Recent 'EIA' data shows rooftop solar now makes up 20% of Puerto Rico's power capacity (1,456 MW), surpassing natural gas as the second-largest source. Between 2016 and 2025, distributed solar accounted for 81% of all new capacity. To combat frequent grid outages, residents have deployed over 171,000 battery systems (2,864 MWh), with many joining grid operator LUMA's virtual power plant ('VPP') program. Despite this progress, new legislation extended the territory's sole coal plant to 2032 and removed interim renewable targets, though the 100% goal for 2050 remains.

On April 2, 2026, the White House ushered US steel trade policy into "Version 2.0." This strategic shift goes beyond simple tariff hikes. It uses full-value taxation and melt-and-pour traceability to block low-end imported raw materials, while applying structural tariff reductions to finished products to ease manufacturing inflation. Ultimately, this two-pronged approach aims to forcibly bring the global supply chain back to domestic US steel production.

Recently, the Binhe Haoyu 100MW/200MWh independent energy storage station in Zhucheng completed acceptance and entered commercial operation. The project was invested in by an energy storage industry fund jointly initiated by Corun, CALB, and Kaibo Capital. It was jointly developed by members of the large energy storage ecosystem consortium, including Corun, CALC, Goxia Technology, Duanrui Technology, and Star Energy New Energy. The station adopts a hybrid energy storage technology route combining "lithium iron phosphate + all-vanadium redox flow batteries," which can meet the grid's full-time-scale regulation needs while significantly reducing the lifecycle levelized cost of energy, enhancing overall system economy and safety, and maximizing operational efficiency and economic benefits.

South African utility Eskom has extended its registration fee waiver for small-scale embedded generation ('SSEG') systems under 50 kW until September 30. The waiver, originally set to expire in March, aims to encourage safe and compliant grid connections without deterring solar adoption. Eskom is also testing a new prepaid option for residential rooftop solar customers. While the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association ('SAPVIA') welcomed the extension for removing the financial barrier to compliance, it urged local municipalities to streamline their own cumbersome approval processes, which continue to delay the national energy transition.

Australia's Transgrid is negotiating with developers of nine grid-forming battery energy storage system ('BESS') projects to bolster system strength in New South Wales as coal-fired plants retire. The shortlisted third-party batteries, expected online starting in the second half of 2026, were selected based on priority grid locations. Transgrid is targeting 5 GW of stabilizing services from batteries by 2033 to complement synchronous condensers, with future procurement rounds planned for 2026 and beyond to meet evolving transition needs.

The US solar industry added 26.5 GW of utility-scale capacity in 2025, driving the majority of the 36.5 GW in total new builds, according to 'FERC' data. Solar now constitutes 12.16% of total US generating capacity. In December alone, 993 MW of solar came online across 17 projects. The three-year outlook forecasts an 86.5 GW high-probability solar expansion by 2028. If the entire proposed pipeline is completed, solar could add up to 240 GW to the grid, while fossil fuels face massive retirements.

In Q1 this year, China Southern Power Grid's west-to-east power transmission delivered a cumulative 41.5 billion kWh of electricity, 4.7 billion kWh above plan, up 13.3% YoY, setting a record high for the same period in history. Of this, non-fossil energy accounted for 81% of the electricity transmitted.

This week (March 27-April 2), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 69.95, down 0.81 percentage points MoM and down 11.11 percentage points YoY, with overall operations remaining stable. During the week, copper prices moved sideways, while end-users remained bearish. Downstream enterprises showed a strong wait-and-see sentiment in procurement, and new orders were weak. However, as existing orders from the previous period still supported normal production schedules, the operating rate declined only slightly. By segment, SMM learned that order placement in the power grid sector has been relatively weak recently, while orders in the NEV and optical fiber sectors performed well, and construction engineering-related orders remained far from optimistic. Inventory side, raw material inventory was still mainly consumed this week, so raw material inventory fell 2.84% MoM. As for finished product inventories, driven by the gradual pick-up of previous orders, inventory fell 3.31% MoM. Looking ahead to next week, continued fluctuations in copper prices are expected to keep suppressing end-user purchase willingness, and the operating rate is expected to continue to pull back, though downside room will be limited as orders on hand still support production schedules. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable next week (April 3-April 9) to fall 0.67 percentage points MoM to 69.29, down 15.58 percentage points YoY.

[How Should Zinc Consumption Be Viewed Against the Backdrop of Geopolitical Conflicts?] Q1 2026 had passed, and the overall recovery in post-holiday consumption was somewhat delayed. How would consumption perform going forward?

【SMM Steel】Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe is pushing the EC for immediate trade protection to defend its grain-oriented electrical steel production. Cheap Asian imports have tripled since 2022 and soared 50% in 2025. Thyssenkrupp extended production cuts at two facilities. GO steel is essential for power grids but avoids existing quota cuts. The steelmaker warns 1,200 jobs and Europe's tech lead are at risk without a level playing field. Quick intervention is needed.