PV and energy storage system (ESS) manufacturer JA announced that the hybrid back-contact (BC) cell used in its HyperGen modules achieved a conversion efficiency of 28.38%, tested by TÜV Rheinland. The company said the result sets a world record for BC cell efficiency, surpassing the 28.2% achieved in May 2026 by HyperGen HBC cells developed in cooperation with Gold Stone (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
JA ran an eight-week roadshow across Europe starting September 2, 2026, presenting its HyperGen modules, among other products (see JA Takes PV & Storage Solutions On A European Roadshow).
Inverter and ESS manufacturer Sungrow has signed an agreement with five other parties, including Sunwoda’s wholly owned subsidiary Xinneng Industrial Development, to establish a private equity fund focused on energy storage assets, with total subscribed capital of RMB 1 billion.
The Shenzhen New Energy Storage Industry Equity Fund will contribute RMB 449 million (44.9%), followed by Xinneng Industrial Development with RMB 225 million (22.5%), Sungrow as a limited partner with RMB 174 million (17.4%), and energy service provider Makesense Energy Technology with RMB 150 million (15%). The remaining two general partners, Renfa Xinneng and Yuanzhi Energy Storage, will each contribute RMB 1 million (0.1%).
The fund has an 8-year operating period, comprising a 5-year investment period and a 3-year exit period. Its investment scope includes energy storage power stations, standalone grid-side storage projects, green power direct-connection projects, and storage assets serving emerging applications such as computing-power centers and zero-carbon industrial parks.
Hubei Province has released its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for building a new energy system, targeting 85 GW of installed wind and solar capacity by 2030. The plan calls for total renewable power capacity to exceed 130 GW, accounting for 70% of the province’s total installed power capacity.
For energy storage, Hubei aims to have 9 GW of pumped-storage hydropower and 8 GW of new-type energy storage capacity in place by 2030. It also plans to add 2 GW of standalone grid-side storage capacity to support peak-demand supply.
The plan supports multiple storage technologies, including lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, hydrogen storage, flow batteries, and compressed-air energy storage. It also calls for flow battery manufacturing bases in Xiangyang and Yichang to develop vanadium-based and iron-based flow battery supply chains. Hubei will promote direct green power connections, coordination between computing power and energy systems, and building-integrated PV (BIPV), while developing PV and wind power equipment manufacturing and recycling industries.
Solar cell output from China’s large industrial enterprises totaled 73.59 GW in September, down 5.1% year-on-year (YoY) and slightly below the 74.2 GW recorded in August, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Large industrial enterprises (industrial enterprises above the designated size) are defined as those with annual primary business revenue of at least RMB 20 million.
Note that the 5.1% decline was much smaller than the 12.9% YoY decline reported in August (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Cumulative output in the first nine months (9M) of 2026 totaled 579.03 GW, down 13.5% from the same period in 2025.
By contrast, solar power generation by large industrial enterprises rose 12.9% YoY to 549.7 TWh in 9M 2026. Wind power generation rose 1.9% to 802.2 TWh.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued an implementation plan for dual controls on carbon emissions across the industrial and information technology sectors. By 2030, the plan targets reductions of more than 17% in CO₂ emissions per unit of value added and more than 10% in energy consumption per unit of value added at industrial enterprises above the designated size compared with 2025 levels.
The plan calls for a carbon-management framework covering local-government assessments, sector-level controls, corporate carbon management, project carbon evaluations and product carbon footprints. It also calls for stronger enforcement, diagnostic services, technology promotion and standards to improve emissions management in key industries.
MIIT plans to support the construction of about 500 national-level zero-carbon factories and zero-carbon computing facilities by 2030, while promoting electricity substitution and green-energy use. Industrial companies and parks will be encouraged to develop green microgrids integrating PV, wind power, high-efficiency heat pumps, new energy storage, hydrogen, waste-heat and pressure recovery, combustible waste, and smart energy-management systems.
