US PV manufacturer SEG Solar has announced the official launch of Phase I of its first 2GW solar cell production plant in Indonesia. The plant will mass-produce SEG's independently developed high-efficiency n-type solar cells, with an average conversion efficiency of 26.4%. The initial construction phase includes a total of four production lines utilizing screen printing technology, equipped with double-sided alternating printing equipment. The average production cycle time for a single cell is 0.75 seconds. SEG stated that this speed is 20% faster than the traditional industry standard.

[SMM Silicon-based PV Morning Meeting Summary: Wafer Prices Continue to Weaken, Solar Cell Inventory Up 76.56% WoW] Wafer: The market price of N-type 18X wafers is 0.93-0.95 yuan/piece; the price of 210R wafers is 1.05-1.1 yuan/piece. Wafer prices continue to weaken, with some major manufacturers maintaining their quotes, while individual smaller manufacturers have lowered their quotes for large orders. Solar Cell: Module manufacturers adjust their procurement needs based on their own production schedules, leading to a decrease in orders and an increase in solar cell inventory, up 76.56% WoW.

Norway's Scatec ASA has started building the 1.1-GW Obelisk solar project in Egypt, which includes a 100 MW/200 MWh battery storage system.

According to Wiki-Solar, the top 15 utility-scale solar plant owners are all multinational energy companies, with 12 also ranking among the top developers. ACWA Power climbed eight spots to become the #5 developer, driven by major projects in Saudi Arabia.

The UK’s Crown Estate has approved plans for higher-density offshore wind farms on existing seabed leases, enabling seven projects—including RWE’s Rampion 2 and SSE/Equinor’s Dogger Bank D—to add 4.7 gigawatts of capacity.

PJM Interconnection, the largest US power grid serving 20% of Americans, warns that extreme heat this summer could lead to power supply shortages for the first time, especially if demand reaches 166 GW—surpassing the 2006 record of 165.6 GW.

Indian renewable energy company Revayu Energy has launched operations in Doha, Qatar, marking its expansion into the Middle East.

From May 12, 2025, to May 18, 2025, SMM recorded a total of 21 domestic enterprise projects that won bids for PV module projects that week. The winning bid prices for PV modules were concentrated in the range of 0.65-0.86 yuan/W, with a weighted average winning bid price of 0.71 yuan/W for the week, representing a decrease of 0.05 yuan/W compared to the previous week. The total procurement capacity for the winning bids was 29.55 MW, a decrease of 234.22 MW compared to the previous week.