Author: solarenergy

Transpower’s latest assessment of the balance between electricity supply and demand in New Zealand suggests an energy gap could emerge by the early 2030s even if all committed and likely investments are delivered without delay. April 27, 2026 Patrick Jowett New ZealandState grid operator Transpower has said the supply of new generation and battery storage systems must continue into the 2030s to keep ahead of growing electricity demand. The company Draft security of supply assessment (SOSA) 2026, published earlier this week for consultation with the electricity sector, provides a ten-year overview of the balance between supply and demand in New…

Oxford PV has joined Nissan’s SUITE consortium, developing perovskite-silicon tandem solar technology that could extend the range of car-integrated solar EVs by a further 3 to 5 km per day and push the total daily solar driving range to 15 to 20 km. April 27, 2026 Brian Public Oxford PV Oxford PV has joined SUITE, a vehicle-integrated solar consortium led by Nissan Technical Center UK, saying its tandem technology could significantly increase solar’s contribution to electric vehicle range. The company claims its perovskite-on-silicon tandem technology could deliver 20% to 30% more power per unit area than conventional silicon in vehicle-integrated…

The research team developed a plasma interface engineering method to improve indium tin oxide layers and solve adhesion, contact resistance and stability problems in copper plating. The optimized process enabled uniform metallization of copper and increased the device efficiency to 25.2%, significantly outperforming untreated reference cells. April 27, 2026 Emiliano Bellini Researchers from Nankai University in China have fabricated a copper (Cu)-metalized heterojunction (HJT) solar cell using a novel interface engineering strategy aimed at addressing poor interfacial adhesion and high contact resistance in the transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-based indium tin oxide (ITO). The ITO layer is crucial for the performance…

British startup Nusku has presented a prototype of a fully integrated air heating system that combines a heat pump, a hot water cylinder and a control system in a single outdoor unit. The novelty of the all-in-one system lies in its integrated, pre-packaged design. Conventional heat pump systems typically require a separate outdoor unit, an indoor hot water cylinder and additional installation equipment. Nusku’s system, on the other hand, combines all essential components, including the heat pump and a compact hot water boiler, in one outdoor unit. “We know that many people are put off by having to find space…

Through an agreement with Overview Energy, Meta aims to circumvent the limitations of the Earth’s power grid by beaming near-infrared light from space to terrestrial solar power plants to power high-density AI workloads. April 27, 2026 Ryan Kennedy By pv magazine USA Meta focuses on orbital infrastructure to solve energy procurement challenges and signs a unique agreement with Overview Energy to provide space-based solar power to its data centers. The agreement gives Meta early access to Overview’s space solar system capacity of up to 1 GW. The system collects solar energy in space and sends it to existing solar facilities…

While the UK government’s cap-and-floor scheme for long-term energy storage (LDES) is a good approach, there is lively debate about how much to purchase in the first window.The subject was central to the ‘Advancing LDES: the perfect time to invest?’ discussion at the Energy Storage Summit 2026 in London in February, organized by our publisher Solar Media, part of Informa Markets. The government released her list of projects eligible for the scheme in September last yearwith a target capacity of 2.7-7.7 GW with a capacity of more than 8 hours in the initial period. Of these projects, 70% are lithium-ion…

Business utility SmartestEnergy has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) for four UK solar and storage projects with developer AGR Renewables, all backed by Contracts for Difference (CfD).The four CfD-backed PPAs cover the solar portions of AGR’s Eaton Socon, Little Hale, Priory Generation and Wymondley projects, located in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Hertfordshire, totaling 192 MW of solar PV capacity. The projects also include an undisclosed amount of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity, although this is not covered by the PPAs. These are the four projects awarded under the UK Government’s CfD Allocation Round 7 (AR7). AGR said at the time…

Distributed energy infrastructurean EPC solar and battery storage company, has achieved mechanical completion of two community solar projects near Lysander, New York: the 2.9 MW West Genesee Solar Project and the 5 MW Cold Springs Solar Project. The two locations, developed for Generate Capital, are DEI’s first installations in Central New York and are expected to connect to the NYISO network in the second quarter of 2026. Credit: Distributed energy infrastructure Construction on both projects lasted until the winter of 2026, during which the Baldwinsville area received more than a foot of snow. Despite challenging weather and ground conditions, DEI…

The Indian manufacturer said its new all-black panel series has an energy conversion efficiency of up to 23.32% and a bifaciality factor of up to 85%. April 27, 2026 Uma Gupta By pv magazine India Premier Energies Ltd has launched the NeoBlack Series, an all-black G12R bifacial glass-glass solar module designed for residential and high-end commercial roof applications. The module integrates tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell technology with a uniform black aesthetic aimed at improving visual appeal and reducing glare in rooftop installations. The DCR-compatible module is offered in power classes ranging from 600 W to 630 W, with…

L&G NTR Clean Power (Europe) Fund has announced the acquisition of Fair Oaks Renewable Energy Park, a turnkey solar and BES project in Nottinghamshire, England. The Fair Oaks project consists of a 75.4 MWp solar array and a 49.9 MW/99.8 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and was developed by Ridge Clean Energy Ltd. Through the transaction, the Fund will work with Ridge to realize the project. The news comes as NESO announces more Gate 2 connection offersafter delays in the body’s original timeline. The fund was launched in 2025 as an Article 9 fund under the European Union’s Sustainable…