Author: solarenergy

IPP Elgin has secured up to £500 million in funding from a banking syndicate, which it says it will use to cover the construction of up to 1GW of solar and energy storage.The fully integrated utility-scale independent power producer (IPP) said the projects earmarked for the financing will be powered over the coming years, ahead of the UK government’s 2030 clean energy target. The banking group includes BNP Paribas, Siemens Bank, Société Générale, Standard Chartered and NatWest. NatWest also acted as the sole structuring and coordinating bank. While the full pipeline of projects to be funded by the funding was…

A new report from Metal Focus shows that the global silver market remains structurally tight, with high prices, a fifth consecutive annual supply shortage by 2025 and continued mining and recycling restrictions despite modest production growth. At the same time, demand for PV silver is falling sharply due to cost pressure and thrift. April 15, 2026 Emiliano Bellini The global silver market remains structurally tight despite weaker demand from the photovoltaic sector, with high prices and limited supply continuing to shape the PV production landscape. According to the latter World Silver Survey 2026 According to independent research consultancy Metals Focus,…

Greenvolt Next, part of the Greenvolt Group, will supply two solar power plants to the British energy producer Infinis.Greenvolt Next signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Infinis covering the latter’s 49.99 MW California Solar Park in Stockton-on-Tees, and the 43.8 MW Gowerton Solar Park in Swansea. Construction of the California solar power plant began in March this year, followed shortly by construction in Gowerton, and both sites are scheduled to be completed by summer 2027. Infinis will operate the plants when completed. Both locations have co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS). Each was acquired by Infinis after…

By pv magazine USA Smart electrical panel manufacturer Span has announced a new partnership with technology and semiconductor giant Nvidia to develop XFRA, a network of devices that convert unused electrical capacity in homes and small businesses into a distributed computing cloud. The network works by placing XFRA Nodes at customers’ homes and businesses and coordinating them to serve the data center workload. According to a video posted by Span CEO Arch Rao on LinkedIn, each node contains Dell PowerEdge servers with 16 Nvidia RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell GPUs, 4 AMD EPYC CPUs and 3 TB of RAM, connected to…

The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) says investment in distribution networks has increased by 51% since 2021, but warns that fragmented planning rules and regulatory disruptions could limit efficiency and delay the energy transition. April 15, 2026 Brian Publicover Investments in Europe’s distribution network increased by 51% to €35.3 billion ($41.6 billion) per year between 2021 and 2024, and are expected to rise another 32% to €46.7 billion in 2027, according to a recently published ACER report. The figures, from 191 major distribution system operators in 25 EU member states and Norway – excluding Bulgaria and…

Researchers in Spain developed a porous silica anti-reflective coating for solar panels that improves optical transmission while balancing durability and mechanical stability through optimized sol-gel chemistry. April 15, 2026 Lior Kahana A research team led by the Spanish Center for Energy, Environment and Technological Research (CIEMAT) has developed a new anti-reflective coating (AR) for use in solar panels. “By jointly tuning the concentration of pore-forming agents, the thermal treatment and the chemistry of silica precursors, we show that it is possible to tailor coatings that combine near-unity permeability with mechanical and environmental stability suitable for real solar installations,” says corresponding…

Chinese manufacturer Mova is entering a competitive small-scale energy storage field, known for its kitchen appliances and growing robotic home goods, including vacuum cleaners and more. April 15, 2026 Tristan Rayner By ESS news A relative newcomer to the home appliance sector is Chinese appliance manufacturer Mova, which together with its subsidiary Dreame has a wide range of kitchen appliances and robots, ranging from robot vacuum cleaners to lawn mowers to pool cleaners and more, which it offers under the slogan of intelligent home living. Bee CES 2026some of the largest stands on display ESS news were the Mova and…

A year-long study in the UK shows that vertical bifacial PV systems achieve up to 26.91% higher yields during the morning hours compared to traditional tilted PV systems. The vertical two-sided system improved on the tilted system in all four seasons, with an average power gain of as much as 24.52% in winter. April 15, 2026 Patrick Jowett Vertical, dual-sided rooftop PV systems can outperform conventional, tilted, single-sided rooftop PV systems in all seasons the United Kingdomas shown by a year-long study. Research by the University of York has carried out the first empirical assessment of a vertical bifacial rooftop…

The country’s latest call for long-term power purchase agreements focuses on supplying the national grid with wind and solar projects, specifically mandating integrated battery storage systems to ensure grid resilience. April 14, 2026 Luis Ini By pv magazine Latam The Dominican Republic and its Unified Council of Distribution Companies (CUED) have released the financial bids for a major public tender aimed at integrating up to 600 MW of new renewable generation into its national electricity grid. The purchasing process is distinguished by requiring strong capacity and network stability through mandatory energy storage. Officials reviewed 20 proposals from qualified developers seeking…

Ransomware cyber attacks are an important category of cyber threats that target digital and cyber-physical systems and rely on data availability and system integrity. In PV environments, where continuous monitoring and control are required, ransomware can seriously impact operational continuity by denying access to essential systems and information. These attacks involve malicious software that infiltrates a system, encrypts files or entire platforms, and demands payment, often in cryptocurrency, in exchange for restoring access. Unlike denial-of-service attacks that overwhelm systems or credential attacks that silently infiltrate them, ransomware locks operators out directly from their own infrastructure. As a result, operators may…