【SMM News Flash】 India curtails 4.2% of solar generation in July and August

October 12, China Southern Power Grid opened its eighth 2026 grid construction tender. It covers a third transformer at Guangdong’s 500 kV Kebei substation and, in Guizhou, bays for the second Xishui–Shixiang circuit and central ring-grid upgrades. Bid ceilings are RMB11.7817 million and RMB143.7485 million, respectively, financed entirely with internal funds. Guangdong construction is scheduled to start December 10, 2026. Both Guizhou works are scheduled to start December 30, with completion on December 10, 2027 and June 30, 2028, respectively. Bids close and open at 15:00 on November 4, 2026.

[SMM Analysis: Polysilicon Industry Meeting Held Again Over the Weekend! Production Cuts? Price Limits?] As for the upside in downstream module prices, in my personal opinion, the IRR returns of end-user projects are always the key factor. Weak electricity price returns, the disappearance of subsidies, and individual IRRs falling as low as or even lower than bank deposit interest rates remain the core pain points. End users are not pushing for lower prices without limits; rather, their own return hurdles are difficult to clear. Only by improving their returns through certain measures (such as reducing other costs, raising electricity prices, or other auxiliary income, etc.) can module and even upstream prices have upside. Otherwise, forced price hikes will either put the midstream under pressure or possibly sacrifice the already limited demand.

Data from the Clean Energy Council (CEC) shows that Australia installed 180,878 rooftop solar systems in the first half of 2026, up 35% year on year and marking the strongest six-month period since 2021. New rooftop solar installations totalled 1,894MW during the period. Battery adoption also accelerated, with an average of 153 household batteries installed for every 100 new rooftop solar systems. Rooftop PV supplied around 12.9% of Australia’s electricity during the same period. As household battery penetration continues to rise, Australia’s distributed solar market is increasingly shifting from standalone PV installations toward integrated home solar-plus-storage energy systems.