for camping, hiking, RV trips, or other remote adventures, the solution isn’t conceived specifically for filmmaking or hybrid content creation, but it could be used for these purposes quite easily.
The CAME-TV VOLTRABLE 30W Foldable Solar Panel weighs just over 2 lb and can be folded to a compact size of 21.3 x 30.3 x 2.2 cm. When unfolded and unfurled, it will be a 64.2 x 30.3 cm panel, which should help maximize its sun exposure.
Credit: CAME-TV
Overall, while not a solution for bigger projects or—honestly—most projects, if you are an outdoor and adventure type, this might be an interesting option for small DIY projects and an investment for your own travels.
The panel features multiple smart output ports to power all your gear simultaneously, including USB-A, Type-C, and DC outputs for charging 12V batteries or portable power stations.
If you’d like to find out more, the CAME-TV VOLTRABLE 30W Foldable Solar Panel is available on the company’s website here, where it currently retails for $68.

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Sungrow Deploys 125 kW Solar PV and 257 kWh BESS for The Peech Hotel in Johannesburg  SolarQuarter
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Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia has submitted the 1,000MWh Boro solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The project combines a 150MW solar PV plant with a 250MW/1,000MWh, 4-hour duration battery energy storage system (BESS).
Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia is the local development arm of Samsung C&T Corporation, the South Korean conglomerate’s construction and trading division.
The project is proposed on a 410-hectare site approximately 40km south of Goulburn and 200km south-west of Sydney, across land within both the Goulburn Mulwaree Council and Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council local government areas.
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The construction disturbance footprint covers approximately 266 hectares, with the remainder of the site retained or used for access and ancillary infrastructure.
The solar PV power plant will use modules mounted on single-axis tracking systems, connected via underground cables to a central substation that will step up electricity to 330 kilovolts for export to a Transgrid 330kV overhead transmission line located to the south of the project.
The 1,000MWh battery storage system will be co-located with the solar PV plant and will connect via the same substation, with a new 330kV switching station linking to the Transgrid transmission infrastructure. It will connect to the wider National Electricity Market (NEM).
The project is classified as State Significant Development under the New South Wales Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, meaning the EPBC referral runs in parallel with a separate New South Wales state planning assessment.
Biodiversity surveys conducted across 2024 and 2025 identified no EPBC-listed species within the project area, and the referral concludes that no Matters of National Environmental Significance are likely to be directly or indirectly affected by the development.
Samsung C&T states in the referral that it currently has at least five development projects at various stages in New South Wales and two in Victoria, as well as two projects in Queensland, either under development or under technical study.
The Boro project’s capital investment cost is estimated at more than AU$30 million (US$21 million), though the referral does not provide a full project cost figure.
The Boro referral is the latest in a rapid sequence of EPBC submissions from Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia across multiple states.
Earlier this month, the company submitted the 150MW/600MWh Comet Park BESS near Leeton in the New South Wales Riverina for EPBC assessment, a standalone battery project connecting to the existing Yanco Substation and also progressing through the New South Wales  State Significant Development pathway simultaneously.
In October 2025, Samsung C&T proposed the 200MW Block BESS near Townsville in Queensland, a modular battery system comprising 192 battery modules arranged in a grid configuration adjacent to the Ross River Substation, with operations planned through to 2059.
Never miss an Australian energy storage story. Sign up for our Australia newsletter and get the latest project announcements, policy updates and market analysis delivered directly to you.
Our publisher, Solar Media (part of Informa Group), will host the Battery Asset Management Summit Australia 2026 on 25-26 August at Amora Hotel Jamison in Sydney. You can find out more about the Summit on the official website.

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Thursday
July 23, 2026
Highlights
It was a quiet monsoon night in Narsingdi, sometime in the mid-1990s, when a handful of tin-roofed homes lit up without a single wire running to them.
There was no grid connection for kilometres. No transformer humming somewhere down the road, no pole carrying current from a distant power station. Just a panel bolted to a rooftop, a car battery wired into a back room, and a bulb that stayed on long after the sun went down. For families who had spent their evenings under the weak orange flicker of a kerosene lamp, it must have looked like something closer to a magic trick than a technology.
It wasn’t magic. It was the first real test of an idea that would, over the next two decades, reach into roughly four million rural homes.
