The new entity is designed to streamline the development, construction, ownership and operation of solar, wind, and battery storage assets. By pooling capital resources and technical expertise, the JV deal partners intend to accelerate deployment and strengthen their competitive position across high-growth markets. Upon completion, the platform will act as the exclusive vehicle for both companies’ onshore renewable energy activities in the region. The venture will include 3GW of operational assets alongside an additional 6GW of projects currently in advanced stages, with commissioning targeted by 2030.

Commenting on the agreement, Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said: “This joint venture reinforces Abu Dhabi’s status as a global center for energy leadership, combining the expertise of Masdar and TotalEnergies to drive renewable energy deployment across Asia. For Masdar, this JV strengthens and diversifies our portfolio, unlocking new opportunities in attractive, high-growth markets, while bringing in a like-minded partner to accelerate growth and deliver additional value in our existing markets.” Both partners will contribute assets of comparable value to the venture, ensuring balance in ownership and operational input.

The headquarters of the joint venture will be located within Abu Dhabi Global Market, with a workforce of approximately 200 employees drawn from both organisations. The agreement remains subject to regulatory clearances and customary closing conditions. Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, stated: “We are delighted with the signing of this agreement with Masdar, which brings together two major renewable players to build a renewable champion in Asia. It will allow us to combine the strengths of our two companies to secure significant positions in these markets and create more value than if we were acting alone. This agreement is fully in line with the renewable energy strategy of our Integrated Power business. We are also pleased to further deepen, in this area, the long-standing relationship between the United Arab Emirates and TotalEnergies.”

Key Announcements and Strategic Milestones

A historic milestone was recorded on June 15, 2025, when Nepal began exporting 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh through India’s transmission network. This tripartite framework established the first operational cross-border electricity commerce beyond simple bilateral deals in South Asia. In addition to this, Bhutan has recently commissioned the 1,020 MW Punatsangchhu-II hydroelectric project and its first large-scale 22.38 MW Sephu solar plant, signaling a move toward a more diversified renewable portfolio.

Meanwhile, India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has outlined a massive grid expansion plan to support a peak demand projected to reach 459 GW by 2035-36. This roadmap introduces operational measures such as Solar Hour and Non-Solar Hour concepts to optimize the use of existing transmission lines for wind and battery storage during low-solar periods.

Investments and Financial Frameworks

The scale of the regional clean energy transition requires unprecedented capital mobilization. India’s transmission roadmap alone proposes the addition of 137,500 circuit kilometers of lines at an estimated cost of nearly ₹7,93,300 crore. Bangladesh’s draft Energy and Power Sector Master Plan (EPSMP) 2026-2050 estimates a requirement of $107.4 billion for the electricity sector and up to $85 billion for primary energy.

In Pakistan, the people-led solar revolution has already demonstrated significant fiscal impact, helping the country avoid approximately $12 billion in oil and gas imports as of February 2026. Furthermore, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has remained a critical financier, with $20.54 billion cumulatively invested in 86 projects across the subregion as of December 2023.

Policy and Regulatory Shifts

Nations are introducing market-oriented reforms to attract private participation. Pakistan has launched the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) to move away from a single-buyer model toward a competitive structure where generators and large consumers negotiate directly. Similarly, Sri Lanka has enacted amendments to the Electricity Act to unbundle the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) into separate state-owned enterprises for generation, transmission, and distribution.

India has notified a long-term trajectory for Energy Storage Obligations (ESO), which will increase to 4% by FY 2029-30, requiring that at least 85% of stored energy be procured from renewable sources. From an industry standpoint, Power Info Today believes these regulatory frameworks are being structured to support the management of intermittency associated with large-scale non-fossil capacity deployment.

Operational Impact and Technology Deployment

The operational focus has shifted to grid stability and high-voltage transfer. India is implementing 1150 kV AC transmission systems to carry large volumes of electricity from renewable-rich states like Rajasthan and Gujarat to industrial hubs. In the battery energy storage system (BESS) sector, battery prices have dropped 65% since 2021, making co-located solar-plus-storage systems cheaper than new thermal plants in many contexts.

