World

In its second monthly column for pv magazine, the Becquerel Institute explains that Europe has vast commercial and industrial rooftops suitable for solar, but decades-old structural limits block conventional PV panels, creating an 85 GW untapped potential. Lightweight PV modules, commercially available and up to 50% lighter, can unlock this constrained market, meeting regulatory, economic, and technical needs for solar deployment across the continent.

China has deployed its first 1.25 MW urban vanadium flow battery (VFB), supporting peak AC loads and offering a safer alternative amid tighter lithium-ion storage regulations in dense urban environments.

The Chinese manufacturer said its new back-contact module delivers up to 545 W and over 25% efficiency in a compact rooftop format for residential, C&I, and off-grid applications.

Bifacial PV modules, string inverters and advanced trackers are becoming the preferred technologies in utility-scale solar project design, according to new data from RatedPower.

An Algerian research team has developed a smart water-spray cooling system for PV panels that activates only when temperatures exceed a set threshold, boosting efficiency while minimizing water use in desert conditions. The system raised power output and reduced module temperatures, offering similar efficiency to continuous cooling but with far lower water consumption, pump operation, and costs.

The Chinese manufacturer has launched a fire-resistant version of its Hi-MO X10 module for distributed PV applications, featuring back-contact technology and up to 24.8% efficiency. The company says the module adds enhanced fire-safety design to address rooftop PV risks such as hot spots and DC arcing.

South Carolina regulators and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are investigating Silfab Solar’s Fort Mill manufacturing plant after releases of potassium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid within the same week.

The “Battery Atlas 2026” report shows consolidation in Europe’s battery market. More than 2,000 GWh of cell production capacity was announced in 2023, but the realistic forecast for early 2026 is around 1,190 GWh, including approximately 673 GWh led by Asian companies.

Japan has allocated 79 MW of PV capacity in its latest procurement exercise. The lowest price in the auction was JPY 0/kWh.

Qcells says it has resumed solar panel production at its Georgia manufacturing facilities after US Customs and Border Protection released seven solar cell shipments from South Korea that had been held under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), forcing a furlough of 1,000 workers and temporarily halting output at the second-largest module factory in the United States.