[Solar: Solar reaches new power generation highs in Portugal in August]

New Jersey has enacted the Garden State Balcony Solar Act, becoming the ninth US state to explicitly allow plug-in solar systems. Under the law, plug-in solar devices can connect to a home’s existing electrical system through a standard 120V outlet. Customers may use portable solar devices with combined output of up to 1,200W without an interconnection agreement, while systems of 400W or less are exempt from requirements for changes to building wiring or electrical panels, though they must still meet safety standards. The law also prevents landlords, homeowner associations and municipalities from banning such systems or requiring permits for their use. The act will take effect on March 1, 2027.

Brazil's Federal Senate has approved Bill 278/2026 establishing the Redata special tax regime for data centers, suspending import duties, IPI and PIS/Cofins federal taxes on equipment and components for five years. Among the conditions for accessing the benefits, data centers must meet their entire contracted electricity demand through supply agreements or self-generation using renewable or low-emission sources. Eleven long-term renewable contracts between generators and data centers totaling 330 MW and about BRL 7.7 billion ($1.4 billion) were signed from 2021 to 2024, and the new regime is expected to further expand demand for solar and wind projects and PPAs as Brazil's data center market grows. The bill now goes to the president for sanction.

India's Central Electricity Authority has published draft amendments to its technical standards requiring ground-mounted solar and onshore wind projects commissioned after July 1, 2027 to install co-located energy storage equal to at least 10% of installed capacity with a minimum two-hour duration, rising to four hours for projects commissioned from July 2029 through June 2031. The draft also mandates that at least 15% of inverters in renewable plants have grid-forming control, while all power conversion systems of battery storage must be grid-forming, with stakeholder comments open until October 4. More than 8,133 GWh of solar was curtailed in the first quarter of the fiscal year as the grid could not absorb daytime surplus, and the new rules aim to address mounting curtailment and grid stability concerns.