Nepal’s performance in the first five months of FY 2025/26 underscores the operational success of regional trade, with the country earning Rs. 18.26 billion from power sales to India and Bangladesh. However, analysts warn that Pakistan’s rapid 5 GW rooftop solar surge is creating revenue erosion for distribution companies, highlighting the need for urgent grid modernization and tariff restructuring.

Market and Strategic Relevance

The regional energy landscape is now defined by the necessity of decoupling growth from volatile fossil fuel imports. While fossil fuels still account for roughly 69.99% of South Asia’s primary energy mix, the non-fossil capacity is outpacing fossil growth. India reached a historic milestone in July 2025, where renewable generation met 51.5% of the country’s total daily electricity demand. As the war in Iran continues to threaten global trade routes, the push for an integrated South Asian grid connecting the hydropower of the Himalayas with the solar-rich plains of India and the coastal wind potential of Sri Lanka has transitioned from a developmental goal to a matter of regional energy security.

Power Info Today observes that the growing emphasis on cross-border electricity trade, grid expansion, and storage integration reflects a broader alignment of regional energy systems with evolving security and supply stability priorities.

Project proposals will be assessed through a structured scoring framework, where developer track record and execution capability each contribute 35% to the total evaluation, while financial strength accounts for the remaining 30%. The criteria continue to prioritise demonstrated delivery capability and engagement with local industry stakeholders. To qualify, submissions must secure a minimum of 70 points out of 100, and each developer may be awarded up to 1GW of capacity.

Additional policy measures have been incorporated to accelerate project timelines. Developers achieving early grid connection or delivering defined benefits to domestic industry will be eligible for extended electricity sales beyond the standard 20-year period. Power generated from awarded projects is expected to be sold primarily through corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), complemented by a minimum price mechanism for excess generation, capped at the avoided cost set by Taiwan Power. A floor price of T$2.29/kWh has also been established to support financing structures and mitigate development risks.

While industry participants have broadly endorsed the inclusion of environmental, social and governance assessment elements, stakeholders continue to call for clearer implementation guidelines. Separately, in December 2025, the MOEA approved a Taipower assessment indicating that restarting the Kuosheng nuclear power plant in New Taipei and the Maanshan plant in Pingtung County is feasible, while concluding that the Chinshan nuclear power plant cannot be restarted.

The implications go beyond grid balancing. As renewable penetration rises, electricity prices will increasingly diverge by time of day. Midday prices will soften due to solar abundance, while evening prices will remain firm due to peak demand. Storage assets capture this spread by absorbing electricity when supply is plentiful and releasing it when demand is highest. In such a system, the economics of renewable power will no longer be
determined solely by the cost of generating electricity but by the cost of storing it. In effect, the marginal cost of storage could increasingly become the price setter for renewable electricity, meaning the long-term economics of solar power may ultimately be shaped as much by storage costs as by the price of solar panels themselves.

This shift also has implications for the role of coal in India’s power mix. Coal based thermal plants historically operated as baseload generators, but the rapid expansion of solar has already begun to erode their daytime utilisation. What keeps coal plants relevant today is their ability to ramp up generation during evening peak demand. If large-scale storage becomes widely available, this balancing role could increasingly shift from thermal
plants to storage infrastructure. In that scenario, decline of coal based thermal capacities in the power mix may be driven less by renewable capacity additions and more by the availability of storage capable of replacing coal’s flexibility function.

Pumped hydro stands out because of the scale at which it operates. Individual facilities often range between 1–2 GW and can store 8–10 hours of electricity, allowing them to absorb large volumes of surplus renewable power and release it during peak demand. In practice, this means pumped hydro does not operate merely as a project-
level storage asset serving a single generator or distribution utility. Instead, it functions at the level of the grid itself — absorbing surplus electricity from the broader system and releasing it when system-wide demand peaks. In effect, pumped hydro behaves less like a conventional power plant and more like energy infrastructure for the grid itself, effectively functioning as a large-scale energy reservoir — or a “national battery” — embedded within the power system.

