Author: solarenergy
The country’s seventh green energy auction will acquire rooftop, ground-mounted and floating solar projects in the Philippines, with a larger allocation in Mindanao. The Ministry of Energy plans to announce the reference terms for the auction in the second quarter of this year. April 17, 2026 Patrick Jowett The Philippines’ Department of Energy has confirmed that the seventh round of its Green Energy Auction (GEA) will kick off this year. An update from the department says it is targeting the publication of the terms of reference, which will provide potential developers with guidelines for participation, in the second quarter of…
South Korean media report that Malaysia’s OCI TerraSus, a subsidiary of Seoul-based chemical company OCI Holdings, is in talks with SpaceX for a multi-year polysilicon supply contract. April 16, 2026 Patrick Jowett Image: Steve Jurvetson/WikiMedia Commons Several South Korean media outlets have reported that Malaysia’s OCI TerraSus, a subsidiary of South Korean polysilicon maker OCI Holdings, is in talks with SpaceX for a multi-year polysilicon supply contract, citing industry sources. A spokesperson for OCI Holdings said this pv magazine the company is “unable to comment or provide further details at this stage” on rumors surrounding the polysilicon supply deal. The…
A research team in Germany developed a dynamic model of spray cooling for floating PV systems that links thermal behavior, electrical performance and active cooling, and validated it against a 750 kW installation. Simulations in four climates have shown that spray cooling reduces module temperatures by up to 42% and improves energy yield by up to 3.8%, with the benefits highly dependent on local conditions. April 17, 2026 Lior Kahana Researchers from Germany’s FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences have developed a new dynamic model for spray cooling for floating PV systems (FPV). “This work takes a system-level perspective on…
In a new weekly update for pv magazineOPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a brief overview of the major price trends in the global PV industry. April 17, 2026 OPIS According to the OPIS Global Solar Markets Report published on April 14, China Mono Premium – OPIS’ rating for mono-grade polysilicon used in the production of n-type ingots – fell 2.36% week-on-week to CNY 34.071 ($4.99)/kg, or CNY 0.072/W. Market insiders generally believe that the downward trend in polysilicon prices and the continued accumulation of inventories in China are continuing, with no clear signs of reversal at this point. One…
India-based Pur Energy has launched the PuREPower 3.0 Lite, an all-in-one lithium battery-based power backup solution positioned as a cleaner and more compact alternative to conventional inverter and lead-acid battery combinations for the residential segment. April 17, 2026 Uma Gupta By pv magazine India IIT’s Hyderabad-incubated Pur Energy has launched the PuREPower 3.0 Lite, an all-in-one lithium battery-based power backup solution positioned as a cleaner, more compact alternative to conventional inverter and lead-acid battery systems for residential use. The 3 kW system integrates an inverter, a 2 kWh lithium battery and AI energy management into a single wall-mounted unit. It…
This week, Women in Solar+ Europe gives the voice to Carla Vico, CEO of the French Green Solver. She says building an inclusive culture means valuing people for their work, responsibility and dedication, not their gender or background. “I don’t believe in affirmative action; I believe in creating equal opportunities and making merit-based decisions,” she says. April 17, 2026 Women in Solar+ Europe The solar energy, energy storage, EV charging and grid infrastructure sectors are still relatively young industries. Many of the companies operating in this space are built with diversity and inclusion as part of their DNA, creating a…
The Swiss Federal Government has launched a funding call for research projects in the field of energy and resource efficient industrial processes, including the circular economy related to solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and electrolyzers. The deadline for submitting preliminary applications is June 30. April 17, 2026 Patrick Jowett Image: Marco Pregnolato/Unsplash The Swiss Federal Office for Energy and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment have launched the first call for proposals under a new financing instrument targeting projects focused on energy- and resource-efficient industrial processes. Known as Swiss Research for the Energy Transition and Emissions Reduction (Sweeter), the…
Researchers led by Fraunhofer ISE have demonstrated zinc-doped tin oxide (ZTO) as an indium-free alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) for recombination layers in fully textured perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. ZTO delivers comparable device efficiencies of 27-28% under current conditions, providing a scalable, indium-free path to high-performance tandem solar photovoltaics without efficiency losses. April 17, 2026 Emiliano Bellini An international research team led by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) has fabricated a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell based on a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) made of zinc-doped tin oxide (ZTO) in an attempt to rival counterparts made…
A new benchmark for assessing total system costs estimates a cheapest mix of offshore wind and solar power at around €46 ($54.20)/MWh in a future climate-neutral energy system for Denmark. Researchers tell pv magazine that figure is less than half the equivalent cost of nuclear power under the same conditions. April 17, 2026 Brian Public A peer-reviewed study using Denmark as a case study found that renewable energy portfolios outperform nuclear energy in terms of total system costs in the modeled future integrated Danish energy system, once the costs of grid balancing, storage and sector coupling are included in the…
Supply chain cyber attacks are a major category of threats that affect digital and cyber-physical systems that rely on a network of third-party suppliers, manufacturers and service platforms. In PV environments, where systems rely on inverters, monitoring software, firmware updates and cloud services from third-party providers, these attacks can undermine trust in the entire ecosystem. These attacks involve inserting malicious code, backdoors or vulnerabilities into products or services before they reach the end user. Rather than attacking a PV system directly, adversaries compromise a vendor, such as a software vendor, equipment manufacturer, or service partner, and use that trusted relationship…