It begins with two separate, uncoordinated attempts to solve the same problem, both converging — almost by accident — on the same stretch of central Bangladesh.
In 1996, a Grameen Bank engineer named Dipal C. Barua began experimenting with low-cost solar panels for rural households, riding on the microfinance network Grameen Bank had already spent two decades building. There was no financing model yet, no trained technicians, no supply chain. Panels were expensive, imported, and nobody in the village knew how to fix one when it broke. Barua was, in effect, building the plane while flying it. A year later, the state-run Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board ran its own experiment a few unions over — a formal pilot that put solar panels on roughly 850 homes in Narsingdi district. The same year, BRAC entered the picture too, launching its own solar energy programme.
By the early 2000s, roughly three-quarters of rural Bangladesh still had no electricity of any kind — the World Bank’s own account puts the rural electrification rate at under 27% when the national programme launched, with about 15 million rural households still unelectrified at that point. 
Instead of importing a financing model that had worked in Sri Lanka, as originally planned, the newly formed Infrastructure Development Company Limited built the national programme around Grameen Shakti’s existing network of rural vendors and microcredit relationships — leveraging, as the World Bank later described it, the domestic microfinance capacity and NGO/private-sector distribution Bangladesh already had, rather than building new institutions from scratch. IDCOL launched the Solar Home System programme in January 2003. The target was modest by later standards: 50,000 households in five years. It took three.
The decade of the rooftop panel
What followed was less a programme than a wave.
By 2013, IDCOL and its network of partner organisations — 56 of them by then — were installing tens of thousands of new systems every month, at one point crossing 80,000 units in a single month, with nearly two million systems on rooftops nationwide by January of that year. 
By 2018, IDCOL’s own figures — later confirmed in the World Bank’s 15-year retrospective — put the total at just over 4.1 million systems sold, bringing electricity to about 14% of the national population per the 2011 Census, or roughly 20 million people. The report notes this let a quarter of the rural population that was unelectrified in 2003 get power far sooner than grid expansion alone would have allowed. Systems were used mainly for lighting, mobile-phone charging, and running TVs and radios, and also powered about 200,000 rural businesses and religious facilities. A separate 2025 academic study on the programme’s socio-economic impact adds a geographic layer to the numbers: penetration was highest in Barisal division, at 39% of households, followed by Sylhet at 30%, with Chittagong also among the leaders — a pattern consistent with these being the divisions furthest from reliable grid coverage.
The World Bank separately estimated that between 2003 and 2018 the programme cut greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 9.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and avoided the consumption of 4.4 billion litres of kerosene for household lighting.
A lot of people were helped by the solar panels. Among them was Kusum, a 10-year-old student in a solar-electrified household, who told the World Bank that her lighting made a direct difference in her schoolwork: “We can study much better now. The solar lights have helped us a lot with our education.” 
What the grid did to the story
The same national ambition that made solar necessary — universal electricity access — eventually became the thing that undercut it. As Bangladesh’s conventional grid expanded aggressively through the 2010s, reaching 97% of the country by 2020, the very isolation that had made off-grid solar essential began to disappear. In some areas, the government began distributing solar systems for free under separate safety-net programmes, undercutting the loan-based model IDCOL and its partners had built their business around.
Grameen Shakti, still the largest partner organisation in the network, later described the programme as having entered a state of virtual closure from 2014 onward, as households increasingly stopped repaying loans on systems competing with a free, wired alternative next door. By 2023, IDCOL’s board had approved writing off or waiving roughly Tk691 crore in bad loans across 44 partner organisations, while Grameen Shakti itself sought a waiver of half its outstanding Tk420 crore balance.
 
The Solar Dividend
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Translated from the Japanese original
A single autumn leaf drifts down onto a solar panel. Or a bird casts a small shadow across it. These are trivial scenes from our everyday lives, yet for next-generation energy technology, they can deliver a fatal blow. A tiny area blocked from light can rob an entire panel of its power-generating capacity—and in the worst case, irreversibly destroy the material itself.
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Ever since the practical solar cell was invented at Bell Labs in 1954, the world’s solar power generation has been supported by heavy, black silicon panels. Silicon, an inorganic crystal, is robust and can endure decades of operation. In the process of absorbing light energy to generate electrons and holes and sending them out to an external circuit, silicon’s crystal structure remains extremely stable. Even when continuously exposed to intense ultraviolet light and harsh weather, its fundamental power-generation performance is not easily degraded.
