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As 1,900-acre solar farm looms, Zeeland Township targets $100,000 toward legal fight  MLive.com
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SolarPower Europe, a Europe-based association for the solar and energy storage sector, has announced Rystad Energy as Prime Market Research Partner. The partnership was announced on 4 May 2026 and has extended an existing collaboration between both organisations. Rystad Energy, a Norway-based energy research and intelligence company, will support SolarPower Europe’s flagship reports and policy positions through data analysis, expert insights, and modelling. Rystad Energy’s analytical work will cover solar PV and battery storage, while the partnership will include member-exclusive market webinars and high-level events. Rystad Energy will also be integrated as Prime Partner within the Battery Storage Europe Platform. Both organisations will collaborate on the upcoming Solar+ report, which will examine solar PV’s role in delivering the EU’s 2030 energy targets. The report will be published this week at the SolarPower Summit 2026.

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From pv magazine France
French independent power producer Solvéo Energies has announced the expansion of its Bélesta-en-Lauragais solar power plant in France’s Aude region.
Backed by French asset manager Mirova, Solvéo Energies commissioned a new 300 kW unit in February, bringing the plant’s total capacity to 3 MW. The facility has been in operation since 2018 and was previously expanded in April 2022 with the addition of a 250 kW low-voltage unit.
Unlike a conventional expansion, the latest development is based on a decentralized architecture developed by Solvéo. The company’s so-called “mini solar field” is not connected via high voltage (HV-A) through the original plant’s substation. Instead, it connects at low voltage (LV) directly to the local grid operator via a dedicated, separate link.
This “island” architecture enables capacity additions without modifying the existing solar farm’s electrical configuration. As a result, electricity metering and sales are managed separately.
Although Capex per installed megawatt is slightly higher than for conventional ground-mounted projects, Solvéo says the model offsets this through greater reversibility and reduced use of natural, agricultural, and forest land. It also enables shorter development timelines. “Between securing the land and commissioning, we generally need between 18 and 24 months,” a company spokesperson told pv magazine France.
Solvéo’s business model focuses on developing land considered unsuitable by traditional developers, with project sizes ranging from 5,000 m2 (around 300 kW) to 2 hectares (1 MW). A key advantage is reduced permitting time, directly linked to the smaller scale of the installations.
This regulatory flexibility stems from the limited size of the projects. Installations under 300 kW in France are exempt from environmental impact assessments, while those between 300 kW and 1 MW bypass lengthy public inquiries and instead undergo a simplified review by the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (DREAL). In addition, their limited capacity allows for a simple prior declaration of works, typically processed within one month, compared to the longer timelines required for building permits for larger projects.
Grid connection follows a similar principle of simplicity. By using low voltage, Solvéo can obtain a technical proposal within three months, avoiding the costly and time-intensive stability studies and grid reinforcement work associated with high-voltage connections.
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Echelon facility linked to Wicklow data centre site greenlit after solar farm dropped  The Irish Independent
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SAEL Moves UPERC for Power Cost Waivers to Set Up Solar Cell Plant in UP Photograph: (AI)
Indian clean tech compant SAEL Solar is looking to set up a large solar cell manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh—but the plan comes with a clear caveat: affordable and predictable power for its proposed solar cell facility. The company has approached the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC), seeking a set of key exemptions on power-related charges that it says are critical to making the project viable. 
At the centre of SAEL’s proposal is a 5 GW solar cell manufacturing unit, along with a downstream 5 GW module facility. The project, which could see an investment of around ₹8,000 crore, is expected to be highly energy-intensive, making electricity costs a decisive factor in its competitiveness.
To address this, SAEL wants relief from transmission, wheeling and banking charges on power generated through its proposed captive solar project. It has also sought flexibility in using banked power at any time, without restrictions tied to peak or non-peak hours.
The company’s argument is straightforward: solar cell manufacturing is a cost-sensitive business, and power forms a large share of operating expenses. Without stable and lower-cost electricity, competing with global manufacturers—many of whom benefit from government support—becomes difficult. 
SAEL has also asked for approval to set up a captive power plant with energy storage and to install capacity beyond the usual regulatory limits, anticipating higher electricity demand for its operations. 
The UPERC, while noting that the reliefs sought could go beyond the current regulatory framework, has admitted the petition and asked state utilities to respond. The next hearing is scheduled for June 9, 2026.
The outcome of the case could have wider implications. As India pushes to scale up domestic solar manufacturing, the question of power costs—and how far regulators are willing to go in supporting industry—may increasingly shape where and how such large projects take off.
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Indian PV manufacturer Solex Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat to establish a 5GW solar cell manufacturing facility alongside a 10GW energy storage plant in the state.  
Under the agreement, Solex will invest approximately INR40 billion (US$419 million) in the project, as part of its “Vision 2030” strategy. The 5GW solar cell manufacturing facility will be built in phases, comprising an initial 2GW followed by a further 3GW second phase, alongside a 10GW battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing plant. 
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“This MoU is not merely an investment announcement; it is a commitment towards India’s clean energy future. At Solex Energy, we are envisioning the next phase of growth through scale, innovation, and nation-building. Our integrated solar cell and energy storage manufacturing project will strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities, reduce import dependence and help build a resilient renewable energy ecosystem for generations to come,” said Chetan Shah, managing director of Solex. 
Surat-headquartered Solex Energy operates a 4GW solar module manufacturing facility in Tadkeshwar, Gujarat. Beyond manufacturing, the company also provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services across utility-scale, commercial, industrial and institutional segments. 
In October 2024, Solex unveiled plans for a roughly US$1 billion expansion of its solar module and cell production capacity. The company said it would explore the development of a 2GW solar cell facility, with potential to scale capacity up to 5GW. Both cell and module production were set to focus on n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology using rectangular solar cells. 
Furthermore, Solex launched two n-type solar modules designed for Rajasthan’s extreme climate conditions and high-irradiance regions last year. The first module, Tapi R, is a TOPCon module and the second, Tapi Series, is an n-type dual-glass module. 
PV Tech has contacted Solex for further details on its plans to realise the proposed facility.

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NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd has invited bids for the balance of system (BoS) package for the development of 900 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. The tender covers two projects (500 MW and 400 MW) with a combined capacity of 900 MW.
An NTPC project
NTPC
NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd has invited bids for the balance of system (BoS) package for the development of 900 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
The tender covers two projects (500 MW and 400 MW) with a combined capacity of 900 MW.
The scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the solar PV plant, excluding the supply of PV modules.
The selected contractor will also be responsible for comprehensive operation and maintenance of the solar PV plant, along with associated electrical equipment, consumables, and spare parts, for a period of three years from the commissioning of the full project capacity.
Bidding closes on June 5.
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EWEC And Masdar Sign Strategic Deal To Accelerate UAE’s Renewable Energy Growth  SolarQuarter
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EDP Renewables and Meta Partner on 250 MW Cypress Knee Solar Project in Arkansas  SolarQuarter
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China Datang Corp has placed into service a 500 MW solar facility in Zhongwei, Ningxia, calling it the nation’s first utility-scale green power installation purpose-built to feed a data center hub under a coordinated computing-electricity framework. The plant began commercial operations on May 2, after achieving full-capacity grid interconnection and initiating direct green electricity deliveries on February 5.
This solar farm is a component of Datang’s initial 2 GW development stage for the Zhongwei Cloud Base, which merges solar, wind, and storage technologies. The company has earmarked roughly CNY 8.7 billion ($1.27 billion) for this phase. The 500 MW photovoltaic unit is coupled with a 1.5 GW wind farm and energy storage systems. The wind segment is still being built and is slated to achieve full-capacity grid connection in September 2026. A subsequent phase is envisioned, which would enlarge the total project scope to 4.6 GW and push overall investment close to CNY 20 billion.
Datang and Chinese state media report that the initiative employs a two-track supply approach, blending physical direct delivery with bilateral power market transactions. Four dedicated 110 kV transmission lines channel green electricity straight to computing installations for new data center loads, circumventing the public grid. Supplementary demand is satisfied through bilateral market deals. Solar generation is emphasized during daylight hours, while wind output is anticipated to fill gaps when solar production wanes, backed by energy storage.
The newly operational 500 MW plant is forecast to produce roughly 970 GWh annually, meeting about half of the Zhongwei Cloud Base’s power needs. When the first phase is completely operational in September, yearly generation is projected to hit 4.3 TWh, which the company states is ample to cover the cloud base’s estimated yearly consumption of 2.29 TWh.
Zhongwei sits within one of China’s national computing hubs under the East Data, West Computing initiative, which seeks to relocate data center and AI tasks to western areas with richer renewable energy resources. The Datang project is thus seen as a practical trial of whether large-scale digital loads can be directly paired with desert-based wind and solar generation, shifting toward a physical infrastructure model featuring dedicated transmission lines, co-located renewables, and dispatch strategies tailored to computing needs. If this approach proves scalable, it could become a blueprint for lowering both the carbon footprint and operational expenses of China’s upcoming data center growth.
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The 1.6 MW Nexus pilot project in California has demonstrated that solar panels installed over irrigation canals can significantly reduce water evaporation and algae growth by 85%, while also showing operational efficiency.
Image: Solar Aquagrid
From pv magazine Global
In September 2025, the Nexus pilot project in California, United States, was completed. The 1.6 MW solar installation is located on canals operated by the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) and was developed through a public-private partnership between the California Department of Water Resources, TID, Solar AquaGrid, and the University of California (UC), Merced. The project aimed to generate empirical data under real-world operating conditions.
Launched in 2022, the pilot evaluated the technical and operational feasibility of deploying PV systems on active irrigation canals. The concept enables dual use of existing infrastructure: clean electricity generation alongside reduced water evaporation and minimized land use – an approach particularly relevant in agricultural regions such as California’s Central Valley.
The project monitors key performance indicators including electricity generation, evaporation losses, water quality, aquatic vegetation growth, and canal maintenance requirements. After one irrigation season, initial results indicate measurable benefits for the water sector. Canal sections covered with PV modules showed reduced evaporation and lower aquatic weed proliferation, which may translate into reduced operating costs.
Specifically, continuous measurements over a full irrigation season recorded evaporation reductions of 50-70% beneath the solar arrays and an 85% decrease in algae growth, a result that could yield operational efficiencies in canal management. These findings are consistent with earlier research by UC Merced, which highlighted the potential of canal-based solar systems to improve water-use efficiency in open-channel infrastructure.
