Rising curtailment and low or negative midday electricity prices are pushing utility-scale solar projects toward storage, dispatchability and grid-support functions
Navitas Solar stressed that early decisions on grid access, storage, suppliers and plant design shape energy yield and operating costs throughout a project’s life
JA ESS presented an integrated PV, battery, energy management and grid-connection approach aimed at reducing curtailment and creating value beyond low-cost generation
TrinaTracker combined fixed-tilt and tracker platforms with intelligent tracking, installation automation, robotic cleaning and lifecycle services
Jinko ESS, GoodWe and Sungrow outlined AC- and DC-coupled storage designs, grid-forming controls and higher-capacity utility-scale storage platforms
BELECTRIC showed how site constraints, PV layout, battery sizing and operating strategy can be compared through hourly simulations and net present value analysis
The role of utility-scale solar is changing. Producing electricity at the lowest cost remains important, but power plants are increasingly expected to supply electricity when it is needed and support grid stability. As renewable generation grows, grid congestion, curtailment, and periods of low or negative electricity prices are increasing. Solar power plants can therefore no longer be considered independently of energy storage. Advanced controls and grid-forming power conversion systems are also becoming important components of new projects. TaiyangNews Solar Power Plants & Storage Conference 2026 examined this transition across the project lifecycle. The conference brought together industry experts to discuss market, technology and project trends.
Growing Role Of Storage In Solar Markets
Opening the conference, TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela said the event’s scope had expanded from solar power plants to solar-plus-storage to reflect this market transition. Citing SolarPower Europe’s medium scenario, he said global solar installations were expected to decline temporarily in 2026, largely due to changes in China’s market design. However, the long-term outlook remains positive, particularly for utility-scale PV. At the same time, growing midday solar generation is lowering capture prices and contributing to negative electricity prices in several markets, while evening power prices remain relatively high. Schmela noted that storage can help address this imbalance by shifting solar generation to periods of higher demand, providing backup power and adding the flexibility electricity systems increasingly require.
Solar Projects Require Integrated Planning Across Their Lifecycle
In a keynote presentation, Vijay Menon, Chief Operating Officer at Navitas Solar, discussed solar power plant development from planning and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) to long-term operation. He said decisions made during development and construction directly affect plant yield and operating costs throughout the project’s lifetime.
Menon identified grid-connection queues, slow transmission expansion and curtailment as major development challenges. Solar generation peaks around midday, while electricity demand is often higher in the morning and evening. He therefore recommended considering battery storage early and progressing grid access, land acquisition and community engagement in parallel. Developers must also manage different investor requirements and plan for the recycling of damaged and end-of-life equipment. In EPC, digital design, drone surveys, and automation can improve execution, but tight margins, skilled-labor shortages, and the absence of common global service standards remain concerns. He also talked about the importance of supplier due diligence, given the 25- to 30-year operating life of solar projects.
Solar operations and maintenance (O&M) remain largely reactive, Menon said. AI-based analysis, drones, predictive maintenance platforms and robotic cleaning can help operators identify problems earlier and protect energy yield. Repowering can also support aging assets affected by degradation, particularly when power purchase agreements require minimum energy generation. However, fragmented operational data, unexpected degradation, performance guarantees and service budgets that do not always align continue to challenge O&M providers. Menon added that combining solar with competitively priced storage could improve firm power supply and create significant opportunities in India and other markets.
JA ESS Highlights Value Of Flexible Solar-Plus-Storage
Gloria Gao, Marketing Director at JA ESS, discussed how battery storage can increase the value of utility-scale solar projects. She said levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) remains important, but it does not show the full value of a power plant. Solar projects increasingly face grid congestion, curtailment and low electricity prices during periods of high generation.