However, because of its weight and rigidity, installation sites are limited to flat roofs and vast tracts of land. Panels rigidly protected by glass and metal frames place a heavy structural load on buildings. Furthermore, manufacturing high-purity silicon ingots requires operating furnaces at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius for extended periods. Silicon panels, produced with enormous energy consumption, take years to achieve energy payback. Faced with these physical and economic limits, researchers have continued searching for new solar cell materials that are lighter and cheaper to manufacture.
Thin-film solar cells emerged as a technology to break through these constraints. Using perovskite crystals with extremely high light-absorption rates, or flexible organic semiconductors, this technology achieves thicknesses less than one-hundredth that of silicon. These materials dissolve in solvents like ink, enabling continuous printing onto roll-shaped film via roll-to-roll manufacturing. Much like newspapers being printed from giant presses, a future of mass-producing solar cells is becoming a reality.
This dramatically lowers manufacturing costs and the energy consumed during production. Lightweight, bendable film-shaped solar cells hold the potential to transform virtually any surface—building walls, curved surfaces, tent fabric, even clothing—into a small power plant. Efforts to convert the very landscape of cities into an energy source are being researched worldwide as a crucial step toward a sustainable society.
In recent years, research institutions around the world have been racing to develop tandem solar cells that stack thin-film materials with different properties. Sunlight contains light of various wavelengths, from ultraviolet to infrared. It is physically almost impossible for a single material to convert all of this light into electricity without waste, because each material has a limited range of wavelengths it can absorb.
To address this, a structure was devised in which the perovskite material efficiently absorbs short-wavelength light such as blue and green to generate high voltage, while the underlying organic semiconductor captures the longer red and near-infrared wavelengths that the perovskite misses. By splitting the solar spectrum between two layers and having each material make full use of the wavelength range in which it excels, this approach achieves higher energy conversion efficiency than any single material could reach on its own. This layered structure is becoming a de facto standard in the design of next-generation solar cells.
Behind the brilliant conversion efficiencies, thin-film solar cells faced an enormous barrier to practical use: an abnormal vulnerability to localized shading.
Solar cell modules are constructed by connecting numerous small cells in series to raise the voltage to a practical level. Just as water flows through a single long pipe, the current generated by one cell is passed on to the next in sequence. When a shadow falls on part of this series circuit, the cell deprived of light stops generating power.
A cell that has stopped generating power turns into a massive resistor blocking the flow of current. The other cells, still generating power normally under sunlight, then try to force the current through anyway, applying a voltage in the opposite direction to what is normal onto the shaded cell. This phenomenon is called reverse bias. Just one fallen leaf sticking to a panel under strong sunlight is enough for the energy of the entire module to begin concentrating in that tiny shaded area.
In the case of silicon panels, this problem has been avoided because the thick crystal structure effectively disperses heat, and bypass diodes are attached to each cell to serve as a detour route. The moment a particular cell becomes a resistor, the diode opens and redirects the current onto a different, safe path. This prevents the entire panel from being destroyed even if part of it is shaded.
However, in thin-film devices continuously printed onto roll-shaped film, embedding countless microscopic diodes would enormously complicate the manufacturing process. Since this would undermine the greatest advantage of thin-film solar cells—low-cost mass production—adding physical circuitry is not a realistic option.
When reverse bias is applied to a thin-film solar cell lacking a bypass circuit, charges with nowhere to go concentrate at microscopic defect sites in the material. The localized heat generated there has nowhere to escape within the thin film, instantly burning through the bonds of organic molecules. After being covered by the shadow of a fallen leaf for just a few minutes, part of the panel scorches, permanently losing its power-generating capability.
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A research team led by Professor Li Gang at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University elucidated the mechanism of this reverse-bias-induced destruction at the atomic level and reported their findings in the journal Nature Materials. What they captured under the microscope was the internal structure of the bulk heterojunction, the heart of an organic solar cell.
A bulk heterojunction refers to a blended layer in which a donor material that releases electrons upon receiving light and an acceptor material that receives those electrons are intricately intertwined at the nanoscale. When two different materials are mixed together in a solvent and applied as a coating, a fine network forms through self-organization. Under ideal conditions, the two materials link together like a three-dimensional mesh, providing pathways for light-generated charges to flow smoothly to the electrodes. Within this vast network, electrons and holes head toward their respective exits without getting lost.