From a technical perspective, the project also serves as a testbed for multiple design configurations. These include large-span structures over wide canals, smaller systems on narrower channels, vertical installations along canal banks, and early-stage retractable prototypes. As previously reported by pv magazine, a battery energy storage system (BESS) was also deployed at the narrowest site, using 75 kW iron-flow batteries supplied by US manufacturer ESS.
This range of configurations is intended to assess system adaptability under varying hydraulic and structural conditions.
Project developers note that the scalability potential is significant, given California’s extensive canal network. A UC study estimates that covering approximately 4,000 km of canals could save 63 billion gallons of water annually, equivalent to irrigating 50,000 acres (20,234 hectares) of farmland or meeting the residential water demand of more than 2 million people. Beyond water savings, improved water quality through reduced vegetative growth is also of interest to TID.
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When armed groups began threatening a community in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that had recently gained access to solar-powered electricity, something unexpected happened. Rather than flee, residents rushed to protect their mini-grid. They put themselves at risk to keep the lights on.
That story, shared at a three-day convening in Nairobi in March 2026, captures a thesis that experts across the renewable energy, finance, government, and peacebuilding worlds are increasingly taking seriously: that energy access and conflict are deeply intertwined, and that access to clean energy can help to reduce conflict. The gathering brought together more than 45 participants from across the energy, finance, government, and peacebuilding communities to wrestle with that thesis and the conditions under which it can become a reality. Ultimately, participants agreed that access to clean energy can be a tool for peace, provided the work is done intentionally, with communities at the center, and backed by a new generation of financial tools.
Conflict is now at its highest level since World War II, driven by the breakdown of the international rules-based system, climate degradation, inequality, and demographic pressure—forces that are particularly acute across sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, some 600 million people on the continent still lack access to electricity, with rural and conflict-affected areas bearing the heaviest burden. Those two crises are usually addressed by different agencies, funding streams, and professional communities. The argument that emerged in Nairobi is that treating them separately is a mistake.
In eastern DRC, the Virunga National Park Foundation spent years watching mountain gorillas killed not by trophy poachers, but by people clearing forests for charcoal—a primary energy source for the city of Goma. That charcoal trade was also bankrolling armed groups, including the FDLR, responsible for some of the region’s worst violence. The foundation’s response was to invest around $250 million in hydroelectric plants, eventually generating 60 megawatts. The result was significant: for every megawatt brought online, between 800 and 1,000 jobs were created; and 11% of new workers were young men and women who had left armed groups to take them.
Renewable energy can really contribute to the making of peace, said one government participant. By bringing electricity, we create jobs, especially for youth, who can get drawn into armed groups given high rates of unemployment.
The conversation was far from triumphalist, however. Practitioners were quick to note that renewable energy projects, when poorly planned, can also make conflict worse. In one DRC case, a community mini-grid lacked capacity to serve two neighboring villages, and the decision to prioritize one triggered tension between them. In Nigeria, a 350kW solar mini-grid was shut down after armed vigilantes attacked the community, killed several people, and burned down a nearby warehouse. The company eventually returned—but only after community leaders engaged local authorities to address the underlying security situation.
These cases point to a central lesson that practitioners have learned the hard way: conflict-sensitive design is not an optional add-on. It must be built in from the start. That means understanding who the conflict actors are, which groups feel excluded, and who might be spoilers or champions. It means ensuring that the benefits of a project—jobs, electricity, productive assets—help address grievances rather than reinforce them. And it means monitoring not just energy connections, but changes in community cohesion and economic interdependence over time.
Peacebuilders stressed the importance of working with existing local peace processes rather than parachuting in with technical solutions. Experience from Darfur and the Sudan-South Sudan borderlands showed that even in active war zones, local agreements can create functioning markets and that energy infrastructure woven into those processes can genuinely shift incentives, including for combatants.
Clean energy in fragile settings is expensive to develop, risky to invest in, and hard to make economically sustainable. A developer building a mini-grid in eastern DRC or northern Nigeria faces currency risk, regulatory uncertainty, insecure supply chains, and customers with very limited ability to pay. Standard commercial investors won’t touch projects like these without significant risk-sharing from public and philanthropic sources.
Capital is not the problem—there is plenty of money out there, one participant noted. The problem is the pipeline. Are there bankable projects? The global infrastructure capital market alone is valued at over $2 trillion, but mini-grids and distributed solar systems are rarely structured in ways that attract it.
One idea that is gaining traction is to frame mini-grids explicitly as infrastructure investments in order to unlock new sources of backing for these projects. Infrastructure investors understand long-term, asset-backed returns and have experience with political risk insurance and concession agreements. If renewable energy projects in fragile settings were consistently packaged as infrastructure deals, they could access a much larger pool of capital.
Another concept with real momentum is the “peace premium”—a results-based financing instrument that would pay a bonus to developers delivering energy in conflict-affected areas, in recognition of the additional costs and risks involved and the broader peace dividends their work generates. The analogy is to climate finance, where carbon credits and green bonds have mobilized enormous capital by pricing environmental co-benefits. Instruments like Peace Renewable Energy Credits already exist in early form, but much more is needed to incentivize significant new project development in fragile settings.
Africa is not simply a recipient of global energy and climate policy; it is the place where the most important work is happening, and where a new global model is being built. It hosts 60% of the world’s best renewable energy resources. Wind alone, participants noted, could theoretically power the continent 250 times over. Yet only 2 percent of global energy investment flows there. In 2023, global clean energy investment reached $2.1 trillion, of which Africa received a fraction.
Participants noted that the continent’s practitioners have built mini-grids in South Sudan, financed solar systems in Somalia, and navigated the DRC’s regulatory landscape, and have accumulated knowledge that would directly benefit interested investors. The goal is not for Africa to catch up. It is for Africa to lead.
That framing shaped the gathering’s most ambitious commitment: delivering renewable energy access to 30 million people in conflict-affected regions of Africa by 2030. The figure is calibrated against the World Bank and African Development Bank’s Mission 300 initiative, which aims to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by that year—with participants setting a goal of channeling 10 percent of that total specifically to conflict and fragility-affected areas.
Participants left Nairobi with a concrete agenda for the next twelve months. On the project pipeline, priorities include developing a shared definition of fragility and conflict-affected areas to guide investment targeting and testing a first peace premium financing instrument. South Sudan, DRC, and Nigeria were identified as priorities for a Mission 300 proposal that would explicitly incorporate the peace dimension, potentially the first national energy compacts to do so.
On finance, the group committed to identifying champions within major institutions, including the African Development Bank and World Bank, who could embed peace as an impact metric in their reporting. One near-term step: engaging the Africa Mini-grid Developers Association to add a “Contribution to Peace” indicator to its annual industry report.
None of the participants came to Nairobi with illusions. They know money doesn’t flow to conflict zones without good reason. They know solar panels don’t automatically create peace. But the story of residents rushing to defend their mini-grid kept coming up—as a reminder that when people have something worth protecting, they find reasons to protect it together.
That’s not the end of a conflict. But it might be a beginning.
 
Andrew Hyde is a Senior Fellow in the Stimson Center’s Strategic Foresight Hub.
Photo Credits: View of the solar panels at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)’s Camp Green Hill, in Naqoura. Courtesy of Andrew Hyde.
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Manila Electric Company, commonly known as Meralco, is the largest private electric distribution utility in the Philippines, serving Metro Manila and surrounding provinces with a franchise area that covers more than seven million customers. Its role is comparable to a regulated distribution utility in the United States, responsible for delivering electricity from generation sources to end users, maintaining grid stability, and enforcing interconnection standards.
Against this backdrop, the company is now pressing the Philippine government to tighten technical requirements for rooftop solar systems and the contractors installing them, citing a rapid expansion of unregistered installations that operate outside formal regulatory oversight.
At a recent Senate hearing, Meralco vice president Lawrence Fernandez supported proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Act aimed at streamlining the country’s net metering framework. Net metering in the Philippines, much like in several U.S. states, allows distributed solar users to export excess electricity to the grid in exchange for bill credits, but the process has been widely criticized for its permitting complexity and long approval timelines.
In a report that appeared in the Manila Standard, Meralco said there are more than 20,000 registered rooftop systems with a combined capacity of about 170 megawatts. It estimates that an additional 370 megawatts exist in the commercial sector alone without formal registration. A separate analysis by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, using satellite imaging and cross-referenced grid data, suggests that roughly one-third of solar rooftops within Meralco’s service territory fall into this unpermitted category, often referred to locally as “guerrilla solar.”
The technical concern centers on the integrity of equipment and installation practices, particularly the use of inverters that do not comply with internationally recognized safety and grid synchronization standards such as anti-islanding protection. In a compliant system, the inverter must immediately disconnect when the grid goes down to prevent backfeeding electricity into power lines, which could endanger utility workers performing repairs. Substandard or improperly configured inverters can fail to perform this function, creating a serious safety hazard. Meralco is therefore urging the Department of Energy and the Department of Trade and Industry to formalize equipment certification protocols and require installer accreditation, aligning local practices more closely with standards seen in mature solar markets.
The economic driver behind this shadow market is straightforward. The Philippines has some of the highest retail electricity rates in Southeast Asia, often exceeding ₱10 to ₱12 per kilowatt-hour, equivalent to roughly $0.18 to $0.22. A typical small residential rooftop system installed through formal channels can cost between ₱200,000 and ₱350,000 ($3,600 to $6,300), depending on size and component quality, partly due to compliance costs, engineering studies, and permitting requirements. Guerrilla installers, operating outside this framework, can offer similar grid-tied systems at significantly lower upfront costs by bypassing these steps. For consumers facing persistent energy inflation, the appeal is immediate and tangible, even if it comes with regulatory and technical risks.
The term “guerrilla solar” in the Philippine context does not imply improvised or inherently inferior hardware. Many of these systems use standard photovoltaic panels and commercially available hybrid or grid-tied inverters. The distinction lies in how they are deployed. These installations are connected in parallel to the household electrical system without utility approval and without the installation of a bi-directional meter that can properly record exported energy. In some cases, particularly with older analog meters, excess generation can cause the meter to run backward, effectively reducing recorded consumption. While utilities classify this as a violation of service agreements, many users see it as an informal workaround in a system they perceive as overly restrictive.
From a grid management perspective, the proliferation of unregistered distributed generation introduces uncertainty into load forecasting and voltage regulation. Distribution networks are engineered based on predictable demand patterns and known generation inputs. When hundreds of megawatts of rooftop capacity operate invisibly, it complicates the balancing of supply and demand at the local feeder level. Voltage fluctuations, harmonic distortions, and reverse power flows can occur, particularly in circuits not designed for high levels of distributed energy resources. These conditions can accelerate wear on transformers and other infrastructure, potentially leading to localized outages or equipment damage.
