[SMM PV News] US Energy Storage Hit by Policy Shifts

California-based Swift Solar has acquired the core manufacturing assets and heterojunction patent portfolio from Swiss firm Meyer Burger. The deal, which includes the transfer of Meyer Burger's specialized engineering team and executive leadership, aims to establish gigawatt-scale silicon-perovskite tandem cell production in the US. By stacking its proprietary perovskite technology onto Meyer Burger's high-efficiency HJT base layer, Swift Solar plans to surpass conventional silicon's 30% efficiency limit, potentially delivering up to 40% more power from the same physical footprint. This vertically integrated approach aligns directly with US policy goals for domestic supply chain security, offering a viable path to onshore cell manufacturing that has historically been concentrated in Asia.

India's Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has launched a tender for 1 GW of round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy projects under a build-own-operate (BOO) model. A mandatory requirement is the inclusion of energy storage systems (ESS), which can be owned directly or contracted via third parties, and all projects must connect to the interstate transmission system (ISTS). SECI will offer 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) to successful bidders, with individual bid capacities ranging from 100 MW to 500 MW. Notably, developers with existing 'untied capacity' from operating or under-construction projects are also eligible to participate and may benefit from extended PPA terms.