TotalEnergies and Philippines-based developer Nextnorth have started construction of a 440 MWp solar plant in Isabela province after reaching financial close on $300 million of international bank financing.
Image: AR, Unsplash
International lenders have backed TotalEnergies and Nextnorth’s 440 MWp solar project in the Philippines, providing $300 million in financing for the plant now under construction.
The project, located in the city of Ilagan, Isabela province, is owned 65% by TotalEnergies and 35% by Nextnorth. TotalEnergies said the plant will be operational by the end of 2027 and is projected to produce 13.5 TWh over 20 years.
Financing was provided by three international banks – Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., ING Bank N.V., and Standard Chartered – with TotalEnergies putting the project cost at approximately $300 million. The company described the package as the largest international financing for a solar project in the Philippines to date.
TotalEnergies said more than 50% of the plant’s output will be sold under long-term offtake agreements with two retail electricity suppliers, AdventEnergy and PrimeRES, serving commercial and industrial customers seeking to reduce their emissions. The remaining production will be sold to the national grid under the fourth round of the Philippines government’s Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), the company said.
Olivier Jouny, SVP Renewables at TotalEnergies, said the project forms part of a 9 GW renewables portfolio the company is combining with Abu Dhabi-based Masdar through a 50/50 joint venture across nine Asian countries. TotalEnergies and Masdar announced the $2.2 billion joint venture in April 2026.
Miguel Mapa, president and CEO of Nextnorth, said energy security has never been more relevant for the Philippines, citing rising demand and continued exposure to imported fuels as drivers for domestic renewable development. Nextnorth was founded in 2022 and has more than 800 MW of capacity in active development and construction.
TotalEnergies held almost 36 GW of gross renewable power generation capacity as of the end of April 2026.
The project comes as the Philippines expands its GEAP, increasing allocations under the fourth round and continuing to award large volumes of solar capacity in earlier solar auction rounds. Recent auctions have been heavily oversubscribed, reflecting strong developer interest, while new project activity – including Peak Energy’s 65 MWp solar installation – has contributed to the country adding 899 MW of solar in 2025.
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The Government of Catalonia has opened the extraordinary public information process for the Sectoral Territorial Plan for wind and photovoltaic electricity generation, known as PLATER. This instrument establishes an ambitious energy horizon that contemplates 5,262.6 MW of photovoltaic and 2,649 MW of wind for the Girona regions in 2050. The municipalities of the province have three months to review the initial map of the plan. During this period, they may propose adjustments to the areas classified as priority, suitable, or unsuitable for the development of these energy installations.
The methodology applied by the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition is exhaustive. It uses 141 layers of information to assess each territory, considering figures of environmental, urban planning, agricultural, landscape and cultural protection.
The affected areas cover agricultural spaces in Ampurdán, La Selva, Gironés, and Pla de l’Estany. Natural areas and ecological corridors are also included, which require careful evaluation to minimize environmental impact.
“The Catalan Institute of Energy has enabled a mapping viewer with editing capabilities so that city councils can modify the proposed zones”
This viewer will allow local administrations to intervene directly on the map. In parallel, citizens will have access to another platform to consult detailed information on the distribution of renewables in their environment.
In addition to municipalities, natural persons, entities, and economic agents affected during the established period may submit allegations. The Government has activated technicians from the regional energy transition offices to support those municipalities with fewer human or technical resources. The document prioritizes the energy use of existing buildings and artificialized spaces. The use of road and rail infrastructure is encouraged to reduce the occupation of natural land and facilitate landscape integration.
“Of that total, the Government estimates that 14,000 MW will be installed in buildings and artificialized spaces”
The PLATER is framed within the Energy Prospect for Catalonia 2050, which foresees the installation of 62,000 MW of renewable energy by that date. The rest of the installation will require an occupation equivalent to 1.2% of Catalonia’s territory in non-artificialized spaces.
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How value is built from upstream inputs through fabrication, qualification, and channel delivery.
Where this product typically creates value across specification, qualification, integration, and replacement cycles.
The Indonesia On Grid PV Inverter market sits at the intersection of the country’s accelerating renewable energy transition and its evolving electronics and electrical equipment supply chain. As an archipelagic nation with high solar irradiance averaging 4.8 kWh/m²/day across most regions, Indonesia possesses strong fundamental solar resources. However, the on-grid inverter market has historically lagged behind other Southeast Asian markets due to regulatory complexity and PLN’s monopoly on electricity distribution.
The 2026 market landscape reflects a structural shift: the government’s National Energy Policy targets 23% renewable energy by 2025 and 31% by 2050, with solar PV expected to contribute over 50 GW of installed capacity by 2035. On-grid inverters, as the critical power electronics interface between solar arrays and the PLN grid, are directly tied to this capacity expansion.
The market encompasses a range of inverter topologies—string inverters for distributed rooftop systems, central inverters for utility-scale solar farms, multi-string configurations for medium-scale commercial installations, and a nascent but growing microinverter segment for residential applications. The product archetype is best characterized as B2B industrial equipment with strong electronics/components characteristics: the inverter is a capital equipment purchase with a typical lifecycle of 10-15 years, subject to technical specifications, grid compliance certification, and aftermarket service requirements.
Buyers include EPC contractors, solar developers, electrical installers, and utilities, all of whom prioritize reliability, warranty terms, and grid compliance over upfront price alone. The market is also shaped by Indonesia’s position as a net importer of power electronics, with domestic value addition concentrated in system integration, distribution, and after-sales service rather than component manufacturing.
The Indonesia On Grid PV Inverter market was valued at approximately USD 180-220 million in 2025 at the wholesale/distributor pricing level, with total installed inverter capacity reaching an estimated 2.5-3.0 GW for the year. This represents a significant acceleration from 2020 levels of roughly 0.8-1.0 GW annually, reflecting the post-pandemic push for renewable energy investment and the commissioning of several large-scale solar projects in Sumatra, Java, and Kalimantan. The market is expected to grow to USD 450-550 million by 2030 and approach USD 800 million to 1.0 billion by 2035, driven by cumulative installed solar capacity targets of 15-20 GW by 2030 and 40-50 GW by 2035.
Growth is not linear, however. The market exhibits a step-function pattern tied to project cycles and policy announcements. The 2026-2028 period is expected to see robust growth as projects under the 2021-2025 RUPTL (PLN’s electricity supply business plan) reach commissioning, while the 2029-2032 period may see acceleration as the next RUPTL cycle incorporates higher solar targets and as corporate PPAs become more common. The residential segment, while smaller in total inverter value at roughly 15-20% of the market, is growing at a faster rate of 18-22% annually from a low base, driven by net-metering adoption in urban Java and Bali. The commercial and industrial segment represents the largest value share at 45-50%, with utility-scale projects accounting for the remaining 30-35% but growing rapidly as large IPPs enter the market.
Demand for on-grid inverters in Indonesia is segmented by application scale, with each segment exhibiting distinct purchasing criteria and growth dynamics. The residential segment (≤10 kW) is dominated by string inverters, with growing interest in microinverters for complex rooftops and shading conditions. Residential demand is concentrated in Greater Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Bali, where middle-class adoption of rooftop solar is driven by rising PLN tariffs and environmental awareness. The segment is highly price-sensitive, with buyers typically selecting inverters based on installed system price rather than long-term performance metrics. Average residential system sizes are 3-5 kW, translating to inverter demand of roughly 150-250 MW annually in 2026.
The commercial and industrial segment (10 kW to 1 MW) is the largest and most dynamic portion of the market. Demand is driven by factories, hotels, shopping malls, office buildings, and agricultural processing facilities seeking to reduce electricity costs and meet corporate sustainability targets. This segment favors string and multi-string inverters from established global brands, with buyers prioritizing efficiency, warranty duration (typically 5-10 years), and local technical support.
The segment is also the most sensitive to PLN’s net-metering regulations and the availability of tax incentives under the Ministry of Finance’s solar energy facility regulations. Annual demand in this segment is estimated at 1.0-1.5 GW of inverter capacity in 2026, growing to 2.5-3.5 GW by 2030. Utility-scale projects (>1 MW) are the fastest-growing segment in percentage terms, with several 50-200 MW solar farms under development in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi. These projects use central inverters predominantly, with some large-scale string inverter configurations for distributed ground-mount systems.
Utility buyers are less price-sensitive and more focused on grid compliance, reliability track records, and long-term service agreements.
On-grid inverter pricing in Indonesia reflects a complex interplay of global component costs, import duties, logistics, and local distribution margins. At the wholesale level, string inverters in the 10-50 kW range are priced at approximately USD 0.08-0.12 per watt, while residential string inverters (3-10 kW) range from USD 0.10-0.15 per watt. Central inverters for utility-scale projects are priced at USD 0.06-0.09 per watt, reflecting economies of scale and competitive bidding dynamics. Microinverters command a premium at USD 0.20-0.35 per watt, limiting their adoption to specific residential and small commercial applications where shading or complex roof orientations justify the higher cost.
