Key Trends

• The EU Council adopted a common position on the European grids package on 26 June, accompanied by a tripartite storage pact, though SolarPower Europe flagged gaps on digital permitting, grid connection timelines, and developer transparency.
• A UK heatwave lifted solar generation by nearly 50% over four days, coinciding with Andy Burnham’s Makerfield by-election win and anticipated appointment as Prime Minister, with the solar industry welcoming his reindustrialisation platform as an opportunity to accelerate renewable deployment.
• Battery storage continued to consolidate as the dominant theme across European markets, with the 1,600 MWh Stadorf BESS (Elements Green/Envision Energy) announced at Intersolar Europe and Romania and Bulgaria identified as emerging hotspots in the Balkans.
• Reuters reported the US is working on a ban targeting Chinese energy inverters, adding to existing restrictions on connected-vehicle software and amplifying supply chain exposure concerns for the global solar industry.
• Spain’s solar overbuild is prompting investor exits according to Bloomberg, while Brazil’s grid faces stress tests ahead of the 2026 World Cup — two signals that rapid capacity additions without commensurate grid investment remain a structural risk across markets.

GSC and Associations in the News

Africa’s power market is changing fast — and private capital is driving it (bizcommunity)

British power developer Gridworks recently signed two landmark agreements with the Government of Uganda to begin construction on the Amari Project, widely regarded as Africa’s first independent transmission project to reach this phase … Africa installed a record 4.5 GW of solar capacity in 2025, according to the Global Solar Council, with roughly 44% of new additions coming from distributed, rooftop, commercial, and captive systems rather than purely utility-scale projects.

Solar & Storage For 300 Million Homes & Businesses By 2030 (Taiyang News)

The Global Solar Council (GSC) and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) have formed a global partnership to accelerate the adoption of rooftop solar and battery storage, with a goal of reaching 300 million homes and small businesses by 2030.

Germany-Elements Green and Envision Energy partner on 1,600 MWh Stadorf BESS (Renewable Energy Magazine)

Global independent power producer (IPP) Elements Green has partnered with green technology specialist Envision Energy to deliver the 1600 MWh Stadorf battery energy storage system (BESS) project, announced at Intersolar Europe in Munich.

Jackery SolarVault 3 Taps Balcony Solar Potential At InterSolar Europe (CleanTechnica)

I recently had the opportunity to attend InterSolar Europe in Munich, the headlining show of The smarter E Europe. The show was both overwhelming and encouraging. Battery storage is becoming essential to solar power.

‘Kostal expands its self-consumption portfolio with new storage and charging solutions (Energias Renovables)

Kostal, the German manufacturer of electronic components for the photovoltaic sector, used its participation in Intersolar Europe 2026 to expand its self-consumption product range.

Batteries “Leading” the Energy Transition: Romania and Bulgaria are the “Hot” Markets in the Balkans (Economedia.ro)

Energy storage has already gained a position at the forefront of the energy transition, as markets across Europe are moving in this direction at a rapid pace, even if there are differences from one country to another. This is the main conclusion of this year’s “Intersolar Europe” event, which took place from 23 to 25 June in Munich, Germany.

Chinese company Sermatec enters Romanian energy storage market with 10 MW / 40 MWh battery project in Olt County (Economedia.ro)

Chinese company Sermatec is entering the Romanian large-scale energy storage market, after signing a contract for the development of a 10 MW / 40 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Olt County. The project, announced at the Intersolar Europe 2026 fair, is owned by SERVICE IT SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT SRL.

Interview: China helps make solar, battery storage more affordable globally: German industry leader (Xinhua News Agency)

China has played a key role in making solar power and battery storage more affordable worldwide through its manufacturing scale and efficient supply chains, Markus Elsaesser, founder and CEO of Germany’s Solar Promotion GmbH, said in a recent interview with Xinhua. As Europe accelerates its decarbonization efforts, cooperation with China, rather than decoupling, will remain important for maintaining affordable energy prices and advancing the clean energy transition, said Elsaesser, whose company organizes Intersolar Europe, Europe’s largest solar and energy storage exhibition.

