Author: solarenergy

Spain’s electricity grid has lost almost 2.8 GW of available capacity in two months, raising substation saturation to 85.7% and leaving more than 5,200 facilities without spare capacity, a new analysis shows. January 22, 2026 Pilar Sanchez Molina By pv magazine Spain Spain’s electricity grid is under increasing pressure after losing almost 2.8 GW of available capacity in just two months, pushing overall saturation to 85.7%, according to the latest update of a survey by the Industry and Energy Forum and consultancy Opina 360. The study, based on data as of December 1, 2025, assessed 6,108 substations operated by Spain’s…

Halocell Energy is expected to benefit from the development of a sovereign supply chain for high-purity perovskite precursors, after signing a memorandum of understanding with Queensland advanced materials company Lava Blue. January 22, 2026 Ev Foley By pv magazine Australia Halocell energy will benefit from the development of a sovereign supply chain for high-purity perovskite precursors, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Queensland advanced materials company Lava Blue. Lava Blue and New South Wales (NSW) head office Halocell Energy team up to develop scalable, Australian-made specialty chemicals used in printing perovskite solar panels. The MOU builds…

Chinese manufacturer Sungrow has introduced a new utility string inverter, a three-phase hybrid inverter for commercial and industrial (C&I) applications and a liquid-cooled energy storage system. January 22, 2026 Lior Kahana Sungrow has developed several new products for large-scale and C&I solar projects, including a utility string inverter, a three-phase hybrid inverter and a liquid-cooled C&I energy storage system. The new products include the SG465HX string inverter, the PowerStack ST255CS liquid-cooled C&I energy storage system and the SH125CX three-phase hybrid inverter for C&I applications. “The latest technologies reflect Sungrow’s continued focus on system-level innovation, improved grid compatibility and practical solutions…

The NC Center for Clean Energy Technology (NCCETC) published a report finding that 49 states, plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico, had adopted distributed solar policies by 2025. The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) has released its 2025 Annual Review and Q4 Update edition of “The 50 states of solar energy”, a quarterly series providing insight into regulatory and legislative discussions and actions related to distributed solar policy. The policies related to net metering, community solar, and residential utility rate increases. The most active states were Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut, Virginia, Maine, and New Jersey. 2025 Policy Action on Distributed…

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Maryland’s largest utility, introduced a program Tuesday that would provide free batteries to medically vulnerable customers. If adopted, the program would provide a solution for continuous power supply for customers at risk during power outages. Baltimore gas and electricity BGE’s pilot program would provide free utility batteries to eligible multifamily facilities with medically vulnerable residents. The batteries would support the electric grid by participating in a virtual power plant and maintaining a state of charge that ensures energy availability for medically vulnerable customers during emergencies. As part of this pilot, BGE plans to install 3…

IEA-PVPS Task 15 has launched its first cross-comparison exercise in the field of colored building-integrated solar photovoltaics (BIPV), inviting PV modelers and researchers to evaluate their methods using real-world performance data. January 22, 2026 IEA-PVPS IEA PVPS Task 15 has launched its first cross-comparison exercise in the field of colored building-integrated solar photovoltaics (BIPV), inviting PV modelers and researchers to evaluate their methods using real-world performance data. The activity aims to assess how accurately current models can predict the performance of colored BIPV systems and to quantify the differences between various modeling approaches. The results will be analyzed and published…

Austrian engineering group Andritz has signed an agreement to supply the pumped turbine units for a 500 MW pumped storage facility in South Korea, the country’s first new pumped storage project in more than a decade. January 22, 2026 Patrick Jowett Rendering of the new pumped storage installation Image: Korea Hydro & Nuclear Energy By ESS news Austrian technology group Andritz has been selected by South Korean industrial company Doosan Enerbility to supply its turbine units for the pumped storage plant in Yeongdong. The 500 MW Yeongdong project, which will be built in South Korea’s southwestern Chungcheong province, is a…

A report from McKinsey and Company says the relative ease of building out solar projects means the US and Europe are likely to meet their deployment targets by the end of the decade, despite current gaps in the pipeline of around 205 GW and 181 GW. January 22, 2026 Patrick Jowett The US and Europe are likely to meet their 2030 solar energy targets, despite current project pipelines being smaller than their end-of-decade targets, according to a report from global management consultancy McKinsey and Company. McKinseys “Tracking the energy transition: where are we now?” The report analyzes the trajectory of…

A new scientific review describes how a little-understood class of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries could support safer, higher energy storage while reducing reliance on critical metals such as cobalt and nickel. Researchers have synthesized and analyzed recent global advances in cation-ordered rock salt, or DRX, cathode materials, which are emerging as a promising alternative to the layered cathodes that dominate lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles, consumer electronics and networked storage systems. Unlike conventional layered materials, DRX cathodes rely on a flexible crystal structure in which lithium and transition metal ions are randomly mixed rather than arranged in well-ordered…

Spanish tracker manufacturer Solar Steel has introduced an improved single-row 2P tracker designed to simplify assembly, improve standardization and support deployment in complex terrain, including agricultural voltaic projects. January 22, 2026 Pilar Sanchez Molina By pv magazine Spain Solar Steel has unveiled the TracSmarT+2P, an enhanced version of its 2P single-string tracker, previously marketed as the Compact model, and now also available in a dual-string configuration with row lengths up to 41 meters. The company said the new design builds on the original concept with changes aimed at improving versatility and adaptability for PV projects of different scale and site…