The primary cost driver is the bill of materials, with power semiconductors (IGBTs and MOSFETs) accounting for 25-35% of inverter manufacturing cost. These components are almost entirely imported, exposing Indonesian inverter prices to global semiconductor supply conditions and currency fluctuations. The Indonesian rupiah’s volatility against the US dollar directly impacts landed costs, particularly for finished inverter imports from China. Import duties on inverters classified under HS 850440 are typically 5-10%, with additional value-added tax of 11% and potential luxury goods tax for certain product categories.
Logistics costs are elevated due to Indonesia’s archipelagic geography, adding 3-7% to landed costs for distribution from major ports to secondary cities. Local assembly operations can reduce import duties on components versus finished goods, but the small scale of domestic production limits these advantages. Service and warranty premiums add 10-15% to the total cost of ownership for buyers who opt for extended warranties and local service contracts, which is increasingly common in the commercial and utility segments.
The competitive landscape in Indonesia’s on-grid inverter market features a mix of global technology leaders, regional players, and local assemblers. Global brands including Huawei, Sungrow, SMA Solar Technology, ABB (now part of Fimer’s portfolio), and Ginlong (Solis) are the dominant suppliers, collectively accounting for an estimated 60-70% of the market by value. These companies compete primarily on technology specifications, efficiency ratings, warranty terms, and local service infrastructure. Huawei and Sungrow have been particularly aggressive in the Indonesian market, leveraging their strong supply chains and competitive pricing to win large commercial and utility-scale projects. Chinese brands collectively represent 50-60% of total inverter supply, reflecting both cost advantages and the scale of Chinese solar manufacturing.
Regional and local competitors include companies such as PT Len Industri (a state-owned electronics manufacturer), PT Surya Energi Indotama, and several smaller assemblers who import SKD/CKD kits and perform final assembly and testing in Indonesia. These local players hold an estimated 10-15% market share but are positioned to grow as TKDN requirements for government projects become more stringent. The competition is intensifying as more international brands seek local partnerships to meet content requirements.
The market is also seeing entry from inverter manufacturers based in India and Thailand, who offer mid-range products at competitive price points. Competition is most intense in the commercial and industrial segment, where multiple brands offer similar specifications, and buyers make decisions based on price, brand reputation, and local service availability. In the utility segment, competition is more concentrated among the top 5-6 global suppliers who can demonstrate bankability and long-term project support.
Domestic production of on-grid inverters in Indonesia is limited in scale and scope, reflecting the country’s position as a net importer of power electronics. There is no domestic manufacturing of power semiconductors, capacitors, or magnetic components used in inverter production. Local production is primarily assembly operations: importing complete knock-down (CKD) or semi-knocked-down (SKD) kits from China, Taiwan, or India, and performing final assembly, testing, and certification in Indonesian factories. The largest domestic assembly operations are located in Java, particularly in the Jakarta-Bandung corridor and Surabaya, where industrial infrastructure and logistics are most developed.
PT Len Industri, as a state-owned electronics company, has the most significant domestic production capacity, with an estimated annual assembly capacity of 200-300 MW of inverter capacity across multiple product lines. Several private Indonesian companies also operate assembly facilities, but their combined capacity is likely under 500 MW annually. The domestic assembly industry faces challenges including limited technical expertise for advanced inverter topologies, dependence on imported components, and difficulty achieving the economies of scale needed to compete with fully imported finished goods on price.
The TKDN regulation, which requires minimum local content percentages for government and utility projects (currently 40% for solar power plant components), is the primary driver of domestic assembly investment. Without this regulatory push, domestic production would likely be even more limited. The supply model is thus best characterized as import-dependent with a growing local assembly overlay, rather than true domestic manufacturing.
Indonesia’s on-grid inverter market is structurally import-dependent, with an estimated 85-90% of finished inverter units sourced from overseas manufacturers. China is the dominant source country, accounting for 70-80% of inverter imports by value, followed by Germany, India, and Taiwan. The trade flow reflects China’s global dominance in solar inverter manufacturing, with major brands shipping finished units through the ports of Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), and Belawan (Medan). Import volumes have grown rapidly, from approximately USD 100-120 million in 2020 to an estimated USD 180-220 million in 2025, tracking the expansion of Indonesia’s solar PV market.
Tariff treatment for inverters classified under HS 850440 varies by country of origin. Inverters imported from China face standard most-favored-nation duties of 5-10%, while those from ASEAN countries may benefit from preferential tariff rates under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). India-origin inverters may qualify for preferential rates under the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area. The effective duty rate for many Chinese inverters is approximately 5-7% after considering tariff classification and valuation practices.
Indonesia does not have significant inverter exports, as domestic production is insufficient to meet local demand and lacks the cost competitiveness for export markets. Re-exports are minimal, limited to occasional shipments to neighboring markets such as Timor-Leste or Papua New Guinea. The trade balance for on-grid inverters is heavily negative, and this is expected to persist through the forecast period unless domestic manufacturing scales substantially.
The distribution of on-grid inverters in Indonesia follows a multi-tier structure typical of B2B industrial equipment markets. The primary channel is through authorized distributors and wholesalers who maintain inventory, provide technical support, and manage credit terms for downstream buyers. Major distributors include companies such as PT Hartono Istana Teknologi, PT Sinar Jaya Abadi, and several specialist solar equipment distributors who carry multiple inverter brands. These distributors typically serve EPC contractors, solar developers, and electrical installers, who are the primary buyers of inverters for project installation. The distributor channel accounts for an estimated 60-70% of inverter sales by volume.
The second major channel is direct sales from inverter manufacturers to large EPC firms, utilities, and IPPs for utility-scale projects. This channel is characterized by competitive tendering, technical negotiations, and long-term service agreements. Direct sales are growing as utility-scale projects become larger and more complex, requiring closer manufacturer involvement in system design and grid integration. A smaller but growing channel is online sales through e-commerce platforms and specialized solar equipment marketplaces, primarily serving the residential and small commercial segments.
End-buyers in the residential segment increasingly purchase inverters as part of complete rooftop solar packages from installers, who bundle the inverter with panels, mounting structures, and installation services. The buyer decision-making process is heavily influenced by installer recommendations, brand reputation, warranty terms, and compliance with PLN interconnection requirements. EPC contractors and developers are the most sophisticated buyers, conducting detailed technical evaluations and often maintaining approved vendor lists of inverter brands that meet their quality and reliability standards.
How commercial burden rises from technical fit toward approved-vendor status, production continuity, and lifecycle support.
The regulatory environment for on-grid inverters in Indonesia is complex and evolving, with multiple layers of requirements that directly impact market access, product specifications, and project economics. The primary regulatory framework is PLN’s grid interconnection standards, which specify technical requirements for inverter performance including voltage and frequency ranges, power quality, anti-islanding protection, and grid support functions. Inverters must be certified to PLN’s SPLN standards, which are based on international standards such as IEC 62116 and IEEE 1547 but with Indonesia-specific modifications.
Certification is a significant market entry barrier, requiring manufacturers to submit samples for testing at PLN-approved laboratories and obtain a certificate of conformity, a process that can take 6-12 months and cost USD 20,000-50,000 per product family.
The TKDN (Tingkat Komponen Dalam Negeri) regulation is the most impactful policy for inverter market structure. Ministerial regulations require minimum local content of 40% for solar power plant components used in government and PLN projects, with penalties for non-compliance including exclusion from tenders. The regulation has driven international inverter brands to establish local assembly partnerships and has created a market advantage for domestic assemblers. However, enforcement has been inconsistent, and many projects have received exemptions or waivers. The net-metering regulation (Permen ESDM No.
26/2021 and subsequent amendments) governs how residential and commercial solar system owners can export excess electricity to the PLN grid. The current regulation allows net-metering with a 1:1 export-import credit ratio for systems up to 100% of the customer’s connected load, which has been a significant demand driver. Safety certifications under SNI (Standar Nasional Indonesia) are also required, with inverters needing SNI marking for compliance.
The regulatory landscape is expected to evolve toward stricter grid code requirements as solar penetration increases, with new standards for low-voltage ride-through, reactive power support, and communication protocols likely to be introduced by 2028.
The Indonesia On Grid PV Inverter market is forecast to grow from approximately USD 200-240 million in 2026 to USD 800 million to 1.0 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of 12-15% over the decade. This growth is underpinned by Indonesia’s National Energy Policy targets, which imply cumulative solar PV installations of 15-20 GW by 2030 and 40-50 GW by 2035. Inverter demand is directly correlated with new solar installations, with a replacement cycle beginning to emerge for systems installed in the 2015-2020 period. By 2030, replacement demand is expected to account for 5-10% of annual inverter sales, growing to 15-20% by 2035 as the installed base matures.
Segment-level forecasts indicate that the commercial and industrial segment will remain the largest through 2030, but utility-scale projects will become the dominant segment by 2032-2033 as large solar farms in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Eastern Indonesia reach financial close and construction. The residential segment will grow steadily but remain constrained by grid interconnection capacity in urban areas and the slower pace of net-metering adoption outside Java.