Andy Burnham promises reindustrialisation and utility reformation through ‘No 10 North’ (Edie)

Labour MP Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election, and with Keir Starmer announcing his resignation last week, Burnham is expected to be named Prime Minister this month unless another Labour MP comes forward … The focus on housebuilding and reindustrialisation has been welcomed by the UK’s solar industry. “The foundation of reindustrialisation has to be cutting the cost of energy and consigning price spikes to the history books. That means finally weaning the country off natural gas through mass electrification of the economy, combined with growing cheap renewable generation faster than ever,” said Chris Hewett, Chief Executive of Solar Energy UK.

EU Council adopts position on grids package, industry signs storage pact (Renewables Now)

EU energy ministers agreed on June 26 on a common position on the proposed European grids package, while representatives from public authorities, the storage sector and industrial energy consumers signed a tripartite initiative on energy storage in parallel. … SolarPower Europe, the European trade association for the solar industry, welcomed the agreement achieved at the Energy Council as “an important step in advancing Europe’s energy transition.” However, its deputy CEO Dries Acke noted that the common position does not go far enough in introducing digital permitting, setting clear grid connection timelines and improving transparency for renewable and storage developers regarding grid connection options.

Regional Developments

Africa

• Partners plan 500 EVs, 10 solar charging stations deployment (Punch)
• Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy wins $560 million Egypt solar project (Financial Express)
• Mulilo bets on batteries to boost South Africa’s grid and maximise renewables (African Energy Newsletter)
• Renewable energy investment powers country’s growth (Daily News)

North America

• US working on ban targeting Chinese energy inverters, sources say (Reuters)
• Stalled US permits threaten $121 billion in wind and solar investment, report shows (Reuters)
• Solar power project holds open house at Cote First Nation (Canadian Press via Hamilton Spectator)
• Matrix Renewables Closes on Financing for a Portfolio of Utility-Scale Solar and Storage Projects (Renewable Energy Magazine)
• Virginia defines agrivoltaics, expanding opportunities for solar (Utility Dive)

Latin America

• Why a small tourist island off of Brazil is ditching diesel for solar (Marketplace)
• Solar Boom Poses World Cup Test for Brazil’s Power Grid (Bloomberg)
• Chile Battery Storage: CIP’s 1.1 GWh Atacama Plant Tackles Solar Curtailment (Tech Times)
• Mexico targets 12GW of new solar PV additions by 2030 (PV Tech)
• Mexico’s Ammper continues generation drive with 120MW solar project (BNamericas)
• Mexico Reaches 5 Gigawatts of Distributed Solar Power (Clean Technica)

Asia

• India’s rooftop solar boom meets a grid reality check (BusinessLine)
• Solar parks inaugurated in Neemuch & Shajapur (The Times of India)
• Madhya Pradesh inaugurates 500 MW Neemuch Solar Park, achieves country’s lowest solar tariff (The Statesman)
• NE China’s first solar thermal power plant put into operation, marking a major breakthrough (Global Times)
• Government raises rooftop solar excess electricity sales cap to 50 per cent (Viêt Nam News)
• Verdant secures guarantee for Vietnam’s first C&I solar bond (Renewables Now)
• AboitizPower completes third Pangasinan solar plant, expands RE portfolio (Manila Bulletin)

Australia

• Research points to ‘recyclability of solar panel components’ in Australia (PV Tech)
• Neoen begins building battery alongside one of Australia’s biggest solar farms (pv magazine)
• Singapore renewables developer makes billion-dollar boost to Australian solar and battery plans (Renew Economy)

EU & UK

• Is EU solar energy at risk from a Chinese cyber threat? (DW)
• As China dominates solar and energy sector, fears emerge over EU’s ‘high-risk’ crackdown (South China Morning Post)
• Spain Built Too Much Solar. Investors Want Out (Bloomberg)
• The new ways to pay for solar panels — including salary sacrifice (The Times)
• UK heatwave boosts solar generation by nearly 50 percent in just four days (Renewable Energy Magazine)
• Heatwave delivers savings spike for UK homes fitted with solar (edie)
• Germany awards 2.5 GW of onshore wind and 0.5 GW of solar-plus-storage (Enerdata)
• RWE, PPC commission 930 MWp of solar capacity in Greece (Renewables Now)

Social Media Highlights

• John Hanger – Former Commissioner of Pennsylvania PUC, Secretary of Pennsylvania DEP – shared on Bluesky a post sharing Reuters’ story on the Philippines leading the world in a rush to solar energy, garnering 4.8K likes.