There is also a direct safety dimension. Lineworkers depend on accurate system visibility when de-energizing circuits for maintenance. Undetected backfeeding from rooftop systems can keep lines energized even when they are presumed safe, increasing the risk of electrocution. This is why interconnection standards in the United States and other developed markets mandate certified equipment, inspection, and utility coordination before any grid-tied system is allowed to operate. Meralco’s position reflects a similar engineering logic, emphasizing that the issue is not opposition to solar adoption but the manner in which it is being integrated into the grid.
At the same time, the scale of the guerrilla market signals a structural problem in policy design. Lengthy approval processes, inconsistent local permitting rules, and perceived protection of incumbent utility revenues have created friction that discourages formal participation in net metering. For many Filipino consumers and small businesses, the choice is not between compliant and non-compliant solar, but between slow, expensive compliance and immediate, affordable installation. This dynamic mirrors early-stage distributed solar markets elsewhere, where regulatory lag often trails technological adoption.
The resulting tension is not simply a regulatory dispute but a deeper conflict between centralized grid control and decentralized energy autonomy. Utilities like Meralco are tasked with maintaining reliability and safety across a complex network, while consumers are increasingly empowered by falling solar costs and accessible technology. Whether the government responds with stricter enforcement, streamlined processes, or a combination of both will determine whether these “energy rebels” are absorbed into the formal system or continue operating in parallel.
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Raymond Gregory Tribdino, or Tribs, is an automotive and tech journalist for over two decades, a former car industry executive, and professor with deep roots in the EV space. He was an early contributor to EVWorld.com (1997-1999), was the motoring and technology editor for Malaya Business Insight (www.malaya.com.ph) and now serves as Science and Technology Editor for The Manila Times (www.manilatimes.net), along with co-hosting “TechSabado” and “Today is Tuesday.” He’s passionate about electrification, even electrifying his own motocross bike. Contact him at tribs.tribdino@gmail.com
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DUBUQUE, Iowa (KWQC) -As more homeowners look for ways to manage rising electricity costs, Eagle Point Solar says battery storage is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for improving energy independence and reducing monthly utility bills.
Jim Pullen, President and CEO of Eagle Point Solar, joins Quad Cities Live to explain how modern battery storage systems work alongside a solar array and why they offer benefits far beyond simple backup power.
According to Eagle Point Solar, battery storage systems are designed to store excess solar energy and discharge it whenever electricity is needed.
Many homeowners use stored energy during peak demand hours — typically 4 to 9 p.m. — when utility rates are often at their highest. Instead of buying electricity at peak pricing, the battery can power the home during that window, then recharge the next day when the sun comes up.
Battery storage can also provide backup power during outages or be configured to support only critical circuits such as refrigerators, freezers, medical devices or computers.
For customers served by co‑op utilities, peak demand pricing can significantly affect monthly bills. Eagle Point Solar notes that some utilities charge a lower rate per kilowatt during daytime hours, then increase the rate substantially from late afternoon into the evening.
By using stored solar energy during those peak hours, homeowners can reduce the amount of high‑priced electricity they purchase from the grid. This cycle repeats daily, trimming energy costs over time.
Battery systems are customizable and can be programmed to discharge during peak demand, during outages or when a home experiences a sudden spike in energy use.
Eagle Point Solar emphasizes that storage allows homeowners to decide how and when to use the solar energy their system produces, including at night when solar panels are not generating power.
Most residential batteries are compact — roughly four feet tall and about a foot thick — and are typically installed indoors near the home’s load center. Eagle Point Solar primarily uses Tesla Powerwall 3 and Franklin batteries for residential, small farm and commercial applications, while also offering larger‑capacity systems for commercial clients.
The number of batteries needed depends on how much energy a household wants available at any given time. Many homeowners require only one unit, though larger energy needs may require additional storage.
Eagle Point Solar’s design and engineering teams work with customers to determine the right configuration for their goals.
More information about battery storage is available at eaglepointsolar.com/solar-storage-benefits
More information about discussed discount promotions (and timelines), office locations and how to make free solar analysis requests, is available at eaglepointsolar.com .
Eagle Point Solar’s Dubuque office is located at 2400 Kerper Blvd., Suite A‑20, and can be reached at 563‑582‑4044.
The toll‑free number is 877‑357‑2555.
Copyright 2026 KWQC. All rights reserved.

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Tigo Energy has announced the expansion of its Predict+ platform, introducing advanced modeling features designed to improve the accuracy of financial forecasting and grid integration for utility-scale solar and energy storage operators in the United States.
Image: Tigo Energy
Tigo Energy, a specialist in intelligent solar and energy storage solutions, announced upgrades to its Predict+ software suite. The latest updates specifically target the North American market, where energy producers face increasing volatility in wholesale electricity prices and more stringent requirements for grid stability.
The platform utilizes machine learning to analyze historical weather patterns, real-time system performance, and market pricing data to provide power generation forecasts.
Tigo’s dual role as a hardware provider and a software developer gives the company a distinct advantage in the predictive analytics space. Its Flex MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) hardware, including the TS4 platform for optimization and rapid shutdown, generates high-resolution, module-level data that serves as the foundation for its software models. By capturing granular performance metrics, such as by-the-minute energy yield and temperature from individual panels , the company can feed more accurate, real-world inputs into its AI engines compared to providers relying solely on bulk inverter data or remote satellite imagery.
The company’s hardware solutions are currently deployed across projects ranging from residential repowering to utility-scale installations, allowing the company to aggregate massive datasets under management.
In the current market environment, power producers often face financial penalties for deviations from predicted generation schedules. By leveraging high-fidelity data, the software allows operators to optimize bidding strategies in day-ahead and real-time markets, reducing risk and improving the bankability of large-scale renewable projects. The technical improvements are integrated into a broader Energy Intelligence platform that monitors and manages thousands of sites globally. 
The Predict+ platform expansion into more granular U.S. energy features reflects the growing complexity of a domestic grid that must balance high penetration of intermittent renewables with steady demand from industrial users and data centers.  High-fidelity analytics provide actionable insights that allow asset managers to determine optimal times to charge or discharge battery storage systems based on predicted price spikes or grid stress. Precision in output modeling has become a core operational requirement as more states implement complex community solar and storage programs.
Management noted that the growth of the platform aligns with a period of significant regional shifts, such as when the California Independent System Operator launches its Extended Day-Ahead Market to improve coordination across the Western grid.
Regional market expansion allows participants to trade energy in a day-ahead timeframe, creating a larger and more efficient pool of resources that requires accurate, localized forecasting. Scaling these software capabilities helps independent power producers and utilities navigate the transition to a more decentralized and digitalized power grid.
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Plans for cattle shed as big as a supermarket  AOL.com
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PSO names new executive
PSO’s power struggles
May 4, 2026

Two years after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham boasted how a new $942 million Ebon solar manufacturing plant would turn her state into a global center for advanced energy manufacturing, the boast is gone.
There’s a strong suggestion the company’s ties to Red China might have resulted in the U.S. stopping the project.
Ebon Solar has cancelled plans to build a factory in Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol and will not create the 900 jobs it promised in the summer of 2024. At the time, the company intended to fabricate solar cells or semiconductors on the faces of solar panels to convert sunrays into electricity.
Different tax and economic development incentives were offered by Bernalillo County and the city of Albuquerque. But in recent days, Albuquerque’s Economic Development Department confirmed the project would not be moving forward.
“Ultimately, federal policy constraints and CFIUS-related considerations prevented the company from establishing U.S. operations,” a city spokeswoman told the Albuquerque Journal.  “No public funds were expended.”
The spokeswoman also referred the issue to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment. The Journal suggested the failure to build might be associated with Ebon Solar’s ties to the People’s Republic of China.
The Treasury Department didn’t offer an answer but its Committee on Foreign Investment has a responsibility of reviewing certain transactions involving foreign investment in the U.S. and also determining whether those foreign investments might place national security at risk.
Ebon’s parent company is Ebang International which lists an address in Irvine, Texas, based on Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed in April. Two years ago, Ebon told Albuquerque officials its parent company was headquartered in Singapore. In other SEC filings, Ebang International stated it was incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
“As we have PRC operating subsidiaries,” the company disclosed in an SEC filing, referring to the People’s Republic of China, “we face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China.”
In the form, an annual report for 2025, Ebang International disclosed that its securities may be prohibited from trade on a national exchange under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
Dong Hu is listed in Securities and Exchange Commission documents as the chairman, CEO and chief financial officer of Ebang International. He and other officers on the board are from China and either taught at universities in China or are graduates from them. They include: Chunjuan Peng, Director and Deputy General Manager; Tingjie Lyu, Independent Director; Yanqing Gao, Independent Director; and Mingming Su, Independent Director.
The Journal reported Ebon and Ebang have not responded to numerous requests for comment on the project made over the course of several weeks to numbers and email addresses in New Mexico, Hong Kong, New Jersey and Texas.  On Friday, a man who answered the company’s Irvine, Texas, phone number — as listed on SEC records — said Hu could not talk because he was in a meeting.
 
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Advocates push for more solar-powered schools in Pennsylvania  ABC27
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Posted By: Jan Larson McLaughlin May 4, 2026
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
While literal sunshine seems rather short lately, figuratively, the sun is shining on Bowling Green. In the past four days, the city and the university leadership approved a joint solar project to be located on acreage at the Wood County Regional Airport.
On Friday, the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees voted to enter an agreement with the City of Bowling Green to lease undeveloped land for a solar field. And on Monday evening, City Council voted to authorize development of a solar generation project and gave the utility director the go-ahead to negotiate an agreement for the project.
The BGSU Trustees said the partnership advances the university’s commitment to supporting sustainable practices. The board authorized a strategic partnership between BGSU and the city of Bowling Green to lease roughly 82 acres of vacant campus land for the development of a large-scale, 10-megawatt solar array project to enhance the city’s energy grid.
The acreage is located west of Interstate 75, north of land used for the airport off East Poe Road, and south of Newton Road. The solar panels will be 10 feet tall, and made of anti-glare panels that rotate with the sun – making them compatible with the airport, according to university officials.
Under the agreement, the lease will run for an initial period of 25 years at $800 per acre, with rent increases every five years. The city will then have the option for two additional five-year renewals after the initial lease period.
The targeted completion date for the ground-based solar array project is slated for June 2027.