Technology shifts are expected to favor string inverters with higher power ratings and multi-MPPT configurations, while central inverters will maintain their position in utility-scale projects. Microinverters and module-level power electronics will grow from a small base, potentially reaching 5-8% of residential inverter value by 2030. Price erosion of 2-4% annually is expected for established inverter categories, driven by global manufacturing scale and technology improvements, though this may be partially offset by increasing local content costs and certification expenses.
The market outlook is positive but contingent on regulatory stability, grid infrastructure investment, and the resolution of PLN’s financial and operational constraints on solar integration.
The Indonesia On Grid PV Inverter market presents several distinct opportunities for participants across the value chain. The most immediate opportunity is in local assembly and manufacturing to meet TKDN requirements, particularly for international brands seeking access to government and utility projects. Establishing CKD/SKD assembly operations in Java, with local testing and certification capabilities, can provide a 15-25% cost advantage over fully imported units for TKDN-compliant projects.
This opportunity is time-sensitive, as early movers can secure partnerships with major EPC firms and establish certification track records before competitors. A second major opportunity lies in the aftermarket service and spare parts business. As the installed base of inverters grows to tens of thousands of units, the need for maintenance, repair, and replacement parts will create a recurring revenue stream. Companies that invest in service networks across Indonesia’s major islands, including technician training and spare parts inventory, can capture high-margin service revenue and build long-term customer relationships.
The commercial and industrial segment offers the largest growth opportunity for inverter suppliers, driven by the country’s industrial expansion and corporate sustainability commitments. Inverter manufacturers that develop products specifically optimized for Indonesia’s grid conditions—including voltage fluctuations, high ambient temperatures, and humidity—can differentiate themselves in this competitive segment. There is also an opportunity in digital monitoring and energy management platforms that integrate with inverters to provide real-time performance data, predictive maintenance alerts, and grid interaction analytics.
As Indonesian businesses become more sophisticated in managing their energy costs, demand for these value-added services will grow. Finally, the utility-scale segment offers opportunities for inverter suppliers who can provide complete system solutions including medium-voltage transformers, switchgear, and grid integration services, rather than selling inverters as standalone components. The ability to offer turnkey power conversion solutions with local project management and commissioning support will be a key differentiator as Indonesia’s solar farms scale from tens of megawatts to hundreds of megawatts per project.
A role-based view of which players tend to control technology, manufacturing depth, qualification, and channel reach.
This report is an independent strategic market study that provides a structured, commercially grounded analysis of the market for On Grid Pv Inverter in Indonesia. It is designed for component manufacturers, system suppliers, OEM and ODM teams, distributors, investors, and strategic entrants that need a clear view of end-use demand, design-in dynamics, manufacturing exposure, qualification burden, pricing architecture, and competitive positioning.
The analytical framework is designed to work both for a single specialized component class and for a broader power electronics / energy conversion system, where market structure is shaped by product architecture, performance requirements, standards compliance, design-in cycles, component dependencies, lead times, and channel control rather than by one narrow customs heading alone. It defines On Grid Pv Inverter as An electronic power conversion device that converts direct current (DC) electricity from photovoltaic (PV) solar panels into alternating current (AC) electricity synchronized with the utility grid, enabling energy export and consumption and examines the market through end-use demand, BOM and subsystem logic, fabrication and assembly stages, qualification and reliability requirements, procurement pathways, pricing layers, and country capability differences. Historical analysis typically covers 2012 to 2025, with forward-looking scenarios through 2035.
This report is designed to answer the questions that matter most to decision-makers evaluating an electronics, electrical, component, interconnect, or power-system market.
At its core, this report explains how the market for On Grid Pv Inverter actually functions. It identifies where demand originates, how supply is organized, which technological and regulatory barriers influence adoption, and how value is distributed across the value chain. Rather than describing the market only in broad terms, the study breaks it into analytically meaningful layers: product scope, segmentation, end uses, customer types, production economics, outsourcing structure, country roles, and company archetypes.
The report is particularly useful in markets where buyers are highly specialized, suppliers differ significantly in technical depth and regulatory readiness, and the commercial landscape cannot be understood only through top-line market size figures. In this context, the study is designed not only to estimate the size of the market, but to explain why the market has that size, what drives its growth, which subsegments are the most attractive, and what it takes to compete successfully within it.
The report is based on an independent analytical methodology that combines deep secondary research, structured evidence review, market reconstruction, and multi-level triangulation. The methodology is designed to support products for which there is no single clean official dataset capturing the full market in a directly usable form.
The study typically uses the following evidence hierarchy:
The analytical framework is built around several linked layers.
First, a scope model defines what is included in the market and what is excluded, ensuring that adjacent products, downstream finished goods, unrelated instruments, or broader chemical categories do not distort the market boundary.
Second, a demand model reconstructs the market from the perspective of consuming sectors, workflow stages, and applications. Depending on the product, this may include Rooftop solar systems, Ground-mounted solar farms, Commercial & industrial rooftop PV, Solar carports & canopies, and Aggregated virtual power plants (VPPs) across Residential Construction, Commercial Real Estate, Industrial Manufacturing, Utilities & Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and Agriculture and System Design & Sizing, Component Specification & Sourcing, Grid Interconnection Approval, Installation & Commissioning, Grid Compliance Testing, and Ongoing Monitoring & Maintenance. Demand is then allocated across end users, development stages, and geographic markets.
Third, a supply model evaluates how the market is served. This includes IGBT/MOSFET modules, DC-link capacitors, Gate driver boards, Current sensors, Heat sinks & thermal management, Magnetics (transformers, chokes), PCBs (control & power), and Housings & connectors, manufacturing technologies such as IGBT/MOSFET power semiconductors, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), Grid synchronization & anti-islanding protection, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) control, Power Line Communication (PLC) / Wireless monitoring, and Reactive power control (grid support functions), quality control requirements, outsourcing and contract-manufacturing participation, distribution structure, and supply-chain concentration risks.
Fourth, a country capability model maps where the market is consumed, where production is materially feasible, where manufacturing capability is limited or emerging, and which countries function primarily as innovation hubs, supply nodes, demand centers, or import-reliant markets.
Fifth, a pricing and economics layer evaluates price corridors, cost drivers, complexity premiums, outsourcing logic, margin structure, and switching barriers. This is especially relevant in markets where product grade, purity, customization, regulatory burden, or service model materially influence economics.
Finally, a competitive intelligence layer profiles the leading company types active in the market and explains how strategic roles differ across upstream material and component suppliers, OEM and ODM partners, contract manufacturers, integrated platform players, distributors, and engineering-support providers.
This report covers the market for On Grid Pv Inverter in its commercially relevant and technologically meaningful form. The scope typically includes the product itself, its major product configurations or variants, the critical technologies used to produce or deliver it, the core input categories required for manufacturing, and the services directly associated with its commercial supply, quality control, or integration into end-user workflows.
Included within scope are the product forms, use cases, inputs, and services that are necessary to understand the actual addressable market around On Grid Pv Inverter. This usually includes:
Excluded from scope are categories that may be technologically adjacent but do not belong to the core economic market being measured. These usually include:
The exact inclusion and exclusion logic is always a critical part of the study, because the quality of the market estimate depends directly on disciplined scope boundaries.
The report provides focused coverage of the Indonesia market and positions Indonesia within the wider global electronics and electrical industry structure.
The geographic analysis explains local demand conditions, domestic capability, import dependence, standards burden, distributor reach, and the country’s strategic role in the wider market.
This study is designed for strategic, commercial, operations, and investment users, including:
In many high-technology, electronics, electrical, industrial, and component-driven markets, official trade and production statistics are not sufficient on their own to describe the true market. Product boundaries may cut across multiple tariff codes, several product categories may be bundled into the same official classification, and a meaningful share of activity may take place through customized services, captive supply, platform relationships, or technically specialized channels that are not directly visible in standard statistical datasets.
For this reason, the report is designed as a modeled strategic market study. It uses official and public evidence wherever it is reliable and scope-compatible, but it does not force the market into a purely statistical framework when doing so would reduce analytical quality. Instead, it reconstructs the market through the logic of demand, supply, technology, country roles, and company behavior.
This makes the report particularly well suited to products that are innovation-intensive, technically differentiated, capacity-constrained, platform-dependent, or commercially structured around specialized buyer-supplier relationships rather than standardized commodity trade.
The report typically includes:
The result is a structured, publication-grade market intelligence document that combines quantitative modeling with commercial, technical, and strategic interpretation.
Electronics-Market Structure and Company Archetypes
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State-owned enterprise with PV inverter production
Distributes inverters for commercial solar projects
Part of Trina Solar network, focuses on distribution
Specializes in residential and commercial inverters
Produces inverters for local grid-tied systems
Focuses on East Java market
Supplies inverters for utility-scale projects
Local assembly of grid-tied inverters
Focuses on commercial rooftop systems
Emerging local manufacturer
Serves residential and SME markets
Distributes multiple inverter brands
Focuses on after-sales service
Regional distributor for on-grid inverters
Works with commercial and industrial clients
Charts mirror the report figures on the platform. Values are synthetic for demo use.
