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A perovskite top layer and CIGS bottom layer capture different sunlight wavelengths, boosting solar power generation.
Chinese researchers have developed a new type of tandem solar cell that achieves a power conversion efficiency of 29.71 percent.
The team improved the stability of the perovskite material by adding a sulfur-based compound called bis(2-pyridylmethyl) sulfide (2PyS), which helps reduce tiny flaws that normally lower performance over time.
It also prevents the movement of charged particles and limits light-induced material changes that can degrade the solar cell.
The advance could help make next-generation solar panels more efficient, longer-lasting, and better suited for commercial use.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a highly efficient tandem solar cell that combines two different solar technologies to capture more sunlight and convert it into electricity. The new device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 29.71 percent, making it one of the best-performing perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells reported so far.
The solar cell uses a perovskite layer on top and a CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, and selenium) solar cell underneath. The top perovskite layer is designed to absorb higher-energy sunlight, while the CIGS bottom layer captures the lower-energy light that passes through. By splitting the sunlight between two materials, tandem solar cells can generate more electricity than conventional single-layer solar cells, reports PV Magazine.
One of the biggest challenges with wide-bandgap perovskite materials is that they tend to become unstable over time. Tiny defects can form inside the material during manufacturing, allowing charged particles to move around. This gradually reduces performance, especially when the solar cells are exposed to sunlight and heat for long periods.
To solve this problem, the Chinese researchers introduced a sulfur-containing organic compound called bis(2-pyridylmethyl) sulfide (2PyS) during the manufacturing process. Rather than repairing defects after the solar cell is made, the compound helps control how the perovskite crystals form from the start.
According to the research team, 2PyS interacts strongly with lead ions inside the perovskite material. This helps reduce the number of defects, limits the movement of halide ions, and prevents the material from separating into different phases under sunlight. These changes make the perovskite layer more stable and improve its ability to convert sunlight into electricity.
The researchers also found that 2PyS slows crystal formation just enough to allow the perovskite film to grow more evenly. This results in a smoother, higher-quality layer with fewer imperfections, reducing energy losses and improving the overall performance of the device.
The tandem solar cell consists of a semi-transparent perovskite top cell and a CIGS bottom cell. On its own, the CIGS cell achieved an efficiency of 19.65 percent under full sunlight. However, when placed beneath the perovskite layer in the tandem device, it received less light because the top cell absorbed part of the spectrum, reducing its efficiency to 7.5 percent. The perovskite top cell itself reached an efficiency of 22.21 percent, reports PV Magazine.
When both cells operated together in a four-terminal (4T) tandem configuration, their combined output reached an overall efficiency of 29.71 percent. The researchers also tested the durability of the new design. After 2,000 hours of continuous operation, the tandem solar cells retained more than 91 percent of their original efficiency, demonstrating strong long-term stability.
The team believes the new coordination-engineering approach using 2PyS could help overcome one of the biggest barriers to commercial perovskite solar cells. By improving both efficiency and durability, the technique could support the development of next-generation solar panels capable of producing more electricity while maintaining performance for much longer periods.

Jijo is an automotive and business journalist based in India. Armed with a BA in History (Honors) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a PG diploma in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, he has worked for news agencies, national newspapers, and automotive magazines. In his spare time, he likes to go off-roading, engage in political discourse, travel, and teach languages.
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Cabinet approves ‘PM Surya Sarovar Yojana’ for floating solar photovoltaic projects of ₹5,070 cr  ANI News
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Delivering Stories of Progress
More than 200 students and teachers—many from the indigenous Dumagat Remontado community—are expected to gain access to a more conducive learning environment through the initiative. The solar-powered system will energize classrooms and support multimedia equipment, computers, and television sets, enabling more interactive lessons and improving classroom instruction.
The project will be implemented under OMF’s School Electrification Program (SEP), which aims to provide sustainable electricity to underserved public schools, particularly those in remote communities where access to reliable power remains limited.
The partnership was formalized through the signing of a deed of donation attended by OMF President and Meralco Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer Jeffrey O. Tarayao, Meralco Chief Operating Officer and OMF Trustee Engr. Ronnie L. Aperocho, and Meralco Distribution Utility Subsidiaries and Strategic Partnerships Head and OMF Trustee Engr. Ferdinand O. Geluz. Representing B&M Global Services Manila were Executive Director Lorie Barredo and Corporate Social Responsibility Team Leads Marianne Sandico and Kristine Pasia.
Investing in education through clean energy
Barredo said the partnership reflects the company’s commitment to creating meaningful social impact through sustainable development.
“Through this initiative, we are reminded that corporate social responsibility is at its best when organizations like ours partner together and fulfill the shared purpose of uplifting communities, expanding opportunities, and helping build a brighter future,” she said.
Tarayao emphasized that B&M Global Services Manila’s support goes beyond financial assistance.
“Your contribution is not only financial—it is strategic. It reflects the understanding that investing in education infrastructure is fundamental to long-term social progress. Together, we can help ensure that geography does not determine a child’s future,” he said.
Aperocho underscored the transformative role of electricity in education.
“It is easy to think of solar panels and wires, but this initiative is never just about infrastructure. Electricity opens doors to knowledge and technology. For the children of Libis, this power will ensure that geographical isolation and lack of electricity never stand in the way of their education and dreams,” he said.
Since launching its School Electrification Program in 2011, One Meralco Foundation has energized 308 public schools nationwide, bringing solar-powered electricity to more than 92,000 students and over 3,000 teachers, helping improve access to quality education in underserved communities.
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LONGi Europe: transitioning solar-plus-storage into mainstream power source  PV Tech
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Home – Tech – Forty Irish farmers are fighting a €1 billion data center planned on prime tillage farmland
A group of 40 farmers and residents in County Westmeath has taken its fight against a huge data center and solar project to Ireland’s national planning appeals body.
The Red Admiral development near Rochfortbridge would spread across roughly 600 acres and cost about $1.14 billion, while opponents say it would remove valuable cropland and create new risks for wells, flooding, and rural homes.
This is not a simple clash between technology and people who dislike renewable energy. The proposal combines six data center buildings with solar panels, battery storage, fuel cells, and a grid connection, which means its environmental case reaches far beyond the word “solar.”
The bigger question is whether cleaner power promises can outweigh the long-term change of an agricultural landscape.
Westmeath County Council approved the project for 10 years, subject to 32 conditions, but the decision has since drawn 10 third-party appeals. The official case was lodged on June 23, 2026, and An Coimisiún Pleanála lists October 27, 2026, as the target date for a ruling.
Willie Carey, one of the local farmers involved, said the process had become a “divide and conquer approach,” while fellow farmer Frank Kelly stressed, “We are not opposed to solar.” Lumcloon Energy, the parent company behind Red Admiral DC Limited, says it held extensive consultation and changed the design and solar farm boundary after receiving local feedback.
Inside the wider site, the secured data center campus would occupy about 96 acres and contain six two-story buildings. The adjoining energy system would include a 180-megawatt solar farm, a 250-megawatt battery with two hours of storage, and 160 megawatts of solid oxide fuel cells.
Those fuel cells would initially be supplied with natural gas, although the technology is described as capable of using biomethane or green hydrogen in the future. At the unlikely full 250-megawatt load, the project’s environmental report estimates annual emissions of 543,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent.
One planning condition requires the company to show that the electricity consumed is matched by new renewable generation through a corporate power purchase agreement. That is an important safeguard, but the public documents reviewed here do not establish that every hour of operation would be powered only by the on-site solar farm.
Here lies the heart of the disagreement. Farmers see productive wheat and tillage fields that could feed families or pass to the next generation, while the project’s environmental report classifies the permanent loss of productive land beneath hard surfaces as a “slight” effect with low sensitivity.
Both statements can exist at once because they measure value differently. The report rates open fields as low local ecological value, yet surveys found seven of Ireland’s nine resident bat species and recorded most bat activity along field edges. Farmers, meanwhile, measure value through food production, inheritance, and whether the land can still be farmed.
Water is another flash point. The plan calls for three on-site wells drawing up to about 10,600 gallons per day, and the developer’s report describes that amount as negligible for the local groundwater resource.
Residents remain worried about long-established household and farm wells, while the same report rates the land at low flood risk and proposes swales, attenuation ponds, and rainwater storage to manage runoff.
The economic numbers are substantial. The developer has projected 760 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs during a five-year construction phase, while planning documents indicate that roughly 360 to 440 direct roles would involve on-site employees.
The county council would also receive about $9.42 million in infrastructure contributions and roughly $331,000 through a special road levy, according to recent exchange rates. That money could support public works, but it does not answer the separate question of whether this particular location is environmentally and socially suitable.
Why is one rural planning dispute attracting national attention? Ireland’s data centers consumed 23% of all metered electricity in 2025, up 10% in a single year to 7,663 gigawatt-hours. Their share was larger than that of urban households at 18% or rural households at 9%.
The Irish government says all new data centers must provide energy generation on-site or nearby, with 80% coming from renewable sources. Red Admiral is clearly designed to respond to that pressure, but the appeal shows why electricity is only one line on the sustainability checklist. Land, water, carbon, biodiversity, and community trust count, too.
An Coimisiún Pleanála will now examine the appeals and the environmental record before issuing its decision. The ruling may become a practical benchmark for other large energy users trying to pair digital infrastructure with their own generation in rural Ireland.
At the end of the day, this is not a referendum on solar power. It is a test of whether Ireland can expand its digital economy without treating farmland and community consent as spare capacity. 
The official appeal file was published on An Coimisiún Pleanála.

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By: Luis Reyes
Published: Jul 31, at 12:30pm ET
Solar efficiency records have gotten routine. Every few months a lab somewhere adds a few tenths of a percent, a press release goes out, and nothing on anyone’s roof changes. China’s LONGi renewed the tradition on July 14 with a 35.5% perovskite-silicon tandem cell, a genuine world record, independently certified in Europe.
Then, two days later, Qcells announced something with no record attached at all. No new decimal. Just paperwork: a certification from TÜV Rheinland, the German testing body headquartered in Cologne, confirming that its perovskite-silicon tandem cells and modules meet the same IEC and UL reliability and safety standards that ordinary silicon panels have to pass before anyone will finance a field full of them.
Qcells says nobody else in the world holds that certification for tandem technology. And that quiet stack of documents answers the one question perovskite has been dodging since researchers first got excited about it back in 2009: fine, it’s efficient, but does it survive?
A tandem cell is exactly what it sounds like. You print a thin perovskite layer on top of a standard silicon cell, the perovskite grabs the high-energy end of sunlight, and the silicon underneath catches the lower-energy light that passes through.
Two layers, one cell, more electricity per square foot. LONGi’s release pegs the theoretical ceiling for the stacked design at 43 percent, against roughly 33.7 percent for a single junction. So the physics case has been closed for years.
The problem is that perovskite crystals are famously fragile. Heat, moisture and UV light break them down, which is why the technology built a reputation for dazzling in the lab and fading outdoors. A panel is supposed to sit on a roof for 25 years. A material that degrades in months is not a product, it’s a demo.
Banks know this, which is why the industry runs on a standard called IEC 61215, plus its American counterpart UL 61215. Pass, and your panel is considered reliable enough to finance. Fail, or never take the exam, and you can post all the efficiency records you want, because nobody with a checkbook is watching.
So here is what the Qcells hardware went through, per the company and the pv magazine report on the certification. Thermal cycling: 200 round trips between minus 40 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Minus 40, if you’ve ever wondered, is the one temperature where Fahrenheit and Celsius finally agree on something.
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Damp heat: 1,000 straight hours, about 42 days, at 185 degrees and 85 percent humidity. Humidity-freeze: 10 cycles that soak the module in hot, wet air and then freeze it, so any water that snuck inside expands into ice where it can do real damage. Plus UV preconditioning at 15 kilowatt-hours per square meter to bake the materials that sunlight likes to eat first.
Panels degrade a little under all this. The standard allows it. What it does not allow is power loss beyond a set threshold, and measuring power on a two-layer cell is its own headache, so the results also had to comply with IEC TS 60904-1-1, the measurement rulebook written specifically for multi-junction modules.
The certification covers four standards in total: IEC 61215-2:2021 and UL 61215-2:2021 for reliability, plus IEC 61730-2:2023 and UL 61730-2:2022 for safety. The certified cells and modules came off the company’s tandem pilot line in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany, built on full-area M10 wafers, using processes Qcells says are feasible for mass production.
“We are getting closer to bringing a product to market,” said Fabian Fertig, Head of Tandem R&D for Qcells Germany, in the announcement. Which is careful language, and appropriately so. Certification is not a product launch. But it’s the document a product launch requires.
None of this takes anything away from LONGi. Its 35.5% result is real, certified by the European Solar Test Installation, part of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Italy, and it caps a genuinely relentless run: 33.9% in late 2023, 34.6% in 2024, 34.85% in April 2025, and now this.
But the record cell is a laboratory device, and LONGi didn’t disclose its active area. More telling: as of June, the company said it had no active mass-production plan for tandem cells, with work still needed on large-area coating, manufacturing yield, encapsulation, long-term stability and cost.
Qcells took the opposite road. Its own record, set in December 2024 and verified by the CalLab at Fraunhofer ISE, is a comparatively modest 28.6%. The difference is that it was measured across a full M10 wafer of 330.56 square centimeters, a shade over seven inches on a side, cut from a standard industrial silicon wafer that slots straight into a normal module.
Britain’s Oxford PV deserves its footnote here too: it shipped the first commercial tandem panels back in 2024 from its own German line. So Qcells isn’t the first to sell a tandem panel. It says it’s the first to hold the double IEC and UL certification, and that distinction matters, because records tell you what the technology can touch on its best day, while certification tells you what it should still be doing in year 20.
Here’s where this stops being a European lab story for American readers. Qcells is the largest silicon-based solar manufacturer in the United States, and on June 9 it started making solar cells at its Cartersville, Georgia factory, the first plant in the country to take a panel from raw ingot to finished module under one roof.
At full speed, expected by the end of the third quarter, Cartersville will turn out 3.3 gigawatts each of ingots, wafers and cells, plus 3.5 gigawatts of modules a year. Add the Dalton plant 30 miles up the road and Qcells’ Georgia operations will build 47,000 panels a day, 8.6 gigawatts of annual module capacity, which the company says is roughly the power for 1.3 million American homes, with about 3,800 direct jobs across two counties.
To be precise about what’s what: everything coming out of Georgia today is conventional silicon. The certified tandem hardware exists on a pilot line in Germany, and Qcells has not announced where, or when, tandem modules would be mass-produced. Anyone telling you tandem panels are rolling out of Cartersville is ahead of the facts.
Still, the pieces are now sitting on the same table for one company: a certified next-generation cell in Germany, and the biggest American solar factory ever built running in Georgia. That combination is rare, and everybody in the industry can do the same math.
Solar hardware surviving abuse is becoming its own genre, whether that’s American solar farms tilting their panels to dodge four-inch hail or Australia’s printed solar film getting tested in orbit. And every panel that goes up eventually comes down, which is why Georgia also hosts the plant that strips old panels back into silver, copper and glass. The industry is quietly building the whole life cycle, cradle to grave, and now the paperwork in the middle.
What the certification does not settle: the price per watt, the yield when a pilot line becomes a real one, and whether decades in an actual field match six weeks in a chamber. The panel that survived all of this still has no price tag and no order form. But for the first time, a perovskite panel holds the document that gets solar projects financed. In this business, that piece of paper moves more hardware than any world record ever has.
What do you think?
Luis Reyes · Jul 6, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 19, 2026
Olivia Richman · Jul 6, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 4, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 5, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 26, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 31, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 31, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 31, 2026
Luis Reyes · Jul 31, 2026
Olivia Richman · Jul 30, 2026
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Research by ACAP finds ARENA’s 30-30-30 ultra-low-cost solar target could create a 2,000 GW PV market in Australia 
It could help produce around 1,000 TWh for domestic use and 2,600 TWh annually for exports 
Lower solar power costs could help industries produce green aluminum, ammonia, and steel at competitive prices while supporting new export opportunities 
The 30-30-30 ultra-low-cost solar (ULCS) target set by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has the potential to create a 2,000 GW-scale solar PV market in Australia, according to new research by the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP).  
The 30-30-30 target refers to achieving 30% solar module efficiency at an installed cost of $0.30/W by 2030.  
According to an integrated modeling framework developed by ACAP researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and University of New South Wales (UNSW), ULCS could provide 1,000 TWh annually for domestic use and 2,600 TWh/year for export. This could create a 2,000 GW PV market.  
In its study titled Mapping the market opportunities for ultra low-cost solar, the team focused on an integrated approach. Instead of studying them separately, it captured the interactions between industrial decarbonization, electricity market transformation, and green commodity production to reach the conclusion.  
This new approach reveals how ULCS can be a catalyst for an economy-wide energy transition, driving energy system transformation and industrial decarbonization, the researchers explain. 
“Used smartly, 2000 GW of solar PV could power a fully decarbonised domestic economy and support large-scale production of green metals for export – positioning Australia as a global supplier of green products while dramatically reducing national emissions,” said Dr. Bin Lu of ANU. 
Under the 30-30-30 vision, electricity systems could provide reliable 100% renewable power at lower costs than today’s wholesale prices. Lower power prices would help heavy industries reduce costs, allowing green aluminum, ammonia, and steel to match conventional production costs, while electro-fuels for aviation move closer to commercial viability, according to the research.  
“Australia has abundant solar resources, and some of the world’s richest mineral reserves, such as iron ore and bauxite,” Lu added. “Used smartly, cheaper renewable technologies could power Australia’s transition to a global supplier of green products.” 
TaiyangNews 2024

