Author: solarenergy

On 28 April 2025 at 12:33 CEST, a power outage in continental Spain and Portugal caused a blackout that briefly affected a small part of southwestern France. This was the first complete blackout in the history of the Spanish system and the first blackout in history caused by overvoltage problems. The event was not the simple story that many initially anticipated. It was not a cyber attack. It wasn’t a simple failure of solar or wind power plants. It wasn’t just caused by a lack of spin generation. It was a rapidly evolving stress event in a system where generation,…

Rising energy costs have made global headlines over the past two months, but prices across the solar supply chain are marching at their own pace, writes Hanwei Wu of OPIS. Oversupply in Asia continues to disrupt markets, with sharp price drops or tepid price increases. May 25, 2026 OPIS From the magazine The Global Polysilicon Marker (GPM) has changed little since the last outbreak of war in the Middle East. The OPIS benchmark for polysilicon produced outside China was set at $19,138/kg, or $0.040/W, on April 14, up just 1% from February 24, the week the war in Iran began.…

Cuba has introduced a new tariff of CUP 90 ($3.75)/kWh for excess renewable electricity exported to the national grid, replacing a lower differentiated pricing system for residential and non-residential producers. May 25, 2026 Luis Ini Image: Alexander Kunze, Unsplash By pv magazine LatAm Cuba has increased the tariff paid for renewable electricity exported to the National Electric System (SEN), increasing compensation for some producers by a factor of 30 under a new price framework. Resolution 114/2026, issued by the Cuban Ministry of Finance and Prices, establishes a single tariff of CUP 90/kWh for electricity supplied to the grid from residential…

The result has been certified by TÜV Rheinland and represents the highest efficiency ever measured for single-junction silicon solar cells. May 25, 2026 Vincent Shaw A Golden Stone Energy production line Image: Golden Stone Energy Chinese PV manufacturer JA Solar and China-based PV equipment supplier Gold Stone Energy have reported a conversion efficiency of 28.2% for a hybrid back-contact (HBC) solar cell developed under their HBC industrialization project. The result was certified by the German TÜV Rheinland and, according to the companies, sets a new world record for back-contact (BC) solar cell efficiency. The previous record for the BC architecture…

Researchers have developed a hydrogen peroxide-mediated low-temperature oxidative liquefaction process to recycle waste solar panels by selectively breaking down polymers into useful chemical feedstocks. The proposed method reduces energy consumption, eliminates hazardous solvents and minimizes landfill waste compared to traditional recycling techniques. May 25, 2026 Lior Kahana Researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China have developed a new end-of-life (EoL) recycling process for solar panels that uses oxidative liquefaction (OL) at relatively low temperatures to leverage selective oxidative degradation chemistry. “Oxidative liquefaction is an aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-mediated thermochemical process previously applied to the recycling of composite wind turbine blades,”…

California-based Inlyte Energy plans pilot projects in Switzerland and the United States this year to demonstrate its iron-sodium battery technology for data center and utility-scale energy storage applications. May 25, 2026 Ben Zientara By pv magazine USA California-based sodium-iron battery startup Inlyte Energy is preparing to deploy its technology in two major pilot programs in 2026, aiming to prove the systems’ viability as a safe, long-lasting backup power source. The company is specifically targeting the fast-growing data center market and is positioning its technology as an alternative to fossil fuel generators and conventional lithium-ion batteries. It plans to deploy a…

Researchers from UNSW and DAS Solar developed a zero-busbar metal lattice optimization approach for tunnel oxide passivated back-contact (TBC) silicon solar cells, enabling more efficient power collection at the back surface and reducing silver consumption by 3-4 mg/W. The first TB cells mass-produced using this technique have demonstrated an efficiency of more than 27%. May 25, 2026 Emiliano Bellini A research team consisting of scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia and Chinese PV manufacturer DAS Solar have developed a new technique for optimizing the metal lattice design of silicon back contact (BC) solar cells, using…

Director of the Slovak Association for Sustainable Energy, Ján Karaba, said pv magazine It is expected that solar energy will become one of the key technologies used within future energy communities in Slovakia, but mentioned regulatory improvements will be essential to unlock the full potential of decentralized solar energy. May 22, 2026 Patrick Jowett The Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA) and the Energy Communities Cluster of Slovakia (KEKS) have entered into an agreement to implement energy communities. The two partners signed a memorandum of mutual support and cooperation, which outlines a framework for long-term cooperation in community energy development.…

Regulators in 27 U.S. states are shifting residential electricity prices toward higher fixed monthly costs and lower usage-based rates, weakening the economics of rooftop solar and home battery systems. This redesign reduces incentives for distributed energy, compresses savings from peak rate arbitrage, and increases reliance on costly centralized grid expansion, potentially increasing long-term electricity costs for consumers. May 23, 2026 Ryan Kennedy By pv magazine USA State regulators are making a significant structural shift in housing rate design, directly reducing the financial viability of private clean energy investments. According to tracking data from the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center,…

SolarPower Europe estimates that solar power generation in the EU is significantly underreported, with actual PV production estimated at 410 TWh in 2025, compared to 275 TWh in official statistics. The group attributes the gap to incomplete rooftop PV recording, data transfer delays and the difficulty of measuring self-consumed solar energy. May 23, 2026 Sergio Matalucci SolarPower Europe estimates that current rooftop PV generation is underestimated by EU authorities and member states. “According to our analysis published in SolarPower Europe’s Solar+ report, solar energy generation is only systematically underestimated in EU and Member State statistics,” said Raffaele Rossi, head of…