Real macro, logistics, and energy indicators are pulled from the IndexBox platform and rendered on demand.
Consulting-grade analysis of the World’s on grid pv inverter market: scope boundaries, end-use demand, supply and qualification logic, pricing architecture, competitive structure, and long-term outlook.
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By: Kanto Kai Okanta
Ethiopia has advanced its renewable energy ambitions with the commissioning of the Gobeze Solar Cell manufacturing plant in Addis Ababa, marking a significant step in expanding local energy production capacity.
The facility, located within the Huajian Special Economic Zone, was established following an agreement signed during the 2025 Invest in Ethiopia Forum, with an initial investment of 100 million dollars.
Minister Enatalem Melese, who visited the plant, said the project became operational within six months due to sustained government support and close implementation oversight. The factory is equipped with modern machinery and technology designed to support large-scale solar production.
In its first phase, the plant has an annual production capacity of 2 gigawatts, contributing to Ethiopia’s broader strategy of meeting its energy demand through renewable sources.
Officials noted that the project has also created employment opportunities for citizens, supporting both industrial development and job creation.
During the visit, the minister also toured a shoe manufacturing factory and an electrical substation within the industrial park, highlighting ongoing efforts to strengthen Ethiopia’s industrial and energy infrastructure.
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Industry analysts say faster construction timelines, along with lower energy costs, are fueling consistent growth in a sector increasingly constrained by regulators.
Solar energy continues to drive new electricity generation capacity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in one of its forecasts earlier this year said utility-scale solar is the fastest-growing source of power generation in the U.S., and expects solar generation capacity will increase from last year’s 290 TWh to 424 TWh by 2027. The EIA said there are nearly 70 GW of new solar power generating capacity projects scheduled to come online this year and next.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) recently said a new residential solar project was installed every 59 seconds in 2025, which brings the total number of residential solar energy systems in the U.S. to nearly 6 million. The group said that by 2030, it projects that about 11% of all U.S. homes will have rooftop solar. Energy analysts continually point out that solar continues to grow despite U.S. government policies that aim to curtail deployment of renewable energy resources.
1. Camelot Energy Group, a clean energy infrastructure advisory company, serves as a technical and strategic advisor to owners and investors in clean energy and energy storage projects, programs, and infrastructure. Among the company’s projects is this 4-MW ground-mount solar array, installed on a landfill in Amherst, Massachusetts. Courtesy: Camelot Energy Group
Shawn Shaw, CEO and co-founder of Camelot Energy Group, a clean energy infrastructure advisory company (Figure 1), told POWER, “While the policy landscape in some key markets has indeed become less favorable to solar, the reality is that solar PV [photovoltaic] remains the fastest to build and cheapest form of energy generation. More to the point, as the grid increasingly relies upon energy storage to balance more complex load and generation relationships, solar remains the cheapest way to charge a battery on the modern grid.
“Furthermore, solar provides a distributed and resilient source of electricity that can help consumers and governments weather fossil fuel price hikes and international supply disruptions,” said Shaw. “Even with a hostile policy landscape, the market fundamentals for solar power remain strong, and the increasing global electricity demand will be hungry for more solar-generated electricity for years to come.”
Jonathan Eastwood, senior vice president of U.S. Sales and Global Sales Support for Nextpower, said, “Solar’s growth story is increasingly driven by economics and execution rather than policy alone. Global demand for power is accelerating at a pace not seen in decades, driven by AI [artificial intelligence] infrastructure, electrification, and industrial expansion. In that context, solar remains the fastest and lowest-cost form of new power generation in most markets.
“Even if policy support fluctuates, the underlying economics are compelling,” said Eastwood. “A 1-GW utility-scale solar plant can be deployed in roughly 18 months, with the industry pushing to compress build cycles down even further. That compares to three to four years for gas and significantly longer for nuclear. This speed matters in today’s environment not only for hyperscalers to get their projects energized and online but also for utilities, surrounding towns, and ratepayers that could be impacted as new data centers crop up at record speed.”
China continues to dominate the global solar power market; the country controls more than 80% of the world’s supply chain for solar equipment, and government data shows China has about 1,300 GW of solar power generation capacity. China last year added more than twice as much solar power generation capacity as the rest of the world combined, accounting for about two-thirds of the global total for new solar generation capacity.
Bruce Anderson, CEO of 247Solar, a solar power and energy storage company, told POWER, “Given that global solar installations jumped by well over 50% year‑on‑year in 2025, with China and India still expanding rapidly, a U.S. slowdown on its own is not enough to signal that worldwide solar growth is peaking. In that sense, the U.S. looks more like an outlier wrestling with policy changes and interconnection queues than a bellwether for the end of the solar boom. The structural drivers—cheap solar energy, rising electrification, and corporate decarbonization—are so strong that the market will keep growing despite policy speed bumps.”
Anderson said that even with policy headwinds for solar power in the U.S., the move toward more domestic manufacturing of components will continue to lessen dependence on China. “Yes, it is absolutely possible for the U.S. and Europe to build solar supply chains that aren’t dependent on Chinese technology, especially if they lean into solar solutions that can be made elsewhere, such as emerging solar thermal solutions,” said Anderson.
“Standardized components manufactured under license with the ability to be made in multiple countries, sourced from multiple suppliers, are the type of technology that gains an edge in this environment,” he said. “Modularity is another perk of this system, which allows projects to be customized to fit the needs of the buyer. As tariffs, sourcing rules, and domestic-content incentives continue to evolve, technologies that can be manufactured flexibly across multiple regions allow projects to keep building even when policy headwinds pick up.”
Several companies continue to work to expand domestic solar power infrastructure manufacturing. Nextpower, which was featured prominently at the recent Intersolar and Energy Storage North America event in San Diego, California, recently announced it had entered into a multi-year steel-frame supply agreement with Jinko Solar (U.S.) Industries. Nextpower said it will supply more than 1 GW of steel frames, scalable to up to 3 GW over a three-year period, to support module manufacturing at Jinko Solar’s Jacksonville, Florida, facility. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has issued guidance that said U.S.-made steel frames can add 6% to a tracker project’s domestic content calculation.
“This agreement with Jinko Solar represents clear market validation of steel frames as a reliable and cost-effective solution that supports both module durability and U.S. manufacturing priorities,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextpower, formerly known as Nextracker. “It also reinforces how the U.S. solar industry is industrializing, aligning domestic manufacturing, policy incentives, and proven technology at gigawatt scale.”
2. Terrain-following solar tracker systems, such as those from Nextpower, enable deployment on uneven and complex sites, expanding usable land while reducing grading and construction risk. Courtesy: Nextpower
Nextpower, known for its innovative solar power equipment and project designs (Figure 2), also recently expanded its steel component manufacturing capacity in Memphis, Tennessee, one of more than 25 U.S. factories Nextpower has opened or expanded since 2021.
“Improving module durability and strengthening domestic supply chains are closely linked priorities and areas where Jinko Solar has long been a leader,” said Nigel Cockroft, general manager at Jinko Solar (U.S.) Industries. “From our fourth-generation extreme weather module platform to our Jacksonville facility, which has operated since 2018, we have consistently invested ahead of the market. Partnering with Nextpower to integrate domestically produced steel frames into our U.S. modules is a natural extension of that leadership, aligning with U.S. manufacturing priorities, while delivering greater durability at scale for customers and the broader solar industry.”
Said Eastwood, “The regionalization of solar supply chains is well underway. Nextpower began its U.S. manufacturing buildout in 2021, prior to the Inflation Reduction Act. Today, we work with more than 25 manufacturing partners in the U.S. and over 100 globally across 45-plus countries.
“For us, localization is now a core requirement, not just to meet regional requirements, but for execution,” said Eastwood. “Regional supply chains reduce logistics risk, shorten delivery timelines, and support local economic and community objectives—all key benefits and direct value to our developer owner customers. Tariffs and policy changes can create near-term pricing variability, but the broader trend is toward more resilient, regionally aligned supply chains.”
3. US Modules is among the companies expanding their manufacturing of solar power equipment in the U.S. More groups are moving production to U.S. facilities to mitigate supply chain disruptions. Courtesy: US Modules
US Modules, a Texas-based solar panel manufacturer, in late March opened a new manufacturing facility in College Station, Texas (Figure 3). The company said it has commissioned Production Line 1 at the site, focused on producing solar modules for large solar farm projects.
Production Line 1 is designed for about 400 MW of annual production capacity, with the site built to scale to roughly 1.4 GW of annual production as additional lines come online. The 150,000-square-foot facility includes two solar module production lines along with warehouse and loading infrastructure to support utility-scale deployment.
“US Modules is focused on building durable scalability—disciplined operations, consistent output, and a team that takes pride in how the work is done, while responsibly stewarding the environment and supporting the infrastructure this country depends on,” said Charles D. Carey, the company’s founder.
