Author: solarenergy

February marked a turning point in the French electricity market in early 2026, with negative prices emerging for the first time, intraday volatility peaking and battery energy storage systems (BESS) capturing growing revenue opportunities. March 6, 2026 Gwénaëlle Deboutte By pv magazine France Storio Energy, a B2B battery energy storage company, has published its updated electricity price observatory for February 2026. After a tense January, February showed early late winter dynamics: negative prices, strong intraday spread and the first effects of the 15-minute market interval. The month had two different periods. The first ten days maintained the winter profile, with…

Researchers in the US have developed a set of guidelines and protocols to assess the performance of three-terminal (3-T) and four-terminal (4-T) tandem solar cells, including those with subcells made of III-V, CdTe, perovskites or silicon materials. March 6, 2026 Valerie Thompson Researchers at the National Laboratory of the Rockies in the US have formulated a comprehensive performance measurement framework for three-terminal (3-T) and four-terminal (4-T) tandem solar cells. “Our work introduces the first comprehensive performance measurement framework specifically for three-terminal (3-T) and four-terminal (4-T) tandem solar cells, including perovskite-based devices,” Tao Song, corresponding author of the study, told us.…

US companies SolSource Solutions and TriBeam Financial have launched a prepaid residential solar and storage financing product designed to unlock federal tax benefits of up to 40%. March 6, 2026 Ryan Kennedy By pv magazine USA SolSource Solutions and TriBeam Financial have announced the launch of Propel, a financing product for residential solar and storage. The platform integrates third-party ownership (TPO) structures with a point-of-sale lending system to finance advance payments in the energy agreement. The product uses a prepaid power purchase agreement or leasing model. Homeowners pay the total contract value at the beginning of the term, often with…

The Virginia State Corporation Commission has approved the continued use of a grid security device that could make midsize solar projects financially exorbitant. In early February, the state’s SCC authorized the utility Dominion Energy to continue making demands direct transfer journey (DTT) for interconnected solar and storage projects, which prevent distributed energy sources from generating power when operating independently of the grid, or ‘islanding’, when not necessary. Producing isolated power in this way can pose safety risks, such as keeping power lines energized during a power outage. But critics of DTT believe that existing utility and inverter safety protocols can…

Qcells announced in a press release today, the company resumed solar panel assembly at its Cartersville, Georgia, facility after customs clearance delays. The factory plans to continue solar panel assembly and integrate block, wafer and cell production this year with an annual capacity of 3.3 GW, a company spokesperson said. Qcells Dalton, Georgia manufacturing facility. “We’re proud to get back to work producing the American energy the country needs now,” said Marta Stoepker, chief communications officer at Qcells. “Like any business, there have been and will continue to be obstacles that require us to adapt and be agile, but our…

Solar Ireland told the Irish government that the Private Wires Bill’s proposed definition of private wires could result in rooftop solar installations being subject to the full electricity licensing requirement, which would place significant additional demands on the energy regulator and delay installations. March 6, 2026 Blathnaid O’Dea Solar Ireland CEO Ronan Power addressed the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy in the Irish Parliament this week. He warned that the rapid deployment of rooftop solar panels in Ireland could be inadvertently delayed under the current wording of the Private Wires Bill. The Private Wires Bill was passed by…

Global solar supply chains are facing renewed price pressure as weak post-holiday demand in China collides with high polysilicon inventories, driving down wafer costs and putting pressure on exporters ahead of policy changes. March 6, 2026 Vincent Shaw Polysilicon prices have fallen again in China as weak post-holiday demand was accompanied by high inventories and returning supply. The silicon industry branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA) reported a sharp weekly decline on March 4, with average n-type primary polysilicon down 6.58% weekly to CNY48,300 ($7,002) per metric ton (MT) and n-type granular silicon down 12.87% to CNY44,000/MT.…

BP and Iberdrola say their 25 MW green hydrogen project in Spain is close to commissioning, while Moeve has approved a final investment decision for a 300 MW project in Spain. March 6, 2026 Sergio Matalucci Castellón Green Hydrogenthe joint venture between bp and Iberdrola España, said The 25 MW green hydrogen project has reached 90% completion of the assembly phase and all equipment is now on site, including an electrolyzer system supplied by Plug Power. About 25 Spanish companies are involved in the construction of the factory. The commissioning period, including testing to monitor equipment operation and performance, is…

The Chinese electric vehicle maker said the new batteries can be charged from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes and from 10% to 97% in 9 minutes. The company also announced a new generation of its Flash Charging technology. March 6, 2026 Lior Kahana Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has announced the second generation of its Blade Battery. In a post on In extreme cold of -30 C, it charges from 10% to 97% in 12 minutes. Charge the future faster than ever BYD introduces the 2nd generation blade battery and FLASH charging technology, pushing the boundaries of safety, efficiency…

Planned or under-construction solar and wind power projects slowed last year, analysis showed Tuesday, casting doubt on whether countries will meet the target of tripling renewable capacity by the end of the decade. Dozens of countries agreed in 2023 to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 as part of efforts to limit global warming. But announcements and construction starts of new wind and solar projects grew 11 percent in 2025 – up from 22 percent the previous year, as wind development projects faced hurdles, according to the Global Energy Monitor (GEM). “Wind developers faced political barriers and a series of…