Key Trends

• India’s solar sector posted its strongest quarter on record, with 15.3 GW of new capacity installed in Q1 2026 — a 143% year-on-year increase driven by accelerated commissioning ahead of the June ALMM-II regulatory deadline, positioning India to approach 50 GW of annual installations in FY2026.
• The US-China solar trade dispute is drawing in new geographies, with eight US manufacturers filing a petition with the Department of Commerce alleging that Chinese firms are routing assembly through Ethiopia to circumvent existing countervailing duties — a pattern that mirrors earlier circumvention investigations targeting Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and Laos.
• Europe is curtailing solar output at scale due to grid constraints, even as the gas market remains tight — Bloomberg reporting that vast amounts of electricity are going to waste because grids cannot absorb surplus generation, a structural tension that sits alongside separate warnings from National Grid that wasted wind could cost Britain £12bn.

GSC and Associations in the News

Properly equipping your home; charging your electric car for free at home? What homeowners need. (WAZ Plus)

Rising fuel prices are shifting the focus to electric cars and solar power. How owners can save money by investing in charging…The Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW) also emphasizes the economic viability of solar power systems and points to the prices for solar battery storage systems for homes, “which have fallen massively in recent years.”

Agrivoltaics, where farming and clean energy meet (Irish Examiner)

As climate change accelerates and the world’s population continues to grow, novel approaches such as agrivoltaics (AV) are attracting interest as a way to support both food production and clean energy generation…In Ireland, Ronan Power, CEO of Solar Ireland, sees agrivoltaics as an opportunity to align climate action with the future of farming.

India Installed 15.3 GW solar power in Q1 of 2026 (Times of Oman)

India installed 15.3 GW of new solar PV capacity in the first quarter of the calendar year. Installations in its ‘strongest quarter ever’ rose by more than 143% year-on-year (YoY) from 6.3 GW in Q1 2025, according to Mercom India Research.…Earlier in an exclusive interview with TaiyangNews, National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) CEO Subrahmanyam Pulipaka forecast India to become the world’s second-largest solar PV market in FY2026 with installations approaching 50 GW AC.

Regional Developments

Africa

• Ethiopia Drawn Into U.S.-China Solar Trade Tensions (Ecofin)
• Renewvia Energy Plans $750 Million Solar Mini-Grid Expansion Across Africa (Solar Quarter)
• One year without load-shedding thanks to South Africans with solar panels (My Broadband)

North America

• Meta Signs 850 MW of New Clean Energy Purchase Deals Across U.S. (ESG Today)
• California commission to make final decision on community solar rules (Utility Dive)
• Canadian Solar managing ‘solar downturn’ that has lasted ‘longer than expected’ (S&P Global)
• Standard Solar, partners unveil 7.5-MW New Mexico community solar farm (Renewables Now)

Latin America

• A Latin American Model for Dealing with Rising Gasoline Prices (Americas Quarterly)

Asia

• Pakistan’s solar revolution (The World)
• Uzbekistan’s electricity mix shifts dramatically toward green energy (Trend News Agency)
• Is your solar power set-up legit? Bernos warns Pinoys about fly-by-night providers (Manila Bulletin)

Australia

• Construction begins on AU$72 million solar-powered green hydrogen hub in New South Wales, Australia (PV Tech)

EU & UK

• Europe Is Turning Off Solar Just as Gas Market Tightens (Bloomberg)
• Wasted wind threatens to cost Britain £12bn, warns National Grid (The Telegraph)
• Three million UK households planning to install solar panels in the next five years (Renewable Energy Magazine)

Other Solar News

• Solar financing surges past $11 billion in Q1 amid spike in debt deals, M&As (Financial Express)
• Study: Coal pollution is making solar less effective (Solar Power World)
• Smartphones may usher in a new era of solar power (The Cool Down)

Social Media Highlights

• John Rich🇺🇸 posted on X, “If your land is being threatened by a wind or solar project, and you wish to mount a defense against the proposal, hit me in the replies and also file a report at http://USDA.Gov/lawfare I am committed to protecting American land owners from egregious actions against their land.” The post received 274 replies, 3.1k shares, and 7.6k likes.