Battery storage can charge when solar output and electricity prices are low, and discharge when demand and prices rise. It can also provide frequency response, grid balancing and voltage support. Gao said this changes a conventional solar plant at 3 levels. Physically, it adds storage and a shared grid connection. Operationally, it allows the plant to shift electricity and respond to grid requirements. Commercially, it creates revenue opportunities beyond a single power purchase agreement. These opportunities differ between regions. The US, Europe and China offer different combinations of energy trading, capacity and grid services. In the Middle East and North Africa, storage is more closely linked to large-scale solar, government-backed procurement and firm clean-power supply. Each system must be designed around local market rules and grid conditions, she adds.
JA plans to design PV, storage, the energy management system (EMS) and grid connection as one system. Gao said the company’s solar experience gives it an understanding of generation profiles, degradation and plant operation. JA aims to combine this knowledge with system integration, quality assurance and lifecycle services.
Gao presented an illustrative configuration comprising 500 MW of PV and a 200 MW/800 MWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, providing 4 hours of storage. The DC-coupled system would share a point of interconnection. It could reduce curtailment, shift solar electricity to higher-price periods and provide additional grid services. Gao said the actual results would depend on the site, market design and operating strategy.
JA offers the JAGalaxy utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS). According to the company, the liquid-cooled system has 5.015 MWh of energy capacity and 2.5 MW of rated power. It uses 314 Ah LFP cells and has a charge and discharge rate of 0.5P.
JA also uses AI-based predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics. Software updates and some system issues can be handled remotely. According to the company, predictive maintenance can reduce unplanned downtime by up to 90%, while more than 90% of system issues can be addressed remotely. Gao identified firm clean power, grid-forming storage and software-based operation as key industry trends. She described the next stage of solar development as combining PV, storage and digital controls to manage when and how electricity is supplied, shifting the focus from lower generation costs to higher system value.
TrinaTracker Combines Smart Tracking With Robotics
Ayim Manuel de la Fuente, Product Manager at TrinaTracker, presented the company’s tracker, robotics, and operations and O&M portfolio for utility-scale solar plants.
The company offers a fixed-tilt structure named FixOrigin, available in single-post and dual-post configurations. It supports terrain slopes of up to 30% north-south and 20% east-west. TrinaTracker offers the Vanguard platform in 1P and 2P formats.
The Vanguard 1P, which installs modules in a single portrait row, is available with single-, dual- and multi-drive configurations. These options let developers choose different levels of stability and control based on site conditions. Its Terrain+ design follows uneven land with a slope difference of up to 1.5° between adjacent piles. Used with TTopo software, it can reduce grading, civil works and other site-preparation requirements.
For projects that require higher module density, the Vanguard 2P installs 2 modules in portrait. It accommodates more modules per tracker and requires fewer piles per MW. Its electronic multi-drive architecture synchronizes the drives while using fewer mechanical transmission components than conventional mechanically linked systems, de la Fuente said.
Beyond the hardware, SuperTrack combines smart tracking and backtracking algorithms to respond to irradiance conditions and reduce row-to-row shading. TrinaTracker claims energy-generation gains of up to 8% under suitable conditions.
The company also presented Buildex-D, a robot that transports, scans, picks and positions modules during installation. TrinaTracker reports more than 300 MW of field experience and a module breakage rate of 0.026%.
For plant operation, its self-powered Aurora robot automates module cleaning and supports remote monitoring. More than 350 units have been deployed, with claimed energy gains of up to 15% in certain conditions. The TrackGuard service rounds out the offering with predictive maintenance, inspections, spare-parts support, and performance audits.
Jinko ESS Explains AC- & DC-Coupled Storage Designs
Jinko ESS’ Alessandro La Ganga discussed the use of AC- and DC-coupled battery energy storage systems (BESS) in utility-scale solar plants. He said limited grid availability, midday curtailment and low or negative electricity prices are increasing the need for storage. Many existing PV plants were also built without batteries, making the choice of coupling architecture important when storage is added later.