Over the past two years, the city has been evaluating the feasibility of developing a locally sited solar photovoltaic generation project. The project is anticipated to be approximately 10-12 megawatts in size and operate as part of the city’s overall energy portfolio.
The solar generation is expected to complement existing energy supply resources and provide strategic benefits, particularly in managing system peak demand and reducing transmission and capacity costs.
The project also provides an opportunity to replace energy previously supplied by the JV6 wind turbine project, which accounted for approximately 4.0 MW of wind capacity prior to its retirement last year.
Last month, the BG Board of Public Utilities voted to authorize Utilities Director Brian O’Connell to lease approximately 80 acres and select a solar development partner for the project which will operate behind the meter for the city. That means all the 10 to 12 MW of electricity generated on the acreage will go to Bowling Green – powering an estimated 2,000 households in the city.
The utilities board voted more than two years ago to authorize the city to pursue another solar field site, in addition to the 165-acre solar field on Carter Road that generates 20 MW, which the city shares with other communities.
Initially, city officials planned a possible solar field on acreage the city already owned near the county landfill. However, that plan fell apart when Plain Township officials passed an ordinance banning solar fields, explained Jim Odneal, the city’s assistant utilities director.
So the search began again, and this time some local partners voiced interest in leasing farmland to the city for the project.
Those partners are BGSU and an affiliate of Principle Business Enterprises, which plans to lease 20 acres at the southeast corner of Devil’s Hole Road and I-75.
These properties are strategically located adjacent to the city’s electric distribution system, which helps minimize interconnection complexity and associated costs. 
BGSU and Principle Business Enterprises will continue to own the land. The developer will own and operate the solar arrays, which will be purchased locally from First Solar. And the City of Bowling Green will buy all the power generated at the two fields. The cost is expected to range between 5 cents and 7 cents per kilowatt hour, Odneal said.
The new solar project is expected to help in managing system peak demand and reducing transmission and capacity costs, Odneal explained.
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PH has plenty of sun—so why isn’t solar booming yet?  Inquirer.net
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based double perovskite solar cells via numerical simulation and AI techniques  Nature
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A German research team has developed a nondestructive, on-site method to quantify water ingress in photovoltaic modules using near-infrared absorption (NIRA) spectroscopy calibrated with Karl–Fischer titration (KFT). The approach enables precise measurement of absolute moisture content in sealed modules without disassembly, improving inspection, failure analysis, and lifetime prediction.
Image: Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP), Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, CC BY 4.0
A German research group has developed a novel, nondestructive method to quantify water ingress in solar modules on site. The technique uses near-infrared absorption (NIRA) spectroscopy calibrated against absolute water content measured via Karl–Fischer titration (KFT), enabling inspectors to determine moisture levels inside modules without opening them.
“The methodology is noninvasive, requires no bill-of-material modifications such as additional sensors, and is broadly applicable to field-deployed modules, provided prior calibration has been conducted,” corresponding author Anton Mordvinkin told pv magazine. “Unlike conventional approaches, it does not rely on assumptions such as Henry’s law or on approximations of evolving barrier properties or uncertainties related to a module’s internal microclimate.”
Mordvinkin said the approach lays the groundwork for more precise modeling of moisture ingress and improves the reliability of module lifetime predictions. “It provides actionable insights for manufacturers to optimize the design and qualification of products resistant to moisture-induced degradation mechanisms, including moisture-induced degradation (MID) and potential-induced degradation (PID), particularly in challenging environments such as floating PV systems and tropical climates, as well as for emerging technologies like tandem cells,” he added.
He also noted that the method enhances solar park inspection by enabling the identification of modules with insulation deficiencies, supporting targeted mitigation measures. “These advances contribute directly to improved asset bankability and provide a robust technical basis for future warranty and reclamation processes,” he said.
 
Image: Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP), Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, CC BY 4.0
The novel method involves exposing polymer materials commonly used in PV modules to varying moisture levels through damp-heat testing. Each sample is then measured using near-infrared absorption (NIRA) spectroscopy, in which water is detected by its strong absorption of infrared light. However, as NIRA provides only a relative signal, the same samples are subsequently analyzed using Karl–Fischer titration (KFT), a technique that heats the material and precisely quantifies the amount of water released. By correlating the NIRA signal with the absolute water content determined by KFT, the researchers establish calibration curves for each material.
The materials tested include encapsulants such as ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyolefin elastomer (POE), thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), as well as backsheets such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyamide-aluminum-polyamide (AAA), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and fluorinated-coated PET.
Image: Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP), Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, CC BY 4.0
Once calibrated, a handheld NIRA spectroscopy device can be used directly on installed the modules. To demonstrate this capability, the research team tested minimodules with PET- and PP-based backsheets under damp-heat conditions, polymer coupons exposed to accelerated ultraviolet (UV) radiation and humidity aging, rooftop modules exhibiting backsheet cracking and snail trails, and field-retrieved modules with both cracked and intact AAA backsheets to compare real-world moisture ingress and degradation behavior.
The tests showed that PET-based modules absorbed more water than PP-based modules. In field studies, modules with backsheet and cell cracking exhibited up to 50% higher water content, while modules with cracked AAA backsheets absorbed water up to ten times faster than intact reference modules.
“In this work, it was found that the improved barrier performance of PP is primarily governed by its lower water solubility, whereas the diffusion coefficients of both materials are comparable,” said Mordvinkin. “This provides a more detailed mechanistic explanation for the previously observed differences and is consistent with trends reported in the literature.”
“Another particularly insightful observation is the presence of a non-homogeneous water-content distribution in modules with severely degraded backsheets after extended outdoor exposure of over 7 years,” he added. “Localized moisture accumulation was significantly enhanced in regions with cell microcracks, which correlate with visually observable snail trail patterns. This finding points to a coupling between mechanical degradation and localized moisture ingress behavior.”
The new method was presented in “Nondestructive Quantification of Water Ingress in PV Modules via Spectroscopic and Chemical Analysis for Enhanced Quality Assurance and On-Site Inspection,” published in Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications. Researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics (CSP), Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure and Systems (IMWS), and Forschungszentrum Jülich have contributed to the study.
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Solar panel prices rise after China clampdown on producer competition  Financial Times
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With the “AMAG Energy Flexpool,” existing photovoltaic systems in commercial, industrial, and multi-family buildings can now participate in the Swiss balancing energy market without additional hardware and via fully remote integration. Self-consumption, however, remains fully possible.
Image: Swissgrid
From pv magazine Germany
The Swiss balancing energy market is opening up to smaller, decentralized assets. Until now, the grid operator Swissgrid has sourced balancing energy mainly from large power plants and industrial facilities.
Novagrid AG, which specializes in digital grid integration and virtual power plant solutions, and AMAG Energy, the renewable energy and energy trading arm of the AMAG Group, are now extending access to commercial and industrial photovoltaic systems, as well as rooftop installations on apartment buildings.
With the “AMAG Energy Flexpool,” existing PV systems can, for the first time, be certified and operate within the Swiss balancing energy system entirely remotely and without additional hardware, the companies said on Monday.
Under this model, PV system operators can participate directly in balancing energy market revenues, while self-consumption remains fully possible, with the systems being aggregated into a virtual power plant. AMAG Energy will handle fiduciary marketing and optimize system performance over the long term for the benefit of pool members. The scale of the pool reportedly enables competitive bids to be placed on Swissgrid’s balancing energy market.
The systems are integrated via the VPN solution Nova Connect, which supports the connection of compatible data loggers and ensures a secure internet connection to the grid, according to Novagrid.
In addition to maximizing self-consumption, the solution ensures that PV systems do not feed electricity into the grid during periods of negative electricity prices through a fully automated process.
In 2025, Switzerland added 1,526 MW of new solar capacity, down from 1,798 MW in 2024 and 1,640 MW in 2023. Despite the decline, growth in residential storage, building electrification, and EV integration points to a gradual market recovery.
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The Cypress Knee Solar project is the third energy agreement between Meta and EDPR NA.
EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Meta for the 250MW Cypress Knee Solar project to be constructed in Arkansas, US.
The agreement is part of Meta’s initiative to align its annual electricity consumption entirely with renewable sources by integrating new energy generation into the grid.
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The Cypress Knee Solar project is the third energy agreement between Meta and EDPR NA, bringing their joint energy procurement to 545MW.
Meta clean and renewable energy head Amanda Yang said: “Through our partnership with EDPR, Cypress Knee Solar will bring new generation to the Arkansas grid, creating local jobs and delivering economic benefits to the community. We are proud to expand our collaboration with EDPR.”
The ongoing collaboration is focused on expanding renewable energy infrastructure throughout the US.
Once operational, the Cypress Knee Solar project is expected to generate approximately $25m in revenue for Chicot County, contributing to public services and infrastructure improvements.
The construction phase is set to create several hundred jobs.
Completion of the solar farm is targeted for 2028.
EDPR NA CEO Sandhya Ganapathy said: “Cypress Knee Solar and our broader portfolio of projects with Meta are helping power a reliable, modern US electric grid – the backbone of American innovation and long-term economic growth.
“These investments strengthen local communities, create durable economic value and ensure that progress is built on a resilient, sustainable foundation.
“EDPR NA is proud to work with Meta as we deliver domestic power and advanced infrastructure that reinforce American energy independence and expand economic opportunity nationwide.”
In January this year, EDPR NA commenced commercial operations at Riverstart Solar IV, a 150MW clean energy project in Randolph County, Indiana, US.
Riverstart Solar IV will generate enough electricity each year to power more than 28,800 local homes and businesses, strengthening Indiana’s grid reliability and supporting regional economic growth.
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Energy giant TotalEnergies has teamed up with Philippines-based renewable energy developer Nextnorth on the development of a 440 MWp solar power plant in Ilagan.
Once operational, the new facility will produce around 13.5 TWh over 20 years, with more than 50% of the energy generated set to be sold under long-term offtake agreements with two retail electricity suppliers, AdventEnergy and PrimeRES. The remainder will be delivered to the national grid.
“We are delighted with our partner Nextnorth to start the construction of this major solar project in the Philippines, thereby contributing to the country’s goal of increasing renewables in its generation energy mix,” commented Olivier Jouny, SVP Renewables at TotalEnergies.
“These 440 MW will contribute to the 9 GW renewables portfolio that we are combining with Masdar through a 50/50 joint venture across nine Asian countries.”
The Ilagan project is 65% owned by TotalEnergies, and 35% by Nextnorth, and is set to commence operations by the end of 2027.
It has a total cost of around $300 million, and is financed by three international banks: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ING Bank and Standard Chartered. According to TotalEnergies, it represents the largest international financing for a solar project in the Philippines to date.