Joseph Johnson, a market analyst with Intertek CEA, noted a number of projects that are designed to lessen dependence on Chinese manufacturing. “Several efforts are underway to diversify Chinese polysilicon production. The most notable is the new United Solar Polysilicon plant in Oman, which started production this year,” said Johnson. “In addition, Corning announced the reactivation of U.S.-based polysilicon capacity. There are also a few projects ongoing in India, albeit many appear to be delayed, as Chinese polysilicon prices remain low and the slow rollout of Indian policy requirements for upstream materials has shifted Indian supplier focus to the more immediate need to ramp cell and wafer factories.”
Johnson added, “Elsewhere in the Middle East, ongoing studies are underway on regional polysilicon development to complement new investment studies in regional module, cell, and ingot/wafer capacity. Finally, markets like Australia are looking to support domestic production and stand up a complete solar value chain, although timelines and commitment decisions remain uncertain.”
Carter Atlamazoglou, a managing director in FTI Consulting’s Power, Renewables, and Energy Transition practice, said, “In the near to medium term, a full decoupling from Chinese technology is impractical given China’s entrenched leadership across wafers, cells, modules, and critical manufacturing equipment, though partial diversification is already underway. Policy measures such as tariffs and local content requirements in the U.S. and Europe are catalyzing domestic manufacturing while simultaneously increasing near term project costs and adding complexity to procurement. The most likely outcome is a China-reduced, rather than China-free, supply chain in which developers integrate domestic and partner-country production with residual Chinese inputs.”
Also of note: California-headquartered Swift Solar in March announced it had acquired manufacturing assets and intellectual property from European solar equipment manufacturer Meyer Burger to accelerate the production of perovskite-silicon tandem solar technology in the U.S. Joel Jean, CEO and co-founder of Swift Solar, said the deal means Swift Solar is “bringing in GW-scale silicon heterojunction [HJT] manufacturing equipment, a deep global IP [intellectual property] portfolio, and a world-class team of manufacturing veterans, equipment engineers, and silicon experts, led by Gunter Erfurt [former Meyer Burger CEO] and Marcel Koenig [former global head of research and development]. This acquisition puts Swift Solar on track to speed-run gigawatt-scale solar manufacturing in the United States. Everything is pointing in the same direction—tax credits, tariffs, supply chain reshoring, AI. The U.S. needs more solar, and we need it built here.”
Though much of the discussion about powering data centers has focused on thermal options, those who spoke with POWER noted that solar can and should be part of the equation.
“We frequently hear interest from the data center community around multi-source microgrids for powering data centers,” said Camelot Energy’s Shaw. “These microgrids often mix solar, energy storage, and natural gas combined cycle turbines to create an optimized system that uses low marginal cost solar first, flexible energy storage resources next, and then gas-generated electricity to fill the gaps and keep batteries charged during low-sun periods. This is very similar to the many energy resilience projects our team has worked on over the years but instead of powering community centers we are now taking the same concepts to power data centers with electrical loads the size of cities.”
Nextpower’s Eastwood told POWER: “Data center demand requires gigawatts of new capacity to be deployed quickly and reliably. In that context, solar is essential because it can be built at scale and brought online faster than most other power sources. We are seeing a small number of microgrid systems being developed to feed data centers that are not grid-tied. These projects often have solar, BESS [battery energy storage systems], and in some cases gas, for an all-of-the-above solution.”
Shaw added, “We have moved from a ‘solar-plus-storage’ world to one in which we need to think about ‘storage plus solar.’ Energy storage is the future of reliable baseload power and offers tremendous savings to grid operators. Instead of having to overbuild grid infrastructure for 2–3x average load, simply to accommodate short-term load spikes, energy storage can manage those spikes and keep costs low while improving reliability. Solar power, with its low costs, incredible reliability—over 98% availability on average—and high predictability is increasingly the best way to charge those batteries to provide clean baseload power.”
Fengrong Li, a senior managing director in FTI Consulting’s Power, Renewables, and Energy Transition practice, told POWER: “AI‑driven data centers are reshaping the solar market. Since 2023, hyperscalers and major tech firms have signed more than 30 GW of solar PPAs [power purchase agreements], making them one of the most powerful demand drivers for new solar development. And they are not slowing down. 24/7 carbon-free targets are pushing them to lock in even more clean power deals.”
Li added, “What we’re seeing now is that AI isn’t just raising demand, it’s restacking the power delivery paradigm. With interconnection queues clogging up and transmission lines maxed out, the industry is moving toward integrated, behind-the-meter, multi‑technology systems that can be built quickly and placed right next to the load. And in some locations, these solutions include on‑site solar paired with battery storage.”
Atlamazoglou said solar may experience temporary slowdowns for a variety of reasons, but is likely to remain at or near the top of global power generation capacity additions. “Global solar deployment appears to be transitioning from a phase of rapid expansion to one of more mature, measured growth. In that context, a modest year-over-year decline in 2026 would represent a normalization rather than a structural peak,” he said. “Policy recalibrations in key markets, particularly around interconnection, incentive design, and grid integration, may temper additions in the near term, but they do not undermine the fundamental economics underpinning solar adoption. Even with a potential short-term dip, annual capacity additions are likely to remain elevated by historical standards, with solar continuing to command a major share of new power investment globally.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
Modern process industries are experiencing fluctuating market conditions and tight operational margins, leading chemical engineers to rely on real-time data to boost efficiency and reduce costs. Yet, many organizations are at different stages in their digital transformation journey. Some are just starting, while others are looking to optimize existing solutions. This webinar explores practical ways […]
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There’s something extra noteworthy about a green festival breathing renewed life into a long-empty building.
After sitting unused for five years, the nearly 100-year-old former Aurora Post Office in the city’s downtown will be buzzing again from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday when Aurora GreenFest brings together over 90 vendors all focused on environmental sustainability, innovation and everyday choices that can make a difference in our lives and on our good Earth.
Among those choices is a growing interest in solar energy and just when, where and how it can be a smart investment for homeowners.
For people like Kane County Board member Mavis Bates, who also chairs the Sustainability Aurora Advisory Board and is founder of this annual festival, there’s no question solar panels can go a long way in saving energy and cutting rising electric bills.
In fact, Aurora Mayor John Laesch recently sent out a letter to all residents encouraging them to get involved in a national “group buying program” called Switch Together, which offers homeowners a “hassle free way to install reliable solar panels at a competitive price.”
This program is a partnership with two nonprofits – Midwest Renewable Energy Association and Citizens Utility Board (CUB) – both of which work with communities to help people adopt clean energy more easily.
The letter goes on to explain benefits of Switch Together, which include using vetted installers competing in a bidding process to secure a low base price, with savings that average $6,358 on a typical solar installation. In addition, it says that incentives through the Illinois Shines Program could provide an additional 30% in savings and residents could also qualify for up to $1,000 through Aurora Ald. Will White’s Solar and EV Charging Rebate program.
Not everyone is sold on solar, however. Several Realtors I spoke with say reselling a home is more difficult if the property comes with an extended lease on these panels, and warned of sales people taking advantage of homeowners who don’t understand the long-term financial and contractual obligations tied to these leases.
“I don’t hate solar panels,” points out Realtor Kathy Brothers, but she does believe people don’t understand the impact on salability, and that they should have a conversation with a trusted professional about how major changes to your property can affect its resale value.
All the more reason, insist solar energy proponents, to check out the Switch Together program, which offers three options for solar panels: Purchase, lease (at a predetermined fixed amount, usually monthly) or entering into a power purchase agreement (PPA), where residents are charged for the energy the panels produce each month at a predetermined per kilowatt-hour rate.
In addition to working with reputable and vetted solar companies, a big component of Switch Together is providing education to consumers so they understand all the options clearly and “don’t get taken advantage of by door-to-door sales reps and high-pressure sales techniques,” said Jim Chilsen, director of communications for CUB.
The Switch Together program comes with an offer tailored to each homeowner and based on registration details including questions about the roof and energy usage. Personal recommendations include estimated costs, savings and expected electricity generation. If an offer is accepted, homeowners would pay a $150 deposit, refundable if they decide not to move forward with solar installation.
According to Chilsen, in recent years Switch Together – which works with Cook, DuPage, Lake and Kane counties but is also available to Kendall, McHenry and Will residents – has completed 673 solar installations and, as a newer part to the program, 65 battery installs and 35 EV charger installs.
The goal is to have more people explore solar as an option, especially now as energy costs continue to rise with no end in sight.
“Data centers are killing us,” said Bates, describing the controversial server facilities requiring high energy and water usage as “Trojan horses” that present something beneficial but carry hidden consequences inside.
Certainly all these details can get confusing, which is why CUB representatives will be among the experts available at Saturday’s GreenFest to answer questions, she said, noting this year’s event is shaping up to be the biggest yet for this festival, which began in 2010.
Certainly its location at the historic former post office downtown is generating plenty of enthusiasm.
“We really are breathing new life into this beautiful, priceless building,” said Bates, referring in part to “lots of interesting things to see and do for kids” that revolve around solar energy.