However, the research team discovered that slight non-uniformities arising during the manufacturing process cause the acceptor material to form “isolated clusters” cut off from the surrounding network. It is a state analogous to a vast road network dotted with dead-end paths that connect to nowhere.
During normal power generation, when electricity flows in the forward direction, these small isolated sections do not pose much of a problem, since many other correct pathways for charge flow exist. But when reverse bias is applied, the situation changes completely. These isolated clumps of material act like deep valleys, creating deep traps that capture charge and never let it escape.
The reverse-flowing charges fall into this trap one after another, becoming stranded in an extremely small region with nowhere to go. There, electrical energy accumulates beyond its limit, triggering irreversible dielectric breakdown of the material accompanied by intense heat generation. This trap causing current congestion was, in fact, the shadowy culprit that was killing thin-film solar cells.
Once the cause was identified, a path to a solution opened up. The research team precisely controlled the material mixing ratio and the post-coating processing temperature, thoroughly suppressing the formation of isolated clusters in the mixed region of donor and acceptor. By intervening in the process of molecular self-organization, they guided network formation so as not to create dead-end paths.
With the traps sealed off, charges flowing in under reverse bias no longer accumulate in one location. Charges that avoid accumulation instead pass safely through the material layer via quantum mechanical tunneling. The tunneling effect is a phenomenon in which particles pass through an energy barrier that they would ordinarily be unable to overcome. The team achieved a reversible reverse-tunneling phenomenon that lets current pass straight through without locally storing destructive energy. They effectively built into the material’s own structure the same function as a Zener diode, which protects a circuit by letting current escape once a certain reverse voltage is exceeded.
The team went further, building a tandem device with an n-i-p structure that stacked this toughened organic solar cell on top of an inorganic perovskite solar cell. In this configuration, the upper organic layer both absorbs light and serves as a physical breakwater protecting the fragile perovskite layer below from reverse-voltage stress.
In perovskite material alone, charge tends to concentrate at the fine grain boundaries of the crystals, making it extremely vulnerable to reverse bias. By stacking an optimized organic layer on top of it, a safe path for discharging charge is secured for the system as a whole. The organic layer controls and diverts the reverse-flowing current, preventing fatal damage to the perovskite layer. The two different materials compensate for each other’s weaknesses in two respects—improved power-generation efficiency and structural protection—creating a perfect synergy.
Rigorous laboratory testing proved the overwhelming durability of this structure. Whereas conventional thin-film materials completely lost function at a reverse voltage of around -10 V to -15 V, the new tandem solar cell does not undergo irreversible destruction even under a reverse bias as high as -35 V. In tests probing the absolute limits, the cell retained over 90% of its initial power-generation efficiency even after being subjected to an extreme reverse-bias load of -40 V.
Long-term stability testing was also conducted. To simulate real-world conditions in which a panel is shaded for an extended period, a stress endurance test was carried out applying a continuous reverse voltage of -4.5 V for 2,000 hours (approximately 83 days). Even at the end of this period, the cell retained 97% of its initial efficiency. At the same time, the power conversion efficiency itself was recorded at over 26%. These results completely rewrite the durability limits of existing thin-film solar cells.
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Through fine-grained control of nanoscale structure, tolerance to electrical stress under stable laboratory conditions has been clearly demonstrated. However, real outdoor environments are not so simple.
A concern remains as to whether repeated thermal cycling—extreme heat from direct summer sunlight followed by freezing winter nights—might promote phase separation in the material over time. It cannot be ruled out that isolated clusters, once suppressed, could re-form due to the cumulative effect of temperature fluctuations over several years. Verification is also needed on how well the reverse-tunneling phenomenon can keep up, without delay, with irregular shadow fluctuations caused by leaves swaying in the wind, where light and dark switch on a scale of seconds. Furthermore, the effect of humidity changes on the crystal structure of the perovskite layer is another factor that must be considered.
Whether the practical application of this technology succeeds also depends on establishing manufacturing techniques that can uniformly apply the precise mixing-process control achieved in a prototype of just a few square centimeters to an entire giant module measuring several meters on a side. This is because even slight temperature unevenness or differences in drying speed during the coating process could once again give rise to nanoscale traps.