In the current DC-coupled design, the PV plant and battery share the same DC bus, with a DC/DC converter on the battery side. This arrangement reduces conversion stages and suits storing surplus solar power, but the PV inverter provides limited grid support and no grid-forming capability. La Ganga also presented a newer design expected from PCS manufacturers by the end of 2027. It places the DC/DC converter on the PV side and connects the battery directly to a storage PCS, enabling grid-forming operation, inertia services and fast-frequency response.
In an AC-coupled system, the PV plant and battery connect through separate branches at the medium-voltage point. This allows both systems to operate independently and supports functions such as grid-forming operation and black start. However, the additional conversion stage reduces system efficiency compared with DC coupling.
La Ganga also presented Jinko ESS’ Tera product roadmap. The Tera G1 uses 280 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and offers 3.44 MWh, while the Tera G2 uses 314 Ah cells and provides 5.01 MWh. The Tera G3 will use 587 Ah cells and offer 6.25 MWh, with availability in Europe planned from January 2027. Jinko ESS states a cycle life of 8,000 to more than 10,000 cycles for the product range. La Ganga clarified that the systems are manufactured in China and supplied to Europe with support from the company’s European team.
The company presented 2 case studies. A DC-coupled system across 3 agrivoltaic sites in Germany stores surplus solar power during low or negative-price periods. An AC-coupled system at Athens International Airport stores surplus generation from the airport’s PV plants and supplies it when solar output falls, supporting its use of on-site clean energy.
GoodWe Highlights Grid-Forming PCS Capabilities
Dimitrios Pantoulas, GoodWe’s Technical Director for Utility Projects Europe presented the company’s utility-scale solar and energy storage portfolio.
He said renewable power plants are moving beyond energy conversion and must increasingly support voltage, frequency and grid stability, particularly as inverter-based resources replace conventional generators. Pantoulas introduced GoodWe’s 250 kW and 350 kW UT Series string inverters. The 1,500 V platform offers a maximum efficiency of 99.01%, supports up to 15 maximum power point trackers (MPPTs), and accepts up to 30 DC inputs. According to GoodWe, the inverter can operate at full power at temperatures above 40°C and remain stable under weak-grid conditions with a short-circuit ratio (SCR) above 1.
For energy storage, he presented the 215 kW GW215K-PCS-G10 string power conversion system (PCS). It offers a stated maximum efficiency of 98.8%, continuous overload capability of 1.1 times its rated power and operation at an SCR of 1.0. GoodWe can combine the PCS with a step-up transformer and an optional 24 kV sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)-free ring main unit to form a factory-integrated medium-voltage system.
Pantoulas also introduced GoodWe’s containerized medium-voltage stations, available with ratings ranging from 3.5 MVA to 9 MVA. These stations collect the output from multiple inverters and step it up for connection to the medium-voltage grid. Factory assembly is intended to reduce equipment interfaces and on-site installation work.
A major focus of his presentation was grid-forming control. GoodWe’s PCS combines 6 functions covering voltage and frequency support, virtual inertia, active and reactive power response, oscillation damping, fault support, and black-start and islanded operation. The company says up to 24 PCS units can operate in parallel in an islanded system.
Sungrow Presents Integrated Solar And Storage Solutions
Sungrow’s Savek Dubey presented the company’s solar inverter and energy storage portfolio. He explained how a power conversion system (PCS) and energy management system (EMS) control electricity flows between the solar plant, battery and grid. Surplus solar electricity can charge the battery and be supplied later when demand is higher, or solar generation is unavailable.
The main product presented was Sungrow’s PowerTitan 3.0 AC-coupled energy storage system. It uses 684 Ah battery cells and provides 7.14 MWh of storage capacity. The 4-hour configuration has a rated power of 1.78 MW, while the 2-hour version offers around 3.5 MW. Sungrow claims a system round-trip efficiency of 92%.
The company attributes this efficiency to its stacked battery cells, liquid-cooled silicon carbide-based power conversion equipment and plant-level thermal management. The battery cell has a claimed peak efficiency of 96.5%, while the DC/AC conversion unit reaches a maximum efficiency of 99.3%.