“Like the old bumper sticker said, ‘Think globally, act locally,’” she added. “The Aurora GreenFest is our best chance to live greener and more sustainably.”
dcrosby@tribpuub.com
Copyright 2026 Chicago Tribune. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.
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Construction has begun on Iron Spur Solar, a 140-MWDC utility-scale solar projet in Snyder, Texas. Iron Spur is being developed by utility-scale solar company Levona Renewables, with financial backing from Energea, a renewable energy developer, operator and investor.
Iron Spur Solar’s project site. Credit: Energea
The Iron Spur project will use single-axis trackers and is expected to generate approximately 317 GWh of electricity annually once operational, supported by a 35-year land lease. Rather than acquiring the project outright, Energea is providing development capital through a secured, convertible loan to the project’s special purpose entity, CT Solar One.
Iron Spur has secured site control, interconnection applications and an exclusivity agreement with an investment grade buyer for a long-term power purchase agreement.
News item from Energea
Billy Ludt is managing editor of Solar Power World and currently covers topics on mounting, inverters, installation and operations.
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Although coverage in some areas still remains patchy, the improving state of the U.S. charging network is helping to ease range anxiety for EV owners planning longer trips. However, outside the country, charging still remains a real challenge in less well-traveled areas. YouTuber Everyday Sandro found that out the hard way in the Atacama Desert in Chile, when he became stranded after his Tesla Model X ran out of charge.
Sandro, whose full name is Sandro van Kuijck, is attempting to drive across the entire length of the Pan-American highway, from northern Canada right down to the southern tip of Argentina. Chile is the fourteenth country he has visited on his journey, and it has proved to be particularly tricky to traverse.
The YouTuber equipped his Tesla with a long list of modifications to help make the journey easier, including food preparation and sleeping facilities. Its hood is also fitted with a custom solar panel, which usually feeds a battery that powered van Kuijck’s in-car equipment.
Until his trip across Chile, he hadn’t needed to use it to power the Tesla’s high voltage battery, but in an attempt to claw back some range, he connected his solar setup to the car’s charging port. Unfortunately, the panel only delivered a charge equivalent to around one kilometer per hour. That wasn’t much help considering the car was stuck around 30 kilometers away from the nearest charger.
Van Kuijck attempted to call a tow truck to take his car back into town, but initially had no luck, and eventually the solar panel setup couldn’t juice up the car any further. Luckily, he encountered a highway construction crew who let him borrow their generator. That saved the car from shutting down completely, and van Kuijck was eventually able to find a tow truck company to rescue him from the roadside.
While the YouTuber got out of trouble with little more than a dent in his wallet and a good story to tell, it’s a good reminder that solar panels aren’t a substitute for a good public charging network. Several modern EVs feature factory-installed solar panels on their roofs, but most of them don’t add a significant amount of range, even if they’re larger and more powerful than the custom setup on van Kuijck’s Tesla.
That said, the YouTuber could provide at least a minimal amount of power for his car using only solar power, which is still a step above what any combustion-powered car could manage. While EVs still have plenty of problems that need solving before they become the default mode of transport for American drivers, the fact that van Kuijck could even reach the Chilean desert before he needed to test out his roadside solar charging setup speaks volumes as to how much the EV charging network has improved in recent years.
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Plug-in solar panels are expected to officially go on sale in the UK in the next few months for around £500. But there are quite a few obstacles for the government and householders to overcome before this becomes the easy-to-use option that is popular in other European countries.
Plug-in solar typically consists of one or more panels, which can be mounted on the sides of a balcony (or in the garden), and then connects to the house via an inverter. The inverter converts the type of electricity that the panels generate to the voltage and frequency used by the grid.
In theory this power can be fed into a home via a standard plug. This has not been possible in the UK for safety and regulatory reasons, but these regulations are now being amended to allow this, provided the panels meet new safety standards.
In Germany, millions of panels like these were in use in 2025. The German-owned supermarket Lidl and British-owned Iceland are already working with the UK government to put them on sale in the UK. These panels could produce around 200–500kWh per year, about 10% of a typical household’s energy, depending on how the system was positioned.
The government’s plans will allow plug-in installations of up to 800W, subject to several guidelines. But it’s still not clear if there’s going to be any changes to planning laws which might be needed. Tenants would also need to check with their landlord in a shared development (as balcony solar could affect the building insurance, which is often shared across the block). There may also be restrictions under planning law for people living in a conservation area.
To get optimum power, you would want to tilt the solar panels. But this may also be contrary to existing planning rules. Without this angle, performance could be cut by 30-45%. Do planning rules need to change on this?
The government is promising new safety standards and “anti-islanding” measures for these kits. “Anti-islanding” refers to the danger that the plug prongs are live for a short time after being unplugged or if the grid was to go down and the panels continued to feed power into the house with no way to use the power. Some form of safety mechanism is needed to stop the flow of electricity in these cases.
The professional body, the Institute of Engineering and Technology, and trade association the Electrical Contractors Association have already raised some concerns about use of this type of solar panels. It’s clear that some UK homes have older electrical systems that won’t cope with plug-in solar. Previous UK building standards haven’t factored in power being fed into houses via a plug in this way.
While some of these plug-in devices available online are good quality, others are cheaply made, which is another concern. There needs to be an industry standard and enforcement. https://www.youtube.com/embed/eKIh7wvE4gQ?wmode=transparent&start=0 Plug-in solar panels are popular with renters in Germany.
For most people living in houses (rather than flats) it’s going to be fairly straightforward, but some (including those in conservation areas) may need planning permission. Most people should also check with their insurers.
Balcony solar is not ideal for everyone. If your balcony is shaded part of the day or north facing you may gain little benefit. It’s worth checking this.
You will still have to notify your local district network operator, who maintain and fix your network. This is different from your energy company. You will also need to fill in a G98 notification. This online form tells your electricity supplier that you have a solar system that will be feeding power into the grid. These forms are usually filled out by electricians. It’s not clear yet if householders or tenants will be able to handle these applications themselves.
You’ll need a weatherised external plug for a unit on your balcony and to connect to your house. If you are calling out an electrician to install that, it might be safer to just have the system wired into the mains directly. But you can’t just run a cable in through an open window as that wouldn’t be safe. Also having an open window would let heat escape, and homes typically use more energy on heating than on electricity, potentially wiping out any benefits from the solar kit.
Another consideration is what to do with the power itself. The price paid by the grid for householders supplying excess energy is often a lot less than the price of buying electricity from the grid, so householders really want to use as much of that power themselves as possible. One solution to this is to buy a battery. While these can cost several hundred pounds, it means you can charge the battery during the day and then use the power at night. So, a battery improves flexibility, but it also increases costs and shortens the payback period.
The government hopes that plug-in solar could encourage more people to start using solar, which might then encourage investment in larger installations such as on rooftops, which can produce far more power. However, it’s worth remembering that in Germany it worked in reverse, first came rooftop solar (supported by government subsidies) and then balcony systems filled in the gaps.
By quickly addressing some of these practical issues, the government can encourage a wider shift to solar power.
Dylan Ryan, Lecturer in Mechanical & Energy Engineering, Edinburgh Napier University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
Photo: Millions of panels are installed across Germany. Ingrid Balabanova/Shutterstock
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St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Dover, Massachusetts, installed solar panels in 2013. Photo: St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church
[Episcopal News Service] Past General Conventions have urged The Episcopal Church and its congregations to pursue a goal of net carbon neutrality by 2030. One congregation in the Diocese of Massachusetts says it has met that goal, four years early.
St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Dover announced this week that it was officially carbon neutral after implementing a strategy over the past 15 years that includes energy conservation, improved energy efficiency and the addition of renewable energy through solar power.
“Caring for creation is an essential part of following Jesus. It’s how we love our neighbors, especially those who will come after us,” the Rev. Sean Leonard, St. Dunstan’s rector, said in a church news release. “I am deeply proud of the people of St. Dunstan’s for their faithful commitment to creation care and for the way they extend that care to all our neighbors.”
St. Dunstan’s is part of a churchwide push for energy independence to help address human-caused climate change at a time when scientists say the warming Earth is contributing to rising sea levels, increasingly volatile weather patterns and frequent extreme weather.
The 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church voted in 2022 to work toward net carbon neutrality “through a combination of reducing emissions from travel, reducing energy use, increasing energy efficiency in buildings, and purchasing offsets from duly investigated, responsible, and ethical partners.”
One of the most visible examples of congregations putting that call into action is through the addition of solar panels to church properties. Last month, for example, Trinity St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, California, commissioned 47 roof-top solar panels with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its 1893 building. Other examples of congregational investments in solar power have stretched from Yakima, Washington, to Brattleboro, Vermont. The Diocese of San Joaquin is relying almost entirely on solar power for its central California congregations.
Solar was part of the strategy at St. Dunstan’s, which installed solar panels in 2013. It also has smart sensors for its thermostats and upgraded insulation to improve energy conservation. The congregation gradually changed all its light bulbs to LED models over several years, and in 2023, it replaced its water heater with a more efficient heat pump model.
