Higher Power PV Modules Drive Up BOS Costs

Kiwa PVEL, the independent lab for quality and reliability testing of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, announced a significant update to its photovoltaic (PV) module Product Qualification Program (PQP). The revisions directly address some of the fastest‑growing concerns for the global solar industry, including the rise of field failures related to spontaneous glass breakage, frame structural failures, and increasingly severe hail events.

"Across the industry, we continue to see increasing instances of spontaneous glass breakage in the field," said Tristan Erion-Lorico, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Kiwa PVEL. "As manufacturers have pushed toward larger modules and thinner materials, these sudden breakage events have made it clear that more rigorous and statistically meaningful testing is needed. Our updated PQP now uses higher sample sizes and test‑to‑failure methodologies to better assess module durability."

New Test-to-Failure Methods Improve Module Breakage Insights

A key feature of the updated PQP is the introduction of test‑to‑failure (TTF) protocols for both static mechanical load (SML) and hail testing. The new SML-TTF complements the PQP's existing Mechanical Stress Sequences (MSS) by quantifying the dominant failure mode and achievable maximum load for each module design submitted for PQP testing. It also expands the test sample quantity to five additional SML-TTF samples, on top of the two MSS samples.

The Hail‑TTF protocol replaces the previous Hail Stress Sequence (HSS) in the PQP. The updated hail test increases the sample size to five modules and focuses on impact locations in the areas most prone to breakage, such as edges, corners, and junction box regions. Hail‑TTF greatly improves repeatability and comparability across manufacturers and glass suppliers, by escalating hail diameters until failure occurs, providing buyers with more quantifiable breakage thresholds.

Kiwa PVEL has also updated its PQP sample production witness process to more systematically verify critical frame and glass dimensions in factories, further reducing uncertainty related to material and assembly variability.

Updated Stabilization Processes

As n‑type technologies become dominant in the PV market, testing labs have encountered increased measurement uncertainty driven by metastability mechanisms. Kiwa PVEL's team spent the past years quantifying these effects and identified three distinct forms of metastability that can distort post‑test performance measurements:

• Slow dark‑storage degradation following Damp Heat testing
• Accelerated dark‑storage degradation following UV exposure and field exposure
• Potentially recoverable PID‑polarization degradation following voltage stress

To counter these effects, the updated PQP introduces final stabilization steps, including short doses of full‑spectrum light soaking and UV‑light soaking, after UVID, Field Exposure, Damp Heat, and PID testing. These steps ensure that post‑test flash measurements more accurately reflect true module behavior in the field.

Other PQP Updates

Several other refinements further enhance the PQP's relevance for modern day modules:

• Reduced LID sample size from 17 to 10 modules, justified by low and consistent LID values in recent years.
• Allowance for pre‑test current induced preconditioning (in addition to outdoor and indoor light‑soaking) to speed testing and improve scheduling flexibility.
• Streamlined UVID sequencing, eliminating the interim UV60 characterization in favor of a continuous 120 kWh/m2 exposure, with an option to extend up to 360 kWh/m2 for BOMs that show higher UVID susceptibility.
• Updated energy ratings following IEC61853-3/4 methodology, leveraging our high accuracy PAN and IAM testing data.

"Regularly iterating on the PQP makes it the most relevant test plan for today's module technologies and failure modes," said Kevin Gibson, Managing Director at Kiwa PVEL. "These updates allow module manufacturers to better showcase product reliability and performance on their current offerings. The new PQP also ensures that solar buyers receive meaningful, statistically robust and actionable data."

Kiwa PVEL | https://www.kiwa.com/

Kruger Energy has begun construction of the Saint-Paul-de-Montminy (SPDM) Wind Farm, a 196-MW project scheduled for commissioning in December 2027. Located within the municipalities of Saint-Paul-de-Montminy, Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire and Sainte-Apolline-de-Patton, the project represents an investment of more than $580 million.

Developed in partnership with the Alliance de l'énergie de l'Est and Potentia Renewables Inc., the SPDM Wind Farm has now entered the construction phase following receipt of all required authorizations. Preparatory work is underway across several areas of the site, including clearing work areas, delineating construction zones, and preliminary work on the future collector system and transmission line.

Active in wind power development for over 20 years, Kruger Energy continues to expand through major projects that support the energy transition and contribute to community development. With the SPDM project, the company's cumulative investments in wind energy in Canada now total $1.5 billion.

In Québec, the company operates the Montérégie Wind Farm (101.2 MW), commissioned in 2012, and the Des Cultures Wind Farm (24 MW), in operation since 2022 and developed in partnership with the Mohawk community of Kahnawà:ke. Kruger Energy also operates two wind farms in Ontario, commissioned between 2008 and 2011, with a combined capacity of more than 200 MW. Together, these facilities contribute to a sustainable supply of renewable energy and generate significant economic benefits for host regions.

Members of the public can follow the project's progress and consult the SPDM Wind Farm construction schedule at https://projeteolienstpaul.com. 

