The future leaves
signals in time.

The Energy Storage Awards 2026 have revealed their shortlist, kicking off the countdown to the industry event. According to the organisers, the expert judges' difficult decisions to select winners from hundreds of worthy entries are almost finalised.

US rooftop solar firm Sunrun has made a sharp pivot into energy storage, enabling more households to participate in money-saving virtual power plants whether or not they have rooftop solar panels. The article's headline voices a call for energy storage rather than data centers.

Commuter rail systems such as Chicago's Metra are exploring battery-electric trains, aiming to increase service while reducing diesel exhaust pollution and noise. The article offers a first look at this effort.

According to The Brattle Group, scaling residential virtual power plants that utilize thermostats, batteries and EV chargers could cut electric bill increases by half. The group recommends that utilities look to OEM-led enrollment strategies to expand these residential VPPs.

In the 2026 crisis window, night-time day-ahead prices in Spain, Germany and Greece rose by €36 ($40.0) to €51/MWh against the same dates in 2025, while midday prices moved by between −€4 and +€14/MWh. Solar earned 43% to 50% of the baseload price over the first 227 days, compared with 85% to 91% after the 2022 shock, and the widening gap between noon and night is where the case for storage now sits.

Modi Energy, backed by Emaldo, says it will launch a zero-upfront offer in Denmark under which it installs, owns, and operates rooftop solar and home batteries for households, funding a guaranteed 20% bill reduction through energy optimization and participation in power and flexibility markets.

Researchers in Sweden and Italy studied semitransparent, magenta-colored cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar panels designed to transmit wavelengths favorable for broccoli growth in an agrivoltaic trial. The study found the panels affected microclimatic conditions, photosynthetic performance, nutrient composition, and overall land productivity.

The Illinois Power Agency (IPA) is seeking stakeholder feedback on its summer procurement of 600MW of energy storage projects in the US state, after falling short by 438MW.

Unico has launched the 330 kW bidirectional inverter Unico GTI, a compact rack-mounted unit made in the USA that supports solar generation, energy storage or emerging high-power loads.

Researchers in Spain, using two years of operational data from a 50 MWp solar plant and validating findings across four additional installations in Spain and the UK, found that the effective bifaciality of utility-scale PV modules can be up to 15% lower than nominal ratings, highlighting the influence of irradiance, temperature, mounting geometry and operating conditions on rear-side generation.

A panel of BESS industry experts discussed the details of long-term service agreements (LTSAs) at the Battery Asset Management Summit UK & Ireland 2026.

French lightweight solar panel manufacturer Heliup has partnered with Holcim's Elevate brand to launch Solar Light TPO, a rooftop PV system that combines lightweight solar modules with a waterproofing membrane, designed for roofs with limited load-bearing capacity.

Eskom, South Africa's state-owned utility and grid operator, has issued a call and opened a selection process for a 1.5GW/21GWh pumped hydro energy storage project, as part of the country's continued push for energy storage capacity.

Trina Solar researchers have proposed a new classification distinguishing reversible and irreversible ultraviolet-induced degradation in TOPCon solar cells. The framework aims to improve reliability testing, identify persistent performance losses, and provide more accurate assessments of long-term module performance under real-world conditions.

EcoFlow has launched a three-model residential storage range offering 5–30 kWh, combining battery backup, solar charging and a new home panel, with immediate availability. It is a smaller starting option than EcoFlow's Delta Pro Ultra systems.

Recent comments by TOYO at its 2026 Solar Analyst Day suggested the United States does not need more solar module capacity, yet capital expenditure continues to flow into the module segment. The article questions whether TOYO's view is correct and draws no conclusion.

David Oudsandji, CEO of Voltfang, argues that Europe is no longer betting on second-life repurposing of EV batteries for stationary BESS applications, and that this is not a bad thing.