After a prolonged period of rock-bottom prices and manufacturing oversupply, solar PV pricing is starting to shift – and the implications could ripple across the global industry in 2026.

In this episode of The smarter E podcast, host Jonathan Gifford digs into what’s changing beneath the surface of the PV supply chain, and why pricing dynamics are becoming impossible to ignore.

In the first part of the episode, Jonathan is joined by Alex Barrows, Head of PV at CRU, and Molly Morgan, Senior Analyst, for a deep dive into the forces reshaping module costs. From surging silver prices to China’s VAT rebate changes, they unpack how upstream pressures are feeding through to cells, modules, and manufacturer margins – and what this means for technology choices in the years ahead.

The conversation also explores the evolving competitive landscape between TOPCon, heterojunction, and back-contact cell architectures, and asks whether pricing discipline can realistically return to a sector still wrestling with structural overcapacity.

In the second segment, recorded in London, Jonathan speaks with Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council, to zoom out to the global deployment picture. They discuss the rapid rise of residential solar-plus-storage, the political power of distributed energy, and the market and grid reforms needed to unlock the next phase of solar and battery growth worldwide.

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