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There’s a new addition at Naples Airport — in fact, there are 270 newly installed solar panels.
The solar array is located atop a recently built warehouse storage building near the North Road Terminal and Fuel Farm on the airport campus. Once operational later this summer, the solar panels will daily produce about 100 kilowatts of AC-generating capacity, airport officials say.
“Naples Airport has been ‘going green’ for many years, and this solar installation is yet another example of how an airport can be good stewards to the environment while simultaneously making sound financial decisions,” Chris Rozansky, executive director for the Naples Airport Authority, says in a statement.
The solar panel project cost $249,665, according to a spokesperson, who says the projected payback period — how long it takes to recoup costs through energy savings and government rebates — is 5.7 years.
Among the Naples Airport’s recent sustainability initiatives are introducing alternative, cleaner-burning fuels; converting many ground vehicles and pieces of equipment from gas to electric; and authorizing construction and design of a new water management system that will filter water to remove impurities before runoff flows into the Gordon River and Naples Bay, according to a statement.
Miami-based PayOli Solar designed and installed the rooftop solar array, which will power the warehouse storage building. Michigan-headquartered Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., which has offices in Naples and Fort Myers, handled construction of the warehouse storage structure.
Naples Airport serves tenants including private and corporate aviation, air charter, aircraft maintenance and repair services, car rental brands and flight schools. It also houses the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Collier Mosquito Control District, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Fire Station 3 and Collier County EMS MedFlight. The airport is operated by the independent government agency Naples Airport Authority, which receives no tax dollars and is primarily funded through fuel sales, hangar rentals and other related services.
 
Elizabeth is a business news reporter with the Business Observer, covering primarily Sarasota-Bradenton, in addition to other parts of the region. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, she previously covered hyperlocal news in Maryland for Patch for 12 years. Now she lives in Sarasota County.
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JMG Limited has successfully commissioned an advanced hybrid solar power system at its Victoria Island Branch in Lagos, reinforcing the company’s commitment to delivering reliable, sustainable, and cost-efficient energy solutions for businesses across Nigeria.
The installation combines 66kWp of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, 80kW of hybrid inverter capacity, and 81.92kWh of lithium battery storage, creating a fully integrated energy platform designed to maximise reliability while significantly reducing dependence on diesel-powered generation.
Engineered using advanced load analysis with Fluke Load Analyser and PV system simulation software, the system is expected to generate approximately 94.8MWh of clean electricity annually, supplying around 80% of the branch’s energy requirements.
Beyond improving energy reliability, the installation is expected to offset approximately 28,000 litres of diesel consumption every year, translating into an estimated ₦50 million in annual fuel cost savings while preventing more than 37 tonnes of CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere.
The project incorporates premium technologies including LONGi solar modules, Deye hybrid inverters, and Deye high-voltage lithium battery storage, providing intelligent energy management, seamless backup power, and long-term operational efficiency.
Speaking on the project, Hussein Abbas, JMG’s Head of Solar Division, stated: “At JMG, we believe the best way to demonstrate confidence in our solutions is to deploy them within our own operations. The Victoria Island Branch now serves as a real-world example of how businesses can improve energy reliability, reduce operating costs and accelerate their sustainability goals through intelligent hybrid power systems.”
The Victoria Island Branch now serves as a live demonstration facility, allowing customers, consultants and project developers to experience JMG’s commercial hybrid solar solutions operating in a real business environment.
As businesses continue to seek cleaner, smarter and more resilient energy solutions, JMG remains committed to helping organisations reduce operating costs, improve energy security and build a more sustainable future through world-class engineering and innovative power technologies.
Justus Adejumoh is an IT / Telecom Reporter who has been covering the ICT sector for over a decade. He is currently the IT / Telecom Editor of Independent Newspapers Limited. With a knack for the industry’s issues and trends, he has given impetus to the industry through agenda-setting reports, analysis of issues and interfacing with industry stakeholders. A graduate of Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), he also attended Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State for his first degree and Master from University of Lagos. Also, he has attended several training courses and workshops on media and other fields. They include CNN / MultiChoice Media Training, CSR Training- Pan-Atlantic University (Lagos Business School), and Microsoft Advanced Media Training, among others. He is currently the General Secretary of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) and a Senior Member of Chartered Institute of Public Diplomacy and Management (CIPDM).




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Leading solar manufacturer and solution provider TCL Solar has commissioned a 15 MW/30 MWh energy storage project for precision manufacturing company Lens Technology.
Located at Lens Technology’s manufacturing base in Changsha, Hunan Province, the project is integrated with a 110 kV distribution system and covers 900 m². Operating on a two-cycle daily charge-discharge schedule, the system works alongside existing solar installations, using an intelligent dispatch platform to optimize charging and discharging based on real-time load fluctuations and local electricity pricing.
Recently, TCL Solar announced a RMB 2.6 billion investment to upgrade its existing TOPCon production lines to BC technology (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Chint has signed two strategic cooperation agreements with European renewable energy investor Octopus Energy covering renewable energy infrastructure and virtual power plant (VPP) development.
Under the first agreement, Chint Group subsidiaries, including Astronergy and Chint Anneng, will cooperate with Octopus Energy on renewable energy project development. Chint will supply PV modules, inverters, energy storage systems, transformers, smart meters, cables, and EV charging equipment, and will also provide EPC services where required.
The second agreement focuses on VPP development in mainland China, covering distributed energy aggregation, demand response, smart energy management and demonstration projects.
Shanghai’s ‘Xingshu Plan’ space computing constellation has adopted perovskite tandem solar technology to power its central computing satellite.
Led by Fudan University and Xingshu Tiansuan Aerospace Technology, the program will provide distributed space computing services for sectors including energy, maritime, and government. The central computing satellite uses perovskite tandem solar cells to deliver 15 kW of power to support onboard GPUs. According to Fudan University, the technology provides higher in-orbit conversion efficiency than conventional monocrystalline silicon panels while remaining significantly less expensive than gallium arsenide (GaAs) space cells.
Xingshu Tiansuan Aerospace Technology is indirectly controlled by Drinda, the parent company of solar cell manufacturer JTPV.
Recently, a research team led by Jilin Hesheng Technology completed what it calls the world’s first in-orbit verification of perovskite X/γ-ray detectors (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Huawei Digital Power announced that its LUNA2000 S1 residential energy storage system (ESS) has received TÜV Rheinland’s Safety Mark Level 3 (Prime) certification. The company said it is the first residential ESS to achieve the highest safety rating under the certification program.
The ESS passed UL 9540A:2025 fire and explosion testing and ISO 13849-1 functional safety verification. According to Huawei, the system withstood 20 minutes of external fire exposure without explosion and is designed to prevent thermal runaway propagation under extreme operating conditions. The company added that the product complies with the IEC 62477-1 international electrical safety standard.
Sungrow New Energy, a subsidiary of Sungrow, has joined a RMB 1 billion equity investment fund alongside Huatai Asset Management and Huatai Baoli Investment.
Sungrow New Energy will invest RMB 199 million, representing a 19.9% stake in the fund. The 30-year fund will focus on grid-connected wind, utility-scale solar PV and energy storage projects with installed capacity of at least 200 MW and targeted project equity internal rates of return (IRR) of at least 8%.
The fund will prioritize projects recommended by Sungrow New Energy, while Sungrow and its subsidiaries will provide operation and maintenance (O&M) and power trading services for selected projects.
TaiyangNews 2024