How can the uniformity achieved on a small glass substrate in the laboratory be reproduced on a massive film being wound up at high speed? The greatest hurdle toward commercialization lies in scaling up the manufacturing process. The stage for this research is shifting from the atomic world under the microscope to outdoor test fields governed by complex weather conditions.
Sources:nature.com | polyu.edu.hk
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India’s solar push idles factories unable to shake reliance on China  Reuters
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Royal IHC Hands Over Next-Gen TSHD SEAWAY to Boskalis
Bangladesh Greenlights $1 Billion Private Shipbuilding Complex at Matarbari Deep-Water Port
GSI Delivers World’s First 10,000-CEU-Class PCTC with PV System to KOBC
HD Hyundai and Kiewit Offshore Services Forge Strategic Alliance to Boost U.S. Shipbuilding Capacity
GSI Delivers World’s First 10,000-CEU-Class PCTC with PV System to KOBC
HD Hyundai and Kiewit Offshore Services Forge Strategic Alliance to Boost U.S. Shipbuilding Capacity
Sinotrans Container Lines Returns to China Merchants Shipbuilding Qingshan Shipyard for Second Batch of Four 1,800 TEU Container Vessels
COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers Orders Eight Heavy-Lift Vessels at CSSC Chengxi Shipyard
Trafigura Charters Three Newbuild VLACs from EMF in $400M Deal
Royal IHC Hands Over Next-Gen TSHD SEAWAY to Boskalis
Saipem Secures Approximately USD 260 Million Offshore Drilling Contract
Cadeler’s Wind Orca Jack-Up Vessel Collides with Container Ship at Port of Tyne
Taihan Cable & Solution Takes Delivery of Second CLV Skandi Connector
Cadeler Takes Delivery of Its Second A-Class Newbuild Wind Ace
GTT receives an order from Samsung Heavy Industries for the tank design of one new LNG Carrier
Bureau Veritas Awards Design Assessment Certificates to Anemoi, Covering Full Rotor Sail Portfolio
Major Tripartite JDP Launched to Bring Wind-Assisted Propulsion to MR Tanker Sector
Saft Wins Major Naval Group Contract to Supply Li-ion Battery Systems for Barracuda and Scorpene Submarines
Everllence Targets Surging AI-Driven Data Center Demand with New 175D Backup GenSet
On July 21, Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), jointly with China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. (CSTC), successfully delivered the first 10,800 CEU LNG dual-fuel PCTC to the Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC) via a remote online signing ceremony. Following delivery, the vessel will be chartered to South Korea’s GLOVIS (Hyundai Glovis) for operation, undertaking vehicle transport services connecting Asia with Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.

It is understood that this vessel is the third 10,800 CEU LNG dual-fuel PCTC of this type delivered by GSI, and it is also the world’s first 10,000-CEU-class PCTC equipped with a photovoltaic power generation system.
This vessel is an LNG/fuel oil dual-fuel PCTC jointly developed by PCTC and the Shanghai Ship Research and Design Institute (SDARI). It is classified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) and is authorized to operate in all global navigation areas. The vessel has an overall length of 230 meters, a beam of 40 meters, a depth of 15.6 meters, a design draft of 9.1 meters, a maximum draft of 10.5 meters, and a service speed of 19 knots.
Powered by a dual-fuel system using both fuel oil and natural gas, the vessel is equipped with a shaft generator and a grid-connected photovoltaic system with a peak power output of 200 kilowatts. Based on an estimated daily sunshine duration of 5.5 to 7.0 hours, the photovoltaic system generates approximately 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day, delivering excellent energy-saving and consumption-reduction performance. The vessel meets IMO Tier III emission standards, and its onboard natural gas reserves are sufficient to cover the entire voyage.
This PCTC features 14 vehicle decks, of which 9 are fixed decks and 5 are retractable decks. Stern and side doors are located on the starboard side, enabling the loading of passenger cars, vans, trailers carrying freight containers, heavy-duty trucks, and other vehicle types. In addition to vehicles, the vessel can also carry certain dangerous goods packaged in accordance with the IMDG Code. The vessel is equipped with 16 sets of hydraulically powered movable ramps and two hydraulic lift decks, which significantly enhance the efficiency and operational stability of vehicle loading and unloading operations. It is fully capable of meeting the diverse operational requirements of the global ocean-going RoRo trade, offering exceptional adaptability and practicality.
