2026 is set to be a year of reset, repowering, and resilient growth
As the solar industry navigates a transformative 2026, success belongs to the “middle market” innovators and service-driven firms mastering the billion-dollar repowering boom.
Illinois sets energy storage procurement goal
Governor Pritzker signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act into law, directing the procurement of 3 GW of energy storage in Illinois over the next two years.
Grid-forming inverters significantly enhance grid stability, national lab finds
The Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative in Hawaii, which deployed storage before grid-forming inverters became available, became a test case for diagnosing grid issues that can arise with older grid-following inverters, and how grid-forming inverters can stabilize a grid.
Solar module efficiency could exceed 35% by 2050
A new Perspectives research study on the future of the global PV supply chain outlines how module prices, performance, and lifetimes could evolve over the next 25 years. The work reflects a collaboration among leading solar research institutions worldwide. One of the study’s authors, the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), told pv magazine that solar module and cell efficiencies could exceed 35% by 2050, with panel prices expected to drop by a factor of two.
In case you missed it: This week’s top five solar news stories
pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.
Renewable Properties increases capital facility to $120 million
Additional funds of $40 million from AB CarVal will support pipeline expansion into new markets and technologies.
Treaty Oak Clean Energy begins construction on 385 MW Louisiana solar portfolio
Two projects in Morehouse and Sabine parishes will provide power to Meta.
Sodium-ion battery cells already near lithium-ion cost parity, set to get cheaper
By 2050, sodium-ion batteries with fast learning rates could deliver storage at $12.76 – $16.24/MWh – cheaper than lithium-ion at $18.56 – $25.52/MWh – while also offering higher energy-to-power ratios and high cycle durability, a new research finds.
La Niña Ridge drives December solar gains across U.S. Southwest
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that December’s solar resource reflected a classic La Niña pattern, with suppressed irradiance in the Pacific Northwest and above-normal conditions across the southern U.S. A blocking ridge brought clear skies and strong solar gains to the Southwest and Texas, while cloud cover and fog reduced output farther north.
U.S. would reach 100% renewable energy by 2148 at recent pace
China is outpacing the U.S. toward 100% renewables for all energy uses and is on track to reach that standard by 2051, versus 2148 for the U.S., projects a study of 150 countries by Stanford professor Mark Jacobson.