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$307M solar project planned for Eastern Kentucky wins state tax incentive  Lexington Herald Leader
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Austria Center Vienna installs new photovoltaic system  Travel Daily News International
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Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks during a cabinet briefing, in New Delhi on Friday. | Photo Credit: ANI
The Cabinet on Friday approved the ‘Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY)’, a scheme for the development of floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) projects with energy storage systems (ESS) with a total outlay of ₹5,070 crore. 
The scheme envisages the development of 5,000 MW of floating solar photovoltaic projects with co-located energy storage systems having a minimum storage capacity of two hours i.e.,10,000 MWh.
The projects will be sanctioned during FY2026-27 to FY2030-31, with disbursement of financial support continuing up to FY2032-33, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) said.
The approval follows the recent assessment undertaken by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), which has estimated a floating solar potential of approximately 102.18 GWp across reservoirs and other suitable inland water bodies in the country. 
Under the scheme, Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of ₹1 crore per MW will be provided for eligible floating solar photovoltaic projects after successful commissioning. In addition, CFA of up to ₹50 lakh per project will be available for undertaking feasibility studies, including bathymetry and hydrography assessments, environmental studies, and other preparatory activities required for de-risking the project development.
All States and Union Territories will benefit through this scheme. The scheme would enhance the floating solar PV capacity in the country by 5,000 MW, which is presently around 700 MW only. These projects would provide an opportunity to gainfully utilize existing reservoirs & industrial ponds, and eliminate competition for scarce land resources. 
The integration of an energy storage system will help strengthen grid reliability. The scheme would help in the reduction of around 10 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually. It would help in the generation of approximately 16,000–17,000 full-time equivalent employment opportunities across the project value chain. 
The scheme would also promote domestic manufacturing of floatation systems and the entire value chain of the projects, like PV cells, modules, energy storage systems, etc., and support the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. 
The scheme will contribute to renewable energy capacity addition, support the achievement of national energy and climate objectives, and facilitate optimal utilisation of water resources while advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Published on July 31, 2026
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Surprising information about 100 solar power systems on Checkers owner’s stores  MyBroadband
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Solar’s share of electricity demand across the 27 EU member states exceeded 20% for the first time for three consecutive months, according to data from the Energy-Charts platform compiled by Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.
Energy-Charts calculated a share of 20.3% for May, 21.1% for June and 21.5% for July. As July has not yet fully ended, there may still be marginal changes, but the analysts say this will not affect the record.
During the same period last year, solar’s share of EU electricity demand ranged between 17.3% and 18.8%.
Country-level data reveals a series of new records. In Germany, the solar share of electricity demand exceeded 30% for the first time and remained above this level for three consecutive months. Fraunhofer researchers recorded a share of 30.3% in May, 30.4% in June and a preliminary 31.6% in July. July marks a significant increase compared with the previous year, when weather conditions limited photovoltaics to a 22.6% share of electricity demand.
In Switzerland, the 25% threshold was exceeded and maintained for the first time over a three-month period. Energy-Charts reported a solar share of 25.8% in May, 25.3% in June and 26.5% in July. During the same months last year, solar accounted for between 19.1% and 21.8% of electricity demand.
Austria also set new records, achieving a record photovoltaic share of 23.3% of electricity demand in May. In June, the figure was 22.5%, while Energy-Charts reported 21.9% for July. All three values exceeded the previous record of 20.3% set in June 2025, which was the first time Austria surpassed the 20% threshold.
Latvia posted the highest solar share recorded in the EU, with photovoltaics accounting for 49% of electricity demand in June. Its Baltic neighbours, Lithuania and Estonia, also recorded strong figures, reaching 44.7% and 35.8%, respectively, in June.
The increase in Latvia is particularly striking. The country’s solar share was already 34.9% in April and rose to 40% in May. For July, Energy-Charts expects the figure to reach 38.9%. By comparison, values during the same period last year ranged between 13.7% and 18.9%.
In Spain, the photovoltaic share of electricity demand remained consistently above 35% for the first time over the three-month period. The highest value was recorded in June, when solar accounted for 36.9% of electricity demand. Solar’s share was more than five percentage points higher than during the same period last year.
Similar figures were seen in Greece, where the solar share remained above 35% from May to July, representing an increase of more than seven percentage points compared with the same period last year.
In Bulgaria, meanwhile, solar shares – like in Germany – also exceeded 30% between May and July.
France also posted gains, continuing a rise of around two percentage points compared with the same periods in the previous year. However, the figures remain below EU averages. Solar reached its highest-ever share of electricity demand in July, at 14.6%. In June, the figure was 13.6%, while in May it was 12.6%, matching the previous record set in July 2025.
Like France, Italy also remained below the EU average. According to Energy-Charts data, Italy recorded its highest-ever solar share of electricity demand in May, at 19.5%. In July, however, the figure fell to just 16.7%, while June reached 18.5%.
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“Do NOT sign anything from someone who shows up at your door unprompted, without doing more research.”
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Going solar can slash a household’s electric bills, but the buying process can feel like a minefield when prices, contracts, and incentives vary widely.
That anxiety came through clearly in a recent Reddit thread in which a homeowner said they were interested in panels but had very little knowledge and were wary of being taken advantage of. 
“I am interested in solar panels for my home, but know practically nothing about the subject. How can I avoid being scammed?” the poster wrote. 
Across the discussion, commenters kept returning to the same basic checkpoints: make sure the roof is ready, collect competing quotes, and treat lease-style arrangements with care.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Because taking panels down and putting them back can cost “around $300/panel,” one commenter said homeowners with older shingle roofs should think hard about reroofing before installing solar. In that person’s view, if the roof is roughly a decade old, replacing it first may be the cheaper move over time.
Commenters also said the clearest way to compare offers is by cost per watt.
One Redditor gave “a good rule of thumb for a fair, non-scam price is $3/watt of generating capacity, without batteries,” which would make a 15-kilowatt system about $45,000, while another homeowner said their price was closer to $2 per watt before rebates.
Going solar is one way to save money on home energy, but only if you can compare bids clearly and understand what you’re buying. For homeowners just starting out, free tools from EnergySage can help you get quick installation estimates and compare quotes.
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Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Solar sales have become a major consumer-protection issue. Since many buyers are approached through high-pressure pitches, confusing financing structures, or monthly payment comparisons, it can obscure the total cost.
Thread participants were especially wary of unsolicited sales tactics.
As one commenter put it, “Do NOT sign anything from someone who shows up at your door unprompted, without doing more research.” Several others said quotes from local installers are far more useful than relying on a single salesperson.
Commenters on the post did not fully agree on leases and PPAs. 
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Some argued that buyers need to own panels to get the best long-term value, while others said a power purchase agreement can still work when tax credits are unavailable, or financing rates are high. Even the more favorable takes came with warnings to read escalator terms closely and think about resale complications if a move could be in your future.
While rooftop panels can lower utility costs and reduce reliance on polluting energy sources, confusing contracts and misleading sales tactics can leave homeowners paying more than expected.
If you’re new to solar, you can start by inspecting your roof, lining up at least three bids from local companies, and comparing systems by cost per watt rather than just monthly savings. Neighbors might also be of help by sharing their own experiences, and you can spend time reviewing equipment, warranties, and expected output before deciding.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one way to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. If you want to explore that option, EnergySage offers free tools to learn about home battery storage and get competitive installation estimates.
EnergySage’s free services can also be valuable for shoppers trying to avoid overpaying. With EnergySage’s tools and help on solar purchases and installations, the average person can save up to $10,000. 
Homeowners can also use EnergySage’s solar map, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system at a state-by-state level and details available solar incentives for each state; together, those resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
“Energysage is a good starting point,” one commenter noted. “That allows installers servicing your area to bid on your project which helps you get an idea of per watt cost and overall cost. It also has explainers for things.”
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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It’s all very well talking about solar energy: the differences between photovoltaic and concentrated solar power  Il Sole 24 ORE
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Upgrading the Williams College electrical system requires summer ditching.

Upgrading the Williams College electrical system requires summer ditching.
Tanja Srebotnjak, director of Williams College’s Zilkha Center for the Environment, told an audience of students and faculty in January that renewable energy makes sense as a way to combat climate change — and also economically. Williams is now going all in for electricity, especially electricity generated on campus by solar panels.
In addition to panels already operating, such as in connection with the ’62 Environmental Center, Williams has added panels on the Wachenheim Science Center and Garfield House. Panels soon will be placed on the ample roof of the new Multipurpose Recreational Center. According to a recent email from Srebotnjak, “Once the MRC array is operational, the college has installed just under 1 MW AC (megawatts alternating current) of solar PV (photovoltaic) capacity behind the meter.” That’s a lot of watts, a megawatt being 1 million watts. It will account for “6 to 7 percent of the college’s annual grid-imported electricity consumption,” Srebotnjak reports.
Although the panels are generating the electricity, they require a contract with National Grid because the utility must be able to supply that much power. Srebotnjak explains that solar projects that are currently in the works are using a previously executed interconnection service agreement. Future solar or other green energy will require new interconnection agreements “to ensure there is sufficient hosting capacity to integrate such systems safely and reliably.” That the local substation is nearing capacity might temporarily slow electrification.
She looks forward to participating in a “flexible interconnection” National Grid program, supported by other utilities and state governments, that “allows renewable energy and battery projects to connect to the electric grid faster and cheaper by using real-time digital controls to manage grid limits.”
Williams’ new boathouse on Lake Onota will have solar panels in front of the meter. The Wachenheim, Garfield and MRC solar arrays will be behind the meter. That means they will directly offset any power Williams draws from the grid. The boathouse panels will help green the grid but won’t reduce charges, such as for peak demand. Naturally, Srebotnjak prefers “behind the meter solar PV.”
A series of ditches around campus have been dug as part of upgrading the campus electrical system by more than three times to handle the college’s increasing need. Berkshire Gas also is digging in Main Streets, unrelated to the electrical work.
Williams is already carbon neutral, in part because of the contract the college shares with other institutions with a solar facility in Farmington, Maine. Its power feeds into the Maine grid, but Williams gets credit through renewable energy certificates.
The college has identified another 1 MW capacity of existing rooftop and new construction that will be solar ready, waiting on the substation. Srebotnjak believes that “our focus on energy efficiency, enhanced by renewables and energy management, will put us in a good position to not only reduce our carbon emissions over time but to do so with a smaller energy footprint overall and greater resilience. It won’t happen overnight, but I’m confident that staying the course will pay dividends in several ways.”
May it be so. At least, that’s how it looks from the White Oaks.
Lauren R. Stevens writes a regular environmental column for The Berkshire Eagle.
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As nations accelerate their transition away from fossil fuels, solar installations are scaling at a rapid pace. India added over 24 GW of solar capacity in FY 2025-26 alone, pushing total renewable generation to 1,845 BU, up by 0.93% year-on-year. Yet beneath this worldwide surge in demand lies a silent crisis that threatens the growth of the nascent solar manufacturing platform in India — a severe, shortage of the skilled workforce.
In India, this challenge is being addressed through large-scale, government-led skill development and capacity-building initiatives, with over 1.25 lakh candidates trained in FY 2025-26 across solar, wind and green hydrogen sectors. This reflects a growing recognition that workforce readiness is central to renewable energy expansion.
It also facilitates smoother transitions from training to employment, entrepreneurship and advanced technical roles within the renewable energy network.
Advanced solar manufacturing is no longer a matter of assembling panels on a production line. It demands engineers who understand photovoltaic cell chemistry, technicians fluent in automation and robotics, quality specialists who can interpret micron-level tolerances, and systems integrators who can bridge hardware with intelligent energy management software.
The skills required are deep, specialised, and evolving rapidly. Without a deliberate, structured strategy and a well-funded program to create a pipeline of relevantly trained engineers and technicians, this ambitious solar expansion plan will falter.
Modern high-efficiency solar modules are sophisticated products. The shift toward PERC, TOPCon, and Heterojunction cell structure requires manufacturing environments with exacting standards that can be performed by specialists, who have internalised both the science and the craft of solar production.
When skilled personnel are unavailable, manufacturers will have to accept delay in production, expect higher defect rates or invest in underprepared workers. Programmes such as fellowships, internships and industry-linked training help to bridge this gap by creating a pool of instructors and technicians equipped for next-generation manufacturing environments.
While there is no organized initiative at scale visible as yet, but some companies like Jupiter have been consistently investing in developing manufacturing competencies to fuel their expansion programs.
In our experience, companies that invest in structured workforce development tend to consistently deliver in terms of output and retention. The reasons are straightforward. Employees who receive deliberate training and clear pathways for advancement are more engaged and less likely to leave.
In a sector where losing a specialist can impact quality of production, retention is not a but an operational imperative. This also must be done, while being mindful of runaway wage inflation, which is inherent in a rapidly expanding Industry requiring specialized trained workforce.
Moreover, when workers understand the full context of their role and how it contributes to cell efficiency or system performance, the quality of their output tends to improve.
Cross-functional training that exposes manufacturing staff to engineering principles, and engineers to production realities, creates a culture of shared accountability that drives continuous improvement across the facility.
Effective skill-building does not happen by accident. It requires intention, investment and a plan that spans multiple levels, such as ITI engagement programmes that introduce renewable energy careers and vocational partnerships as well as advanced technical programs that develop engineers capable of leading innovation.
Universities produce engineers and scientists, but rarely with solar-manufacturing-specific knowledge. A structured pipeline combining coursework, apprenticeships, and on-floor training translates theoretical knowledge into practical, production-ready skills.
Advanced manufacturing increasingly faces rigorous environmental, safety, and quality audits. A trained workforce ensures compliance with standards like ISOs, and evolving ESG benchmarks critical for accessing global markets and attracting investment.
Industry and university partnerships are the way forward and early collaborations are beginning to happen. This needs to mature into significantly larger scales.
Government is cognizant of this and has been creating opportunities of collaboration between the Industry and Educational institutes. PM-SGMBY is one such initiative. Contributing to that. Outside of Solar manufacturing, Emerging initiatives such as Vayumitra (for wind energy) and Jaiv-Urja Mitra (for biomass and CBG sectors) demonstrate a shift toward sector-specific, role-based training frameworks that integrate rural employment, and manufacturing support.
A skill-building pipeline that remains static is one that falls behind the industry it is meant to serve. Among the deliberate steps we have taken to embed this thinking into our growth strategy, includes targeted recruitment of BTech graduates and intensive six-month in-house training programs at our Baddi facility.
This ensures that graduates entering solar manufacturing already understand the specific processes and technologies we deploy. As cell technologies advance and automation tools become more sophisticated, our training curricula are updated to match that evolution.
The workforce challenge in solar manufacturing is not one that any single company can solve in isolation. It demands collaboration between manufacturers, policymakers, educators and communities. A collective effort is required to build a resilient and future-ready workforce.
In fact, the companies that will lead the solar industry through its next decade of growth will not be those with the most advanced equipment alone.
They will be those that have built the human infrastructure effectively, recognising clearly that a robust skill-building pipeline is not a cost of doing business, but a fundamental source of competitive advantage.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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Commentary by Amanda Cross 
Electricity prices in the United States have been increasing steadily for years. As the demand for power keeps growing, those prices are likely to do so, as well. One way you can protect your budget against rising electricity prices is by installing rooftop solar panels. 
Installing solar panels can save the average homeowner thousands of dollars over the life of the panels, and the savings grow as electricity prices increase. If you include a battery storage system in your solar project, you can use the electricity your panels generate even after the sun goes down, plus you get the added benefit of having power during grid blackouts.
If thinking about going solar feels overwhelming, the Central Indiana 2026 Solar Co-Op can help. Solar United Neighbors organizes a co-op to simplify the transition to renewable energy. SUN organizes interested homeowners into a group to get a competitive group rate, plus SUN volunteers offer reliable, expert advice. The co-op is free to join and there is no obligation to purchase a system.
If you want to learn more, join SUN and Carmel Green Initiative for Solar 101 at 6 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Carmel Clay Public Library, 425 E. Main St. The session will cover both the basics of solar projects and details of the co-op process. You will have the chance to meet SUN’s solar experts and get your questions answered. RSVP at carmelgreen.org.
Amanda Cross is a member of Carmel Green Initiative, Inc. For more, visit carmelgreen.org.