India’s current pumped hydro capacity remains modest at around 7 GW, despite an estimated technical potential exceeding 170 GW. Yet the scale of storage required for the next phase of the energy transition is substantial. Projections by the Central Electricity Authority suggest the power system could require over 400 GWh of energy storage by the early 2030s to integrate planned renewable capacity. Much of this requirement will involve long-duration storage — precisely the segment where pumped hydro has structural advantages over most battery technologies. In recent years, several central agencies and state distribution utilities have issued competitive tenders to secure pumped-storage capacity under long-term contracts, reflecting the growing need for grid-scale storage to manage renewable variability and peak demand. Private developers are also pursuing large pumped storage projects as part of integrated renewable-energy portfolios.

Traditionally, pumped storage projects have followed a “storage-as-a-service” model, where utilities supply electricity during non-peak hours and procure it back during peak demand periods, however, going forward, arbitrage-based models may also emerge, whereby developers would integrate renewable generation with storage or procure electricity during lean price period and dispatch at higher prices during peak hours.

At scale, pumped hydro has the potential to alter the architecture of India’s electricity system. Instead of relying on thermal generation to absorb fluctuations in renewable output, the grid could increasingly depend on storage infrastructure that shifts renewable electricity across time. Pumped storage also has the potential to moderate the sharp price spikes that often occur during demand peaks by releasing stored electricity when the system is most constrained, thereby becoming the central balancing mechanism of the power market.

Pumped hydro, with its role in balancing the grid and enabling integration of renewable energy, may therefore emerge as one of the most significant technologies underpinning India’s energy transition.

Alongside construction progress, Geo Energy has secured two binding term sheets with third-party coal producers covering an aggregate haulage volume of approximately 9 million tonnes per annum. This development establishes a foundation for a recurring toll-based revenue stream while strengthening the positioning of MBJ as a regional logistics corridor. Combined with the 25 million tonnes annual haulage allocated for the Group’s TRA coal mine, the infrastructure is expected to handle up to 34 million tonnes annually. At full capacity of around 50 million tonnes of haulage per annum, the MBJ Integrated Infrastructure could generate up to an additional US$300 million in EBITDA annually within a few years.

The MBJ Integrated Infrastructure progress comes amid strengthening coal market conditions. The ICI4 coal price reached US$59.97 per tonne as of 13 March 2026, marking a 29.3% increase from the 4Q2025 average of US$46.37 per tonne. Demand for the Group’s coal assets, characterised by low ash and low sulphur content, remains supported by regional power and steel sectors. Meanwhile, Geo Energy has set a coal production target of 11.5 – 12.5 million tonnes for 2026, subject to final RKAB approvals from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Commenting on these developments, Mr Charles Antonny Melati, Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Geo Energy, said:
“Achieving the 80% completion milestone on the MBJ Integrated Infrastructure underscores our disciplined execution and moves us closer to unlocking the full value of our energy platform. At full capacity, MBJ alone is able to generate up to US$300 million in EBITDA per year for the Group. The binding term sheets with third parties for an aggregate haulage volume of 9 million tonnes per annum and the trial agreements with CCCC-Norinco and Shacman demonstrate the strong commercial interest in the Integrated Infrastructure and our readiness for operations. The recent uplift in coal prices further strengthens the Group’s earnings outlook as we progress toward our long-term growth vision of becoming a billion-dollar business and beyond.”

Mr. Meenu Singhal, Regional Managing Director, Socomec Innovative Power Solutions, said,
“The launch of the MASTERYS GP4 UPS and ATyS a M Automatic Transfer Switch strengthens our portfolio with solutions that drive operational continuity and efficiency. From data centres and IT rooms to commercial buildings, organisations require resilient power infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted operations and protect critical systems. These products help optimise power supply while supporting reliable performance. We remain focused on innovation and committed to delivering dependable, future-ready power solutions for our customers.”

The MASTERYS GP4 200–250 kVA UPS has been engineered to deliver consistent performance in mission-critical environments. Built using advanced power protection systems and high efficiency SiC technology, it is designed to provide stable power output while maintaining energy efficiency. The system supports uninterrupted operations across data centres, industrial processes, IT rooms, and commercial facilities, particularly during grid disruptions. Its double-conversion technology ensures high-quality power delivery with reduced energy losses and lower CO₂ emissions, while its robust architecture supports continuous operations in demanding settings. Designed with evolving digital ecosystems in mind, it addresses the increasing need for reliable infrastructure within expanding industrial and commercial networks.

