Photovoltaic Cell Makers Eye Price Hikes Amid Silicon Wafer Cost Rise, But Market Remains Unresponsive

Solar power generation in Portugal reached a record peak of approximately 3.85 GW in August, supported by continued capacity growth, with 372 MW of solar added between December 2025 and May 2026 bringing cumulative capacity to around 7.3 GW. Solar PV became Portugal's largest source of electricity generation for the first time in July, covering 19% of national consumption, ahead of hydropower at 16% and wind at 13%, while renewables supplied 52% of consumption in August. Over the first eight months of the year, renewables covered 66% of Portuguese electricity consumption, with hydropower at 25%, wind at 23% and solar at 13%. Net electricity imports also hit a new peak above 5.2 GW following the reinforcement of interconnection capacity with Spain.

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.