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A perovskite top layer and CIGS bottom layer capture different sunlight wavelengths, boosting solar power generation.
Chinese researchers have developed a new type of tandem solar cell that achieves a power conversion efficiency of 29.71 percent.
The team improved the stability of the perovskite material by adding a sulfur-based compound called bis(2-pyridylmethyl) sulfide (2PyS), which helps reduce tiny flaws that normally lower performance over time.
It also prevents the movement of charged particles and limits light-induced material changes that can degrade the solar cell.
The advance could help make next-generation solar panels more efficient, longer-lasting, and better suited for commercial use.
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed a highly efficient tandem solar cell that combines two different solar technologies to capture more sunlight and convert it into electricity. The new device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 29.71 percent, making it one of the best-performing perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells reported so far.
The solar cell uses a perovskite layer on top and a CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, and selenium) solar cell underneath. The top perovskite layer is designed to absorb higher-energy sunlight, while the CIGS bottom layer captures the lower-energy light that passes through. By splitting the sunlight between two materials, tandem solar cells can generate more electricity than conventional single-layer solar cells, reports PV Magazine.
One of the biggest challenges with wide-bandgap perovskite materials is that they tend to become unstable over time. Tiny defects can form inside the material during manufacturing, allowing charged particles to move around. This gradually reduces performance, especially when the solar cells are exposed to sunlight and heat for long periods.
To solve this problem, the Chinese researchers introduced a sulfur-containing organic compound called bis(2-pyridylmethyl) sulfide (2PyS) during the manufacturing process. Rather than repairing defects after the solar cell is made, the compound helps control how the perovskite crystals form from the start.
According to the research team, 2PyS interacts strongly with lead ions inside the perovskite material. This helps reduce the number of defects, limits the movement of halide ions, and prevents the material from separating into different phases under sunlight. These changes make the perovskite layer more stable and improve its ability to convert sunlight into electricity.
The researchers also found that 2PyS slows crystal formation just enough to allow the perovskite film to grow more evenly. This results in a smoother, higher-quality layer with fewer imperfections, reducing energy losses and improving the overall performance of the device.
The tandem solar cell consists of a semi-transparent perovskite top cell and a CIGS bottom cell. On its own, the CIGS cell achieved an efficiency of 19.65 percent under full sunlight. However, when placed beneath the perovskite layer in the tandem device, it received less light because the top cell absorbed part of the spectrum, reducing its efficiency to 7.5 percent. The perovskite top cell itself reached an efficiency of 22.21 percent, reports PV Magazine.
When both cells operated together in a four-terminal (4T) tandem configuration, their combined output reached an overall efficiency of 29.71 percent. The researchers also tested the durability of the new design. After 2,000 hours of continuous operation, the tandem solar cells retained more than 91 percent of their original efficiency, demonstrating strong long-term stability.
The team believes the new coordination-engineering approach using 2PyS could help overcome one of the biggest barriers to commercial perovskite solar cells. By improving both efficiency and durability, the technique could support the development of next-generation solar panels capable of producing more electricity while maintaining performance for much longer periods.

Jijo is an automotive and business journalist based in India. Armed with a BA in History (Honors) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a PG diploma in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, he has worked for news agencies, national newspapers, and automotive magazines. In his spare time, he likes to go off-roading, engage in political discourse, travel, and teach languages.
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Sungold pitched its anti-shading technology during the exhibition 
The company also displayed its lightweight flexible PV module, PA219 
In addition, it promoted its lightweight PV panel, PA621 
The solar PV industry has emphasized making application-specific PV modules to meet the growing demand for special scenarios in recent years.  
In line with this trend, Shenzhen Sungold Solar Co., Ltd., a China-based PV module maker, exhibited its product range for flexible and lightweight applications at Intersolar Europe 2026. 
The company showcased its PA219 series flexible PV panel at the show. This frameless module is equipped with 108 M10 half-cells and is rated for up to 460 W of power at an efficiency of 22.07%. Instead of conventional front glass, the company uses a stack of a transparent HPC film + encapsulant film + CPC film + encapsulant film. The intermediate cell matrix is laminated with this polymer-based stack on the front and a backsheet on the rear. The module measures 2,250 × 1,125 × 3 mm and weighs 9.8 kg. According to the company, it has 35% less weight density than the conventional glass-backsheet modules and is suitable for low-load-bearing commercial & industrial (C&I) or residential roofs. The module can also conform to the surface of curved roofs. At the same time, it maintains stiffness and resistance to bending deformation under load, helping to resist cell cracks. On the optical side, it exhibits an anti-glare property due to the matte surface design of the frontsheet. It scatters the falling sunlight and reduces specular light reflection or bright glare at high irradiance. This characteristic makes the module suitable for roofs near sensitive areas such as airports. In the event of a fire, the module exhibits fire-retardant behavior and restricts fire propagation to the underlying roofs. The company attributes this safety function to the flame-retardant polymer materials, used in the backsheet, and additives. This module has a product warranty of up to 10 years.
The displayed PA621 series lightweight module features a transparent HPC frontsheet + encapsulation film + cell matrix + backplanes + encapsulation film + fiberglass-reinforced backsheet. The module measures 1,315 × 807 × 12 mm and weighs 5.42 kg. The company primarily attributes this reduced weight to the adoption of fiberglass-reinforced material, which maintains high strength while weighing a fraction of steel or aluminum. In terms of performance, it is rated for up to 170 W of power. This full-black module is relevant for vehicle and lightweight roof and balcony PV applications.  
Both modules feature anti-shading technology to optimize power generation under shading from permanent structures such as chimneys, roof sections, and trees. It bypasses a small segment of the cell matrix by activating strategically placed bypass diodes, rather than turning off a sub- or entire string, under partial shading conditions. This function reduces power loss and hotspot risks due to permanent shading throughout the day.  
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Exclusive | Latest Perk for Videogamers: Chance to Crowdfund a Solar Farm  WSJ
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OLIVE TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jul. 30, 2026) – Ottawa County isn’t going to get into the Silver Maple Solar Farm legal mess – yet.
During Tuesday’s monthly meeting, the county board heard from residents supporting a lawsuit, filed by Zeeland Township, challenging the constitutionality of State Public Act 233, which preempts local control over the regulation of wind, solar, and energy storage facilities. The litigation stems from a proposed 250-megawatt project, encompassing over 1,900 acres across both Zeeland and Jamestown townships.
Zeeland Township sent a letter to the county board last week, asking that the county become an intervener in the case, citing a state Court of Appeals decision that broadened the definition of an affected local unit which would allow the county to be involved. However, Board Chairman Josh Brugger of Grand Haven explained that, because RWE Americas is currently suspending its efforts on the state level to secure approval for its project, the governing panel will stay its hand on the matter for the moment.
Zeeland Township’s lawsuit was filed earlier this month in the 20th Circuit Court at Grand Haven.
 
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Pub­lic Util­i­ties Min­is­ter Bar­ry Padarath has con­firmed that the Trinidad and To­ba­go Elec­tric­i­ty Com­mis­sion (T&TEC) is not us­ing elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­at­ed by the coun­try’s largest so­lar farm, Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Ltd, leav­ing pow­er be­ing pro­duced but not de­liv­ered to the na­tion­al grid.
“It is true that T&TEC has not been ab­sorb­ing the pow­er com­ing from this so­lar plant,” Padarath told Busi­ness Guardian. Padarath said the is­sue stems from de­ci­sions made dur­ing the project’s plan­ning stages un­der the pre­vi­ous ad­min­is­tra­tion.
“The lack of vi­sion and due dili­gence from the for­mer ad­min­is­tra­tion did not pro­vide for a cost-ben­e­fit analy­sis in terms of how it would im­pact the op­er­a­tional cost of T&TEC, and there­fore right now it is in re­view be­tween par­ties, and more will be said about this in the lat­er stages.”
Padarath said he had toured the Brechin Cas­tle fa­cil­i­ty with En­er­gy Min­is­ter Dr Roodal Mooni­lal sev­er­al months ago.
“As you will re­call, this project was done by the for­mer ad­min­is­tra­tion at Brechin Cas­tle, which co­in­ci­den­tal­ly is in my con­stituen­cy. I have had the op­por­tu­ni­ty to tour the fa­cil­i­ty along­side the Min­is­ter of En­er­gy a cou­ple of months ago, and it is true that there is no bat­tery back­up at this fa­cil­i­ty for these so­lar farms.”
With­out bat­tery stor­age, ex­cess elec­tric­i­ty can­not be re­tained when de­mand is low or when the grid is un­able to ac­cept ad­di­tion­al re­new­able gen­er­a­tion. In­stead, elec­tric­i­ty that can­not be ex­port­ed to the trans­mis­sion net­work is ef­fec­tive­ly lost.
The is­sue high­lights one of the chal­lenges fac­ing re­new­able en­er­gy in­te­gra­tion, par­tic­u­lar­ly where elec­tric­i­ty sys­tems were orig­i­nal­ly de­signed around con­ven­tion­al gen­er­a­tion rather than in­ter­mit­tent re­new­able sources such as so­lar.
The rev­e­la­tion rais­es ques­tions about one of T&T’s flag­ship re­new­able en­er­gy projects, which was ex­pect­ed to sup­ply up to 8 per cent of the coun­try’s elec­tric­i­ty while free­ing up nat­ur­al gas for high­er-val­ue us­es, in­clud­ing ex­ports and the petro­chem­i­cal sec­tor.
The Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Ltd (BC­SL) fa­cil­i­ty, lo­cat­ed in the Cou­va-Tabaquite-Tal­paro re­gion, is T&T’s first util­i­ty-scale so­lar farm. The com­pa­ny is joint­ly owned by Shell (35 per cent), bpTT (35 per cent) and the Na­tion­al Gas Com­pa­ny (NGC) (30 per cent). The so­lar farm is a short dis­tance from the Point Lisas In­dus­tri­al Es­tate.
Asked whether the Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Farm is cur­rent­ly pro­duc­ing elec­tric­i­ty or has ef­fec­tive­ly be­come a white ele­phant, the min­is­ter said the fa­cil­i­ty is not gen­er­at­ing pow­er at this time.
“It is not pro­duc­ing any elec­tric­i­ty right now. The prop­er due dili­gence and com­pli­ance with con­trac­tu­al arrange­ments was not done by the for­mer ad­min­is­tra­tion.
They (so­lar farm) went off our grid at the end of Jan­u­ary 2026,” said Padarath.
On Ju­ly 22, 2025, bpTT an­nounced that Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Lim­it­ed had achieved first elec­trons, mark­ing the start of elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion at the coun­try’s first util­i­ty-scale so­lar fa­cil­i­ty.
The com­pa­ny said elec­tric­i­ty from the south­ern seg­ment of the so­lar farm had been suc­cess­ful­ly de­liv­ered to the T&TEC sub­sta­tion at Brechin Cas­tle and had be­gun sup­ply­ing clean­er en­er­gy in­to T&T’s elec­tric­i­ty net­work.
The re­lease stat­ed that the first elec­trons were trans­mit­ted on Ju­ly 17, 2025, with the south­ern sec­tion ex­pect­ed to grad­u­al­ly ramp up pro­duc­tion to ap­prox­i­mate­ly 40 megawatts (ac) while work con­tin­ued on the north­ern seg­ment ahead of full com­mis­sion­ing in the fourth quar­ter of 2025.
Once ful­ly com­mis­sioned, the so­lar farm was ex­pect­ed to de­liv­er up to 92 megawatts (al­ter­nat­ing cur­rent) in­to the na­tion­al elec­tric­i­ty grid, mak­ing it the largest util­i­ty-scale so­lar farm in the Caribbean.
The project was al­so ex­pect­ed to pro­vide ap­prox­i­mate­ly 8 per cent of T&T’s elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion, free­ing up nat­ur­al gas that could in­stead be di­rect­ed to petro­chem­i­cal pro­duc­ers and oth­er down­stream in­dus­tries.
That shift was viewed as an im­por­tant eco­nom­ic ben­e­fit be­cause ad­di­tion­al nat­ur­al gas ex­ports and down­stream pro­duc­tion have the po­ten­tial to gen­er­ate in­creased for­eign ex­change earn­ings for the coun­try while re­duc­ing car­bon emis­sions from elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion.
The con­sor­tium de­scribed the project as a sig­nif­i­cant step to­ward di­ver­si­fy­ing T&T’s en­er­gy mix while sup­port­ing the coun­try’s grow­ing elec­tric­i­ty de­mand.
How­ev­er a source fami­lar with the project said, “The so­lar farm was not de­signed with bat­tery stor­age, as such any pow­er it pro­duces can­not be stored.”
Sources al­so in­di­cat­ed that T&TEC is re­ly­ing on pro­vi­sions with­in its con­trac­tu­al arrange­ments with the project com­pa­ny that al­low it to de­cline tak­ing the elec­tric­i­ty be­ing gen­er­at­ed.
Busi­ness Guardian un­der­stands the is­sue ex­tends be­yond sim­ply com­par­ing the cost of so­lar pow­er with elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­at­ed from nat­ur­al gas.
T&TEC cur­rent­ly pur­chas­es most of its elec­tric­i­ty from In­de­pen­dent Pow­er Pro­duc­ers (IPPs), which gen­er­ate pow­er us­ing nat­ur­al gas sup­plied by NGC at a sub­sidised price. Be­cause of that sub­sidy, T&TEC pays about $0.05 per kilo­watt-hour (kWh) for elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­at­ed from nat­ur­al gas.
With­out the sub­sidy, the cost of gen­er­at­ing that same elec­tric­i­ty would rise to about $0.13 per kWh. Elec­tric­i­ty from the Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Farm would be sup­plied to T&TEC at rough­ly $0.09 per kWh. While that makes so­lar pow­er more ex­pen­sive than elec­tric­i­ty pro­duced us­ing sub­sidised nat­ur­al gas, it re­mains sig­nif­i­cant­ly cheap­er than elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­at­ed with­out the sub­sidy.
Sources said the project was nev­er in­tend­ed to pro­vide on­ly the cheap­est elec­tric­i­ty. It was al­so de­signed to re­duce green­house gas emis­sions, di­ver­si­fy T&T’s elec­tric­i­ty sup­ply and help the coun­try meet its cli­mate com­mit­ments.
Busi­ness Guardian was al­so told NGC’s in­vest­ment analy­sis found the project to be fi­nan­cial­ly at­trac­tive. The ex­pect­ed In­ter­nal Rate of Re­turn (IRR) ex­ceed­ed the com­pa­ny’s in­ter­nal hur­dle rate af­ter tak­ing in­to ac­count the ad­di­tion­al val­ue of nat­ur­al gas that would no longer be re­quired for elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion.
By re­plac­ing some gas-fired elec­tric­i­ty with so­lar gen­er­a­tion, less sub­sidised nat­ur­al gas would be con­sumed by the pow­er sec­tor. That gas could in­stead be redi­rect­ed to high­er-val­ue us­es, in­clud­ing the petro­chem­i­cal in­dus­try or ex­port mar­kets, al­low­ing NGC to earn greater rev­enues while the coun­try si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly ex­pand­ed its re­new­able en­er­gy ca­pac­i­ty.
Con­sor­tium re­mains tight-lipped
Busi­ness Guardian con­tact­ed bp, Shell and NGC seek­ing com­ment on why elec­tric­i­ty from the project is not be­ing in­te­grat­ed in­to the grid.
On­ly bp re­spond­ed.
“As a mat­ter of pol­i­cy, bp does not com­ment on con­fi­den­tial con­trac­tu­al and com­mer­cial arrange­ments re­lat­ing to the Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Farm.”
Shell and NGC did not re­spond to re­quests for com­ment up to pub­li­ca­tion.
The ab­sence of de­tailed pub­lic ex­pla­na­tions leaves unan­swered ques­tions sur­round­ing the con­trac­tu­al arrange­ments be­tween the project com­pa­ny and T&TEC, in­clud­ing the pro­vi­sions that re­port­ed­ly al­low the util­i­ty not to ac­cept elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­at­ed by the fa­cil­i­ty.
The sit­u­a­tion al­so rais­es broad­er ques­tions over whether ad­di­tion­al in­vest­ment will be re­quired to strength­en the coun­try’s elec­tric­i­ty in­fra­struc­ture or in­tro­duce en­er­gy stor­age sys­tems ca­pa­ble of sup­port­ing greater re­new­able en­er­gy pen­e­tra­tion.
Bat­tery stor­age has in­creas­ing­ly be­come a key com­po­nent of util­i­ty-scale so­lar de­vel­op­ments glob­al­ly be­cause it al­lows ex­cess day­time gen­er­a­tion to be stored and re­leased dur­ing pe­ri­ods of peak elec­tric­i­ty de­mand or when so­lar gen­er­a­tion de­clines.
With­out that ca­pa­bil­i­ty, so­lar fa­cil­i­ties re­main de­pen­dent on the grid’s abil­i­ty to im­me­di­ate­ly ab­sorb all elec­tric­i­ty pro­duced.
Project launched in 2023