The vessel was delivered more than 200 days ahead of the contract schedule. It is the 10,000 CEU LNG dual-fuel PCTC with the shortest construction cycle that GSI has built and delivered to date, providing valuable experience for the construction of subsequent vessels in the same series.
Founded in 2006, iMarine is the largest information website of shipbuilding industry in China, with our user groups covering 90% of China’s shipbuilding and related enterprises. Contact us to learn more about shipbuilding industry in China.
©2006-2023 iMarine.cn service@imarine.cn

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A rendition of a renewable energy plant in Barbados by a subsidiary of France based HDF Energy (Contributed)
French renewable-energy company HDF Energy said it has secured land in Jamaica for a proposed utility-scale solar, hydrogen and battery storage project, and wants investors, contractors, suppliers and operators to participate in its development.
“HDF Caribbean invites expressions of interest from qualified organisations interested in participating in the developments, financing, construction, operation and/or equity of a utility-scale solar plus hydrogen and battery storage project in Jamaica,” according to an advertisement placed in the Sunday Gleaner.
HDF said its site could support solar panels with peak capacity of more than 160 megawatts, along with battery and hydrogen storage. It would form part of the latest entity vying to contribute to the island’s target of generating 50 per cent of its energy from renewable resources by 2030.
If built, the project would rank among the larger renewable-energy developments proposed for Jamaica to date and could become part of the wider debate over power costs, grid reliability and the country’s shift away from fossil fuel.
“In April 2026 HDF successfully procured a significant acreage of greenfield property suitable for PV project development in Jamaica,” the company said in its Jamaica Expression of Interest, dated June 26, using the industry term for solar photovoltaic power.
The Jamaica project is being advanced by HDF Energy Caribbean Holdings Ltd, the Barbados-based Caribbean arm of Hydrogène de France SA, a French hydrogen infrastructure company listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange.
HDF’s figure refers to peak solar capacity, not continuous power delivered to the grid.
HDF said a preliminary environmental and social assessment has started, and a grid study is planned to test whether the plant can be safely connected to Jamaica’s electricity network. The company has not disclosed the parish or community where the land is located.
The company invites contractors, suppliers, operators, funds and investors to indicate their interest in participating. HDF said the information will be used to identify potential partners and pre-screen entities for later project-development steps. The company cautions, however, that the notice is preliminary.
“This expression of interest does not constitute a procurement process, request for proposal, offer, commitment or obligation of any kind,” HDF stated.
The model aims to combine solar power, hydrogen and battery storage to supply electricity beyond daylight hours.
HDF says the plant’s output could support “a highly predictable revenue stream under a capacity-based, long-term power purchase agreement.” A power purchase agreement, or PPA, is a contract to sell electricity from a generating plant to the grid controlled by the utility provider, Jamaica Public Service.
RENEWABLE PUSH
Separately, the Generation Procurement Entity, or GPE, has gone to the market for information on up to 220 megawatts of renewable energy generation and 110 megawatts/220 megawatt-hours of battery storage. It is not yet clear whether HDF’s proposal aims to bid on the tender.
Although the EOI is the clearest public disclosure yet of HDF’s proposed Jamaican project, the company has had visible contact with Jamaica’s energy and investment sectors since at least 2022.
JIS records show that HDF representatives met then Energy Minister Vaz in Kingston in September 2022, and later met Matthew Samuda, then minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, in New Kingston in July 2024. HDF also participated in the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum in Kingston in November 2023. In 2025, HDF Caribbean said it attended the Caribbean Investment Forum in Montego Bay, where it engaged with Jamaican and regional finance, infrastructure and investment interests.
REGIONAL FOOTPRINT
HDF’s closest regional comparison is Renewstable Barbados, a solar, hydrogen and battery storage project designed to supply firm renewable electricity. The Barbados project has secured up to US$41 million in Green Climate Fund financing, while the Green Climate Fund lists its total project value at US$169 million.
In Trinidad and Tobago, HDF acquired a 70 per cent majority stake in the NewGen hydrogen project, led by local developer Kenesjay Green Ltd. That project targets lower-carbon hydrogen for an existing ammonia plant in the Point Lisas petrochemical hub.