“We’ve gotten our carbon emissions about as low as we can through action,” Jim Nail, who has led St. Dunstan’s efforts, said in the church news release. Nail also serves as president of Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light.
To close the last gap to carbon neutrality, St. Dunstan’s purchased carbon offsets from a service called Terrapass. “We are committed to maintaining this low level of carbon consumption and continuing to reduce it where we can, and we will buy offsets to maintain our carbon neutral position going forward.”
Bishop Julia Whitworth applauded the work of St. Dunstan’s in a written statement to Episcopal News Service.
“St. Dunstan’s achievement is part of a wide-reaching diocesan effort over decades — including through green grants and loans — to promote sustainable, climate-friendly congregations. I am so grateful for St. Dunstan’s leadership and example as they reach this remarkable milestone of carbon neutrality,” Whitworth said.
“Stewardship of creation is part of our covenanted relationship with God, and the Diocese of Massachusetts is committed to supporting worshipping communities in cherishing the wondrous works of God through their commitment to climate justice.”
– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
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Ministries approves construction of largest solar plant to date in Dimona The Times of Israel
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Railway Supply » Railway News »
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03.05.2026
Nagpur Metro solar panels have been installed between tracks at the Hingna depot by Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. The project has been described as a first-of-its-kind initiative for an Indian metro rail system. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.
As reported by Energetica India, the installation uses a 50 kWp solar photovoltaic system. It has been placed along an almost 200-metre section between operational tracks.
Also, the project connects solar generation with otherwise unused rail infrastructure space. It is expected to produce about 70,000 units of electricity per year. The system is also expected to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 65 tonnes annually.
According to officials, the system has been designed for metro depot conditions. It must account for train-related vibrations, safety requirements, and maintenance access. In addition, the panels use monocrystalline half-cut technology. That technology is associated with higher efficiency and durability.
The project has been implemented through a public-private partnership model. At the same time, the metro authority did not have to make upfront capital investment. Electricity generated by the system will be used within the metro system for captive consumption. It will not depend on net metering mechanisms.
MahaMetro said the pilot project shows how renewable energy can be integrated into existing urban transit infrastructure. Still, the stated focus is on locations where space is limited. If the installation performs successfully, similar systems could be considered for other depots, including Mihan. The project may also provide a model for metro networks elsewhere in India.
Separately, the initiative supports wider efforts to increase renewable energy use in public transport. It also supports efforts to lower operating costs and reduce environmental impact.
News on railway transport, industry, and railway technologies from Railway Supply that you might have missed:
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A BBQ fundraiser for the Banks Fire District's CERT program, sponsored by candidates for office, is set for Saturday at Hornshuh Creek Fire Station in Buxton.
A fundraising event for the Banks Fire District’s CERT program sponsored by candidates for office and elected officials is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 at the Hornshuh Creek Fire Station in Buxton.
Scheduled from 1 to 6 p.m. at the station (49021 NW Hwy 26), the CERT BBQ Fundraiser will feature a BBQ meal with a suggested $10 donation and a raffle.
The event also doubles as a campaign event for state Senate candidate Tripp Dietrich, state representative candidate Darcey Edwards, Washington County commissioner candidate Ayla Hofler, congressional candidate Barbara Kahl, and Washington County Commission Chair candidate Jenny Kamprath. Banks Mayor Marsha Kirk also sponsored the event; Kirk is not on the May 19 primary ballot but has said she will run for re-election as mayor in November.
“A group of folks are using our Hornshuh Creek Station and inviting the public to come join them in gathering as a community for a burger or hot dog and raising money for the Banks Fire District’s own CERT program,” said Banks Fire District spokesperson Scott Adams.
The event is not sponsored by the district, Adams said. In a phone call with the Banks Post, he said the group approached the district and asked what their fundraising needs were, and the district suggested their Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. He said private groups frequently use the station in Buxton and Banks.
In a message to the Banks Post, Kirk said the campaigning would be light, consisting of just a table with campaign info. Kirk said ultimately it was she who had chosen CERT as the fundraising recipient, and that the program typically costs $500 per person to maintain.
CERT is a national program established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In 2023, the Banks Fire District trained around a dozen people in skills ranging from first aid, search and rescue, to disaster preparedness and even terrorism response.
“It’s really grown into this nationally taught set of curriculum and training to help give additional training and insight to community members on how best that they can help themselves and their neighbors in the event of a natural or man-made disaster,” said Edward Lara during an interview for the first class.
But the initial funding, supplied via a federal grant, has long since dried up.
Adams said the CERT program will need to be funded by whatever means available, as there is no line item in the district budget for the program.
100 percent of the event’s proceeds will go to the district’s CERT program, organizers said.
The BBQ meal includes a burger, chicken or hot dog with condiments, salads and chips.
Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. Prizes include a Pendleton blanket.
Running in a crowded field of six candidates for Washington County Commissioner District 4, Ayla Hofler, a Banks-area resident, said she was running not to be a politician, but to solve real problems at the county.
A Banks man was murdered, the Banks library was taking shape and more in the news of 1976 in Banks! `
Washington County Elections has mailed ballots to more than 400,000 registered voters for the May 19 election. Did you get yours yet?
NATIONAL NEWS
Apr 30, 2026, 8:03 AM | Updated: 9:10 am
A cow, right, scratches on the support beam of a solar panel Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at a farm in Christiana, Tenn. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
BY
CHRISTIANA, Tenn. (AP) — From a distance, the small solar farm in central Tennessee looks like others that now dot rural America, with row upon row of black panels absorbing the sun’s rays to generate electricity.
But beneath these panels is lush pasture instead of gravel, enjoyed by a small herd of cattle that spends its days munching grass and resting in the shade.
Silicon Ranch, which owns the 40-acre farm in Christiana, outside of Nashville, believes cattle-grazing is the next frontier in so-called agrivoltaics, which mostly has involved growing crops or grazing sheep beneath the panels.
The solar company debuted the project this week and will spend the next year working to demonstrate to farmers that much larger cattle also can thrive at solar sites. If successful, advocates say, that could jump-start new projects to meet the soaring electricity demand driven by rapidly expanding data centers — without contributing climate-warming carbon emissions — and help cattle producers hold onto their land and livelihoods.
“Solar is one of the most powerful tools we have for cutting emissions and … is cost-competitive with fossil fuels,” said Taylor Bacon, a doctoral student at Colorado State University who has studied ecological outcomes at solar grazing sites. “I think we’re starting to see enough research that, when you do it well, the land use can be more of an opportunity than a downside.”
Though there are far more cattle than sheep in the U.S., their size poses challenges at solar sites, where both expensive equipment and the animals, which can weigh more than half a ton, must be protected.
Solar panels often pivot to near-vertical angles to capture the sun’s rays, leaving little room underneath for cattle; simply raising the panels is cost-prohibitive because of the amount of steel required. So Silicon Ranch raised the panels a little but also developed software that workers activate to turn the panels close to horizontal when cattle are grazing, giving them room to wander, said Nick de Vries, the company’s chief technology officer.
Workers rotate the cattle — currently 10 cows and their calves — between paddocks every few days so panels on the ungrazed portion of the site operate normally, generating a supply of roughly 5 megawatts of electricity for Middle Tennessee Electric, a rural electric co-op.
The hope is that the technology eventually will be adopted more broadly, company officials said.
“We know it works,” said de Vries. “But you need to prove it to other people.”
For solar companies, agricultural land is generally easier to develop than other types of sites. But many farmers — and communities — will need to be convinced that solar grazing will benefit them because of past practices that destroyed topsoil and took land out of production permanently.
“For many agricultural stakeholders, it is offensive to see high-quality farmland getting graded and piled when that’s a farm family’s legacy,” said Ethan Winter, national smart solar director at American Farmland Trust.
But he sees potential for solar grazing partnerships to help farmers keep their land in production and earn extra income.
“Agriculture is in a really tough spot right now, so maybe this is our moment where we can be helping states meet their energy needs and do that in a way that’s providing new opportunities for farmers,” Winter said.
Silicon Ranch this year will have almost 15,000 acres of pasture being grazed — mostly by sheep — since launching five years ago, and is working with ranchers, farmers, university researchers and others to adopt best-practices for keeping soils and animals healthy.
What they’re finding is that pasture beneath solar panels retains more moisture, making it more drought tolerant, said Anna Clare Monlezun, a rancher and rangeland ecosystem scientist who’s working on the Tennessee project. Grazing in the shade leaves animals less prone to heat stress, enabling them to gain more weight and drink less water.
“There are more win-wins than trade-offs,” she said.
Farmers often earn about $1,000 an acre by leasing their land for solar, easily 10 times more than what they historically earned through traditional agriculture, Winter said. That can help them to diversify operations, pay down debt and buy more land.
“I think you’ll start to hear more interest from farmers who are up against a serious financial wall right now and looking for income diversification opportunities that keep land in production,” Winter said. “We need and want to grow America’s energy capacity but not at the expense of our best farmland or at the expense of agricultural livelihoods.”