Con­struc­tion of the Brechin Cas­tle project of­fi­cial­ly be­gan on April 12, 2023, when the for­mer gov­ern­ment held a sod-turn­ing cer­e­mo­ny to mark the start of Trinidad and To­ba­go’s first util­i­ty-scale so­lar de­vel­op­ment.
The 112-megawatt al­ter­nat­ing cur­rent so­lar de­vel­op­ment com­pris­es two sites Brechin Cas­tle and Or­ange Grove and is owned by con­sor­tium part­ners bp Al­ter­na­tive En­er­gy T&T and Shell Re­new­ables Caribbean.
The project was de­signed to gen­er­ate ap­prox­i­mate­ly 300,000 megawatt-hours of green elec­tric­i­ty an­nu­al­ly, enough to sup­ply the equiv­a­lent of about 42,500 homes while re­duc­ing car­bon emis­sions.
De­vel­op­ment and con­struc­tion were man­aged by Light­source bp, while Grupotec Ser­vi­cios Avan­za­dos S.A. was se­lect­ed as the prin­ci­pal con­trac­tor for con­struc­tion at both sites.
SDV West In­dies Lim­it­ed was ap­point­ed to pro­vide the high-volt­age con­nec­tions link­ing the project to T&TEC’s trans­mis­sion net­work.
The project reached fi­nal in­vest­ment de­ci­sion in De­cem­ber 2022 be­fore con­struc­tion com­menced the fol­low­ing year.
While the in­fra­struc­ture has now been built and elec­tric­i­ty is be­ing gen­er­at­ed, the in­abil­i­ty to con­sis­tent­ly feed that pow­er in­to the na­tion­al grid threat­ens to un­der­mine many of the ben­e­fits orig­i­nal­ly pro­mot­ed when the project was an­nounced.
In Oc­to­ber 2021, then then Fi­nance Min­is­ter Colm Im­bert said the es­ti­mat­ed cost to build the plants in Brechin Cas­tle and Or­ange Grove was US$100 mil­lion.
A source close to the project said that the Brechin Cas­tle So­lar Farm was in­tend­ed to mark the be­gin­ning of T&T’s tran­si­tion to­ward clean­er elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion and to re­duce de­pen­dence on nat­ur­al gas for do­mes­tic pow­er pro­duc­tion. In­stead, the project has ex­posed the op­er­a­tional and con­trac­tu­al chal­lenges that can emerge when re­new­able gen­er­a­tion comes on stream be­fore the sup­port­ing grid in­fra­struc­ture and com­mer­cial arrange­ments.

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Guitarists Stefan Roach, centre, Aaron Lowchewtung, left, and Gregory Pantin delight the crowd at the Fete de La Musique, Sound Forge, Port-of-Spain.
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Guitarists Stefan Roach, centre, Aaron Lowchewtung, left, and Gregory Pantin delight the crowd at the Fete de La Musique, Sound Forge, Port-of-Spain.
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Delegates for the 2026 Miss World T&T competition.
Dominic Ross
Delegates for the 2026 Miss World T&T competition.
Dominic Ross
Female model for Al Kimia band section presents her costume on stage at the 2027 Sunset in the Medina band launch of Paparazzi’s nine sections titled ‘Whispers of the Medina’ at the Anchorage, Chaguaramas on Saturday.
FAITH AYOUNG
Female model for Al Kimia band section presents her costume on stage at the 2027 Sunset in the Medina band launch of Paparazzi’s nine sections titled ‘Whispers of the Medina’ at the Anchorage, Chaguaramas on Saturday.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.
“Only outputs about 4kw at a time due to overheating.”
Photo Credit: iStock
An Arizona resident says summer heat is now undercutting a Tesla Powerwall after installers pushed for the battery to be mounted outdoors rather than inside.
In a state where summer temperatures can top 115 degrees, the story is a cautionary tale for anyone investing thousands of dollars in home backup power.
In a Reddit post, the homeowner said the battery now “only outputs about 4kw at a time due to overheating” during peak hours.
They said that happened after installers repeatedly urged them to skip a garage setup and place the unit outside instead.
Because the battery can’t cover enough demand when rates are highest, the homeowner said they are still getting bills of “165+ dollars even with my solar panel payments.”
In their words, the system is “basically useless 4 months out of the year.”
The homeowner’s complaint points to an issue that could affect more people as extreme heat becomes more common: Battery performance depends not only on the product itself, but also on where and how it is installed.
At the hottest point of the day, the homeowner said, the system falls short of powering even a smaller AC unit.
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Some commenters said the outdoor placement may have been partly driven by the extra requirements that can come with garage installations.
They pointed to possible needs for added detectors, suppression equipment, or protection from vehicle impact.
Another commenter said batteries in Arizona may need to be indoors when local dry-bulb temperatures rise beyond the equipment’s rated limits.
The cheapest or easiest installation path may not always be the one that delivers the best value.
Many commenters focused first on reducing direct sunlight.
Suggestions included trees or planters, a temporary patio umbrella, or, as one person asked, “Can you build/put a wood shade of some sort over it attached to the house?”
Others said the homeowner should collect temperature data and then go back to the installer with evidence.
As one commenter put it, “Powerwall 3 max operating temp is 50°C, which yours is probably reaching in the sun on a 116°F day. Get a temperature measurement and bring that to the installer.”
Even with the added code complications, some readers said moving the battery indoors could still be an option.
One person shared, “I had mine moved from outside to inside. Was small cost to get fire detector wired in. City of Chandler fire department came out and approved it right away.”
For homeowners considering backup power, it may be worth exploring EnergySage’s free tools to compare home battery storage options and get competitive installation estimates. EnergySage has also teamed up with the electrification brand Qmerit to guarantee you get the best price on home battery storage solutions.
Another option is Pila, which offers excellent battery backup choices. Its plug-and-play batteries are priced at a fraction of what a whole-home backup system would cost.
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Oman’s Nama PWP plans to develop three utility-scale solar IPP projects with a combined capacity of 3 GW 
The selected consultant will advise on project development and the competitive tendering process 
Bids are due on September 10, 2026, with the projects targeted for operation by Q2 2030 
Oman’s Nama Power and Water Procurement Company (PWP) has issued a tender to appoint financial and commercial consultants for the development of three utility-scale solar independent power producer (IPP) projects.  
The agency says the tender is part of the country’s efforts to diversify its electricity generation mix by increasing the share of clean energy. 
Under the plan, Nama PWP intends to procure three solar projects of 1 GW each, connected to the Main Interconnected System (MIS). All three facilities are expected to reach commercial operation by Q2 2030.  
According to the tender notice, the selected consultant will provide financial and commercial advisory services during project development and support Nama PWP in conducting the competitive procurement process. 
The tender documents will be available for purchase between July 28, 2026, and August 6, 2026. Bids must be submitted by September 10, 2026. Details of the call with tender number OPWP/2026/033 are available on Nama PWP’s tender portal.  
Earlier this month, Nama PWP was seeking technical consultants to support its plans to develop 4 solar IPPs with 1 GW installed capacity each, with commercial operations to begin by Q2 2030 (see Oman Seeks Consultants For 4 GW Solar Project Plan).  
Earlier, the Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) said the country aims to install over 5 GW of new solar PV capacity by 2030 (see Oman To Install Over 5 GW Solar PV Capacity By 2030). 
TaiyangNews 2024

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Bangladesh has launched an international EPC tender for a 220 MW AC solar PV project in Sonagazi, Feni district 
The project will be jointly financed by the Islamic Development Bank and state-owned EGCB 
Bidders must meet financial and technical experience requirements before the September 15 submission deadline 
The Electricity Generation Bangladesh PLC (EGCB) has invited bids for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a 220 MW AC solar PV power plant in Sonagazi, Feni district. 
It has issued the tender under a one-stage international competitive bidding process without prequalification.  
Officially titled the Sonagazi 220 MW Solar Power Plant Construction Project (Sonagazi 220 MW Solar Power and Livelihoods Improvement Project), it is being financed through a combination of forward leases, loans, and grants. 
The EGCB will jointly finance the project along with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). The bank had previously issued a general procurement notice in December 2025, under which Bangladesh sought $143.28 million equivalent from IsDB to cover the cost of the Sonagazi project. 
The contract covers the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the solar PV plant. 
According to the tender documents, the construction period is set at 18 months. Eligible bidders must demonstrate experience in the power sector over the past five years. They are also required to have completed either one similar contract worth at least $70 million or two similar contracts valued at a minimum of $50 million each during the last 10 years. 
The procurement will follow IsDB’s guidelines for international competitive bidding. Electronic bidding will not be accepted, and bids will be opened publicly on the same day in the presence of bidders’ representatives. 
EGCB launched the call on July 29, 2026, with bids due by September 20, 2026.  
Bangladesh is encouraging private sector engagement in the country’s solar sector as its rapidly declining oil reserves threaten to cover only short-term domestic demand. The country remains dependent on imported natural gas and oil. Nevertheless, political uncertainty has emerged as a critical constraint on large-scale solar development, even as the country targets 10 GW of solar capacity by 2030 (see Bangladesh’s Solar PV Capacity Falls Short In Shielding the Economy From Global Energy Crisis).  
By the end of 2025, Bangladesh’s total installed solar PV capacity had reached 1,146 MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). 
TaiyangNews 2024

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Commissioner Ron Fithian expresses that Kent County government stands with Betterton in opposition to the solar project, PSC Case 9786.
Left, Gordon Feinblatt Attorney Max Cooke representing Halo, and Sean Miller engineer for Kimley & Horn introduce the proposed solar project.
Over 200 fill the Betterton fire house for the latest Public Service Commission Public Hearing with Halo LLC, a solar panel company requesting to build at the gateway to Betterton.
Mark Mank Department of Natural Resources Power Plant Research Program (PPRP) gives reasons why they recommend project approval.
Presiding over the public hearing is Public Utility Law Judge Christine Burke, (standing) with Kristin Case Lawrence the Chief Public Utility Law Judge keeping time and Betterton Mayor Donald Sutton providing oversight.
Lloyd Spivak Staff Counsel at Maryland Public Service Commission explains the solar approval process on their end.
Commissioner John Price expresses that Kent County government stands with Betterton in opposition to the solar project, PSC Case 9786.
Commissioner Ron Fithian expresses that Kent County government stands with Betterton in opposition to the solar project, PSC Case 9786.
Left, Gordon Feinblatt Attorney Max Cooke representing Halo, and Sean Miller engineer for Kimley & Horn introduce the proposed solar project.
Over 200 fill the Betterton fire house for the latest Public Service Commission Public Hearing with Halo LLC, a solar panel company requesting to build at the gateway to Betterton.
Mark Mank Department of Natural Resources Power Plant Research Program (PPRP) gives reasons why they recommend project approval.
Presiding over the public hearing is Public Utility Law Judge Christine Burke, (standing) with Kristin Case Lawrence the Chief Public Utility Law Judge keeping time and Betterton Mayor Donald Sutton providing oversight.
Lloyd Spivak Staff Counsel at Maryland Public Service Commission explains the solar approval process on their end.
Commissioner John Price expresses that Kent County government stands with Betterton in opposition to the solar project, PSC Case 9786.
BETTERTON — In a town of less than 400, more than 200 residents filled the Betterton Volunteer Fire Company for the latest Maryland Public Service Commission hearing on a proposed 30-acre solar project at the gateway to Betterton.
Residents were overwhelmingly opposed to the project and eager to voice their opinions. Each speaker was given three minutes after Public Utility Law Judge Christine Burke announced that the hearing would end at 8:30 p.m.
On May 15, the Maryland Public Service Commission issued a procedural order regarding a stay on Halo Betterton LLC’s application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct a 5-megawatt solar photovoltaic generating facility near state Route 292 and Howell Point Road. The stay was reversed and Commission was ordered to resume proceeding with an updated procedural schedule that adheres as closely as possible to the deadlines agreed upon by the parties.