“Energy security has never been more relevant for the Philippines than it is today,” added Miguel Mapa, president and CEO, Nextnorth.
“With rising demand and continued exposure to imported fuels, the country needs domestic, scalable, and bankable renewable capacity. Working alongside TotalEnergies, we are delivering clean, reliable power that supports communities, creates jobs, and advances the Philippines’ transition toward a more energy independent future.”
As of April 2026, TotalEnergies boasts nearly 36 GW of gross renewable generation capacity globally, and is aiming to achieve more than 100 TWh of net electricity production by 2030. Read more here.

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Why Solar Cars Are Yet to Hit the Roads Despite Multiple Trials Photograph: (AI)
By-Ishika Saigal
The concept of solar cars—vehicles powered partly or entirely by sunlight—has long been seen as a new and innovative solution to clean mobility. Today, that reality appears closer than ever, with multiple global companies and technology providers advancing vehicle-integrated solar solutions. Yet, despite visible progress, solar cars remain largely in the experimental stage, with significant technological and commercial hurdles still to be addressed.
The latest push comes from LONGi Green Energy Technology, which recently demonstrated the viability of back-contact (BC) module-based solar integration through real-world trials. The development highlights how high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) technologies are increasingly being adapted for mobility applications, reinforcing the idea that solar-assisted transportation is technically feasible.
Globally, several companies have attempted to translate this concept into commercial products. Lightyear in the Netherlands, Sono Motors in Germany, and Aptera Motors in the United States are among the most prominent names. These firms developed electric vehicles covered with solar panels, aiming to reduce dependence on plug-in charging by generating power directly from sunlight.
The proposition is straightforward: under favourable conditions, solar panels integrated into a vehicle can add roughly 15–45 miles of driving range per day. Lightyear’s Lightyear 0, for instance, was designed as a high-efficiency vehicle with extended range enabled by solar input. However, the model was produced only in limited numbers due to high costs and was eventually discontinued. Similarly, Sono Motors’ Sion faced repeated delays and financial challenges, underscoring the difficulty of scaling such technologies.
Among the early movers, Aptera Motors continues to pursue commercialisation with its lightweight, three-wheeled solar EV, which promises minimal dependence on grid charging. However, even this model has yet to reach mass production, reflecting broader industry constraints.
Across developed markets such as the US, Germany, and the Netherlands, solar cars have largely remained experimental offerings rather than fully commercial, mass-market products. In parallel, companies in China—including LONGi—are focusing on advancing solar cell efficiency and integration technologies, indicating that while the concept is evolving, its mainstream adoption is still some distance away.
The core challenge lies in physics and economics. The surface area available on a vehicle limits the amount of solar energy that can be captured, even with high-efficiency modules. As a result, solar power can only supplement, rather than replace, conventional battery charging in most real-world scenarios. Additionally, the cost of integrating advanced solar panels, along with the need for specialised vehicle design, significantly increases overall vehicle prices.
Environmental factors further complicate adoption. Solar generation is inherently dependent on sunlight availability, making it sensitive to weather conditions, geography, and usage patterns. These variables reduce consistency in energy generation, particularly in urban settings where shading and limited exposure are common.
Consequently, many companies are now shifting focus from fully solar-powered cars to solar-assisted electric vehicles, where solar integration plays a supporting role. This includes applications such as rooftop solar panels on EVs to marginally extend range, or solar-based charging infrastructure.
In India, solar cars remain at a nascent stage, largely confined to prototypes and academic projects. While initiatives such as SolarMobil Manipal have demonstrated technical feasibility, there has been no commercial rollout by major automotive manufacturers. Local constraints—including high temperatures, dust accumulation, and lack of policy incentives—further limit the practicality of solar-integrated vehicles in the near term.
Looking ahead, the trajectory of solar mobility is likely to be evolutionary rather than disruptive. As solar module efficiencies improve and costs decline, integration into electric vehicles could become more viable as an auxiliary feature. LONGi’s recent trials signal that technology is steadily advancing, but widespread adoption will depend on resolving cost, design, and scalability challenges.
For now, solar cars represent a compelling vision of sustainable mobility—one that is inching closer to reality, but still requires significant fine-tuning before it can move from niche innovation to mainstream transportation.
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Solar funding hits $11.1bn in Q1  reNews
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EWEC, Masdar sign deal to fast-track UAE renewable expansion  Utilities Middle East
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Rating First Solar (FSLR) a “Sell” back in December seems, in hindsight, like the right decision. The stock had surged in price before my first article. Not long afterward the stock started to decline, and
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As I sit at my computer, writing, the Queensland sun is pouring in the window. It is autumn and the expected high temperature is 28 degrees Celsius (82° Fahrenheit). My grandsons will visit this afternoon and at least one of them will hop in our pool. My solar panels are absorbing the sun and powering the pool pump and cleaner. When Majella comes home from the gem club where she teaches faceting, there will be plenty of power left to fill up the battery in the Tesla. Isn’t it great to live the renewable energy lifestyle? But I am not the only one — take a look at these screenshots below from the National Electricity Market widget.  These are from live feeds and are interactive — have a play!
Notice how much yellow and gold (solar power) is showing on the Eastern Seaboard (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria), and it is morning, the sun has only been up for a couple of hours. These bands will increase as we move towards noon. South Australia and Western Australia are further west, in different time zones, the sun has barely risen and so they are still heavily dependent on gas. Tasmania of course is hydro — showoff!
According to Energy Source and Distribution, Q1 2026 record quarterly demand was matched by record renewable power production and a decline in wholesale electricity prices. “Renewable generation supplied 46.5% of total NEM generation, a new Q1 high and up by 4% since Q1 2025.”
One sixth of the solar supply came from Australians with rooftop solar (over 4 GW). Wind supplied almost as much again. Wind powered electricity has increased almost 10% year over year. Despite the misinformation and obstruction provided by conservative politicians funded by the fossil fuel industry, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen is pushing Australia’s grid transition. He says the grid is making steady progress.
“Our plan has two parts: More cheaper, cleaner energy and a better deal for households,” Bowen says. “We’ve got the best sun and wind in the world, and we’re using our sovereign renewables to shield our grid from global energy volatility and to bring down your energy bills.” Reduced generation powered by coal and gas have led to a 12% reduction in wholesale electricity prices. Households do not appear to be receiving the solar and wind discount yet.
“We can also see the impact of Cheaper Home Battery revolution — with more than 350,000 household batteries now displacing gas in the evening with cheap solar, helping the grid for everyone,” Bowen continues. More than 10 GWh of home storage have been installed so far.
ESD tells us that “Total coal-fired generation fell to a new Q1 low of 13,102 MW, down 4.4% from Q1 2025, while gas-fired generation averaged 712 MW, down 24% year-on-year and the lowest quarterly average since Q4 1999.”
To put Australia’s home battery installations into a global context, ESD tells us that the “whole of Europe (including the UK but presumably excluding Russia) brought 3.4 gigawatt-hours of grid-scale battery capacity online in the month of March,” which it states was likely to be a record level of monthly capacity for Europe.
Globally, over 18 GWh of grid-scale batteries were installed in March. In the same month, Australian households and small businesses installed about 1.65 GWh. Ordinary Australian homeowners are installing batteries at a rate of about 9% “of the total battery capacity installed by power companies across the entire globe, and almost half what Europe managed. Another notable comparison point — Australian household battery capacity installed over March was equal to 19% of the capacity brought online in China over the same month.”
The Australian federal government has now extended the funding for home batteries. So, expect these numbers to get bigger. Initially AU$2.3 billion was made available for subsidies, but due to massive takeup and the fact that householders are installing bigger batteries, the funding has increased, by about another AU$5 billion. This is expected to fund cheaper home batteries for the next 4 years. By 2030, the government expects that 2 million Australian homes will have a battery.
The ability for households to store electricity in the middle of the day, when solar output surges, is expected to lower the costs for everyone, not just those with batteries. Peak demand is reduced, and the grid is kept stable. “Australian households, businesses and community organisations can get a discount of around 30% on the upfront cost of installing a range of small-scale battery systems (5 kWh to 100 kWh).”
New regulations have been introduced to encourage homeowners not to overbuild. This should help the funding to go the distance, bigly.
And now for something completely different, as Monty Python would say — a little humorous vignette for those who think the lunatic right have finally come to terms with the renewable energy revolution. Spoiler alert, no, they have not. From the files of RE Alliance, we have a video for the sceptical. Sheep do co-exist, and quite happily, with solar panels. And solar panels promote fodder growth. See the video here.
These videos were posted on Facebook by New South Wales sheep farmer Tony Inder in response to posts from people driving past his Wellington North Solar Farm. They claimed that there were no sheep in amongst the panels. “It’s because you just can’t see under the panels. All those sheep do live under these panels constantly, and you just don’t see them unless we actually get them out in a pile.” So, Tony Inder captured what a muster of 4,200 of his 6,000 sheep looks like from under panels. See the video here.
I was interested to know more about the RE-Alliance, and hope to share more stories from them in the future. Here is what they say about themselves:
“RE-Alliance is an independent not-for-profit working to deliver a responsible and rapid shift to renewable energy that actively contributes to the strength of our regions. We listen to and build the capacity of regional communities to lead the shift to renewables. We bring these crucial insights to our advocacy with government and industry, and we centre solutions-focussed, regional voices in the national narrative on renewables.
“RE-Alliance pays respect to First Nations peoples and their elders past and present, who, since time immemorial, have cared for Country. We acknowledge sovereignty was never ceded. We commit to working alongside First Nations peoples to achieve a just energy shift.”
Well that will do for now, the sun is still shining and the wind is still blowing Down Under. Every time we hit a new record for energy production, we get told that’s it, the engines are going to blow (thanks, Scotty), the grid will melt, and civilisation as we know it will cease to exist. But life continues, expected problems are solved, and the goal posts to annihilation are shifted once more.
As always, Australia’s future (and that of its sheep) is bright, shady, and electric.
CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy
David Waterworth is a retired teacher who divides his time between looking after his grandchildren and trying to make sure they have a planet to live on. He is long on Tesla [NASDAQ:TSLA].
David Waterworth has 957 posts and counting. See all posts by David Waterworth

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Solex Energy Ltd is set to transform India’s clean energy landscape after signing a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat. With a planned investment of ₹4,000 crore, the company aims to develop a massive integrated renewable energy manufacturing ecosystem, driving both industrial innovation and massive job creation in the region.
