The U.S’ largest district energy provider has started building a 35 MW heat pump complex in Massachusetts that will replace a natural gas boiler. The system will harness heat from the Charles River to produce carbon-free steam.

GlobalData analysts predict growth in the world’s solar module and inverter markets through to the end of the decade will be driven by the Asia Pacific region.

DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook 2025 report also predicts that distributed generation solar should begin outpacing utility-scale installations in some parts of the world by 2060. It adds that the levelized cost of electricity for solar is beginning to plateau and is expected to slow to an annual drop below 1% by the 2050s.

The latest report from the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) highlights that 2024 was another record year for solar installations but large overcapacities of solar cell, module and wafer manufacturing continued.

Demand for copper, often considered as one of the most valuable alternatives to silver in solar manufacturing, is expected to increase by almost a quarter globally by the middle of next decade. Wood Mackenzie says the energy transition is one of four ‘disruptors’ that could cause demand to increase further.

Research from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has found zinc-phosphate-hydrate (ZPH) films are capable of producing electricity from light. The coating’s photovoltage was amplified when anthocyanin, a natural dye found in blackberries, was added.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its 2025–30 renewables forecast by 5%, citing lower solar additions, though PV still represents nearly 80% of 4.6 TW expected growth.

Freight costs, which contribute towards the total cost of a solar installation, have fallen week-on-week on trade lines out of the Far East, helping to offset a price surge in the US-bound short-term market recorded at the start of September.

Pittsburgh-based aerospace company Astrobotic and Honda’s North American subsidiary are working on integrating Astrobotic’s vertical solar array technology with Honda’s regenerative fuel cell system to develop a power and storage solution capable of supporting prolonged exploration of the moon.

The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) says dust, pollution, and debris on solar panels reduce output by 4% to 7% worldwide, costing the industry billions of euros annually and making tailored mitigation increasingly urgent.