The Town of Betterton opposes the project, saying the property represents the town’s only opportunity for expansion and that industrial solar development does not fit its comprehensive plan for future growth.
Town officials want the area used for mixed-use and residential development, which would help facilitate the cost of a new wastewater treatment facility as the town expands.
The public hearing in Case No. 9786 began at 6:30 p.m.
Burke presided over the hearing, with Chief Public Utility Law Judge Kristin Case Lawrence keeping time.
Gordon Feinblatt attorney Max Cooke represented Halo. Sean Miller, an engineer with Kimley-Horn, also represented the project.
Kimley-Horn has been the engineering firm for several major solar projects proposed in Kent County, including the Morgnec Solar project, TPE MD KE51 in Millington and Halo Betterton.
Miller highlighted the project’s concept plans, including landscape buffers and access points.
“Energy generation will be allocated to solar subscribers who are Delmarva power customers, and subscribers are considered low income households receiving a minimum of 10% discount,” Miller said.
Mark Mank, representing the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Power Plant Research Program, explained why the program recommended approval of the project.
“By state’ law by 2030, 50% of in-state generation will come from noble energy. That’s not all solar, just 14.5% is,” Mank said.
Mank said the program coordinated an independent review of the application’s potential environmental and socioeconomic effects involving several state agencies.
“That review is complete and the secretary of DNR and Maryland Department of the Environment made the recommendation the PSC recommends approval for Betterton solar project which I believe occurred November 2025,” Mank said.
An evidentiary hearing involving the Power Plant Research Program and other parties is scheduled for Aug. 31 in Baltimore.
“When we review these things we file a summary and write a synopsis from hundreds of files,” Mank said.
He recommended reviewing project manager Shawn Seaman’s notes online.
Mank said the review examined biological issues, wildlife, streams, stormwater runoff, critical areas, noise, buffering, decommissioning and greenhouse gas emissions. He said everything was evaluated “extensively.”
Lloyd Spivak, staff counsel for the Maryland Public Service Commission, said that while the Power Plant Research Program carries much of the review workload, commission staff is charged with examining the project’s potential effect on the reliability and safety of the electric grid.
“We found the project would not have a negative effect on the reliability of the grid provided certain conditions are met,” Spivak said.
Kent County Commissioners Ron Fithian and John Price have opposed previous solar projects, including the Morgnec Solar project. The commissioners and the Town of Chestertown opposed that project, but the Maryland Public Service Commission approved the application.
Fithian and Price joined Kent County residents in opposing the Betterton project.
“Approval of this proposal by the PSC will eliminate any possibility of growth that will sustain this beautiful small town and burden local taxpayers,” Price said.
Fithian said that during his time as a county commissioner, he has received state citations recognizing the preservation of the agricultural way of life. He said the project would take that way of life away.
“You are tying the hands of a very small town. You have no other directions the place can grow. To take the main area and use that for a solar field is poor planning,” Fithian said.
More than a dozen residents also spoke in opposition to the project.
David Paltrineri, chairman of the Betterton Planning and Zoning Commission, said the town’s plans for responsible growth are the product of decades of consistent planning.
He said Betterton is following Maryland’s plan for growth by identifying the Howell Point Road area as a primary development opportunity.
Joe Stock, a longtime resident and grant writer for the town, confirmed that development was planned for the area.
Janet Christensen-Lewis, representing the Kent Conservation and Preservation Alliance, referred to Chapter 623, the Utility Transparency and Accountability Act, which requires the benefits of solar power to be considered alongside Betterton’s plans for the property.
Those benefits do not align with Betterton’s plans, Christensen-Lewis said.
Owen Bailey, director of land use and policy for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, said “compact mixed use development generates greater longterm economic value than low intensity land uses.”
Maryann Wasko-Smith, a board member for the Betterton Community Development Corporation, disputed the characterization of Betterton as an assortment of vacant homes, as she said Halo’s plans state.
“We are a vibrant community, with fire company, beach, park, library, place of worship, post office and feature events highlighting a rich maritime legacy,” Wasko-Smith said.
She called on the state of Maryland to deny the project.
Tom Deliberto, a member of the Betterton Planning Commission, said the proposed 30-acre solar field, when compared with the town’s total acreage, is “totally out of line with what it should be.”
“If you take the proportion and compare it to Baltimore County it would cover the metropolitan area of Towson. You are taking a disproportionate share of it for a very small return,” Deliberto said.
Douglas Cregar said the facility could create hazards because of its proximity to the firehouse. He also cited studies indicating that homes next to solar facilities could lose property value.
Paul Falcon, a builder for 40 years, said he examined Halo’s published information and saw potential negative effects from the proposed landscape buffers, installation and height of the panels.
Katherine Klvana raised concerns about the project’s visual effect and the potential for glare based on Halo’s plans. She said the proposed buffers would not eliminate glare from the start.
John Erikson raised concerns about the lack of options during an emergency. He said the installation does not fit in a residential beach community and questioned whether Halo would pay the entire cost of upgrading the transmission and distribution system.
Marianne Riding of Still Pond said Halo’s costs would rise with energy demands. She also said design errors and insufficient maintenance could lead to fires. Those fires, she said, do not have a separate reporting category and are grouped with other categories by the National Fire Protection Association.
Eileen Clements, a Kent County master gardener, questioned whether Halo could create an environmentally stable and aesthetically pleasing buffer zone for the lifespan of the project.
Craig Smith said the facility would be built in a sensitive area about 1,700 feet upstream from a Chesapeake Bay Critical Area buffer. He said the project could cause significant sediment erosion.
George Cassidy, a project manager, said Halo’s five-year decommissioning plan is probably already inadequate. He said the solar development business model relies on projects changing hands and that he does not want Betterton, known as a recreational community, to become lost in an industrial maze.
Tina Graves, representing the firehouse, outlined what she described as the project’s safety hazards.
“The solar field would sit on the town’s only two practical egress roads. It will close off evacuation routes in the town…the entire town,” Graves said.
Graves said many volunteers live outside town, meaning access to the firehouse could be limited or even impossible.
Helen Martin said the project would destroy local ecosystems and disrupt migratory bird patterns.
Elizabeth Watson also testified against the project, calling for Betterton to remain a mixed-use residential community while maintaining its rural identity and heritage.
Betterton resident Eric Fahrman said all his children want to remain in the community, raise families and carry on a family tradition dating back four generations. He said an industrial solar facility would not support that goal and would instead become an eyesore.
James Steele, a Betterton resident for 40 years, said what is a good deal for Halo would be a bad deal for Betterton.
“It interferes with the town’s comprehensive plan which has been consistent,” Steele said.
Wayne Gilchrest spoke about the community’s integrity. He said Betterton has been a fishing and farming community for thousands of years, dating to the Tockwogh tribe.
“We hold that history dear,” Gilchrest said.
Gilchrest said that just as he longed for home after a day of trekking through the woods or being out on the water, the next generation should be able to experience that same joy.
“What we want to do on this 30 acres is to provide young families a home and consider, the alternative to Halo… is confidence in our young people,” Gilchrest said.
Dorcas Coleman Carpenter said she moved back to her childhood home and that the views on the Eastern Shore never cease to amaze her. She said money cannot replace those qualities, but it can destroy them.
An unidentified 19-year-old Betterton resident said growing up in the town shaped who she is and that she savors its sense of community.
“The fields and farm land contains fond memories. I want children to grow up to experience the peaceful surroundings like I did,” she said.
The meeting ended at 8:30 p.m.
When Burke was asked whether she had seen Betterton’s park, beaches, town hall and fields, she had no comment.
Mank also had no comment when asked what factors led the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to recommend approval of the Halo project.
Representatives of Kimley-Horn and Halo’s attorneys did not comment when questioned after the hearing.
An unidentified court reporter said that, of all the solar hearings he had attended, Betterton’s was the largest he had seen in Maryland.
Mayor Don Sutton thanked the community for showing its support.
“It’s encouraging seeing people’s concerns about the project and how it will jeopardize our town,” Sutton said.
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China’s market regulator warned solar manufacturers against destructive price competition on Friday, stepping up Beijing’s efforts to curb cutthroat competition that has squeezed profits across the photovoltaic industry.
The State Administration for Market Regulation invited 27 photovoltaic companies, industry representatives, and officials from several government agencies to Yancheng, Jiangsu province and urged firms to shift competition from prices to product quality and accelerate the sector’s high-quality development.
SAMR urged solar companies to strengthen cost accounting, establish comprehensive price compliance systems, and conduct internal reviews to ensure pricing practices comply with regulations. Companies should adopt rational pricing strategies, resist malicious below-cost competition, and help maintain orderly market prices, the regulator said.
Leading companies should set an example by strictly complying with pricing and competition rules, SAMR said, while industry associations should strengthen self-regulation and promote the adoption of cost accounting standards to help prevent below-cost dumping and other illegal pricing practices.
Copyright 1994 – . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form.

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+ 166.49
+ 66.45
+ 135.00
 -1,731.00
 -3,590.00
+ 166.49
+ 66.45
+ 66.45
+ 135.00
+ 135.00
 -1,731.00
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks during a cabinet briefing, in New Delhi on Friday. | Photo Credit: ANI
The Cabinet on Friday approved the ‘Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY)’, a scheme for the development of floating solar photovoltaic (FSPV) projects with energy storage systems (ESS) with a total outlay of ₹5,070 crore. 
The scheme envisages the development of 5,000 MW of floating solar photovoltaic projects with co-located energy storage systems having a minimum storage capacity of two hours i.e.,10,000 MWh.
The projects will be sanctioned during FY2026-27 to FY2030-31, with disbursement of financial support continuing up to FY2032-33, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) said.
The approval follows the recent assessment undertaken by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), which has estimated a floating solar potential of approximately 102.18 GWp across reservoirs and other suitable inland water bodies in the country. 
Under the scheme, Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of ₹1 crore per MW will be provided for eligible floating solar photovoltaic projects after successful commissioning. In addition, CFA of up to ₹50 lakh per project will be available for undertaking feasibility studies, including bathymetry and hydrography assessments, environmental studies, and other preparatory activities required for de-risking the project development.
All States and Union Territories will benefit through this scheme. The scheme would enhance the floating solar PV capacity in the country by 5,000 MW, which is presently around 700 MW only. These projects would provide an opportunity to gainfully utilize existing reservoirs & industrial ponds, and eliminate competition for scarce land resources. 
The integration of an energy storage system will help strengthen grid reliability. The scheme would help in the reduction of around 10 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually. It would help in the generation of approximately 16,000–17,000 full-time equivalent employment opportunities across the project value chain. 
The scheme would also promote domestic manufacturing of floatation systems and the entire value chain of the projects, like PV cells, modules, energy storage systems, etc., and support the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. 
The scheme will contribute to renewable energy capacity addition, support the achievement of national energy and climate objectives, and facilitate optimal utilisation of water resources while advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Published on July 31, 2026
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Energies Media
Welcome to the Solar Coaster! Now see how this entire construct plays out in an entertaining example.
A new governor comes into office and a new state congress enacts legislation asking the solar industry to show up and provide clean energy. Solar developers compete to win projects with utility customers as well as commercial and industrial customers.
Halfway through development, politics change. State congressional politics now want to stop solar energy development. Perhaps the local county that the solar project is working to gain permits in changes its policies. Maybe those policies kill the prospect of solar projects ever getting permitted.
But wait! New local leaders at the county fire the permitting manager, install a new one, and solar can go forward again. Permits secured; project continues to go forward.
But wait! The utility changes its mind about how much it will cost to connect to the electric grid. You budgeted $1 million in grid costs, the utility performs two studies to confirm your estimate, but a final study that is completed later triples that cost to $3 million. Now the project’s economics don’t work.
But wait! Interest rates just dropped, the price of steel just dropped, and tariffs on solar panels were just waived for the next two years. Now your economics work again and the project is a go! Now working through financing and gearing up for construction. Time to build the solar project.
But wait! A state agency updated its standards after working on them behind closed doors for years and your project now has to go through new environmental studies because there could be a long-eared endangered bat species near the project site, and God forbid anything were to happen to those bats. Six months delayed and later you find out there is no bat on your site, but there was a rare type of turtle that could have been spotted, but neither your consultants nor the agency will confirm or deny this to be true after all this study work and consultation. The financing community will now put a new premium on your project and add extra insurance. Your project economics don’t work again: another $1 million cost overrun.
But wait! The cost of solar panels just dropped in half and there is one construction company that can come through with a great price to install the project. Construction starts, the local community is excited to see [its] first solar power plant.
But wait! The utility needs six more months before it can connect the project to the grid due to a global supply-chain snag with electric transformer gear that just happened. The carrying costs of dragging construction debt out another six months hurt the project’s economics again, but what can you do? It’s built and just waiting to be connected to the grid.
Believe it or not, all of these things have happened on solar projects I have been involved in developing over the years. No, not all on one project like my exaggerated example above, but it’s common for there to be at least a few curveballs on most projects at the local level and then at least a few curveballs every few years at the federal or larger macroeconomic level.
And that’s why we call it the Solar Coaster. It takes a certain breed of stubborn, resilient, adaptive business professionals to enjoy this ride. The longer you’re in it, and the more you figure it out, and the more success you have in it, the deeper your fraternal bond gets with your team, your partnering companies, and the industry at large.
Excerpted from Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry. Copyright ©2026 by Jared Schoch. Used with permission from the publisher, Regalo Press. All rights reserved.
Jared Schoch is founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy and the author of Solar Coaster:The Untold Story of the Solar Industry and One Man’s Journey Leading with Soul (Regalo Press; November 10, 2026). He has spent more than 25 years developing utility-scale solar and energy infrastructure projects across the U.S. and has overseen more than three gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in investment while supporting the communities where he works through millions of dollars in combined personal and company charitable giving. Photo courtesy of Cara Leanord.
Jared Schoch is founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy and the author of Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry and One Man’s Journey Leading with Soul (Regalo Press; November 10, 2026). He has spent more than 25 years developing utility-scale solar and energy infrastructure projects across the U.S. and has overseen more than three gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in investment while supporting the communities where he works through millions of dollars in combined personal and company charitable giving. Photo courtesy of Cara Leanord.
Jared Schoch is founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy and the author of Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry and One Man’s Journey Leading with Soul (Regalo Press; November 10, 2026). He has spent more than 25 years developing utility-scale solar and energy infrastructure projects across the U.S. and has overseen more than three gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in investment while supporting the communities where he works through millions of dollars in combined personal and company charitable giving. Photo courtesy of Cara Leanord.

