Author: solarenergy

Virya Energy will deploy BayWa re’s local team in Japan to strengthen its position in the country’s lucrative power purchase agreement (PPA) market. The Belgian company will also rely on its Asian subsidiary Constant Energy, headquartered in Thailand. December 16, 2025 Blathnaid O’Dea Belgium-based Virya Energy has acquired BayWa re’s Japanese solar business to expand into the Japanese renewable energy market. Under the terms of the deal, BayWa re’s Japanese team will transition to the Virya Energy brand, providing their local market knowledge to the Belgian company, which will also acquire BayWa re’s existing portfolio of more than 60 MW…

Excess manufacturing equipment from solar energy maker GAF Energy is being auctioned off after the company announced it would close its R&D facility in San Jose, California, and move its headquarters to Texas. Equipment at the San Jose facility. Roofing specialist GAF started an energy division and launched a nailable Timberline Solar shingle in January 2022. The company initially operated out of a 50 MW factory in San Jose and then opened a second manufacturing site in Georgetown, Texas in 2023. At last check, the Georgetown site has an annual production capacity of 250 MW and its employees produce solar…

China’s Juhang Energy Technology met with representatives of Pakistan’s Board of Investment to discuss the implementation of a solar panel manufacturing facility in Pakistan, targeting both domestic demand and potential exports. December 15, 2025 Patrick Jowett Image: Chirayu, Trivedi, Unsplash China’s Hebei Juhang Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd. plans to set up a large-scale solar panel manufacturing plant in Pakistan. A delegation from the company, led by Chairman Wang Jianbin and representatives of the China-Pakistan Business Forum, met with Pakistan’s Federal Minister for the Board of Investment (BOI), Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh and other BOI board members last week. According to…

Market trends suggest that battery energy storage systems (BESS) are likely to operate at 1.5 cycles per day, reducing effective storage costs to as low as INR 2.8/kWh (0.031/kWh), the ministry said on Monday. December 15, 2025 Marija Maisch By ESS news India’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement on Monday that the cost of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in India has fallen sharply in recent years. Tariff-based competitive bidding during 2022-2023 revealed costs of approximately INR 10.18/kWh ($0.11/kWh), assuming two full cycles per day. However, recent tenders indicate that BESS can now be installed for approximately INR…

Germany has connected the world’s first supercapacitor-based STATCOM to the grid, with Siemens Energy and transmission system operator TenneT positioning it as a blueprint to replace fossil fuel generators by providing instant reserve and reactive power. December 15, 2025 Marian Willuhn By pv magazine Germany A supercapacitor-based grid stabilization system has been put into operation in Mehrum, Germany, marking a world first in power system control technology. Siemens Energy and transmission system operator TenneT have installed an electronic static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) with supercapacitor storage, which the companies describe as the first system of its kind to be deployed on…

Fylde Council has unanimously approved the construction of Vattenfall’s 49.9MW solar power station near Preston, Lancashire.Vattenfall, a Swedish state-owned energy company, said it will now consider the consent decree in detail before confirming the future schedule for its Clifton Marsh project.The company said it designed the project to deliver biodiversity benefits. As a result, Clifton Marsh delivers a net gain of 61.32% for area-specific habitats, a net gain of 14.20% for hedgerow habitats and 11.75% for watercourse habitats.Vattenfall also confirmed that a community benefits fund is in development and that it has had early discussions with the solar plant’s local…

This is evident from data from Solar Media Market Research Battery Storage: UK Pipeline & Completed Assets Database Report.Pre-application submissions for battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in November totaled 615 MW/1,230 MWh of capacity, while full planning applications reached a capacity of 870 MW/1,740 MWh.Submitting a pre-application is a voluntary process that allows developers to talk to local councils and decision-makers about a project, while a full submission of a planning application is the final submission and requires the inclusion of much more project information.The figures are in stark contrast to October, when there were only 100 MW/200 MWh…

Maxeon has filed a lawsuit in Germany alleging that Aiko Solar and four of its German product distributors have infringed a patent relating to their back-contact solar technology. It is the third lawsuit that Maxeon has filed against Aiko. December 15, 2025 Patrick Jowett Singapore-based solar manufacturer Maxeon solar technologies has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against the Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer Aiko Solar. The lawsuit, filed in the Regional Court of Munich I in Germany, alleges that Aiko and its European distribution network have infringed Maxeon’s core back contact (BC) solar technology patent EP2297789B1 in Aiko’s…

Blue Current, which has a pilot production line in California, will use funding from an $80 million financing round led by Amazon to advance the commercialization of its silicon solid-state battery technology for stationary storage and mobility applications in the United States. December 15, 2025 Blathnaid O’Dea Image: Coolcaesar, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0T By ESS news Tech giant Amazon is backing U.S. domestic battery manufacturing efforts, taking a leading role in California-based silicon solid-state battery maker Blue Current’s latest funding round. Blue Current announced that it has closed a Series D financing round of more than $80 million led by Amazon,…

China Power Construction Corp. (PowerChina) has launched a 31 GW solar module tender for 2026 projects across n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon), heterojunction (HJT) and back-contact (BC) technologies as part of a broader 97 GW renewable energy and grid equipment program. December 15, 2025 Vincent Shaw PowerChina has launched its 2026 centralized equipment procurement program, launching tenders for 97 GW of renewable energy and network equipment to ensure supply chain stability through framework agreements. The program includes 35 GW of wind turbines, 31 GW of solar panels and 31 GW of solar inverters for projects before 2026, with bids…