Author: solarenergy

While global corporate financing for solar fell to the lowest level since 2020 in 2025, the number of deals rose to the highest level since 2017. According to Mercom Capital Group, investors favored smaller, less risky, execution-ready projects last year amid policy uncertainty, trade pressure and higher financing costs. January 21, 2026 Patrick Jowett Global corporate financing in the solar sector totaled $22.2 billion through 175 deals in 2025, according to data published by Mercom Capital Group in its Annual Report on Solar Financing and Mergers and Acquisitions 2025. The total investment figure, which includes venture capital financing, public market…

Energy storage company Zenobē is currently legally challenging the LDES (Long Dur Energy Storage) cap program, claiming it unfairly favors LDES technologies. The company took the case to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in late October 2025, after previously raising public concerns about the design of the cap and floor scheme. Court documents show the company claims the plan’s design “threatens to distort competition” by pitting subsidized LDES projects against unsubsidized lithium-ion BESS projects.Zenobē told the Tribunal that by giving subsidized LDES projects access to the same markets as established short-term technologies, Ofgem risked “creating an uneven playing field that undermines…

DEC’s ‘Dongchu No. 1’ prototype completed more than 100 charge-discharge cycles at 65 meters depth in a freshwater lake. January 21, 2026 Vincent Shaw Image: China Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) By ESS news Dongfang Research Institute, a subsidiary of China Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC), has announced the completion of a 10-day full-scale underwater trial of China’s first submerged energy system with kilowatt-scale pumped storage, marking a step forward in the development of alternative long-term storage technologies in the country. The system, branded ‘Dongchu No. 1’, was tested in Minhu Lake in Sanming, Fujian Province, at a water depth of 65…

The three new utility-scale projects in Region Ten of Guyana, with a combined capacity of 15 MW, are part of broader plans to deploy 33 MW of large-scale solar power with associated energy storage in four of the country’s regions. January 21, 2026 Patrick Jowett Image: Oskar Kadaksoo, Unsplash The government of Guyana has unveiled plans for three utility-scale solar farms in region ten of the country with a cumulative capacity of 15 MW. The three projects, worth $22.6 million, consist of a 3MW, 4MW and 8MW solar array that will be built on separate sites and will be supported…

Research at one of the largest solar facilities in the Mojave Desert indicates that a rare annual plant is not only surviving, but thriving under a construction approach designed to preserve desert soils and seed banks. Researchers monitoring the Gemini Solar Project northeast of Las Vegas documented a sharp increase in the number and size of triangle milk vetch installations two years after the panel’s installation compared to pre-construction conditions. The work, led by ecologist Tiffany Pereira of the Desert Research Institute (DRI), is detailed in a study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution in late November 2025. The…

The U.S. Federal Patent Office rejected separate requests from JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar and Mundra Solar to invalidate intellectual property that First Solar claims is fundamental to the production of crystalline silicon solar cells. January 21, 2026 Ryan Kennedy The headquarters of the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, United States Image: Coolcaesar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 By pv magazine USA The director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office has denied three separate review applications seeking to invalidate patents related to Frist Solar’s tunnel oxide passivated contact technology (TOPCon). JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar attempted to…

A research group from the European Commission’s Joint Research Center has developed a new PV climate classification, the first to take into account the annual yield and performance ratio. Their work resulted in 10 globally applicable clusters. “It challenges the assumption that many more classes are needed to capture the PV-relevant climate,” the researchers said. January 20, 2026 Lior Kahana A group from the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) has proposed a new classification of climate zones for PV systems. Unlike previous frameworks, the approach takes into account annual energy yield and performance ratio, making it directly relevant for…

Estuary power has brought online the Escape Solar and Storage project in Lincoln County, Nevada. The power of the 185 MWAC The 400 MWh solar battery storage project has been purchased primarily by casino and entertainment complexes operating on the Las Vegas strip. Escape solar and storage Escape Solar and Storage will provide 70 MW of solar energy to Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas, with the remaining 115 MW of solar energy and 400 MWh of storage going to MGM Resorts International. “Estuary is proud to serve some of Nevada’s most recognized commercial and public energy customers with economical…

The Australian scientists designed the cell with a sodium sulfide additive to achieve a uniform distribution of sulfur and selenium, improving charge transport.This controlled elemental layering reduces energy barriers and defects, enabling a certified efficiency of 10.7%. January 20, 2026 David Caroll By pv magazine Australia University of New South Wales (UNSW) engineers have improved the performance of solar cells made from antimony chalcogenide (Sb2(S,Se)3), achieving a champion power conversion efficiency of 11.02% in the laboratory and a certified efficiency of 10.7%. Due to its optoelectronic properties, high absorption coefficient, material availability, and ability to be deposited at low temperatures,…

Silver prices hit a record high of $94.73/oz on January 19. Silver analyst Philip Newman explains pv magazine the metal could soon surpass $100/oz, increasing pressure on PV module manufacturers to reduce silver use. January 20, 2026 Emiliano Bellini The price of silver continues to rise, reaching an all-time high of $94.73 per ounce (oz) yesterday. For comparison, the average silver price in 2024 was $28.27 per ounce. “I think we could soon cross the $100 threshold,” said Philip Newman, director of British market research firm Metals Focus. pv magazine. “If the prices are this close, it seems very likely.”…