Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Cumulative solar PV module production in the United States passed 100 GW during Q2 2026, according to a factory-level analysis by Terawatt PV Research cited by PV Magazine.

The figure counts modules physically manufactured at US factories and draws on company- and site-level data across hundreds of facilities, per the same analysis.

More than 70% of that cumulative total was added after the Inflation Reduction Act was introduced late in 2022, according to Terawatt PV Research.

Chinese researchers operated perovskite photovoltaic cells at a depth of 10 meters in open seawater near Weizhou Island in the South China Sea, in what they describe as the world's first underwater solar panel array.

The submerged cells generated enough electricity at that depth to charge lithium-ion batteries in two hours, according to Azertag. The array also powered an LED light during the trial.

On durability, the protected device retained 99.58% of its initial performance after 1,000 hours of continuous simulated underwater exposure.

RWE and Ampelmann have completed a six-week offshore cargo drone logistics campaign supporting maintenance work at the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm.

Between August and September, the drones carried more than nine tonnes of cargo between a service operation vessel and Triton Knoll turbines across more than 250 flights.

The system can deliver and collect loads of up to 80 kilogrammes directly to and from turbine nacelles and main access platforms using an unmanned pick-up system.

Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) awarded 237 bids totaling 2,523 MW in its latest onshore wind auction, with 17 bids excluded, according to Windtech International.

RWE secured contracts for two projects with a combined capacity of 119 MW in the round, according to Energy-Pedia.

European Energy won long-term support for four projects totaling 89.6 MW, strengthening its portfolio of German renewable projects with secured revenue, according to Energy Global.

Vestas has launched the V182-7.2 MW wind turbine on its EnVentus platform, Windtech International reported.

The model has a specific rating of 277 W/m², according to Windtech International.

Windtech International reported that, depending on site conditions, the V182-7.2 MW is designed to increase annual energy production by up to 6% versus the V172-7.2 MW. The same report said the turbine is designed to raise the capacity factor by up to 2% relative to the V172-7.2 MW. Vestas also positions the model to reduce levelised cost of energy against the earlier machine, per Windtech International.

RE100 member companies collectively operate on 59% renewable electricity worldwide, according to ESG News reporting on the latest RE100 Annual Disclosure Report. The report frames a widening gap between corporate appetite for clean power and the supply available to meet it.

ESG News reported that companies are buying more renewable electricity, but access is failing to keep pace with demand. The RE100 disclosure identifies limited renewable supply and cost as the biggest obstacles in key markets, with members also citing inadequate procurement options and regulatory barriers.

South Korea illustrates the constraint. Renewables account for 12% of RE100 members' electricity use in the country, unchanged from the prior year, and only 5% of companies there procure 100% renewable electricity, according to the report as cited by ESG News.

A research team in Germany has built a framework for grouping and scheduling building retrofit measures that involve hybrid heat pump systems, according to PV Magazine.

The approach pairs a techno-economic assessment of individual retrofit measures with simulations of how the hybrid system operates at successive stages of the retrofit process, PV Magazine reported. That combination lets the researchers test how the order and grouping of works affect system performance and cost over time, rather than evaluating measures in isolation.

Among the retrofit sequences the team assessed, Scenario 3 delivered the highest net present value, according to PV Magazine. The researchers attributed that outcome to the large, early cut in heating demand achieved by combining roof insulation with heat recovery, PV Magazine reported. Front-loading those two measures shrinks the load the hybrid heat pump has to serve in subsequent stages, which shapes the economics of the full retrofit pathway.

A 12 mm cement-bonded particle board placed beneath rooftop photovoltaic arrays can limit self-sustained flame spread by reducing heat transfer into the underlying insulation, according to PV Magazine, citing researchers in Denmark.

In burn tests reported by PV Magazine, inserting the 12 mm board between the PVC membrane and the expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation stopped self-sustained flame spread in three of four trials, with fire damage confined to the module directly above the gas burner.

The researchers said the board behaved as a heat sink, absorbing thermal energy before it could reach the EPS layer, PV Magazine reported.

The fourth test told a different story. Flames spread beneath all PV modules, an outcome the researchers attributed to higher wind loads, according to PV Magazine.

Cameroon's Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority has held talks with developers on two large-scale solar projects totalling 244 MW of planned capacity, according to PV Magazine.

The larger of the two, a 200 MW plant, would be sited in Ntui in central Cameroon, PV Magazine reported. The second, a 44 MW project, is planned for Banyo in northern Cameroon.

PV Magazine said the regulator met developers to discuss implementing both projects.

The landowner-led Macorna wind farm in Victoria has been submitted to state and federal planning authorities and is now open for public comment, according to RenewEconomy.

RenewEconomy reports the project would install 114 turbines and is seeking grid access in a congested part of the network in north-western Victoria.

The proposal has been scaled back to 821 MW, from an originally conceived capacity of 1,000 to 1,200 MW, with the smaller version set out in its EPBC and environmental effects statement filings, per RenewEconomy. It sits among a handful of landowner-led renewable projects being advanced in the state.