Building an Integrated Renewable Manufacturing Ecosystem
Solex Energy will build a comprehensive manufacturing hub that bridges the gap between solar production and energy storage. By integrating these two sectors, the project will solidify Gujarat’s status as India’s premier renewable energy powerhouse. Furthermore, the initiative seeks to create a seamless industrial value chain, fostering synergies across various clean energy technologies.
Phased Expansion of Solar Cell Capacity
A core component of the project is the establishment of a 5 GW solar cell manufacturing facility. To ensure operational efficiency and stay ahead of technological trends, Solex will execute the expansion in two distinct phases:
Phase 1: Launching with a 2 GW capacity.
Phase 2: Scaling up with an additional 3 GW capacity.
The phased strategy enables the company to scale its operations responsibly while remaining agile in a fluctuating global market.
Strategic Entry into BESS
Beyond solar generation, Solex Energy is making a bold move into the energy storage market by establishing a 10 GW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) manufacturing unit. Consequently, this expansion allows Solex to control both the generation and the storage aspects of the energy cycle. This dual-focus is vital for modernizing India’s power infrastructure and ensuring grid stability.
Championing India’s Self-Reliance in Clean Energy
This ₹4,000 crore investment significantly boosts domestic manufacturing, directly reducing India’s reliance on imported green technologies. As a result, the project aligns perfectly with national “Atmanirbhar Bharat” goals. Simultaneously, the facility will accelerate Gujarat’s contributions to the national transition toward a net-zero future.
Leadership Vision: Driving Long-Term Growth
Chetan Shah, representing Solex Energy, emphasized that the integrated ecosystem is designed for long-term sustainability. He noted that moving into advanced solar cell production and high-capacity storage is essential for meeting the world’s skyrocketing energy demands.
A Future-Ready Position in Solar and Storage
As global demand for decarbonization accelerates, the synergy between solar power and battery storage becomes increasingly critical. As reported by businessworld.in, by investing heavily in both segments, Solex Energy is not just expanding its footprint; it is strategically positioning itself to lead the next generation of the renewable energy revolution.

1,true,6,Contact Email,21,false,1,First Name,21,false,1,Last Name,2


518, Crystal Paradise, Dattaji Salvi Marg, Off. Veera Desai, Opp. Skoda Showroom, Mumbai-53 Maharashtra, India
Phone : 022 46067132 
Email: chemindigest@gmail.com
Website: www.chemindigest.com

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Energea supports construction launch for 140-MW solar project in Texas  Renewables Now
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Thin Film Solar Cell Market Expected to Surge at High CAGR Through 2033 as Sustainable Energy Drives Adoption  openPR.com
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The solar plant will have an installed capacity of 265MW and forms part of Israel’s renewable energy expansion plans.
Israel has completed the financial arrangements required to construct its largest solar power facility near Dimona in the Negev Desert.
The Energy and Finance ministries, together with the Electricity Authority, confirmed the project will move forward following the approval of its final deal.
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The planned facility, to be built by EDF Renewables, will deliver an installed capacity of 265MW and cover approximately 3,000 dunams (equivalent to 740 acres).
The solar power station will operate using photovoltaic technology and is projected to offer the lowest cost for electricity in the country, with rates set below NIS0.065 ($0.022) per kilowatt hour.
EDF secured the tender with this record-low bid in August 2024.
Construction is expected to start immediately and is scheduled for completion in about two years.
The Dimona project forms part of broader governmental efforts to expand renewable energy production, specifically in pursuit of sourcing 30% of Israel’s energy needs from renewables by 2030.
The facility will be operated under a public-private partnership (PPP) structure, granting the company responsibility for all phases including design, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance for a 25-year period. After this period, ownership of the facility will transferred to the state.
The plant will not include storage facilities in its initial phase, restricting electricity production to off-peak hours.
Israel Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen was quoted by Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), as saying: “This power plant is good news for the State of Israel as a whole, and for the South in particular.
“The southern region, with its abundant sunshine, has the potential to become a hub for clean energy production located near server farms, which is a significant advantage.
“In this way, we are strengthening Israel’s energy security, creating high-quality jobs and positioning Israel—already a technological powerhouse—as a global leader in artificial intelligence.”
Government officials have indicated that this project, along with other renewable energy ventures in the Ashalim area, could collectively provide over 800MW of capacity.
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This election day, Ohio voters will darken bubbles next to names for gubernatorial and senate seats. They’ll narrow the fields in races for county commissioners and the secretary of state.
And in Richland County – tucked between Columbus and Cleveland – they’ll decide on the future of large-scale wind and solar developments.
Last summer, Richland County commissioners took a step that has become increasingly common across rural Ohio: they voted to ban large-scale wind and solar projects in 11 of the county’s 18 townships.
That’s allowed because of a law passed five years ago: Ohio Senate Bill 52. Among other provisions, it gives commissioners the authority to restrict big renewable energy developments in a county’s unincorporated areas.
“So we requested from all 18 of our townships, what would you like us to do?” said Darrell Banks, one of Richland County’s commissioners. “Eleven townships sent us back the resolution asking us to ban large wind and solar in the unincorporated areas of their townships, and seven did not. So we did that.”

The decision left residents like Dorinda Strang feeling disempowered and frustrated. She lives in Mifflin Township, whose officials asked for a ban, but she felt like those leaders weren’t listening to her.
“Having been a lifelong resident here, and my parents and my grandparents and my great-grandparents, we’ve seen a lot of industry go away here and we need jobs,” she said. “I felt that it was like hammering a nail in the coffin.”
While Senate Bill 52 gives county commissioners the power to restrict large renewable energy projects in unincorporated areas, it also gives citizens the right to petition for a referendum if commissioners do, preventing a ban from taking effect until citizens have the chance to vote on it.
Strang’s group, which organized into the Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development, had 30 days to collect more than 3,300 signatures – that’s 8% of the votes cast in the county in the last governor’s race.
“We went to the Richland County Fair and had a table there. We sat outside headquarters here downtown in Mansfield and collected signatures. We went door to door,” Strang said.
In the end, they succeeded. And Richland County voters have the rare opportunity to decide on the 11-township ban this election.
Another Ohio county secured enough signatures for a referendum like this in 2022. At that time, residents of Crawford County voted to uphold the area’s 10-year ban on industrial wind energy overwhelmingly – by nearly 75%.
But in Richland County, opponents of the ban still hope they can get it overturned.
In the lead up to the election, people of all ages have been knocking on doors and going to pop-up rallies.
“Recently, I wrote a letter to the editor supporting Vote No on the Ban, and then I went out and did a pop-up. I did not realize those two things were on my bucket list,” said Jeff Strang. “I’m into my 70s and oh my goodness, I didn’t know this. But I am so glad that we’ve been involved and proud of it.”
Meanwhile, on the corner of Lexington-Springmill and 4th Street, 26-year-old Addie Goodwin waved a sign beside a kid blowing into a kazoo. They showed up to the pop-up event despite rain to advocate for property rights.
“The idea of losing such a fundamental thing is so sad to me, and I think it can be kind of a slippery slope,” Goodwin said.
Commissioner Banks says voices like these aren’t representative of everyone, and he believes a lot of the people – and funders – arguing against the ban don’t actually live in the places where it would take effect.
After all, the current ban would only apply to the townships where leaders asked for it. The whole county gets to vote on the repeal.
“It’s like the big cities and the villages are dictating to the rural people what they want to do will still be protected by their zoning ordinances,” Banks said. “If we could put a solar field in the large cities, I doubt as many people would agree that it’s a good idea.”
Township trustees in favor of a ban on large-scale renewable energy developments listed a number of concerns.
“What happens to the solar farm after its useful life is over?” questioned Weller Township Trustee Dale Hulit. “We all know how these games are played. And very likely the company that runs the solar farm will figure out one way or another to go bankrupt and not be obligated to clean up the mess.”
“Being a farmer, I look at these and it just, I guess it breaks my heart when you see farmland being created into a large solar facility,” he said.
John Jaholnycky, a Mifflin Township trustee, cares about preserving farmland too. He’s also worried about what renewable energy developments could lead to.
“Sometimes you put these large solar farms in and there’s a potential that you’re just asking for data centers to invite them in,” he said. “And right now we’re currently looking to ban data centers also in Mifflin Township.”
If Richland County voters side with these trustees tomorrow, the county will join roughly a third of Ohio’s other counties to put some sort of renewable energy ban on the books.
If they don’t, Richland County will be the first in the state to overturn such a decision.
“Regardless, the people will be the ones making that decision,” said Morgan Carroll, a lifelong Richland County resident opposed to the ban. “I think that’s important for the county to understand that people need to be heard and they need to be seen.”

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Researchers in Austria found that fluorine and fluoropolymer content in PV backsheets has significantly decreased over the past three decades, driven by a shift from fluorine-rich multilayer structures to fluorine-free or coated alternatives. Despite this decline, fluoropolymer-containing backsheets remain important for end-of-life management due to environmental persistence concerns.
Chronological overview of the most important developments in backsheet composition
Image: Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, CC BY 4.0
Researchers from the Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology have evaluated how fluorine (F) content evolved in PV module backsheets over the past three decades and have found that both the relative and absolute fluoropolymer content in recently installed PV systems decreased significantly.
F-containing polymers are often associated with environmental and health concerns because they can belong to the PFAS family, which is highly persistent in the environment and may accumulate in living organisms, raising long-term toxicity and pollution risks.
“Many PV backsheet types are known to contain fluoropolymers. However, quantitative data on their fluorine content is limited,” corresponding author Anika Gassner told pv magazine. “Using a combination of layer-resolved material identification, thickness measurements, and elemental analysis, we determined the F-content of complete backsheet structures.”
The scientists explained that earlier backsheet designs mainly used three-layer polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) / polyethylene terephthalate (PET) / polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) structures, later supplemented by polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based and other fluoropolymer variants. From around 2010 onwards, however, fluorine-free alternatives such as PET / polyethylene (PE) and coated PET systems became increasingly common due to cost and environmental advantages, driving a market shift from durable but fluorine-rich multilayer systems toward simpler coated or fluorine-free designs.
To determine the F content of backsheet materials, the research team conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis, including layer-specific composition, layer thickness and density, and the fluorine content of each layer. Small 1 cm × 1 cm samples were cut from PV backsheets, embedded in epoxy resin, and polished to obtain flat cross-sections for analysis.
Optical microscopy was used to measure layer thicknesses, while attenuated total reflection–infrared (ATR-IR) imaging with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to identify the polymer composition of each layer. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to estimate surface elemental composition.
