[Storage: Japan awards 1.25GW of battery storage in latest LTDA auction]

Romania’s Environmental Fund Administration may not run the Casa Verde rooftop solar grant program this year, after the scheme was also suspended last year. The program previously covered up to 90% of household PV system costs, but local reports suggest it may be transformed into a battery storage grant scheme for prosumers, of which Romania now has more than 250,000. RPIA said a proposed EUR 76 million budget in 2026 is expected to support hybrid PV-plus-storage systems for residential and C&I users, mainly targeting existing PV prosumers. SMM believes Romania’s policy focus is shifting from pure solar capacity expansion toward higher self-consumption, grid flexibility and distributed system resilience, with storage becoming a key driver for continued rooftop PV growth.

Mendoza province has inaugurated the 360MW El Quemado Solar Park in Las Heras, making it the largest photovoltaic plant in Argentina, surpassing the 315MW Cauchari complex. The USD 220 million project was originally developed by provincial utility Emesa and later acquired and built by YPF Luz, with the first 100MW unit entering commercial operation last December. The plant covers around 620 hectares and includes more than 511,000 bifacial modules, 5,800 trackers and 1,170 inverters, with an estimated capacity factor of 31.4%. With El Quemado online, Mendoza’s installed solar capacity now exceeds 700MW, while its project pipeline is expected to surpass 1GW.

Brazil added 4.4GW of solar capacity in the first quarter of 2026, including 2.3GW from utility-scale projects and 2.2GW from distributed generation. In March, the country planned to connect 25 utility-scale solar plants totaling around 1.1GW, although new centralized connections are expected to slow toward the end of the year. If the first-quarter connection pace continues, Brazil could add 8.7GW of distributed solar and 4.7GW of utility-scale solar in 2026, bringing total annual additions to around 13.4GW, above ABsolar’s earlier forecast of about 10GW. SMM believes grid connection constraints, regulatory changes and rising curtailment pressure will remain key challenges, while storage, energy efficiency upgrades and migration to the free energy market could help sustain sector growth.