Author: solarenergy

Armenia had a record year for solar deployment last year, surpassing cumulative solar capacity of 1 GW. The market is currently led by autonomous solar producers, of which there are now more than 50,000 in the country. February 5, 2026 Patrick Jowett ArmeniaThe country’s cumulative solar capacity has reached 1.1 GW, the country’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan said. The total indicates that approximately 615 MW of solar energy was added in 2025, while the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reported Armenia’s cumulative solar capacity at 485 MW at the end of 2024. Khudadtyan announced for the…

Researchers from the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a robust coating layer that significantly improves the operational stability of perovskite solar cells while maintaining high efficiency. In accelerated tests simulating intense midday sunlight at 85 degrees Celsius, the coated cells retained more than 95 percent of their initial energy conversion efficiency after more than 1,100 hours of continuous use, demonstrating great potential for outdoor use in real-world conditions. Perovskite solar cells are known for their high efficiency and relatively low production costs, but their limited long-term stability is a major obstacle…

IRENA’s latest report shows that energy consumption and material intensity in the solar PV manufacturing supply chain will decrease until 2030. The analysis also shows that Vietnam remains more cost competitive than India due to lower electricity prices, while high energy and labor costs keep Australia and Germany less competitive. February 5, 2026 Patrick Jowett A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) says energy consumption at all stages of solar energy production will decline over the next five years. The “Solar supply chain energy cost tool” report details the material, processing and assembly costs at each stage…

Rystad Energy says it expects the global battery energy storage system (BESS) to exceed 130 GW/350 GWh by 2026, led by China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany. February 5, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: Rystad energy storage solution By ESS news Last year marked a historic turning point for BESS, when global operational storage capacity exceeded 250 GW, overtaking pumped hydro storage (PHES) for the first time, according to Rystad Energy. Annual additions exceeded 100 GW/280 GWh in 2025 – nearly triple the volumes added in 2023 – reflecting a compound annual growth rate of more than…

SolarEdge is working on connecting them commercial solar inverters and power optimizers of battery energy storage systems (BESS) from Socomec to provide customers with a streamlined solar and storage solution. The solution also includes the SolarEdge ONE energy management system (EMS). As states like California encourage more commercial and industrial (C&I) entities to maximize self-consumption, this new SolarEdge + Socomec solution is ideal for the U.S. C&I market. By reducing traditional three-vendor integration to a simplified two-vendor system, the solution helps developers simplify system design, implementation and compliance, while providing a scalable path to energy resilience and long-term value. The…

Chinese researchers have demonstrated a one-step submicron structured surface texturing process that improved the absolute efficiency of a TOPCon solar cell by 1% through broadband anti-reflection and lower electrical resistance. Cell-level performance was validated in laboratory and outdoor tests. February 4, 2026 Valerie Thompson A research group led by Jiangsu Ocean University in China has demonstrated a one-step surface texturing process that can reportedly increase the absolute efficiency of tunneling oxide-passivating contact (TOPCon) silicon solar cells by 1%. Cell-level performance was validated in laboratory and outdoor tests. “This study introduces a new rapid one-step method for fabricating dense silicon submicron…

The 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage project in Kiisa started as planned on February 3 – just two weeks after a testing error at the facility caused the biggest disruption to the regional electricity grid since Estonia’s desynchronization with Russia’s electricity system. February 4, 2026 Marija Maisch By ESS news Brick-and-mortar renewable energy developer Evecon, together with French independent energy producer Corsica Sole and international investment fund Mirova, opened one of the largest battery energy storage facilities in the Baltics on February 3 in the Estonian parish of Kiisa, just south of Tallinn. The 100 MW/200 MWh Hertz 1 project is…

After separately launching drone-based cleaning agents and solutions for agrivoltaic systems last year, the next step for Chemitek Solar is to unveil a cleaning solution that is safe for agrivoltaic systems and can be applied by drones. Chemitek has developed its Drone AgroPV Cleaning Agent and will officially launch it at Intersolar Europe 2026 in June. Agrivoltaic systems pose unique operational challenges, including the accumulation of organic pollution, agricultural residues, particulate matter, limited accessibility and coexistence with crops. These conditions often limit or make conventional cleaning methods impractical, creating the need for advanced, drone-compatible chemical solutions that ensure effective cleaning…

Powering data centers with renewable energy and storage presents a range of technical and economic challenges that independent power producers, EPC contractors and investors have only recently begun to address. In this context, large-scale batteries are expected to play a key role, providing the active energy needed during peak demand and coordinating energy flows between generation, storage and data center loads. Yet it remains unclear whether current battery technologies can perform these tasks efficiently, casting doubt on the solar-plus-storage industry’s ability to meet growing data center electricity demands in the near term. To investigate this, an international research team investigated…

The Commerce Department would release its provisional anti-dumping/countervailing duty (AD/CVD) tariff amounts for Indian, Indonesian and Lao imports of solar cells and panels before the end of 2025. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined in August that the U.S. industry has been materially harmed by imports from the three countries, and Commerce was expected to announce its tariff amounts by December. But due to the 43-day government shutdown in October and November, the research deadlines have been pushed back. Now the original submitter of the AD/CVD study, the Alliance for American Solar Energy Manufacturing and Tradeis asking the Commerce…