[SMM PV Flash] 6 GW! Another Ex-China Topcon Solar Cell Plant Starts Production!

The Philippine government is preparing a new procurement round under its Green Energy Auction program targeting agrisolar and aquasolar projects. The Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture have reviewed a draft MoU for the auction, which is scheduled as GEA-9, with official terms of reference targeted for publication in Q4 2026. The DOE said agrisolar and aquasolar installations can optimize abandoned, underdeveloped and underutilized land and water resources while supporting food security and rural livelihoods. The Philippines previously announced plans to hold GEA-6 to GEA-9 over the next two years as part of a wider target to auction 25GW of renewables by 2035.

South Korea will hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 7 for the 400MW Haenam solar complex, the country’s largest solar project to date. Located in southern South Korea, the project will be built on around 4.79 million square meters of idle land, including reclaimed saline land, and is expected to be completed in 2028. Once operational, it will generate about 529GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to the consumption of around 130,000 Korean households, and supply companies and industrial complexes with 100% renewable energy targets. The project will use domestically produced modules, cells and inverters, with Hanwha QCells selected to supply cells and modules. It will also include a resident participation and profit-sharing mechanism, returning around KRW 150 billion in generation profits to the local community over the project period.

Latvia’s solar capacity has reached 1.52GW, according to the Latvian Renewable Energy Alliance, implying around 601MW of new additions so far in 2026 and making this year the country’s strongest year for solar deployment. Five new solar parks with a combined connection capacity of 519MW have been connected to the transmission grid this year, located in Ventspils, South Kurzeme, Valmiera, Madona and Krāslava. In addition, around 782MW of utility-scale solar is connected to the distribution grid, while microgeneration systems of up to 11.1kW now total around 220MW. Strong capacity growth helped solar become Latvia’s largest electricity source in May and June, with solar generation reaching 274GWh in June, equal to 55% of total national electricity generation.