[SMM PV News] Italy Adds 6.4 GW Solar in 2025 as Utility-Scale Boom

[SMM Analysis: Space PV Stimulates Market Sentiment to Heat Up, Yet the Path to PV Commercialization Remains Long] On January 22, Musk strongly endorsed space PV during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and disclosed key capacity plans. Musk stated that SpaceX and Tesla are simultaneously advancing solar capacity expansion, aiming to achieve an annual solar manufacturing capacity of 100 GW within the next three years to power ground-based data centers and space AI satellites. Following the earlier visit by Musk's SpaceX team to China to meet with Chinese PV enterprises, market sentiment in the PV sector further rose.

Greece's energy regulator (RAAEY) has initiated the first auctions under the ’Apollo Program‘, tendering 200 MW of solar-plus-storage and 400 MW of wind capacity to lower electricity costs for low-income households. The single-step static auction requires developers to submit bids by March 16, with maximum strike prices set at €80/MWh for solar-storage projects and €75/MWh for wind. Winning projects will secure 20-year Contracts for Difference (CfDs) and must be grid-ready by December 31, 2027. To ensure competition, the regulator mandates a 40% oversubscription rate and limits any single bidder to 25% of the total capacity. A second phase targeting municipalities is expected later this year.

Omani manufacturer United Solar Holding has commenced production at its polysilicon facility in the Sohar Freezone, targeting an annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons, which enough to support 40 GW of solar modules. The milestone follows the closure of a massive debt financing package in mid-January totaling over $900 million, split between a $480 million facility led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and over $400 million from local commercial banks. The project's largest shareholder, Future Fund Oman, has increased its stake to approximately $260 million.