Alongside this, the ATyS a M Automatic Transfer Switch enables seamless switching between primary and backup power sources, including utility supply and generators. The system is built with a compact modular design, allowing easier integration into electrical panels while optimising installation space. Its pre-configured controller simplifies commissioning by automatically managing parameters and transfers, reducing setup complexity and the risk of manual errors. Tested to international standards, it is suited for low-voltage installations in commercial and industrial environments where uninterrupted power is essential. Through these introductions, Socomec continues to enhance its range of power management solutions, reinforcing reliability and resilience across critical infrastructure applications.

The $61.5mn advanced facility of semiconductor research and manufacturing goes on to mark a significant investment in the growth of Qnity so as to keep pace with the demands from customers.

The new facility is going to support production of some of the most advanced chip manufacturing applications. The site is going to feature state-of-the-art clean rooms, production areas, warehousing infrastructure, and research labs as well as dedicated office space that is designed to help with high-performance manufacturing at scale.

This $61.5mn advanced facility expands the present presence of Qnity in the Hsinchu Science Park, and the new facility makes the commitment of the company more robust so as to maintain manufacturing sites near the customers in major geographies. With a global footprint and a strategic local-for-local operating model, Qnity indeed helps customers as well as partners to meet up with the rising demand that’s coming from AI, high-performance computing along with advanced connectivity.

According to the Chief Executive Officer at Qnity, Jon Kemp, “Growth in advanced-node manufacturing continues to accelerate, and our customers are scaling rapidly to support next-generation technologies. This investment expands our capacity to meet customer demand, enhances global supply chain resilience, and enables the innovation and performance our customers depend on.”

It is well to be noted that the global semiconductor industry is most likely going to reach $1 trillion in revenues over the next few years and is going to be driven by fast-increasing demand when it comes to AI chips along with data centers. In the last three years, Qnity has gone ahead and added new capacity throughout its semiconductor verticals so as to keep pace with the expansion of the industry. The investment in order to expand this capacity across Taiwan builds on that momentum while at the same time reinforcing the long-term growth strategy of the company.

Through increasing the production capabilities in proximity to major customers, Qnity is indeed going ahead and strengthening the supply assurance, enhancing the operational agility, and also positioning itself in order to meet up with the evolving demands when it comes to next-gen chip manufacturing.

Kemp further added that “this facility represents more than just additional capacity; it reflects our confidence in the industry’s trajectory and our commitment to ensure customer support across current and future growth cycles. We are building the infrastructure today to make tomorrow’s semiconductor innovations possible.”

The site is most likely to start operations as early as 2027, with more capabilities along with research facilities in the future development phases.

This surplus shows how strong China’s industry is, but it also shows how hard it is to manage market control in the face of diving prices. As the globe moved faster toward carbon neutrality, Chinese manufacturers expanded their production facilities so quickly that the market couldn’t keep up with the output. This mismatch has caused the sector to change dramatically, with the focus shifting from growth at any cost to survival and stability through consolidation and efficiency.

The Genesis of Overproduction and the Resulting Price Crash

The main reason for the current instability in the industry is China’s aggressive cycle of over-investment and competitiveness amongst provinces. Many businesses and municipal governments spent billions on new production lines in an effort to control the global renewable energy supply chain. This huge increase in production was so strong that it completely broke the market balance. Because of the overstock, products were being made quicker than they could be installed or shipped, which caused inventory backups that forced manufacturers to lower prices.

While reduced prices are good for both consumers and installers, the quick and severe drop in pricing caused fierce competition among manufacturers. In an environment where costs were always going down, this made it hard for small and medium-sized businesses to compete with huge ones. A lot of businesses went bankrupt or were bought by bigger ones.

The Role of Rapid Technological Obsolescence

The challenge of overproduction was further worsened by quick technology advancement. The solar industry is now switching from classic P-type cells to more efficient N-type technologies. As newer, more efficient factories started up, the older ones couldn’t make money anymore. This led to a solar panel oversupply with two layers: a lot of current-generation panels and an even bigger pile of older-generation equipment that no one wanted to buy.

Manufacturers were stuck in a cycle of making more goods to pay off massive loans for building factories, even while the value of what they made was dropping. The market was full of older parts that were sold at a loss only to get cash flow, which drove the price down even more.