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Colombia awards 995MW solar PV, 100MW BESS in clean energy tender  PV Tech
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Australia to force energy groups to offer free daytime electricity  Financial Times
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Wacker’s polysilicon earnings slashed due to solar market challenges  PV Tech
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Old landfills are finding new life as sites for clean electricity generation. Ohio’s Cuyahoga County launched a large solar project on a capped landfill. This initiative transforms unused land into a valuable power source for local communities. Such projects are part of a growing national trend to utilize forgotten land. This approach offers a tangible way to achieve climate progress without disturbing untouched ground.

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International power producer ContourGlobal has signed a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (cPPA) with Tesla in the United States, which will see Tesla purchase the majority of generated power from ContourGlobal’s Project Sterling hybrid solar and storage facility in Arizona.
The deal covers approximately 1 TWh of power per year, representing around 90% of Project Sterling’s as-generated annual output.
Set to begin on-site construction this year, Project Sterling combines 360 MW/1.4 GWh of battery energy storage capacity with 509 MW (dc)/450 MW (ac) of solar. It is connected to Arizona’s Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) grid and holds firm point-to-point transmission rights to access California’s CAISO grid. It is also pseudo-tied to the CAISO grid and will provide long-term renewable energy to Tesla’s Californian operations through the PPA with bundled electricity and RECs.
It will be ContourGlobal’s largest renewable asset when it is completed. Commercial operation is targeted for 2028 and on-site construction is due to begin later this year. The company started off-site construction tasks such as procuring equipment in 2025.
Looking ahead to its deal with Tesla, Antonio Cammisecra, CEO, ContourGlobal, praised the company’s commercial team for securing the high-profile offtaker.
He added that the PPA is the company’s biggest to date. “Securing our biggest PPA ever – and one of the largest of its kind in U.S. renewable history – with an iconic customer like Tesla, a true symbol of the global energy transition, is a testament of our ability to deliver tailor-made solutions to our customer’s energy needs.”
Besides the U.S. market, the developer is active in Chile, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom among others. It announced its formal entry into the UK market with an 800 MW project pipeline and the purchase of the 2 GWh Wallace BESS in Scotland in June.
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Union Cabinet approves ₹5,070 crore scheme for development of Floating Solar Photovoltaic Projects  opindia.com
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New Energy World magazine  knowledge.energyinst.org
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Europe’s July heatwave accompanied unusually high solar irradiance across much of western Europe, according to analysis using the Solcast API. Persistent high pressure limited cloud formation across the west and north of the continent, lifting irradiance well above typical July levels. At the same time, wildfires in France and Spain, together with Saharan dust outbreaks across the Mediterranean, added aerosols to the atmosphere and increased the risk of panel soiling.
The strongest positive irradiance anomalies were recorded across western and northern Europe, where cloud cover was suppressed for much of the month. Southern England, Wales and Ireland saw irradiance up to 35% above usual July levels, while northern France, the Low Countries and western Germany were up by around 25%. Southern Norway and Sweden were around 15% above usual. These conditions were linked to the same slow moving high-pressure systems that drove the month’s extreme heat. High pressure tends to stabilise the lower atmosphere and reduce cloud development. However, the continued high temperatures from June into July will have reduced PV module efficiency, partly offsetting the benefit of higher irradiance.
Across southern Europe, wildfire smoke and Saharan dust reduced the benefit of otherwise clear, high-irradiance summer conditions. Smoke from these fires reduced clear-sky irradiance across parts of southern France and Spain, with some smoke also spreading into neighbouring areas. Saharan dust outbreaks also crossed the Mediterranean at times, adding haze across parts of Spain, Italy and Greece. In southern Spain, where July irradiance is normally high at around 8.1 kWh/m² per day, monthly irradiance fell by as much as 4% to around 7.7 kWh/m², with larger reductions during individual smoke or dust events.
Aerosols also created a soiling risk where particles settled on PV modules and were not removed by rain or cleaning. Using PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the HSU soiling loss model, the end-of-month soiling impact for uncleaned panels was estimated at 5.6% in Valencia. This reflected both smoke from the nearby Vall d’Uixo wildfire and repeated Saharan dust episodes, with no appreciable rainfall events to clean panels during the month. Madrid saw a lower estimated impact of 2.2%, where nearby fire impacts were less prolonged and Saharan dust was less significant. In Bordeaux, nearby wildfires brought intense smoke pollution late in July, but rainfall events limited the estimated soiling impact to a peak of 0.6%.
The site-level soiling estimates show how similar regional aerosol conditions translated into different operational risks depending on local particulate exposure and whether enough rainfall occurred to clean module surfaces.
Valencia was the high-accumulation case. PM10 exposure persisted through several parts of the month, while limited rainfall meant the modelled soiling loss continued to rise.
Madrid shows a more moderate example. PM10 levels were lower than Valencia, and the modelled soiling loss increased more slowly, limiting the end-of-month impact.
Bordeaux provides the contrast. Particulate levels increased late in the month, but rainfall limited accumulation on uncleaned panels and kept the modelled soiling impact low.
Solcast produces these figures by tracking clouds and aerosols at 1-2km resolution globally, using satellite data and proprietary AI/ML algorithms. This data is used to drive irradiance models, enabling Solcast to calculate irradiance at high resolution, with typical bias of less than 2%, and also cloud-tracking forecasts. This data is used by more than 350 companies managing over 350 GW of solar assets globally.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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Thursday, August 27, 2026
5:30 am – 6:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
10:00 am – 11:00 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
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Tuesday, August 11, 2026
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The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
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Fraunhofer signs MOU to research floating PV in India  PV Tech
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JA ESS has delivered the first unit of its JAPlanet Fusion hybrid commercial and industrial (C&I) battery energy storage system (BESS) to a solar project site.
Designed for weak-grid applications, including markets in Africa, JAPlanet Fusion adopts a DC-coupled architecture that integrates solar generation with battery storage. The system enables on-site solar consumption during the day, stores surplus electricity, and dynamically responds to changes in solar output, electricity demand, and grid conditions.
JA ESS said that Planet Fusion is scheduled to enter volume production in September 2026, supporting its expansion into weak-grid markets in Africa and other regions.
JA recently signed an ecosystem partnership memorandum with Medisheng Technology to develop solar-powered desalination solutions for coastal and island applications (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Environmental services provider Datang Environment Industry Group has signed an agreement with Tianjin Jinghai Ziya Economic Development Zone to build a recycling and engineering demonstration project for decommissioned wind and solar equipment.
With a total investment of RMB 50 million, the project will include production lines capable of processing 10,000 tons of retired PV modules and 1,000 tons of wind turbine blades annually. The partners also plan to establish an integrated recycling chain covering collection, transportation, processing, and material recovery, alongside a joint innovation platform and intelligent control system to improve recycling efficiency.
Earlier this year, China announced a policy targeting a cumulative recycling and reuse volume of 250,000 tons of PV modules by 2027 (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Solar wing manufacturer Aerosource Spacetech has supplied the solar arrays and spacecraft-rocket adapter for the ‘Yinglong Fengguang-1’ meteorological satellite, which has successfully completed orbital deployment.
The satellite is designed to provide high-precision meteorological data for renewable energy applications, improving the accuracy of solar and wind power forecasts and supporting more efficient power dispatch. Equipped with microwave temperature and humidity sounders and infrared cameras, it will deliver atmospheric profiling and surface temperature data to enhance generation forecasting models for PV and wind power systems.
The Peking University Ordos Research Institute of Energy has released the technical results of what it says is the world’s first CO₂-based zero-carbon airport energy system.
The system has completed more than a year of operational verification at Ordos Ejin Horo International Airport, replacing gas-fired boilers and conventional refrigeration systems and increasing the airport’s share of clean energy to over 90%. The project integrates PV, energy storage, cooling, heating, and power systems with cross-seasonal CO₂ energy storage and AI-based energy management.
The airport has also installed 80,000 m² of rooftop PV, expected to generate more than 10 million kWh annually, while a ground-source heat pump system has reduced air-conditioning energy consumption by 40%.
Unique Intelligent Starts Solar Tracker Component Facility
Solar tracker component manufacturer Unique Intelligent has started construction of a new manufacturing and R&D facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
The RMB 1 billion project will have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million bearing house assemblies (BHA), 6 million rails, and 10 million universal rack attachments (URA). The company said the facility will support growing demand for tracker components and strengthen its R&D capabilities for utility-scale solar projects.
TaiyangNews 2024

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Continuing the 2026 Installer’s Choice Awards, we asked Australia’s solar installers a simple question:
“Which home battery would you choose for your own home?”
These are the people designing, installing and servicing battery systems every day, so they have a front-row seat to what works well in the real world. And Australian Consumer Law holds the installer liable for the units’ warranty and performance for 10 years plus. So I reckon their opinion is what counts.
Sigenergy topped this year’s survey with 26% of installer votes, ahead of Sungrow on 21%. The surprise result came from iStore, which secured third place with 11% of the vote after failing to make the top ten last year.