Kruger Energy | https://energy.kruger.com/

Soluna Holdings, Inc. (“Soluna” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SLNH), a developer of green data centers for intensive computing applications, including Bitcoin mining and AI, announced the acquisition of Spring Lane Capital’s equity interest in Project Dorothy 1A (“D1A”) for $16.5 million. The transaction gives Soluna complete equity ownership of D1A, located in Silverton, Texas, and marks the second major step in the Company’s vertical integration of the Dorothy campus, following the $53 million acquisition of the Briscoe Wind Farmearlier this month.

With full ownership of D1A and Briscoe providing 150 megawatts of owned renewable power, Soluna is positioning itself to convert the Dorothy campus to AI computing as Dorothy 3 development advances and opens the door to bringing new equity partners onto the site on terms aligned with the Company’s AI-first strategy.

The acquisition represents a natural conclusion to Soluna’s partnership with Spring Lane Capital on the D1A project. SpringLane’s Fund I receives cash liquidity for its ownership interest, while Soluna gains the full equity control necessary to change the business plan of its Dorothy projects to support AI workloads and accelerate the development of Dorothy 3.

“Spring Lane Capital was the right partner for the first chapter of Dorothy,” said John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna. “With Briscoe secured and Dorothy 1A now fully owned, we have the foundation for what comes next: a vertically integrated AI campus, from energy generation to compute infrastructure, that we control end to end. That control is what gives us an accelerated path to power for AI customers.”

Transaction Details

The $16.5 million acquisition will be paid in cash in two installments: $6 million at closing, with the balance due in July 2026. Soluna previously held 14.6% interest in the Class B Membership Interests of D1A; this acquisition of the remaining 85.4% brings Soluna’s ownership of D1A to 100%, as it already owns 100% of the Class A Membership Interests. To finance a portion of the transaction, Soluna signed an unsecured promissory note with a lender in the principal amount of $12 million, maturing on May 15, 2027, which closed concurrently with the acquisition. Additional details regarding the transaction and the promissory note will be described in the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Path to Full Campus Ownership

Soluna intends to pursue full ownership of the entire Project Dorothy campus. Discussions regarding Dorothy 1B and Dorothy 2 are underway. For Dorothy 3, the Company’s plan is to obtain significant ownership with the option to bring in new equity partners aligned with the AI infrastructure buildout. In the medium term, as Dorothy 3 development matures, the campus will transition to AI as its primary workload. Soluna expects to provide updates on campus ownership consolidation and Dorothy 3 development in its regular SEC filings and investor communications.

The D1A acquisition follows a series of strategic actions in 2026, including the Briscoe Wind Farm acquisition, the achievement of substantial completion at Kati 1 ahead of schedule, and the advancement of AI-focused development at Kati 2 and Grace. Soluna’s development pipeline now exceeds 4.3 gigawatts across multiple sites.

Soluna | www.solunacomputing.com

Lightshift Energy, a utility-scale energy storage developer, owner, and operator, and the Blue Ridge Power Agency (BRPA) announced a partnership to deploy a portfolio of battery energy storage projects across Virginia in collaboration with Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC), Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative (CBEC), and the City of Salem Electric Department (Salem), with the potential for more BRPA projects in the future. The first five projects are currently under construction and are expected to be online in 2026. The initial project portfolio will save the BRPA utilities approximately $100 million over project lifetimes.

The five-project portfolio has been strategically deployed in rural Virginia at three CVEC locations, one with CBEC, and one with Salem. The projects are all approximately 5MWs and are distribution-connected, allowing them to provide benefits to both the distribution and transmission systems as well as the local communities. When operational, the projects will discharge energy during periods of high demand, reducing transmission and capacity costs that drive electricity prices for cooperative members and utility customers.

At a time when electricity demand and costs are rising, there is a shortage of power supply across the PJM market, and system conditions are becoming more volatile, the portfolio will offer a needed source of peak power capacity and is expected to deliver approximately $100 million in savings over its lifetime while improving grid reliability and directly benefiting local communities.

“We are excited to see these facilities come online and produce savings for the members and customers of CBEC, CVEC, and Salem,” said Alice Wolfe, General Manager of BRPA. “Rising transmission and capacity costs have been a source of concern for some time, and these new battery projects will begin to control these costs. The staff, boards, and council of CBEC, CVEC, and Salem deserve credit for their thoughtful and committed leadership.”

“As Virginia continues to increase its appetite for energy storage, electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are uniquely positioned to lead on innovative applications that directly benefit their members,” said Mike Herbert, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Lightshift Energy. “By working together with BRPA, CVEC, CBEC, and Salem, this coordinated effort exemplifies how portfolios of distribution-connected storage can offer not only significant savings to the participating utilities, but also fast and cost-effective capacity during a time that the PJM market is scrambling to bring on new resources and keep electricity prices low.”