Assessing the Industry Impact and Financial Erosion

The Chinese solar panel industry has been hurt in two ways: financial devastation and forced changes. For much of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, the sector was marked by big losses. But newer research shows that the sector may be at a turning point. The China Photovoltaic Industry Association said that the losses in the sector are finally starting to get smaller. This change isn’t because of a sudden rise in demand. It’s because the industry is going through a difficult process of rationalization and prices are finally stabilizing.

Even though losses are getting smaller, CPIA has mentioned that vicious competition still shapes the scene. Many businesses have had to run at a loss for a long time, which has caused their balance sheets to lose a lot of value. The group said that even though the worst of the price drops may be behind, the solar panel glut is still affecting the industry. To keep prices from getting out of hand again, a lot of producers are now focusing on “self-regulation” and better meeting the needs of the market.

Strategic Steps Taken to Reverse Market Impacts

Both the Chinese government and industry groups have sprung to action to bring things back into balance. New measures are being put in place to curb manufacture and end toxic price competition. The industry is now more focused on survival. This is a big change in policy from the previous concentration on overall output and leading the market. The government wants to stabilize pricing and make sure that its most successful enterprises stay healthy in the long term by getting rid of extra or old capacity.

New rules are coming out that make it harder to be energy-efficient, use water wisely, and make things with precision. These guidelines will keep unnecessary producers from coming back into the market during the next upcycle. The goal is to make sure that any new capacity added to the grid is of the highest quality and fits a specific technological need.

Industry Self-Regulation and Capacity Management

The industry is trying to find a way to move forward together; beyond that, the government has told firms to stop charging too much and to slow down their efforts to grow.

The industry is aiming to keep costs stable by better controlling capacity. But in a competitive market, it’s hard to keep this self-regulation going as it takes a lot of trust and openness amongst competitors. Whether or not the sector can move into a period of steady growth or stay stuck in cycles of boom and bust will depend on how well these initiatives work.

The Ripple-Effect on Global Markets and Energy Prices

The effects of the Chinese solar panel glut have gone beyond China’s borders. China’s internal surplus became a global phenomenon when it became the world’s biggest exporter of solar technology. The arrival of very affordable panels in foreign markets had both good and bad effects. The price drop was good for project developers in Europe, North America, and emerging economies. It made solar installations cheap enough to compete with or even beat fossil fuels. This has caused a huge increase in solar installations around the world, speeding up the shift to green energy.

But for producers in other parts of the world, the rush of cheap Chinese parts was a disaster. Companies in the US and Europe, where labor and energy expenses are frequently higher, couldn’t compete with Chinese prices. This has caused trade problems to get worse and tariffs to be put in place to protect local manufacturing bases. The oversupply of solar panels has turned into a political issue, making countries choose between the goal of quickly cutting carbon emissions and protecting their own businesses.

Future Market Outlook and Long-Term Stability

Analysts and business experts agree that the market is heading toward a time of more stability in the future. The fact that losses are getting smaller at the end of 2025 means that the brunt of the overstock is over. The quality of the supply will get better as factories that aren’t working well are shut down and the switch to N-type technology is finished. Prices are predicted to level off at a level that is higher than the lows of 2023 but still far lower than the historical average. This means that solar energy will always be a cheap alternative for the world’s energy mix.

In conclusion, the solar panel glut has been a very unstable and painful time for the industry. The Chinese solar panel business is finally recovering thanks to a mix of government intervention, self-regulation, and natural market consolidation. The last few years have highlighted that even in booming businesses, balance and foresight are just as vital as new and big ideas. As the market settles down, the focus will go back to giving the world clean, cheap, and dependable energy for many years to come.

According to a trading suspension notice, in this polysilicon deal Tongwei intends to complete the acquisition via a share-and-cash transaction and will also pursue a supporting fundraise. The company emphasized that discussions are still at an early stage.

Tongwei confirmed it has entered into an intention agreement with the proposed sellers – Duan Yong and two limited partnerships, Hainan Zhuoyue Enterprise Management Partnership and Hainan Haoyue Enterprise Management Partnership. It noted that the final parties involved and the specific transaction terms will be disclosed later in a formal transaction plan or report. The company further stated that the proposed deal is not expected to result in a change of control, does not constitute an affiliated transaction and, based on its preliminary review, is not expected to qualify as a major asset restructuring.