Dubey also presented the company’s DC-coupled solar-plus-storage solutions. Its first-generation system, introduced in 2017, used a separate DC/DC cabinet and central inverter. The second generation integrated the DC/DC converter into the company’s 1+X modular inverter. The upcoming third generation will integrate the PV and storage hardware and controls more closely.
In the proposed PowerTitan 3.0 DC-coupled configuration, the PV array and battery connect to the same modular inverter platform. A DC/DC converter allows solar electricity to charge the battery directly. According to Dubey, the configuration removes the need for a separate storage PCS, transformer and associated AC cabling.
Sungrow says the simpler plant layout can reduce equipment, construction and grid-connection costs. It estimates savings of more than €2 million for a project combining 100 MW of PV with a 100 MW/400 MWh battery system.
For India, Sungrow’s portfolio includes central and string inverters for utility-scale and commercial and industrial projects. Its storage range covers utility-scale PowerTitan systems and smaller commercial products. Upcoming products include the SG510HX inverter, the second-generation 1+X modular inverter and PowerTitan 3.0.
Dubey said the PowerTitan 3.0 AC-coupled system is planned for launch in India by March 2027, followed by the DC-coupled version later in the year. These products are being developed to meet requirements for longer-duration storage, grid-forming operation and black-start capability.
BELECTRIC Compares Solar-Plus-Storage System Designs
Johannes Linder, Director of System Design & Innovation at BELECTRIC, presented the company’s approach to selecting PV and battery configurations for hybrid power plants. He said the preferred design depends on several connected choices, ranging from the battery’s capacity and duration to the PV mounting system and layout.
BELECTRIC evaluates south-facing fixed-tilt, east-west, single-axis tracker and vertical PV systems. For each option, it examines factors such as row spacing, tilt angle and DC/AC ratio. Hourly simulations then determine battery capacity, storage duration and cycling strategy. The company compares the results using net present value (NPV).
Linder presented a case study for a 33-hectare site in central Germany. The project used a green battery energy storage system (BESS), meaning the battery could charge only from the solar plant. After examining more than 3,000 possible designs, BELECTRIC identified a 4-hour battery with power capacity equal to 40% of the PV capacity as the preferred option.
The highest-ranked PV design was a 45 MWp south-facing fixed-tilt system with a 3P structure, a 10° tilt and 2 m row spacing. The first single-axis tracker design ranked 178th. Linder explained that trackers require more land, limiting the PV capacity that can be installed on the same site. The fixed-tilt system therefore achieved the highest NPV in this case.
Panel Highlights Shift Toward Flexible Solar Power Plants
Moderated by TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela, the panel brought together Dimitris Pantoulas, Technical Director, Utility Projects Europe at GoodWe; George Touloupas, Head of Procurement Quality and Localization at Scatec ASA; and Purnendu Kumar Chaubey, Senior Vice President, Strategic Business Development and Policy Affairs at ReNew. They discussed how storage, grid requirements, localization and market design are changing utility-scale solar projects.
The value of the electricity supplied is becoming as important as the cost of building a power plant. Touloupas said standalone solar is losing value in several markets, increasing the need for projects that combine solar and battery storage. He added that quality should not be compromised despite cost pressure and the rapid introduction of new technologies.
Dispatchability and grid readiness are becoming essential as renewable energy capacity increases. Chaubey said India is moving toward different combinations of solar, wind and battery storage. Local sourcing requirements and advanced plant controls will increase costs, which developers will need to include in future projects.
Grid stability is also driving demand for solar-plus-storage in Europe. Pantoulas said projects will increasingly need to provide grid support, including through grid-forming technology. He added that investors require suitable incentives to cover the additional costs. The panel agreed that future market frameworks should reward reliable electricity supply, flexibility and grid services rather than focusing only on the lowest tariff.