The portfolio helps satisfy growing demand across the region, including from large new loads such as data centers, which are increasing pressure on local infrastructure and accelerating the need for flexible resources. Fleet deployments of distribution-connected storage are well suited to meet this moment, providing a scalable approach to accelerate the delivery capacity where it is needed most. Lightshift refers to this portfolio-based approach for megawatt-scale storage deployment as VPP+, as it offers a much faster path to capacity delivery than transmission-connected projects while unlocking economies of scale that are not possible with smaller, behind-the-meter assets.

Lightshift Energy | www.lightshift.com

Matrix Renewables, the TPG Rise-backed global renewable energy platform, announced the start of commercial operations, the successful Investment Tax Credit ("ITC") funding and the conversion of its construction financing to long-term term debt for the 281MWdc / 210MWac Stillhouse Solar PV project.  The project represents an investment of over $380 million in Bell County, Texas.

The Stillhouse project has a total nameplate capacity of 281MWdc / 210MWac and includes 15-year power purchase agreements with affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group. In addition, the project has partnered with Sustain Our Future Foundation, contributing nearly $3 million to support community benefits through its community engagement program. Stillhouse Solar will provide clean power to the equivalent of 48,862 homes, strengthen grid resiliency, avoid 185,598 metric tons of CO2 equivalent each year, and deliver meaningful community benefits.

Matrix Managing Director and Head of U.S. Cindy Tindell noted: "This transaction marks the major milestone in the project's lifecycle, transitioning from construction into long-term operations, where we were able to work with our partners and stakeholders to optimize the capital structure to deliver stable, renewable energy generation within the ERCOT market." Construction of the project was completed ahead of schedule and below budget, supported by strong collaboration among development, engineering, financing, and construction partners.

Northleaf Capital participated as a minority investor, and Acadia Infrastructure facilitated a hyperscale's purchase of environmental attribute certificates derived from the project. MUFG, HSBC, and ING Capital LLC provided the term debt and letter of credit support.  SOLV Energy served as the EPC on the project and is a partner in the community benefits program.

In the U.S., Matrix owns over 8.7GW of projects in operation and in various stages of development across five different regional markets: ERCOT, CAISO, MISO, WECC, and SPP, and continues to expand its pipeline and team to capitalize on the large demand for renewable energy in the country. Globally, Matrix's portfolio already surpasses 15.5GW of solar power, battery storage, and green hydrogen projects.

Matrix Renewables | matrixrenewables.com 

Aegis Critical Energy Defence Corp. (CSE: QESS) (OTCQB: QESSF) (FSE: JG6) ("Aegis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release of February 10, 2026, on April 13, 2026, it has obtained the final order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia approving the plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") with Greentech Hydrogen Innovations Corp. ("Greentech") and is proceeding with completing the Arrangement.

As confirmed with the Canadian Securities Exchange, the Company has determined May 4, 2026, as the share distribution record date (the "Share Distribution Record Date") and May 7, 2026, as the share exchange date (the "Share Exchange Date") for the Arrangement.

Upon completion of the Arrangement 3,749,319 common shares of Greentech (the "Spin-Out Shares") will be distributed to the Aegis shareholders held as of the Share Distribution Record Date on a pro-rata basis with each fractional share to be rounded down to the nearest whole share. Aegis will hold the balance of 416,500 common shares of Greentech.

The Arrangement is expected to become effective on the Share Exchange Date.

Aegis shareholders must hold their Aegis Shares on the Share Distribution Record Date in order to receive their pro rata portion of the Spin-Out Shares being distributed pursuant to the Arrangement. 

Aegis Critical Energy Defence Corp. | https://aegiscriticalenergy.com

LS ELECTRIC, a leader in power distribution, has been selected to provide power infrastructure solutions worth approximately $115 million for a series of new data center developments across North America. The initiative will support large technology companies expanding capacity for artificial intelligence and other compute-intensive applications that depend on uninterrupted, high-quality power.

The multi-site program calls for LS ELECTRIC to deliver advanced switchgear and distribution transformers engineered for demanding, always-on environments. As operators scale out facilities to handle AI workloads and continuous high-density computing, they are placing increased emphasis on power systems that combine robustness, configurability and strong lifecycle support.

Data center projects of this scale require partners that can satisfy rigorous technical standards while executing consistently on manufacturing, logistics and field coordination. LS ELECTRIC’s track record in power distribution, along with its ability to support projects from design through commissioning, positions the company as a strategic contributor to these builds.

To support this work, LS ELECTRIC will utilize its growing North American industrial base, including operations in Utah and Texas such as MCM Engineering II and the Bastrop campus. These sites will help manage production and system integration, and they form a foundation for broader regional growth in engineered power systems.

By aligning its portfolio with these trends and strengthening its manufacturing and engineering presence in North America, LS ELECTRIC is positioning itself to play a larger role in shaping the next wave of data center power infrastructure. The company plans to continue expanding its offerings for this sector, focusing on solutions that support reliable, scalable and energy-conscious operation.

LS ELECTRIC America | www.lselectricamerica.com/contact-us/