Author: solarenergy

Spanish renewable energy platform Matrix Renewables has appointed Tesla for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for its 500MW/1GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Scotland.Tesla has signed a Full EPC agreement for the design, construction and commissioning of the 2-hour BESS, based in Eccles, Scotland. Matrix has met all planning conditions for the project and is now in the ready-to-build (RTB) phase.The Eccles BESS will be Matrix’s first self-contained storage project in the UK. It acquired the site, along with another in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in April this year, through a partnership with Green BESS Developments UK, part of Czech…

A team of researchers based in Sweden have developed a snow loss model to estimate snow-induced PV power losses on an hourly basis. The proposed approach is based solely on data from remote sensing sources such as aerial imagery, LIDAR and satellite data. December 24, 2025 Valerie Thompson A research team led by Becquerel Sweden has developed a generalizable snow loss model to estimate snow-induced PV power losses on an hourly basis. It is based on PV system data derived exclusively from remote sensing sources, such as aerial photographs, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and satellite-derived radiation and weather data.…

Recycled electric vehicle batteries have been used for the energy storage component of a solar and battery project that now powers carmaker Nissan Australia’s aluminum casting plant in Victoria. December 24, 2025 David Caroll By pv magazine Australia Nissan Australia has completed the installation of a 100 kW rooftop solar array and a ‘first of its kind’ 120 kWh battery energy storage system using legacy electric vehicle (EV) batteries to power part of its Melbourne manufacturing facility and supply two new EV chargers installed as part of the project. The Nissan Node project, carried out in collaboration with the Melbourne-based…

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and German development bank KfW have signed an €87 million ($102.5 million) financing package for a 134 MW solar project in North Macedonia, the largest developing country. December 23, 2025 Patrick Jowett Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM), the state-owned electricity generation company North Macedoniahas secured an €87 million ($102.5 million) financing package for a 134 MW solar project. The Bitola 3 solar power plant will be developed on the site of a depleted coal mine in Bitola, southwestern North Macedonia. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides a government-guaranteed loan of…

By Brad Kramer December 22, 2025 Congress is considering a permit reform bill that could create more challenges for developing solar projects. The US House of Representatives has passed the bill Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. by a vote of 221 to 196 on December 18. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval. The SPEED Act was originally introduced on July 25 by U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) as a bipartisan effort to help accelerate large-scale infrastructure projects. The permitting reform law proposed significant…

Neoen Australia has started construction of its third major battery in less than 90 days, accelerating Australia’s energy transition with 20 GW of solar, wind, gas, batteries and hydropower plants now in operation or under construction. December 23, 2025 David Caroll By pv magazine Australia The Australian arm of France-based developer Neoen has announced the start of construction on the 226 MW/866 MWh Goyder North battery energy storage project in South Australia. The project is expected to feature Tesla’s new ones Mega block technology, marking the world’s first implementation of the grid-scale battery architecture unveiled earlier this year. The Megablock…

Researchers in Norway investigated the melting behavior of silicon notch agglomerates under different atmospheres and temperatures to improve the recycling of silicon from solar energy. They found that vacuum melting improves deoxidation and produces a homogeneous, oxide-free melt, while agglomerate size has little effect on melting behavior. December 23, 2025 Emiliano Bellini Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have studied the melting behavior of silicon notch powder under different regimes and conditions, with the aim of bringing the refining and recycling of the material closer to commercial and technical implementation. Silicon kerf is the silicon material…

The Chinese manufacturer said its 2-terminal 34.76% efficient lab-scale perovskite-silicon tandem cell is based on heterojunction technology and developed through a collaboration of Solarlab Aiko Europe, Aiko’s headquarters and its R&D in Yuwi, China. December 23, 2025 Valerie Thompson Solarlab Aiko Europe, a Germany-based research unit of Chinese back-contact (BC) module manufacturer Aiko, presented an update on its perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell research based on two-terminal (2T) and three-terminal (3T) tandem configurations at the Become PV 2025 conference in Brussels, organized by the European Energy Research Alliance Joint Program Photovoltaic Solar Energy earlier this month. With a focus on record-breaking…

Japanese financial services company Tokyo Century today announced that it will co-invest in the operation of solar and onshore wind power plants in Great Britain.Through an agreement with asset management funds under Octopus Energy Group of Octopus Energy Group, Tokyo Century will acquire a 49% stake in the 67MW Breach solar power plant in England and a 49% stake in the 46MW onshore Crossdykes wind power plant in Scotland. The remaining interests are held by Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc (ORIT) and Octopus Renewables Infrastructure SCSp (ORI SCSp) respectively.ORIT acquired the Breach solar power plant in 2022with the site costing…

Glare from a nearby solar farm temporarily closed the runways at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, prompting Dutch authorities to order the removal of around 78,000 PV modules and the application of other anti-reflective films. The removed, almost new modules have now been taken over by BM Energy and are expected to be used again in projects where glare is not a problem. December 23, 2025 Emiliano Bellini At the beginning of March, the Polderbaan at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was closed to incoming traffic during sunny conditions between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. due to glare caused by nearby solar panels. Although…