In the summer of 2026, a new type of equipment increasingly appeared on apartment balconies in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich: one or two solar panels hanging on the outside of the railing, a small inverter hidden behind them, and a suitcase-sized energy storage battery placed beside them. Unlike traditional rooftop solar systems that require construction teams, electricians, approvals, and grid conn...
August saw two milestones for the global balcony solar market. First, on August 27th, plug-in balcony solar systems were officially legalized in the UK. After years of operating in a legal gray area, British consumers can finally legally purchase a balcony solar system, plug it into their homes, and generate their own electricity. Reports indicate that retail giants such as Amazon, B&Q, Currys...
Just recently, aviation history witnessed another bombshell. On August 12th, at Plattsburgh International Airport in New York State, the X1, the world's largest all-battery electric demonstrator, completed its maiden manned test flight. The entire test flight lasted 27 minutes, with the all-electric propulsion system outputting over 1 megawatt, achieving zero consumption of aviation kerosene throu...
Solar PV module prices broadly fell in Europe in August 2026, as demand dipped below its historic average, according to PV wholesale platform sun.store. According to sun.store’s monthly PV Index report, back contact (BC), full black and monofacial TOPCon module prices all fell to varying degrees in August, while bifacial TOPCon modules increased in price. BC was an average of €0.133/Wp ...
By 2026, large-format 210mm silicon wafers and ultra-high-power modules (exceeding 640W) have become the dominant market standard. Yet, the drive for ever-higher power output has exacerbated a hidden technical conflict: the high currents associated with large-format cells lead to excessive current loads and surging internal resistance losses, placing greater engineering demands on cell-cutting str...
Night has just fallen over a county town in the south, yet the convenience store by the roadside remains open. Standing at the checkout counter, the owner opens the month's electricity bill, his brow furrowing even deeper. Refrigeration units run all night, the air conditioner stays on from opening to closing, and the cash register and surveillance system must remain powered without interruption. ...
SolarPower Europe has forecast that the EU solar workforce will decline from 874,000 FTEs in 2025 to 766,000 by 2030, despite growth in operations and maintenance, manufacturing, and recycling employment. The European Union’s solar workforce is expected to decline by 12% by 2030 as annual solar deployment stagnates around current levels and productivity gains reduce labour requirements, acco...
