Solar Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated a 2 MW solar plant with 1 MWh battery storage in Rongtong, Kaza. The project, completed in December 2024, is the state’s first hybrid solar-storage facility and is expected to generate 36 lakh units annually.
Policy ERCOT has approved new rules requiring grid-forming capabilities for storage projects, following a period where batteries handled all frequency regulation. The move aims to enhance grid inertia as the Texas fleet expands rapidly.
Markets India surpassed its previous annual records by adding 51 GW of solar capacity in 2025, securing its position as the largest solar market outside China. The surge was driven by utility-scale projects in western states and strong adoption of rooftop schemes.
Policy A joint filing urges Maine regulators to require utilities to permit meter socket adapters, citing cost savings and UL 414 certification. This move counters CMP’s claims of safety hazards while highlighting potential homeowner savings on battery installations.
Finance Governor Hochul announced a $37 million Commercial Cohort Initiative to establish four accelerators for clean energy startups. NYSERDA will administer the program, supporting projects from pre-seed pilots to late-stage commercial scale-up.
Markets Terawatt PV Research projects that Texas will account for nearly 45% of domestic silicon solar module output in 2027, driven by manufacturing hubs in Dallas and Houston. The state’s strategy relies on retrofitting existing infrastructure and leveraging pro-business policies to attract major manufacturers.
Policy Vingroup has suggested substituting a planned 4.8 GW LNG facility with renewable energy and storage to address rising import costs. IEEFA estimates Vietnam's LNG bills could reach $23.6 billion annually, making renewables a cost-competitive alternative.
Finance Flatiron Energy has closed $850 million in financing for the Energizar project, the largest energy storage facility on the East Coast. The 1,200 MWh battery in Chelsea, Massachusetts, is scheduled to begin commercial operations in Q4 2027 to enhance Boston's grid reliability.
Finance The Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s new chief executive has signaled a strategic shift toward supporting large-scale wind projects in New South Wales and Queensland. This move responds to reduced commercial bank appetite and rising construction costs, marking a return to a sector where CEFC previously financed 12 farms.
Policy The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has reserved its decision on a bid by Eleven Power to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh. The move follows a recommendation from an expert committee to consider the application with specific conditions.
Storage Valo Energy, a Wärtsilä and RCT joint venture, expects to announce its first large-scale sodium-ion battery project in early 2027. The proposed system may feature a hybrid design with a sodium-ion component targeting at least 50 MW of connected power.
Markets PJM, ERCOT, and SWPP all recorded new peak hourly load highs during the summer of 2026, driven by extreme heat. Data from the EIA-930 form confirms these milestones across the nation's largest interconnections.
Policy Construction has begun on the Marinus Link converter station in the Latrobe Valley, marking a major step for the undersea interconnector to Tasmania. Meanwhile, new Energy Minister Jaclyn Symes has dismissed Opposition proposals for gas and nuclear power as a fantasy.
Policy India’s new ALMM-II policy mandates domestic cells for government projects, creating a supply gap despite massive module capacity approvals. While module production is set to exceed demand, cell capacity remains constrained through 2027, triggering an industry shakeout.
Policy The Australian Renewable Energy Agency says Australia can still reach an aspirational 1 GW a year of local solar module manufacturing, as it opens a $250 million third Sunshot round. Arena says one more, as yet unannounced, manufacturing project is in its pipeline alongside Tindo Solar and the Hunter Valley Solar Foundry.
Policy Spanish infrastructure firm Acciona has been awarded two major transmission projects in Australia to facilitate renewable energy integration. The contracts cover the Gippsland offshore wind connection in Victoria and the Clean Energy Link – East in Western Australia.
Wind Lacour Energy has applied for approval to build a major wind and battery hybrid in Western Australia, with wind capacity ranging from 552 to 736 MW. The project includes a 500 MW battery system with up to eight hours of storage, aiming to support the state's transition away from coal.
Storage China Huadian has connected a 100 MW/1,000 MWh compressed CO2 energy storage facility to the grid in Xinjiang. The plant, developed by Xi’an Jiaotong University, aims to save 50,000 metric tons of coal annually.
Solar Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the first battery-powered solar project in Spiti Valley, located in Rongtong. The 2 MW facility, commissioned in December 2024, includes a 1 MWh battery system to support power reliability at high altitude.
Policy The New South Wales government has allocated $9 million to help small businesses transition to electric fleets through the Kick Start program. Early adopters like AAT and TAFE NSW are already expanding their EV holdings to meet sustainability targets.
Policy Tata Power has urged West Bengal to add a state rooftop solar subsidy of ₹15,000-25,000 on top of central PM Surya Ghar support. Separately, it is exploring about 500 MW of solar projects in the state, an investment of around ₹2,500 crore, but says land availability is a challenge.
Policy The National Conference of State Energy Program Directors reported 221 distributed solar policy actions across 42 states and Puerto Rico in the third quarter of 2026. Key legislative and regulatory moves focused on net metering, interconnection rules, and emerging compensation models.
Markets BloombergNEF now expects 584 GW of global solar installations in 2026, down 10.8% from 655 GW in 2025, as China falls 29% to 271 GW. Installations outside China are projected to grow to 313 GW.
Solar Solaria has agreed with the Uruguayan government to build a 500 MW data center park supported by 350 MW of solar power. The project, the largest foreign investment in the country's history, will be developed in two phases across three departments.
Solar Rable’s Rable4Roofs system uses a self-supporting lattice to reduce anchor points by 95%, allowing solar installation on roofs with limited load-bearing capacity. The company has completed 60 projects in 30 months and is expanding into France, where it aims to install 10 systems by December.
Solar An international team has published an open-access dataset designed to train AI systems for autonomous solar panel cleaning robots. The collection includes 6,200 annotated images featuring various levels of synthetic and physical contamination to improve visual navigation accuracy.
Markets Vikram Solar has secured a 187 MW supply contract for n-type TOPCon modules destined for projects in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The order involves high-efficiency glass-to-glass bifacial units with power ratings between 615 and 625 Wp.
Markets Germany’s Federal Network Agency reports 12.76 GW of new solar capacity installed in the first nine months of 2026, slightly exceeding the same period in 2025. Large-scale systems now dominate new installations, while small commercial and residential segments face sharp declines and potential policy changes.
Solar A 250 MW solar facility in Saudi Arabia has introduced 38 Sand gazelles to its grounds, following a successful seven-month proof-of-concept. The project aims to grow the local population to 600 by 2031 while maintaining energy output.
Policy A Mercom India survey of over 100 industry members reveals a significant workforce readiness gap across solar segments. Most respondents report that new hires require substantial retraining or months of onboarding to reach productivity levels.
Policy India needs vast land areas for renewable energy, but fragmented ownership and legal disputes delay projects. State-specific compensation rules create inconsistency, prompting calls for a national standard.
PM Surya Ghar: eligibility, subsidy and how to apply
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Maharashtra rooftop solar subsidy: PM Surya Ghar, the SMART scheme and MSEDCL net metering