FINANCIAL BACKDROP
HDF’s Jamaica move comes as the French-listed group remains in project-development and investment mode. Consolidated revenue fell to €998,000 in 2025 from €11.1 million in 2024. The prior year’s figure included a one-off €9.7-million sale of first-generation fuel cells for the CEOG power project in French Guiana.
HDF posted a consolidated net loss of €5.75 million in 2025, compared with a loss of €10.86 million in 2024. The group held cash of €33.5 million at year end, down from €39.2 million a year earlier.
The annual report focused its Caribbean disclosures on Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
carolyn.guniss@rjrgleaner.com 
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As the U.S. continues to rise in the global solar manufacturing rankings, both physical security and cybersecurity measures are becoming top priorities for the American sector of the industry.
Most crucially, U.S. inverter manufactured has nearly tripled since the end of 2024. In response to this rising demand for cybersecurity, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has released a new report, outlining industry priorities with regard to security measures.
With a new inverter manufacturing facility opening for business this summer, the U.S. has fortified its solar production lines nationwide, SEIA says. Association president and CEO Tim Pawlenty stressed the importance of increased security measures as the industry moves into 2027 and beyond.
“As solar and storage continue to lead the way in adding new power capacity to the grid, cybersecurity must remain front and center,” he says. “From secure and resilient systems to expanding domestic manufacturing, this report lays out the actions our industry is taking to strengthen U.S. energy security, protect critical infrastructure, and stay ahead of emerging threats.”
The new report, “Cybersecurity Priorities for America’s Solar & Storage Industry,” says that the trade association is working with partners throughout the industry and the U.S. government to advance cybersecurity protocols for solar.
The company has outlined three key priorities for the solar and storage industry’s security strengthening process, including support of supply chain security, enhancing risk reduction, and strengthening baseline practices.
Attacks on critical infrastructure have risen in recent years, according to SEIA representatives, with even more of an outsized percentage of security risk going to the energy sector. These threats are “critical to national security,” the association adds, and are spiking in frequency as solar and other renewable energy sources continue to blossom on American shores.
“Cyberattacks on the solar and storage industry have not been nearly as frequent or severe as other areas of the energy sector or other critical infrastructure,” SEIA officials say. “However, as solar and storage continue to grow, cybersecurity protections become increasingly important to support grid reliability and resilience. SEIA is supporting the industry to proactively implement strong cybersecurity defenses as their importance on the grid increases.”
The associated cited Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in 2015, 2016, and 2022, as well as attacks on American power producer sPower in 2019. However, perhaps the most vulnerable and at-risk sectors are utility-scale solar installation thanks to their connection to the wider grid.
Another potential problem area the association outlines is distributed energy generation resources across the U.S., serving commercial, industrial, and residential customers near the physical area of consumption.
“Unlike utility-scale installations, smaller-scale solar and storage systems fall outside of NERC-CIP jurisdiction, leading to inconsistent baseline protections across the ecosystem,” the association says. “Additionally, unlike most utility-scale installations, many distributed systems rely on connections to the internet to connect to the grid and for monitoring and control functions. Internet-connected devices have been and continue to be attractive targets for attackers.”
SEIA says that emerging technologies like AI models have created new cybersecurity risks. If compromised by a cybersecurity attack, AI deployment could potentially cause full grid component failure.

The state of things in the U.S.

SEIA says it will dedicate its efforts to “advancing pragmatic cybersecurity policies,” and creating consequence-drive and established, grounded standards to improve security.
The association says it is actively supporting the solar and storage industry to comply with modern regulations for their sector of the industry. The association already serves as an industry advisory board member for the Department of Energy’s Securing Solar for the Grid program.
“While every part of the energy sector faces cybersecurity challenges, the solar and storage industry increasingly provides reliability services to the grid,” SEIA says. “Proactively addressing cybersecurity challenges in the industry is essential to supporting its continued growth.”

Tags: cybersecurity, policy, security, SEIA, storage, utility-scale


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Citi analysts upgraded three storage-focused stocks on Wednesday—Fluence Energy (FLNC) to Buy/High Risk with a $24 price target, Energy Vault (NRGV) to Buy/High Risk with a $5 price target, and Canadian Solar (CSIQ) to Neutral/High

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