In order to prevent abnormal share price fluctuations while uncertainties remain, Tongwei suspended trading of its A-shares and related convertible bonds from the opening of the market on Feb. 25. The suspension period is expected to last no longer than 10 trading days.

Qinghai Lihao, a privately held joint-stock company established in 2021, is registered in Xining, Qinghai province. Its stated business scope covers electronic materials as well as related manufacturing and trading activities.

Industry accounts characterize Lihao as a fast-expanding polysilicon producer that capitalizes on Qinghai’s renewable power resources. Public reports regarding its development indicate that its first-phase 50,000 metric ton polysilicon project entered commissioning in 2022. Longer-term capacity ambitions have been described as significantly higher, though Tongwei’s suspension notice did not provide specific capacity figures or disclose a purchase price.

The polysilicon deal announcement comes after China’s antitrust regulator in early January halted an industry-led initiative aimed at curbing polysilicon capacity and coordinating pricing. That proposal involved six leading producers – Tongwei, GCL, Daqo, Xinte, East Hope and Asia Silicon – and outlined plans to raise approximately CNY 50 billion ($7 billion) to acquire and idle about one-third of the nation’s polysilicon production capacity. Collectively, the six companies represent nearly 2.5 million metric tons of capacity, with the remainder of the industry accounting for roughly 700,000 metric tons.

Set against this context, Tongwei’s proposed acquisition of Lihao reflects a consolidation approach driven by market-based mergers and acquisitions rather than coordinated capacity management. Should the transaction proceed, it would bring a sizeable portfolio of relatively new Qinghai polysilicon assets under the control of a larger established producer, potentially advancing capacity concentration among a smaller number of balance sheets. The ultimate impact on effective supply will depend on how the combined entity determines utilization rates, product mix and future expansion plans.

Tongwei added that further details, including valuation, definitive agreements, audit and appraisal outcomes and regulatory approvals, remain outstanding, and it cautioned investors regarding execution risks.

The achievement follows the project’s initial switch-on to the Luzon grid late last week, confirming both system readiness and a secure grid connection. Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN) shared the update, noting that the milestone advances the rollout of the large-scale renewable energy installation.

Located on the island of Luzon, the MTerra solar project is designed to integrate 3.5 GW of solar capacity with a 4.5 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS). Once fully completed, it is expected to stand as the world’s largest integrated solar-plus-BESS facility. Development is being carried out in two phases. The first phase is planned to include approximately 2.5 GW of solar generation capacity alongside 3.3 MWh of BESS.

Redi Allan Remoroza, Head of Transmission Planning at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, described the grid milestone as “an important step in establishing the transmission interface for one of the country’s most significant clean energy projects.”

Rowena Guevara, Undersecretary from the Philippines’ Department of Energy, said the switch-on initiates the energization process that will allow MTerra Solar to start delivering electricity to the grid. “Once synchronisation is completed, the plant can begin supplying firm and dependable capacity through the combination of solar power and battery energy storage, another first for the country,” Guevara said.

By the end of this month, the solar-plus-storage project aims to have 250 MWac of solar capacity and 112.5 MWh of battery energy storage capacity operational, including the export of 85 MW of constant power to the grid. “This is in preparation for a ramp up in its capacity in the following months,” MGEN’s statement says. “All of these developments are being delivered in less than 15 months since groundbreaking.”

As of the end of January, installation progress had reached 1,288 MW of solar capacity, positioning MTerra Solar as the largest PV array in the Philippines. Additionally, 622 BESS units had been installed by the close of last month.

Completion of the first phase is slated for later this year. Work finalized so far includes the energization and cut-in of a 500 kV substation along the Nagsaag–San Jose 500-kV Line 2. This followed approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission of the Philippines in October, granting permission for the development of dedicated transmission facilities and connection to the Luzon grid.

MGEN also confirmed that construction activities for phase two are underway, beginning with the project’s first pile installation.

Separately, the Philippines announced plans last week to auction 25 GW of renewables by 2035.