Author: solarenergy

Repsol and Sunfire are advancing 200 MW of sustainable hydrogen projects in Spain, while new collaborations and financing across Europe and India aim to accelerate the development of electrolysers and hydrogen infrastructure. January 30, 2026 Sergio Matalucci Repsol has approved its second 100 MW electrolyzer at the Petronor industrial complex in Bilbao. “The electrolyzer will have the capacity to produce up to 15,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually, which will be used mainly at the company’s Petronor refinery outside Bilbao in northern Spain,” said the Spanish oil and gas company, adding that the new renewable hydrogen production plant will require…

The Finnish start-up says its sand battery technology is scalable from 20 to 500 MWh with a charging capacity of 1 to 20 MW, depending on industrial needs. January 30, 2026 Marija Maisch By ESS news Finnish cleantech startup TheStorage says its thermal storage technology could reduce industrial energy costs by as much as 70% and reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 90%. The system converts sustainable electricity into heat, stores it in sand and supplies it on demand for industrial heating. The concept originated in Finland in 2023 and engineering work started in 2024. In January 2026, TheStorage…

Octopus Energy Group, Britain’s largest energy supplier, has announced a new joint venture (JV) with Chinese company PCG Power.The joint venture, called Bitong Energy, focuses on the Chinese spot energy market, where energy is bought and sold in real time. PCG Power is an investor and provider of solutions in the commercial and industrial (C&I) renewable energy sector. Octopus will provide trading and optimization technology to the JV.Bitong Energy aims to trade up to 140 TWh of renewable energy annually by 2030, generating annual profits of around £50 million. It aims to reach a valuation of more than £500 million…

Scientists have grown organic romaine lettuce under thirteen different types of PV modules, in an unusually hot Canadian summer. Their analysis showed that lettuce yield increased by more than 400% compared to unshaded control plants. January 30, 2026 Lior Kahana A research group from Canada’s Western University has investigated the performance of organic romaine lettuce, a heat-sensitive crop, under a wide range of agrivoltaic conditions. The test was conducted in London, Ontario, in the summer of 2025, during 18 days of temperatures above 30 C. “Our study investigates how agrivoltaic systems can be adapted to optimize crop growth, especially under…

UK power generator Drax has signed a toll agreement with West Burton C to gain full operational control and dispatch rights for a 250MW/500MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in the UK.West Burton C, a subsidiary of British battery company Fidra Energy, will make a final investment decision on the BESS project in the third quarter of this year and, should the project go ahead, the company expects to begin commercial operations at the facility in 2028.Once work starts, Drax will pay a fixed annual toll rate, indexed to the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI), for ten years to gain…

SUPSI researchers found that six Swiss PV systems installed in the late 1980s and early 1990s exhibit exceptionally low degradation rates of just 0.16% to 0.24% per year after more than 30 years of use. The research shows that thermal load, ventilation and material design play a greater role in the long-term reliability of modules than height or irradiation alone. January 30, 2026 Emiliano Bellini A research group led by the Swiss University of Applied Sciences (SUPSI) has conducted a long-term analysis of six south-facing, grid-connected PV systems installed in Switzerland in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The researchers…

By pv magazine USA Demand for electricity is increasing and solar energy generation is being put under pressure like never before for reliability and affordability. Developers are looking pragmatically at opportunities and investing in generation to meet demand using the most cost-effective solution for the location. Solar shows that it can still perform on its own. In addition to the availability of fuel sources, there is the issue of interconnection and grid availability. Large-scale solar energy projects that maintain energy costs at the same level over the life of the installation encounter planning problems related to the electricity grid. interconnection…

Solar cycle has started recycling solar panels at its new facility in Cedartown, Georgia. The 255,000 feet2 The recycling facility is home to SolarCycle’s proprietary next-generation advanced recycling technology, which delivers more than double the throughput of the company’s first-generation recycling lines. The new process enables 100% diversion from landfill and recovers 96% of the value from silver, copper, aluminum, glass and other crucial minerals in a solar panel. The site now processes thousands of solar panels per week and will continue to scale up to one million panels per year by the end of 2026. At full capacity, the…

In a new weekly update for pv magazineOPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a brief overview of the major price trends in the global PV industry. January 30, 2026 OPIS Chinese TOPCon cell prices rose for the fourth week in a row, led by higher production costs due to rising silver prices and ongoing discussions about eliminating export tax credits. In contrast, PERC cell prices fell due to declining demand, driven by the industry’s ongoing technology shift to TOPCon cells, trading sources said. According to the OPIS Global Solar Markets Report published on January 20, Chinese TOPCon M10 cell prices…

Dutch utility Eneco is testing low-noise air-to-water heat pumps from startup Whspr in about twenty homes, with the aim of easing installation restrictions near property boundaries. The systems reportedly achieve coefficients of performance of up to 5 and show noise reductions of up to 80% in laboratory tests. January 30, 2026 Emiliano Bellini Dutch utility Eneco has started testing an ‘innovative’ type of air-to-water heat pump with low noise levels in residential buildings. The company says conventional heat pumps rely on outdoor units that emit a constant hum, requiring installations several meters away from property lines under Dutch building regulations…