“We analyzed 23 representative backsheet samples from modules manufactured between 1988 and 2024,” Gassner said. “This allowed us to compare the F content of older and newer designs and of different materials.”
The analysis showed that strongly varying fluorine contents in individual layers, with PVF reaching around 30 wt%, PVDF around 42 wt%, and tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene-vinylidene fluoride (THV) reaching up to 71.5 wt%. Outer coatings ranged from fluorine-free to low fluorine contents, reflecting high variability across backsheet designs.
Furthermore, the academics found that total fluorine content of full backsheets ranged widely from 0 wt% to about 17 wt%, decreasing in newer designs due to thinner fluoropolymer layers, thicker PET cores, and increasing use of fluorine-free layers or coatings, down to 0.04–0.8 wt%.
When combined with estimated market shares, the results indicate a general decline in fluoropolymer use in recent years, although legacy PV systems with higher fluorine content will continue to dominate end-of-life waste streams in the coming decades.
“We found that older backsheets containing PVF outer and inner layers can have F-content of up to 12 wt%,” Gassner stressed. “This value decreased to 2.8–4.7 wt% when the inner layer was substituted with PE or a coating in many backsheet designs between 2010 and 2020.”
“Additionally, we linked the measured results to the estimated market share of backsheet designs reported by industry surveys,” she went on to say. “This can help estimate the influence of backsheets on end-of-life and, in particular, recycling practices of PV modules.  Although backsheets account for only 2-3% of PV modules, strict regulatory limits are in place due to the generation of HF during the thermal treatment of fluoropolymers, making it an important concern for recyclers.”
The research work was presented in “Evolution of the fluorine content in photovoltaic module backsheets,” published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
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GreenGo obtains approval for 19.5-MW agrivoltaic project in Italy  Renewables Now
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Do you hate the electricity companies?
Do you marvel at the electricity-generating ability of a decent-sized solar power system?
Ever thought “Why can’t I get all the electricity I need right from my roof during the day, store it in batteries, and really give the middle finger to those greedy, polluting power companies?”
Pretty natural thought process, right? And modern technology does agree with you – if cost isn’t a factor. For reasons I’ve outlined in another post it is possible to go completely off-grid with a big old pile of batteries and a boatload of cash.
I’ve taken some heat for suggesting that going completely off-grid may not be a great idea if you have a grid connection at your doorstep.
After all, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the grid. It is an amazing bit of infrastructure that has already been built, works very well 99.9% of the time and allows us to share our excess energy with our neighbours.
The problem lies in the attitudes and policies of the people who own the grid. Because the companies that own the grid are so hated, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been accused of being a clandestine agent of the power companies when I dare to say:
“Think twice before spending $30,000 to $50,000 to go off-grid in the city!”.
The objective truth is this: Off-grid can make sense for you in certain situations (which I outlined in my original off-grid post), but otherwise it is a whole lot of expense for no other reason than a vague desire to “stick it to the power companies”.
Hybrid solar power systems offer the best of both worlds: You get the guaranteed (well, 99.9% of the time) electricity supply of the grid, with the ability to store your excess solar energy in a battery for use when the sun isn’t shining.  You can also switch over to your own battery reserves if the grid goes down.
Hybrid systems are also at least half the price of an off-grid system and don’t require diesel backup. They’re still more expensive than a purely on-grid system, but the benefits of solar batteries are persuading an increasing number of people to pay the premium. In fact, the number of hybrid enquiries to this website is doubling every year.
(If you want 3 competitive quotes for a hybrid solar system, from local hybrid specialists you can get them here. Otherwise read on to learn whether a hybrid system is right for you.)
1) To keep the electricity flowing if the grid goes down
Standard on-grid solar power systems shut down if they detect the failure of the grid. This is to protect any lineworkers making repairs to the wires outside your home. They wouldn’t like it very much if your solar panel system sent a current straight to their fingertips while they’re trying to work on the wires in your street.
A properly designed hybrid solar system can safely disconnect your house from the grid in the event of a power outage, and turn your house into a little mini grid. Imagine the smugness as yours is the only house in the street with the lights on, the TV blaring, the fridge humming and the beers cold.
2) To overcome solar system ‘export limits’ imposed by your local electricity network
Some unlucky folks have local electricity networks that are real control freaks.  They have really tight restrictions on maximum solar system sizes. They claim their poor little grid can’t handle the additional electricity that larger solar power systems provide (although they’ll be happy for you to install a 10kW air conditioner that intermittently pulls massive amounts of power from the same grid!). This often results in homeowners being forced into a solar power system size much smaller than they need to offset their bills.
The way that hybrid solar systems get around this limitation is by using a smart inverter that works in tandem with your battery bank. These hybrid inverters can be configured to have a maximum export rate that’s way below what your system can actually produce when the sun is at full whack. So to the grid your 10kW solar power system can look like a puny 2kW system. While only 2kW is exported to the grid, the other 8kW or so is diverted to your batteries. 
The result: Everyone is happy. You get your big solar power system, and your electricity company gets to stay in the 20th century with its arcane regulations.
3) To get your bill down at any cost
You just have this strong feeling that it’s unfair to send your generated solar electricity into the grid for half (or less) what you pay the power company. So – by dropping a lot of cash on a battery, you can get your bill to as close to $0 as possible.  This option is fine if you don’t mind if the battery never actually pays for itself.
4) Because you love technology and just want it on your house
I personally fall into this category! I’m what you’d call a solar geek, and I love testing new technology, so putting solar battery storage on my home was a logical choice.
5) To save money
Batteries can save households money but you will need high enough overnight electricity consumption, a large solar system, the right battery, and the right electricity plan.  Unless you receive a subsidy — such as through Queensland’s “battery booster” scheme — most households won’t come out financially ahead.  So carefully check what the likely savings will be if you want a battery system that will save you money
Yes, you can.
To make a standard solar power system compatible with batteries, I’d suggest a system size of at least 6.6kW so you can generate enough electricity to actually charge your batteries in the winter, and when the weather is overcast.
If you currently have a system that’s under 6.6kW in size, you should consider adding more solar panels, unless you have a really efficient house and a really small battery pack. If you are adding panels, you may need to increase the size of the inverter to cope.
It is actually fine (and often a very smart move) to oversize your solar panel array to your inverter. More kW won’t harm the inverter (as long as the voltage and current specs are maintained – which your installer can confirm).  Your installer can advise on whether your inverter needs to be upsized based on your local climate, your battery size, and your household energy usage.
The simplest way to retrofit batteries to an existing solar power system is to use a technique called “AC Coupling” – which means you don’t touch the existing solar wiring, and simply connect the battery into the house’s existing 230V AC circuit. 
Examples of batteries that can be retrofitted using AC Coupling are the Tesla Powerwall 2, the Enphase AC battery and the Sonnen battery.
Now we’ve reached the million-dollar question: How much extra can you expect to pay for a hybrid solar power system compared to a standard, on-grid system?
It all depends on how many batteries you want. But the short answer is: you’ll pay more than double for a hybrid solar system.
At the time of writing, a good 6.6kW system costs about $7,000 installed. If you want to add 10kWh of usable storage (a decent amount for the average Aussie home) to this, expect to pay about $18,000 for the complete system. 
There are now a wide variety of batteries available for the home residential market, and you can see them all on our Battery Storage Comparison Table.
In terms of lifespan – we aren’t seeing many battery manufacturers warrant their batteries for more than 10 years – that should tell you all you need to know about how long they expect them to last.
As of early 2025, if you are buying a battery for purely economic reasons, it may not pay for itself before the warranty expires. But that doesn’t mean the battery will be useless or fail the day after the warranty is over.  And if you are buying a battery for the other reasons we mentioned above, then only you can put a price on those reasons and just how much they’re worth to you.
One thing to be careful of is the concept of “blended payback“, where a solar company will sell solar + batteries in a package and rely on the incredibly fast payback of the solar panels to reduce the otherwise uneconomic payback of the battery system. To demonstrate this, try our solar and battery calculator, which will show you overall payback along with payback for solar panels and the battery system separately.
If you want 3 competitive quotes for a hybrid solar system, from local hybrid specialists (including payback calculations), you can get them here. 
I’m a Chartered Electrical Engineer, solar and energy efficiency nut, electric car and e-bike owner, dad, and founder of SolarQuotes.com.au. My last “real job” was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009 more than 750,000 Australians have used my site to get quotes for high quality PV systems from pre-vetted solar installers.
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NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NTPC REL) has invited bids for the Balance of System (BoS) package for a 900 MW (1×500 MW + 1×400 MW) grid-connected solar project in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The last date for submission of bids is June 5, 2026.
As part of the scope, the selected bidder will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of the solar plant, including design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, transportation, installation, testing and commissioning—excluding the supply of solar modules.
The work also covers site preparation activities such as land grading, vegetation clearance, topographical surveys and geotechnical investigations. In addition, the contractor will undertake foundation work and install tracker-based module mounting structures, along with module installation and interconnection.
The bidder will also be required to arrange construction utilities such as power and water at the project site.
The scope of work also includes all associated electrical and civil infrastructure required for grid connectivity. This covers transformers, panels, protection systems, cables and metering at the 33 kV level, along with all necessary facilitation works. The selected bidder will also be responsible for power evacuation within the project scope, up to the 33 kV main pooling switchgear at the owner’s pooling substation.
On the eligibility front, bidders will need to meet minimum financial criteria based on the capacity they bid for. For Block 1 (400 MW), the required funding stands at ₹71 crore, while Block 2 (500 MW) requires ₹88.75 crore. For bidders opting for the full 900 MW capacity, the minimum requirement is ₹159.75 crore.
In addition, the projects cited for qualification must have been operational for at least one year in the case of industrial projects outside the renewable energy sector, and at least six months for projects within the solar or wind segment.
Andhra Pradesh has seen companies like SAEL Industries commence operations at a 600 MW solar power plant in Kurnool. The project was developed with two 300 MW units through the company’s subsidiaries, SAEL Solar MHP1 Pvt Ltd and SAEL Solar MHP2 Pvt Ltd.
Spread across more than 2,400 acres, the plant will supply solar power directly to the national grid. The company said it has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), providing long-term revenue visibility for the project.
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Brussels bars Chinese-made ‘brains’ of solar panels from EU funding  Euractiv
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NewsNews | May 4, 2026
During a 2025 meeting for the Grand County Board of County Commissioners, a unanimous 3-0 vote sealed a two-year moratorium on commercial-size solar, wind, battery and energy storage projects.
On May 14, 2025, the Grand County Planning Commission had proposed a one-year moratorium on commercial solar development following a few requests by commercial entities about existing regulations on solar project development within Grand County.
