Author: solarenergy
An Australian court has fined a solar installation company $9,000 after it pleaded guilty to the unsafe installation of residential energy storage systems at five properties, including one that caused a small house fire. January 14, 2026 David Caroll By pv magazine Australia Melbourne-registered solar installer Greenova Pty Ltd has been fined without conviction by the Seymour Magistrates Court after admitting unsafe installation of battery energy storage systems at five Victorian properties between December 2023 and July 2024. Greenova pleaded guilty to three charges under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 for failing to comply with electrical installation requirements and failing…
S-5!a manufacturer of metal roof fasteners, has introduced its new S-5-TH clamp for attaching certain roof accessories, including solar, to T-shaped metal roof profiles. S-5-TH clamp. S-5! The S-5-TH, where “H” stands for “hinge,” is a non-penetrating clamp specifically designed for solar PV and lighter attachments – such as pipes and conduits – on commercial T-shaped metal roofs, including the McElroy Metal Trap Tee and Morin SymmeTry. S-5-TH is designed to ensure a reliable connection while maintaining the integrity of the roof system. The one-piece design of the holder snaps over the roof rib and allows thermal cycling of the…
The Norwegian solar market experienced a slowdown in 2025, especially in residential installations. The outlook for 2026 looks more optimistic, thanks to policy reforms to support larger projects and continued demand from commercial and industrial customers. January 13, 2026 Patrick Jowett Norway has installed 117 MW of solar power by 2025, according to figures published by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The result is lower for both The result of 2024 and the country’s record year for solar energy deployment in 2023, bringing the cumulative capacity to approximately 876 MW. The commercial and industrial market segment added…
Physicists at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new theoretical framework that links photon condensation in optical microstructures to the fundamental limitations of heat engines, potentially offering new routes to harvest more useful energy from sunlight and other light sources. The work suggests that devices that trap light in small cavities could concentrate diffuse radiation into laser-like beams without the need for an incoming laser, opening a path to convert disorganized heat into ordered optical work. In their analysis, the team looked at photons trapped in microscopic optical devices, where the light particles can behave collectively rather than as independent…
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have set a world record for selenium solar cells, achieving an efficiency of 10.3% above the 10% threshold for the first time. The breakthrough was made possible by optimized charge-selective contacts, light-driven crystallization and post-deposition annealing, producing stable devices with an open-circuit voltage of 1.03 V. January 13, 2026 Emiliano Bellini A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has achieved an energy conversion efficiency of 10.3% for a solar cell based on a selenium absorber. The result represents a world record for this photovoltaic technology and marks the first time…
Hybrid solution combines battery, solar energy and a new DC generator to power the energy system as it goes directly to the consumer. Plus full pricing and availability. January 13, 2026 Tristan Rayner By ESS news Anker Solix is taking a brand new approach to home battery storage in the US with the launch of its E10 range, moving from an installer-only model or installer partnerships, as most companies, including Tesla, are choosing, and moving to a direct model, and what the press release says is a “hassle-free, one-stop installation service”. The E10 is called a ‘smart hybrid’ product because…
Solar manufacturers are facing increasing cost pressures as silver paste now accounts for 30% of total cell production costs. OPIS analyst Hanwei Wu explains pv magazine that module manufacturers currently have limited ability to increase final panel prices, accelerating efforts to reduce silver use in all mainstream cell technologies. January 13, 2026 Emiliano Bellini Solar panel manufacturers have struggled to raise solar panel prices despite higher production costs following a recent surge in silver prices, which hit a record $83.62 per ounce on Dec. 28. “It is challenging, if not impossible, to pass on the entire cost increase to end…
By Brad Kramer January 12, 2026 This week’s edition of Projects Weekly highlights the largest behind-the-meter solar project in the history of the state of Arizona in the form of SOLON Corp.’s new solar array near Tucson. Also on the list, Coach and Kate Spade parent company Tapestry Inc. has partnered with Pivot Energy to construct three community solar projects worth 13.475 MWac in Illinois. Elsewhere around the U.S., Treaty Oak Clean Energy has begun construction on two solar projects in Louisiana, and Altus Power closed a deal for 12 MW of commercial-scale solar assets across the Mid-Atlantic and the…
In November, energy groups filed a lawsuit against Sec. of Energy Christopher Wright and other government agencies involved in canceling Department of Energy funding during the 2025 government shutdown. The lawsuit – signed by the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota; Interstate Renewable Energy Council; Connect America; Increase energy; Southeast Community Organization; and the Environmental Defense Fund – alleged that the White House cut off clean energy funding for Democratic-led states. This was a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment. This week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the administration violated the…
While completing pilot projects in the US and Europe, Mirai Solar has certified its lightweight PV module designed to work as a shade screen in agricultural voltaic applications, such as greenhouses. January 13, 2026 Valerie Thompson Mirai Solar, a US-based specialty module manufacturer and spin-off of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), has certified its new 115W solar shade module with TüV Rheinland. The patented design is a foldable, glass-free module with vacuum-laminated solar cells on lightweight flexible polymer plates. It has been developed for new greenhouses and as a retrofit for greenhouses that already have…