The result is based on the votes of 125 SolarQuotes-vetted installers who found time to respond.
Sigenergy Sigenstor battery installed by Brightworks Solar.
Although Sigenergy has been in the Australian market for less than 3 years, it has built a loyal following among installers.
Founded by former Huawei solar executive Tony Xu, Sigenergy has pioneered the concept of an integrated, stackable system combining battery storage, a hybrid inverter and optional DC EV charging.
The stack is straightforward to install, scales easily as energy needs grow and avoids the headaches that come with combining products from multiple manufacturers.
Features such as no-interruption backup power, including on three-phase, have helped Sigenergy stand out in a crowded market. Adding the bidirectional DC EV charger and a well-designed monitoring app has helped Sigenergy stand out in a market where most inverter manufacturers’ apps are crap, and most EV chargers are discrete, unidirectional and AC.
But the market is catching up with Sig. Newcomers like Anker and Ecoflow are hot on Sigenergy’s heels with sleek integrated stacks and arguably even better apps, while the old guard like Sungrow, Enphase and SolarEdge are all promising to release their own integrated inverter and battery stacks in 2027.
The road to the top of the podium hasn’t been smooth for Sigenergy this year. Some single-phase units were affected by overheating issues that ultimately resulted in a national recall campaign. SolarQuotes has removed Sigenergy from our recommended brands chart as we monitor the response to this.
Despite this setback occurring just before we surveyed installers late last year and early this year, they still voted Sigenergy into top spot – a positive sign that the brand continues to have plenty to offer.
Sungrow SBH battery installed by Clean Earth Solar.
Sungrow finishing second with 21% of the vote is no small achievement.
When the Sungrow battery first arrived, many installers considered it a budget choice. Later, as the product matured, it became widely regarded as a solid mid-range option. But as a growing number of budget battery brands have entered the Australian market, perceptions have shifted yet again.
Today, Sungrow feels much closer to the premium end of the market than it once did. Its strong showing in this year’s survey suggests installers continue to have confidence in the brand, even as competition in the battery sector intensifies.
I’ve owned a 16 kWh Sungrow battery for many years now, and it’s never missed a beat. My only criticism is that the app shows its age and, in my opinion, needs a complete rewrite to meet modern user-friendly standards.
iStore home battery installed by Positive Energy Solutions.
The biggest surprise in this year’s results is iStore.
After failing to make the top ten last year, the brand jumped all the way to third place with 11% of installer votes.
iStore batteries are essentially Huawei technology sold under a different badge, using Australian servers, and their appearance on the podium highlights how a brand that barely featured in installer discussions a year ago is now one of the most preferred battery choices in the country. I have an iStore powering my big shed, and I agree the hardware is solid, but be aware it is not compatible with many VPPs or third-party controllers.
Hopefully that changes as iStore becomes more entrenched – but for now, ensure you have a good installer who is happy to configure it for you locally to take advantage of ‘3 free’ energy plans and premium evening Feed In Tariffs.
While Sigenergy takes home the 2026 Installer’s Choice Award for home batteries, one theme continues to emerge across every category in this year’s survey – the best equipment still depends on good installation.
A quality battery installed poorly will eventually become a source of frustration, while a well-designed system installed by an experienced professional will deliver reliable performance for years to come.
If you’re comparing battery options for your own home, SolarQuotes’ battery storage guide includes detailed information on battery sizing, costs, installation and payback, along with a comparison table covering dozens of battery models available in Australia.
Stay tuned as we reveal the winners of the remaining Installer’s Choice categories. We’ve already revealed the winners of the best solar panel and best inverter categories.
Or if you’re ready to add battery storage to your home, SolarQuotes can help you compare up to three quotes from trusted, vetted installers who know how to get the important details right.
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I’m a Chartered Electrical Engineer, Solar and Energy Efficiency nut, dad, and the founder of SolarQuotes.com.au. I started SolarQuotes in 2009 and the SolarQuotes blog in 2013 with the belief that it’s more important to be truthful and objective than popular. My last “real job” was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009, I’ve helped over 800,000 Aussies get quotes for solar from installers I trust. Read my full bio.
That’s the question I asked when my installer talked about adding on extra power and…getting the battery rebate. He had installed Fox-ess and I got that too. Very happy so far! The extra 30 Kwh means we don’t have to suffer cold or heat.
Strange the biggest seller is therefore the biggest installation. That was foxess. But its not mentioned. When i was shopping for quotes I felt so many installers want to thrust a VERY costly choice on me. Often double the cost. And with no tangible reason other than fear to sell something that has a far greater installer margin. They throw in the anti chinese fear. Its a blight on tte industry that they sell like used car yards using made up tales of fear. Some quotes were just appalling and subscriptions that benefits them. No me. Origin, AGL etc all adding their hefty margin and what they make big $$$ on.
SQ is a farm for these installers peddling fear and tales that are misleading. Fires that havent occurred. Bad installation that is not. Defects that dont occur. Updates to app that wont happen…but do. Support that wont happen. Then foxess send me a safety update part. Free.
Its a turn off to SQ and i wonder how many suckers paid up for the boogeyman tales
Use the internet and find out where Sigenergy, Sungrow and iStore make their batteries and then have another think about your “anti chinese fear” statement
100% agree, foxEss is a very solid offer. The app has made very solid improvements over the recent month and is probably as functional as sigenergy.
Then you can really need out with modbus over wifi, everything is accessible. I believe I’ve got over 100 sensors switches and what not available to build whatever I like.
I will tell everybody who I know and is thinking about the half price option foxess, compared to sigenergy, so they at least know they are being ripped off.
My ROI will be way less than 5 years and that’s good enough for me.
It’s for so reasons: 1. SolarQuotes hates FoxESS, and, 2. SolarQuotes is owned by origin and they overwhelmingly favour the overpriced brands that are sold by installers that give them the best kickbacks.
It’s a blight that SQ won’t seriously represent the market and give balanced opinions or awards.
Origin has nothing to do with this award and I’m not sure why they would be against FoxESS in any case. This award is voted on by our installers. If you don’t trust their opinion, we also have a page that ranks batteries based on customer reviews – FoxESS is doing pretty well there in 6th place.
Agree Origin prob aren’t prob the issue, but installers views are not necessarily unbiased as they will prefer to sell more profitable systems. The customer reviews survey is much more interesting really.
Hi Paul,
FoxESS were effectively selling products that couldn’t be installed in a compliant fashion. After we raised the subject, they reached out to us. We told them it would be reasonable to expect they set up a web page (for mail order or wholesaler provision) to supply covers, free of charge, to any customer who wanted one.
It appears they took our advice, which I hope you’ll appreciate affirms our position as trying to improve the industry for everyone, no matter what their budget.
Thanks for confirming.
Awesome, thanks Anthony and Fox ESS deserves feedback from industry leaders like yourself because I believe they are genuinely interested in maintaining a presence here and doing the right thing by their customers.
Anthony,
Apropos my home battery on tracks, the little 1.2T electric excavator, UHI have earlier today sent snaps of a newly arrived 2.1T version, to go on their website in a day or two. Talk to Ken for same. It looks suitably gruntier.
I’m still busy using the little one, and could wait for a 2.8T unit, a beefier step up for me, on the acres. I’d ask if it’s gear or piston pump, and the charger power? Full level2, rather than the 15A x 230 Vac on the little one? (Good that the 46 kWh house battery can charge it up overnight, off-grid, without sweat.)
He says it’s quieter than the little one, which does have a bit of gearpump whine at higher revs. (So piston pump?)
Might need something for firebreaks before the Super El Niño peaks in our summer. (The IOD is neutral, but with a positive tendency. That’s negative enough for me to be buying a good air purifier for indoor smoke mitigation. My last year’s bush clean-up was a doozy. The local CFA folk are getting toey too, now.)
Sounds good Eric,
I’ll be keen to see the specification when they lob, and what it costs to land one in Adelaide.
Delivery of the 1.2T unit, Melbourne to Gippsland, was by 4WD-towed tandem trailer, subcontracted. They have an Adelaide office, but it could be a couple of months before there’s one there at their cost?
Ken’s in Melbourne, and he has the machine, so can tell you more than your local office. It’s worth getting him to send some bumpf, just to kick the tyres, I figure. Something to compare other options with – or even whether Spring is close enough to go for something now. (The weather here is not ideal, most days, for an open machine, just yet.)
It has stick & pedal track controls, so hands can stay on boom controls while working. I miss that on the little one. The battery box is significantly bigger – looks like maybe 1/4 tonne vs 156 kg. Ask him for the photos? Costs nothing.
Size 11 foot space on the 1.2T is just comfortably enough, not a lot spare. Here you’d have your boots on the foot controls. Piston pump? 7 kW charger?
If I didn’t have the little one …
It’s a piston pump, so better performance to be expected. But the charger socket on this first machine doesn’t appear to be the CCS2 shown in the brochure. It’ll be quickly sorted, to the right standard before it goes to market, and I might then snaffle this one, as the little one is a bit light on for 5 km of heavy fence clearing. I’ve had to work it hard, just on the first km, before winter set in.
Charge rate is 5 kW, just enough for the 35.3 kWh battery to charge in reasonable time, slow enough not to tax a decent home battery on a post-sunset charging finish. The 1.2T unit is only ~16 kWh, with 3 kW charger on a 15A plug. That brought the machine from 54% to 100% today, just off the roof, in a couple of hours, while I was out in the paddock, doing other stuff. Good enough for farm use.
In a few years, moving off diesel will not just be the big boys on construction sites, who are going that way already.
What about Goodwe?!
It appears they didn’t get the votes.
I’ve just ordered a new system and have decided to go with a Goodwe system, hope I don’t regret it.
I had my Sigenstor 32kWh battery with Gateway installed Nov 2025 and I’m very happy. There has been one ‘grid blackout’, albeit 50 seconds duration, sailed through it without knowing it at the time showing me that the battery system works as intended.
The three most expensive brands – funny that.
Now list most popular brands installed by household (not by kWh as we don’t want to skew the results too much) since 1 July 2025.
We didn’t ask the installers which were the most popular brands, we asked “Which home battery would you choose for your own home?”.
I understand and in effort to balance out the installers’ views, I chose to also take into account what brand of home battery, individuals in the European market (a much bigger cohort of individuals than Australian installers) chose when deciding what home battery to go with.
Sigenergy wasn’t one of them while Sungrow wasn’t the most popular in the UK, Germany and Poland residential sectors. It appeared to me that those brands perceived superior quality didn’t match their exorbitant price tags.
But that is the same question as which brand would you want your customers to install? Unless you actually check their house and whether they got a cheap deal from their suppliee
Enphase have really fallen from being a top-tier choice to a has-heen. This is due to their slowness to respond to Aussie market, specifically AC-only principle which is non competitive in an inverter limited market and dnsp bureaucracy (eg ausnet 10kw inverter per phase limit).
They should have kept their micro-inverters advantage under solar panels and launched DC batteries and bidirectional DC chargers (unlike their current ac bidi chargers) to be competitive. Enphase customers like myself on their newish iq8 and 5p batteries are now looking to expand wth sigenergy DC batteries with their smartport integration to keep enphase and expand battery capacity while staying under the dnsp inverter limits!
We purchased a solar system from Solar Junction and was assured it was compatible to install a battery when we decided.
Sadly.when we contacted them to install a battery system we were told that the inverter was not compatible. We would have to purchase another inverter. This is disgusting to say the least.
At the moment we use a lot of electricity to keep my husband’s room warm he feels the cold and is not a well man.
What is the cheapest way to go to have a complete system. We are on a pension.
Christine,
Was the battery compatibility assurance in writing? Does any product info even allude to that? Either would equate to an enforcible guarantee, I’m guessing. That would make your supplier’s remediation of their failure the cheapest option, by a long way. (With industry ombudsman help, if needed. Did you go through SolarQuotes?)
In your shoes, I’d also give thought to more PV panels on roof, carport, etc., and a heat storage device or two. Fan-equipped insulated units with high temperature bricks inside have been sold for decades, I’ve heard. They store heat energy more cheaply than batteries. (And batteries really need the x4 efficiency boost of a reverse cycle aircon for good capacity.)
And insulation is the fastest way to make things more snug, just keep it practical and economical, I figure.
An afterthought: Going onto a 3-free-hrs tariff might stack up if the heatbank can store at least the 24 kWh energy cap that usually entails. This random hit
https://heatpac.com.au/solarstorage/ on a “electric heat banks australia” search would seem to hold 32 kWh of heat. (Maybe all retreivable at a warm enough temperature, doubtless less hot towards the end, I figure?) A local vendor would be good for after-sales. Read some Whirlpool anecdotes found by that search, for user experience.
Put in two, and top up with your solar, extra panels or not?
Add insulation, even to part of the house, and batteries could be more comfortably avoided.
Mind you, a product-familiar installer could add a Victron inverter & battery package to just about any home, boat, or caravan. Then you could add reverse cycle aircon. But that’s dearer, Selectronic even more so. (More fun for tech-heads, though.) Such a system is modular, amenable to expansion, and change of purpose.
The Sungrow app just had a fairly major cosmetic update this week, although digging deeper through the menus it’s still more or less the same. Unfortunately, I’m not across the apps and their functionality available from the other battery brands.
Some elements of the UI have improved at least but I wish I had a few more options for export control rather than just setting a max/25/50% throughput over a time duration on a daily timer.
We purchased our second from our installer (Al Joubert) who had done a great job with the first, smaller battery. That was a BYD. This one was a Foxess. The installer also used Foxess for his own installation. He openly told us that the quality was less than the previous one but I trusted him. I believe that it is just as important to have a trust worthy installer than a quality product. We are so very happy that we don’t need to be concerned about using the aircon for cooling and heating when needed.
Sigenergy had a massive recall and Solarquotes removed it from its recommended list. Yet, installers love it and recommend it. For me this does not fit together. If Sigenergy blames the installers, why do the installers still recommend it?
Great question – I’d suggest that the product works so well that many installers have forgiven Sig’s “blame the installers” marketing message. It also helps that they just replaced every unit without getting into a pissing match with installers over who should pay. The ‘it’s the installers fault, but we’ll replace them all anyway’ seems to have worked for them.
‘Customer Service’, is what Sigenergy provided – a seemingly old fashion concept these days.
I’m honestly surprised installers rate Sigenergy highly. A relative who has installed a battery looked at them and was quite clear they’re a DO NOT TOUCH brand.
As for me, any brand that supports MSS data acquisition is a non-starter for me.
But perhaps installers don’t care about what happens after the thing is switched on, seeing that as not their problem?
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KINGSTON, Ill. (WIFR) – One man is accused of stealing from a solar farm construction site in DeKalb County.
Rick Thompson, 63, of Rockford, is charged with theft.
Around 7 a.m. Thursday, July 29, DeKalb County deputies were called to the solar farm construction site in the area of Route 72 and Pleasant Hill Road for a report of a burglary.
According to the sheriff’s office, tools and equipment were taken from one of the trailers overnight, totaling around $120,000.
Detectives say a tip led them to Rockford.
Around 1:15 p.m., police searched a home in the 4000 block of 11th Street and arrested two people.
Deputies say the stolen equipment was found at the home.
Thompson was taken to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office where he awaits a detention hearing.
Copyright 2026 WIFR. All rights reserved.

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California-based Otherlab introduces Lightfoot, a two-seat electric cargo scooter that integrates a pair of solar panels directly into its clamshell body. Developed for short urban journeys rather than heroic highway pursuits, the vehicle combines the easy approachability of an electric scooter with the storage capacity of something considerably less dependent on a backpack. Its elongated bench accommodates two riders, while the broad rectangular silhouette places solar generation — usually added as an afterthought — right at the center of the design.
 
Inspired by familiar vehicles including the Vespa and Volkswagen bus, Lightfoot wraps its aircraft-grade aluminum frame with two 120-watt solar panels positioned along either side. The integrated array can add up to 18 miles (around 30 kilometers) of range per day under favorable conditions, with the company estimating roughly three additional miles for every hour of quality sunlight. It will not run forever on one suspiciously bright afternoon, but leaving it parked outdoors can reduce how often it needs to meet a wall socket.

Lightfoot integrates two solar panels directly into its clamshell bodywork | images: courtesy of Lightfoot
 
 
 
Behind the solar bodywork sits a weather-resistant, lockable cargo compartment offering 45.2 liters of storage. Current specifications list capacity for up to 20 kilograms of cargo, enough for groceries, work equipment, a helmet, or the assorted objects that tend to turn a simple errand into a logistical exercise. Unlike many compact scooters, where carrying capacity largely means whatever remains attached to the rider, Lightfoot positions storage low and centrally within the vehicle to support balance at slower speeds.
 
The scooter pairs its solar assistance with a lithium-ion battery delivering up to 37 miles (60 kilometers) of plug-in range according to the current product page. When a socket is required, the onboard charging system reaches 80 percent in approximately 90 minutes. Regenerative braking recovers some energy during deceleration, while a waterproof 2.8-inch touchscreen displays speed, battery level, lighting status, and other essential information — because even sunshine occasionally benefits from a dashboard.

built-in panels recharge the battery whenever the scooter sits in sunlight
 
 
 
Two brushless hub motors, one mounted in each wheel, provide 750 watts of nominal power apiece and bring Lightfoot to a top speed of 19.9 mph (32 km/h). A twist-and-go throttle eliminates pedals, gears, and clutch controls, while hydraulic disc brakes, regenerative braking, ten-inch wheels, and motorcycle-style front and rear suspension are intended to keep the 62-kilogram vehicle composed across city streets and bike lanes. It is less interested in folding neatly beneath a desk than in carrying another person and making a steep hill feel less personal.
 
Lightfoot’s modular construction uses serviceable components intended for maintenance at home or through local bicycle workshops. Lighting includes a 2,000-lumen front lamp, accelerometer-activated rear lights, and a 120-decibel horn, while electronically locking wheels add another obstacle for anyone considering an unauthorized test ride. Currently listed at $4,995, the solar cargo scooter is offered through the company’s website with purchase, reservation, and preorder options, framing micromobility not as the smallest possible vehicle, but as a practical substitute for the short car trips that quietly consume much of the day.   

lockable central compartment carries groceries, work gear or daily essentials

elongated cushioned bench provides space for rider and passenger
dual hub motors power short trips through city streets and bike lanes

aircraft-grade aluminum chassis supports the scooter’s distinctive rectangular profile

solar array can add up to 18 miles of range under favorable conditions
 
 
project info:
 
name: Lightfoot
design: Otherlab | @lightfoot.now
location: California, USA

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