China strongly criticized the EU’s ban on Chinese inverters in EU-funded solar projects, warning it could damage trade relations, supply chains, and Europe’s energy transition.

In a new weekly update for pv magazine, OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides a quick look at the main price trends in the global PV industry.

Waaree Renewable Technologies has signed agreements to acquire a 55% stake in Associated Power Structures for INR 1,225 crore.

ACME Solar Holdings has reported a 98.4% year-on-year increase in profit after tax (PAT) to INR 498 crore for fiscal year 2026. The company posted total revenue of INR 2,507 crore for FY 2026, up 59% year on year.

Milton Kenny, general manager-ESG at Premier Energies Ltd, discusses how ESG is reshaping the renewable energy sector—from decarbonisation to supply chain transparency and circularity.

Distributed energy resources, rooftop solar, C&I open-access systems, behind-the-meter storage, solar agricultural pumps, microgrids, share one decisive advantage: deployment speed. And speed is not the only advantage. Power consumed where it is generated avoids the 15-22% aggregate technical and commercial losses in India’s distribution networks.

Bondada Engineering Ltd has received a Notification of Award (NOA) from NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd for the execution of Balance of System (BOS) works for a 600 MW solar PV project at Fatehgarh, Rajasthan. The order value stands at around INR 816 crore.

A China-based research team conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 147 studies on how solar PV systems alter land surface processes, covering 609 installations worldwide and 11 key climate variables. The results show mixed but mostly significant environmental effects, including reduced wind speed, albedo, and land surface or soil temperatures, alongside increased soil moisture, while air temperature changes remained largely non-significant.

The Portuguese manufacturer unveiled Maxi-Lock, an autonomous hydraulic mechanism that locks solar trackers during strong wind gusts or high-amplitude vibrations, and Smart-Slope, a universal joint-style system designed for uneven terrain. The company claims the technologies can reduce supply and maintenance costs, lower component counts, improve plant availability, and enable higher PV module integration in both conventional and agrivoltaic projects.

A new report by ICRA says that the thermal power sector in India is witnessing a revived investment emphasis, even as the renewable capacity continue to surge. Thermal power acts as a reliable base-load supply, aiding grid stability amid expectations of power demand growth.

The 1.6 MW Nexus pilot project in California has demonstrated that solar panels installed over irrigation canals can significantly reduce water evaporation and algae growth by 85%, while also showing operational efficiency.

The intelligent integration of solar and storage is no longer optional. Data-driven approaches are essential to ensure compliance, efficiency, and long-term reliability. Building systems with insight not only prevents costly mistakes but also creates an energy ecosystem that is not just larger, but smarter, more resilient, and adaptable to future demands.

A King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) researcher whose lab has demonstrated up to 100% accuracy using a single hardware counter tells pv magazine that firmware-level detection of inverter attacks is technically viable – but today’s communication standards do not transmit the firmware‑integrity signal to operators.

Renewable energy is abundant but intermittent. Demand is growing but uneven. Infrastructure exists but is often misaligned with where and when power is needed. In this environment, the grid has become more than a passive network; it is an active balancing system. Its resilience will determine whether the energy transition delivers stability or introduces volatility.

India’s renewable energy push is inherently decentralized. Solar parks in Rajasthan, wind farms in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, and hybrid projects across states are often located far from consumption centers. Bridging these geographical gaps requires robust, resilient, and future ready transmission network. Without it, even the most ambitious generation targets risk underutilization.

CEA’s 2026 manufacturing quality report finds that yield rates vary widely based on the age of solar module assembly facilities, with mature Chinese firms nearing 100% and U.S. outlier facilities ranging all the way down to 30%.

Solex Energy, a solar module manufacturer and EPC services provider, has reported a 248% year-on-year increase in revenue from operations to INR 885.53 crore for the fourth quarter of FY2026. Revenue for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026, rose 144.3% to INR 1,618 crore.

Vikram Solar has reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue of INR 1,453 crore in Q4 FY2026, marking a 22% year-on-year increase. Profit after tax (PAT) also rose 22% YoY to INR 110 crore.

LICO Materials has committed to invest INR 240 crore in its Karnataka facility that will produce battery-grade critical minerals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The project qualifies for a 20% capital expenditure (CapEx) subsidy and a multi-year operational expenditure (OpEx) subsidy linked to incremental commercial sales through FY 2030-31.

The new policy has already applied, and impacts billions in funding from the European Investment Bank on renewable projects including standalone and co-located storage.

Pace Digitek has secured supply, EPC, and operation and maintenance (O&M) contracts from Damodar Valley Corp. for a 250 MW/500 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project at Maithon.

A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) finds that round‑the‑clock solar and wind paired with battery storage deliver power at lower cost than new fossil fuel generation in high‑quality resource regions.

India and the European Union (EU) have launched a €15.2 million (INR 169 crore) joint funding programme to advance recycling technologies for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, under the India–EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies.

SPML Infra has secured an INR 1,128 crore ($120 million) contract to develop a 1 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at NTPC Ltd’s Barauni Thermal Power Station in Bihar, marking its first large-scale BESS project.

Escalating Middle East tensions and global energy supply risks are accelerating Europe’s shift toward solar and storage, particularly in commercial, industrial, and utility-scale segments where energy security, resilience, and price stability are becoming central investment drivers. At the same time, expanding manufacturing capacity in China and India is redirecting surplus solar and storage supply toward Europe, creating a highly competitive and increasingly selective market where long-term success depends on quality, reliability, ESG alignment, and strategic market positioning.

The long-term value of a solar power plant depends on its ability to consistently deliver expected energy output. Soiling is a predictable and manageable factor that directly affects both performance and revenue. Addressing it through regular and structured cleaning practices is essential for maintaining efficiency and protecting returns.

A single benchmark no longer exists. In some cases, charging speed is what matters; in others, it is energy density, and in still others, cost and scalability. In other words, the battery is ceasing to be a simple component. It is becoming the transversal energy infrastructure of the next industrial cycle. And those who can control not only the technology but also production, integration, and the grid will have an advantage that will be difficult to recover.

The upcoming Solar Manufacturing USA 2026 conference in Austin will focus on real U.S. solar manufacturing progress, shifting attention from capacity announcements to actual production, costs, yields, and technology choices across the full value chain. It will also examine how policy changes and tariffs are driving domestic expansion in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules, while highlighting competing technologies like back contact, heterojunction and TOPCon.

For years, the battery energy storage (BESS) story has followed a familiar script: costs fall, deployment accelerates, economics improve. Even when cell costs rose and system prices briefly flattened during the 2021-22 lithium price spike, the narrative largely held. Paola Perez Peña, senior principal analyst at S&P Global Energy, examines why the latest jump in lithium prices has only had limited impacts on overall BESS costs so far.

India’s rising power demand is increasingly being met by renewables, particularly during daytime peak hours. However, rising renewable curtailment shows that grid infrastructure and flexibility are not keeping pace with clean energy growth. With stronger transmission networks, more flexible grid operations, and faster battery deployment, a larger share of evening and night-time demand can also be met through non-fossil sources.