Inside 2026’s PV pricing reset – with Alex Barrows, Molly Morgan and Sonia Dulop

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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into solar, storage, and the global energy transition — and don’t
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