World

The European Patent Office says China has overtaken other countries in photovoltaic patent filings over the past 15 years, while European startups and universities retain a lead in agrivoltaics and niche solar applications.

New data from Rho Motion shows that more than half of June’s battery energy storage installations were concentrated in China, maintaining the country’s dominance in the global energy storage market.

Solcast, a DNV company, reports that the first half of 2025 has delivered favourable solar conditions across several key solar generation regions around the globe, with many population centres experiencing above-average irradiance.

Chinese companies made up nine of the 10 largest global inverter suppliers in 2024, with total inverter shipments reaching 589 GW (AC), according to Wood Mackenzie.

In grids increasingly dominated by renewables, grid-forming technology is emerging as critical tool for maintaining stability and ensuring reliable power system operation. In this interview with ESS News, Rui Sun, Sungrow’s Deputy General Manager-Grid Technology Center, explains how grid-forming works, why it matters, and where the technology is already proving its value. He elaborates on technical challenges, regulatory gaps, and why grid-forming could soon become the new industry standard.

IEA PVPS Task 16 recently introduced SolarStations.org, a global catalogue of solar irradiance monitoring stations designed for researchers, developers, and policymakers. This openly available resource catalogues more than 800 multi-component stations – of which more than 400 are currently active – offering a comprehensive view of high-quality ground-based solar data.

Yang Bao, Trinasolar’s president of global sales and marketing, recently spoke with pv magazine about the company’s strategy for the solar and energy storage business.

Solar manufacturers are pursuing the next-generation crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV cell technology. Back-contact (xBC) technologies including TOPCon back-contact (TBC), HJT back-contact (HBC), and HJT TOPCon back-contact (HTBC) have emerged as leading candidates, attracting attention for their superior conversion efficiency and aesthetic module designs.

A survey of mines closed since 2020 and those planned to close by 2030 present an opportunity for installing nearly 300 GW solar on already-developed lands, finds a report from Global Energy Monitor.

The IEA-PVPS 2025 Snapshot of Global PV Markets reveals a pivotal moment for solar power: global PV capacity surpassed 2.2 TW, with more than 600 GW installed in 2024 alone. As module prices fell due to oversupply, installation volumes continued to grow, highlighting both the strength and volatility of the global PV industry.