Within ten minutes of discussion, this moratorium was then extended to last for two years and cover commercial wind projects. There was not public at about this topic at either public meeting.
Spearheaded by Kristen Manguso, Community Development Director, recommended by Ryan McNertney and seconded by Bob Gnuse, this moratorium was then referred to the Board’s following a 4-1 vote. After the passing of the recommendation, the moratorium went into effect immediately on June 24, 2025.
The recommendation adopted by the Board extended the definition of the moratorium to battery and energy storage applications, as well as solar and wind projects, that exceed a 25kW capacity. This limit, which is described as about 60-70 standard solar panels according to Liz McIntyre, president of the board at Mountain Parks Electric, is defined as the maximum system capacity allowed for net metering under a residential labeling.
Net metering is an accounting process that allows members to receive retail credit for their renewable energy production over a period of 12 months, according to an email from Megan Moore-Kemp, Director of Strategy and Programs at Mountain Parks Electric.
Referenced by Manguso, 39 Colorado counties have adopted solar land-use regulations as of November 2024. As the Grand County master plan continues to be updated, and limited public input had been gathered by that time for the development of large-scale commercial alternative energy projects, the moratorium allowed for extra time in drafting regulations and courting public opinion, she said.
According to an email from Moore-Kemp, “MPE is looking closely at utility scale batteries, as they could be especially valuable to our membership for cost control. But, if we go this route, we are a ways off and will be working in coordination with the county.”
This present moratorium, however, halts any progress of these projects until June 24, 2027.
The utility company currently facilitates two 1 megawatt solar arrays, one located in Walden and one in Fraser. These arrays produce enough energy to provide electricity to up to 350 homes each, according to McIntyre.
“We have less than 30 percent of developable area,” says Manguso. “The land is valuable here, and it is more valuable for development than it is for solar farms.” Manguso also says that these developments “cause damage too, the sun doesn’t get underneath (solar panels)” and that runoff causes water and drainage issues.
The study quoted by Manguso within meeting documentation, an April 2024 report from the Colorado Agrivoltaics Learning Center and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, however, combats some of these notions, naming agrivoltaics as a possible solution for some of these quarrels.
Agrivoltaics is a dual land use combining agriculture and ground-mounted solar, where one could cultivate crops, bee keep or graze livestock below and/or between solar panels. This study says that adoption of agrivoltaics could diversify income streams, help the property owner save water and provide other benefits.
Lynn Adams said during the planning commission meeting, that “alternative energy had some appeal, but doesn’t really work as well because… it is backed up by gas or coal.” Adams then mentioned the prospect of growing conversations surrounding nuclear energy, saying that any solar developments could be left “abandoned” and “unreclaimed” if nuclear energy comes to fruition.
This moratorium does not discourage residential solar production though, with Manguso adding that she “has a very small, if any, electric bill” due to solar panels installed on her property. She then clarified that solar works individually, but it doesn’t seem to work on a larger scale.
It is unclear when the next hearing for public comment will be held regarding this moratorium.
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Karnataka sets ceiling tariff for wind power projects until FY 2029
May 5, 2026
Follow Mercom India on WhatsApp for exclusive updates on clean energy news and insights
India is seeing an increased adoption of solar tracking systems, particularly in utility-scale projects, to maximize energy generation. By improving energy yield without additional land, trackers are becoming essential for developers, EPCs, and industrial users seeking higher efficiency, faster returns, and optimized project performance.
The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission set the ceiling tariff for wind power projects for the control period from the financial year (FY) 2027 to FY 2029. The Commission also clarified that the approved tariff of ₹3.60 (~$0.0379)/kWh would apply to payments for banked energy procured by distribution licensees. The order will remain in force from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029.
The Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the first time charging of battery energy storage systems installed with commissioned or soon-to-be-commissioned renewable energy projects under the Rajasthan Integrated Clean Energy Policy 2024. The SOP, effective from April 22, 2026, includes multiple annexures detailing technical requirements, testing protocols, and system studies.
The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the long-term procurement of firm, dispatchable renewable energy by the Punjab State Power Corporation from NHPC for 25 years. The approval covers 160 MW under Tranche II and 250 MW under Tranche VI, subject to the projects being commissioned within the timeline required to retain eligibility for a 50% waiver of interstate transmission charges.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy expanded the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II for solar cells in its seventh revision. RenewSys India has entered the ALMM List-II with 452 MW of bifacial N-Type TOPCon solar cells at its manufacturing facility in the Ranga Reddy district of Telangana.
PFC Consulting issued a tender to select a transmission service provider to develop an interstate transmission system (ISTS) for a network expansion project. The project involves developing an ISTS for a network expansion near Satara, Maharashtra, to support up to 4,500 MW of pumped storage capacity. The last day to submit the bids is July 3, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day.
The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) invited bids from empaneled channel partners to set up grid-connected rooftop solar systems across three northeastern states. The systems, ranging from 1 kW to 10 kW, will be installed across Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. NEEPCO said the cumulative indicative capacity across all three states could range from approximately 1 kW to 300 kW, depending on consumer response and the effectiveness of implementation under the PM Surya Ghar program.
Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam invited bids to procure power from 250 MW of grid-connected wind projects. Bids must be submitted by May 26, 2026. Bids will be opened on May 29. The Phase XI tender also has a greenshoe option for an additional 250 MW. These projects can be set up anywhere in India. The scope of work includes setting up the wind power projects, including the associated transmission network to connect with the central or state transmission utility network at their own cost.
The Grid Corporation of Odisha invited bids to select a consultant to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment of a floating solar project. The last date to submit bids is June 3, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day. The work concerns the development of the 225 MW Upper Indravati floating solar project and its associated evacuation infrastructure in Odisha.
NTPC Renewable Energy invited bids for the interconnecting transformer package for 900 MW solar projects. Bids must be submitted by May 27, 2026. Bids will be opened on the same day. The scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacturing, supply, testing, packing, forwarding, transportation, unloading, and supervision of the erection and commissioning of two 500 MVA, 400/220/33 kV three-phase interconnecting transformers, along with all required accessories.
China-based solar cell and module manufacturer JinkoSolar posted a revenue of RMB12.25 billion (~$1.78 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, down 11.5% year-over-year from RMB13.84 billion (~$2 billion). The company attributed the revenue decrease to a decline in solar module shipments.
Microinverter and battery storage supplier Enphase Energy reported revenue of $282.9 million in the first quarter of 2026, decreasing 20.6% year-over-year (YoY) from $356.1 million. Net profit stood at $62.26 million, down 30.2% YoY from $89.24 million. Earnings per share came in at $0.47, compared to $0.68 in Q1 2025. However, it beat analysts’ expectations by $0.04.
China-based photovoltaic-grade polysilicon manufacturer Daqo New Energy Corporation reported revenue of $26.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, down 78.5% year-over-year from $123.9 million. Revenue missed analysts’ expectations by $182.65 million. The decrease in revenues was primarily due to lower sales volume, as the company reduced sales considering relatively low selling prices.
Mercom Staff
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Solex Energy Commits ₹4,000 Crore for 5 GW Solar Cell Facility and 10 GW BESS in Gujarat  SolarQuarter
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County adopts revised solar ordinance, lifting 11-month moratorium  AOL.com
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Eging Photovoltaic Technology’s Share Trade To Halt April 28  TradingView
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As Oil Prices Stay High, China Doubles Down on Wind Power  The New York Times
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Posted By: Jan Larson McLaughlin May 4, 2026
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
While literal sunshine seems rather short lately, figuratively, the sun is shining on Bowling Green. In the past four days, the city and the university leadership approved a joint solar project to be located on acreage at the Wood County Regional Airport.
On Friday, the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees voted to enter an agreement with the City of Bowling Green to lease undeveloped land for a solar field. And on Monday evening, City Council voted to authorize development of a solar generation project and gave the utility director the go-ahead to negotiate an agreement for the project.
The BGSU Trustees said the partnership advances the university’s commitment to supporting sustainable practices. The board authorized a strategic partnership between BGSU and the city of Bowling Green to lease roughly 82 acres of vacant campus land for the development of a large-scale, 10-megawatt solar array project to enhance the city’s energy grid.
The acreage is located west of Interstate 75, north of land used for the airport off East Poe Road, and south of Newton Road. The solar panels will be 10 feet tall, and made of anti-glare panels that rotate with the sun – making them compatible with the airport, according to university officials.
Under the agreement, the lease will run for an initial period of 25 years at $800 per acre, with rent increases every five years. The city will then have the option for two additional five-year renewals after the initial lease period.
The targeted completion date for the ground-based solar array project is slated for June 2027.
Over the past two years, the city has been evaluating the feasibility of developing a locally sited solar photovoltaic generation project. The project is anticipated to be approximately 10-12 megawatts in size and operate as part of the city’s overall energy portfolio.
The solar generation is expected to complement existing energy supply resources and provide strategic benefits, particularly in managing system peak demand and reducing transmission and capacity costs.
The project also provides an opportunity to replace energy previously supplied by the JV6 wind turbine project, which accounted for approximately 4.0 MW of wind capacity prior to its retirement last year.
Last month, the BG Board of Public Utilities voted to authorize Utilities Director Brian O’Connell to lease approximately 80 acres and select a solar development partner for the project which will operate behind the meter for the city. That means all the 10 to 12 MW of electricity generated on the acreage will go to Bowling Green – powering an estimated 2,000 households in the city.
The utilities board voted more than two years ago to authorize the city to pursue another solar field site, in addition to the 165-acre solar field on Carter Road that generates 20 MW, which the city shares with other communities.
Initially, city officials planned a possible solar field on acreage the city already owned near the county landfill. However, that plan fell apart when Plain Township officials passed an ordinance banning solar fields, explained Jim Odneal, the city’s assistant utilities director.
So the search began again, and this time some local partners voiced interest in leasing farmland to the city for the project.
Those partners are BGSU and an affiliate of Principle Business Enterprises, which plans to lease 20 acres at the southeast corner of Devil’s Hole Road and I-75.
These properties are strategically located adjacent to the city’s electric distribution system, which helps minimize interconnection complexity and associated costs. 
BGSU and Principle Business Enterprises will continue to own the land. The developer will own and operate the solar arrays, which will be purchased locally from First Solar. And the City of Bowling Green will buy all the power generated at the two fields. The cost is expected to range between 5 cents and 7 cents per kilowatt hour, Odneal said.
The new solar project is expected to help in managing system peak demand and reducing transmission and capacity costs, Odneal explained.
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