Author: solarenergy
Policy incentives and hybrid solar-plus-storage projects are accelerating India’s energy storage sector, despite a slowdown in installations in the first half of the year. October 8, 2025 Uma Gupta By ESS news According to Mercom India’s “India’s Energy Storage Landscape 1H 2025 Report,” India’s energy storage capacity reached 490 MWh at the end of June. Karnataka accounted for 33% of the national capacity, Chhattisgarh 24% and Gujarat 16%. Solar-plus-storage systems represented nearly 56% of cumulative installed capacity. Solar and wind energy projects with 24-hour capacity contributed more than 32%, while standalone battery energy storage systems accounted for more than 12%.…
A team of researchers led by the University of Sydney has fabricated a three-junction perovskite-perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell that achieved an energy conversion efficiency of up to 27.06% and set new standards for thermal stability. October 8, 2025 David Caroll By pv magazine Australia Researchers from the University of Sydney have developed the largest and most efficient three-junction perovskite-perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell to date, achieving a record-breaking efficiency of 23.3% on a device with an aperture area of 16 cm2. The research team, led by University of SydneyAdjunct Professor Anita Ho-Baillie said that at a size of 1 cm2, the…
Renewables overtake coal, but growth slows: reports Solar and wind farms generated more electricity than coal this year for the first time ever, but U.S. and Chinese policy shifts are slowing growth, putting a global 2030 target out of reach, reports said Tuesday. The increase in renewable energy use marks a milestone in efforts to shift away from fossil fuels, which are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. According to Ember, an energy think tank, the share of renewables in global electricity production rose to 34.3 percent in the first half of the year,…
Germany has concluded a new renewable energy tender for innovative projects, securing 485 MW of capacity at final prices ranging from €0.0479 ($0.0557)/kWh to €0.0559/kWh October 8, 2025 Sandra Enkhardt By pv magazine Germany Germany recently concluded a tender innovative sustainable energy projects. The exercise yielded 163 bids with a total capacity of 2,182 MW. The authorities have awarded 33 projects with a total capacity of 485.7 MW. All selected projects related to PV installations combined with energy storage. The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) said this rates ranged from €0.0479 ($0.0557)/kWh to €0.0559/kWh, with an average price of €0.0531/kWh.…
Shell and Chongqing-based QAES have introduced what they call the world’s first immersion-cooled battery system, adapting data center cooling methods to grid-scale energy storage. October 8, 2025 Vincent Shaw By ESS news Shell (Shanghai) and Chongqing-based QingAn Energy Storage (QAES) have announced a strategic partnership to bring immersion cooling technology – a method long used in high-performance data centers – to the world of grid-scale and commercial battery storage. The two companies unveiled what they described as the world’s first direct-cooled immersion battery energy storage system (BESS) at an energy forum in Chongqing on September 24. The system is positioned…
The energy price cap is expected to fall in January 2026 as a result of today’s increase, although the drop will be short-lived.Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight predicts that the Default Tariff Cap – which sets a maximum unit rate and fixed charge that customers can be charged for their energy use – will fall by around £30 per year for most customers in January, to £1,725 per year. The current cap is £1,755 and runs from today (October 1) until the end of the year.Cornwall Insight said its forecast includes the expected introduction of the Nuclear Regulated Asset Base (RAB)…
Chinese developer Chint Solar and British developer Voltis are poised to develop 5GW of renewable energy and energy storage projects in the UK.Through a new joint venture (JV), the two companies plan to develop a portfolio of more than 15 projects, ranging from solar, wind and battery projects with a capacity of less than 100 MW to “750 MW+” Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).The companies said all “necessary land rights” for the portfolio have been secured and that they plan to develop hybrid solar, wind and storage projects. The announcement did not include a timetable for development.The JV – called…
Researchers have developed a still water layer cooling concept and tested it with seawater, tap water and desalinated water. The panel temperature dropped by up to 8.2°C, while the power increased by approximately 28%. October 8, 2025 Lior Kahana An international research team has proposed a new stagnant water layer cooling technology for solar panels. “This work introduces a simple, cheap and innovative method for the immersion cooling of PV modules, so that the junction box and aluminum frame remain isolated from liquid contact,” the researchers explained. To evaluate the system’s performance, the team built an experimental setup and tested…
By Brad Kramer October 8, 2025 Subsidiaries of Dominion Energy Far out electricity contracts for renewable energy and storage projects in Virginia and North Carolina. In an annual request for proposals (RFP), Dominion Energy Virginia (DEV) and Dominion Energy North Carolina (Denc) are looking for proposals for Structural Purchasing Agreements (PPA) with new projects for solar energy, Onshore Wind and Energy Storage. The PPAs will support the future energy needs of Virginia and North Carolina, as set out in the most recent of the Dominion Integrated Resource Plan. The projects associated with the PPAs will support local jobs, increase the…
The Japanese Aomori prefecture introduces a capacity-based levy on large onshore wind and solar projects, using destination criteria to tailor renewable expansion to environmental, historical and cultural priorities. October 8, 2025 Brian Publicover Aomori prefecture in North Japan has launched a new tax on large-scale renewable energy projects, according to a statement this week from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). It said that the new coexisty tax for renewable energy will apply to future onshore wind projects above 500 kW and solar projects above 2,000 kW. The tax will be levied according to the total installed…