___
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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Solar panels can cut your electricity bills and reduce your reliance on the grid, but whether they’re worth it depends on your roof, usage, system cost and long-term plans
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Even after Ofgem lowered the energy price cap in April 2026, energy bills remain a major household expense. That has kept solar panels high on the list for homeowners looking to cut running costs, use less electricity from the grid and protect themselves against future price rises.
Solar panels work by converting daylight into electricity you can use around the home. The more of that electricity you use yourself, the less you need to buy from your supplier. And if your solar panels generate more power than you need, you may be able to sell the excess back to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
But whether solar panels are worth it depends on the details: the cost of your system, how much electricity you use, the size and direction of your roof, whether you add a battery and how long you plan to stay in your home. This guide explains how the numbers stack up in 2026, what affects your payback period and when solar is most likely to make financial sense.
Use our comparison tool to get a range of free quotes from leading solar panel installers across the UK.
That said, the case for solar is not just about the next price cap change. Global energy markets remain volatile, with the conflict involving Iran and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz raising fresh concerns about future wholesale prices. For homeowners, that uncertainty is one reason solar panels continue to appeal: they can offer a degree of protection against swings in the wider market, even when short-term bills are moving down.
In this guide, we explain when solar panels are worth it, when they may not be, and what affects the return on your investment. Homes with a reasonably unshaded roof, enough usable space for a well-sized system, and the ability to use some of their electricity during the day will often see the strongest case. For a deeper look at pricing, what is included in quotes, and return-on-investment modelling, see our companion guides on the true cost of solar panels and our round-up of best solar panels.
The short answer is yes, solar panels are worth it for many UK households – especially if you plan to stay put for a while and can make good use of the electricity you generate.
Quick reality check: solar savings aren’t one-size-fits-all. Your roof orientation and shading, when you use electricity, and the quality of your system design can make a bigger difference than the headline price.
Justin Webb from Wiltshire, who installed solar panels and a battery on his home more than two years ago, points out that solar offers more than just a financial return: “You don’t get any return on investment from paying your electricity bill. With solar, you’re future-proofing your home against rising prices and becoming more self-sufficient. For households with savings, solar can be a better yield than leaving money in the bank.”
Read more: My honest review of Perlight solar panels
You can read more of Webb’s process for how he maximised his savings with solar in our guide on the cost of solar panels.
Other things to consider when weighing up whether solar panels are worth it for your home:
The table below outlines some examples of what costs and savings you might expect:
Household size
System size in kW
Array cost
Electricity cost per year before solar
Savings (energy used and sold from panels)
Electricity cost after solar
Panels pay for themselves after
3-bed
3.6kW
£4,990
2,900 kWh @24.5p = £710
£540
£170
9 years
4-bed
5.4kW
£5,470
£780
-£70
7 years
5-bed+
9.9kW
£7,390
2,900 kWh @24.5p = £710
£1,370
-£660
5 years
As you can see, with a bigger system, you can be making instant savings, with a 5.4kW system covering your electricity bill and offering £70 surplus each year.
This is the simplest way to avoid being oversold.
There are two main ways solar can reduce the real cost of your electricity:
When your panels generate power, your home uses it first. That means you buy less electricity from the grid, and the value of solar is usually highest when you can use more of that generation yourself. This is why daytime usage patterns matter so much.
As Phil Steele, future technologies evangelist at Octopus Energy, explains, “As soon as you start generating energy for free, there’s a direct financial benefit from your solar panels. But a typical system can produce more electricity than most households can actually use during the day. That’s why it’s so valuable to use what you generate when it’s produced, or store the excess for later.”
If possible, Steele recommends investing in a battery with your solar panels for even greater savings. “If you store the energy you generate in your battery, you can use it again later on for free instead of buying grid energy at a rate of 27p or whatever it may be.”
Steele argues that a battery can keep savings going year-round by letting you “time-shift” electricity: you charge it overnight when rates are low (on a time-of-use tariff), then use that stored energy later when daytime/peak rates are much higher. In other words, on a time-of-use tariff, you can charge the battery overnight when electricity is cheapest, then run your home from that stored power during the day and evening when rates are higher. In colder months, when shorter days mean your panels may not generate enough to fully top up the battery, that “overnight top-up” can effectively bridge the seasonal dip in solar output and keep your reliance on peak-price grid electricity lower.
Read more: My honest review of SunPower Maxeon 7 solar panels
Any surplus electricity your home doesn’t use can be exported to the grid and paid via the SEG. How much you earn depends on your export tariff.
Three levers that change payback most:
But it’s worth remembering the trade-off: if you export a unit of electricity you could have used later, you’re swapping a smaller export payment for avoiding a larger grid purchase.
Putting it in real terms, Steele says: “You forgo the 15p that you could have got from exporting it, but you’re not then having to buy it back at 27p.”
Solar can make a home more attractive to buyers because it can reduce running costs, especially when the system looks modern and has long, transferable warranties.
Key considerations:
“When buyers see a panel with a 25- or 30-year warranty from a reputable manufacturer, it gives them confidence,” Greenfield says. “It shows the system isn’t just saving money now, but is a long-term asset for the property.”
For more on this, see our guide on whether solar panels increase your property value.
Most residential solar panels sold in the UK today are monocrystalline. They’re typically the most efficient option for the space they take up, which matters if you have a smaller roof or you’re trying to maximise generation on a limited area.
You may also come across polycrystalline (often cheaper, typically less efficient) and thin‑film panels (lighter and sometimes useful on specialist surfaces, but usually lower efficiency for domestic roofs). For most homeowners, the choice comes down to monocrystalline panels from a reputable manufacturer with a strong warranty.
What wattage should you expect? Many domestic panels now sit roughly in the 350W to 450W range, with some higher‑output models available. Higher‑wattage panels can make sense if you’re tight on roof space – you get more potential generation per panel – but the right answer depends on your roof layout, shading and what your household actually uses.
This is where quotes can get misleading if you only look at the headline price. Greenfield explains: “Customers often get quotes for lower-wattage panels because they’re cheaper up front. But over the same roof space, a higher-wattage panel can generate far more energy and pay back better in the long run. Sometimes it’s worth spending a little more for a system that delivers greater savings over 25-30 years.”
Read more: My honest review of Sunsave solar panels
Most solar panels come with two different warranties: a product warranty (covering defects and failures) and a performance warranty (covering how much output the panels will still deliver after a set number of years). As a rough guide, many reputable manufacturers guarantee that panels will still produce around 80-85 per cent of their original output after 25 years, reflecting gradual degradation over time.
What matters just as much, though, is the installation warranty you get from the fitter because leaks, wiring issues and mounting faults are usually installation problems, not panel problems. It’s worth asking whether that workmanship guarantee is insurance-backed (sometimes called an IBG), which can offer protection if the installer stops trading before the warranty period ends.
Finally, don’t just look at the length of the warranty. Check what’s actually covered, who pays for labour and replacement parts, and whether the manufacturer has an established track record in the UK market.
Greenfield adds: “Some panels only carry a 15-year warranty, while others extend to 30 years. Always check what’s included, and make sure you’re buying from a manufacturer with a proven track record in the UK market.”
For more on what to look for in your quote, see our guide to solar panel warranties and guarantees.
Every solar PV system needs an inverter. Solar panels produce direct current (DC) electricity, but UK homes run on alternating current (AC). An inverter converts DC to AC, allowing it to power your home and feed excess energy back to the National Grid.
There are three main types of inverters:
A good installer doesn’t just quote you a price – they design a system that fits your home.
In our best solar panel installers guide, we compared fitters on price, warranty and customer satisfaction, and prioritised companies with broad national coverage. It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that there are thousands of solar installers and traders operating in the UK, so you may find an excellent, trusted local installer in your area that doesn’t appear on any national shortlist.
Tip: if a quote feels too good to be true, it may be based on lower output assumptions, cheaper kit, or exclusions that show up as extras later.
Adding a solar battery or diverter can significantly increase the value of your solar system, but both come with extra upfront costs.
As Steele explained, a solar battery stores unused electricity so you can use it later. This means you rely less on the grid and make the most of the power your solar panels generate. While a battery adds to the installation cost, it can shorten the payback period by boosting your self-consumption.
“If your off-peak rate is 7p and your peak rate is 28p, that’s a 21p spread,” Steele says. “If you can store and use 10kWh a day, that’s roughly more than a pound a day in savings – then you can do the maths on how long the battery needs to pay for itself.”
And the bigger the battery, he says, the more you’ll save and the faster your system will pay for itself.
“If you could charge a big enough battery overnight at around 7p and run your home through the day, you’re effectively running your house at 7p instead of 28p – that’s the sort of thing that can cut bills by roughly three quarters. But you need a sizeable battery to do that.”
Greenfield says that batteries are now becoming part of the default package most homeowners choose. “Over 95 per cent of our customers take a battery with their installation, and about 10 per cent come back within a year to add a second one. With today’s smart tariffs, you can even charge your battery overnight on cheap electricity, run your home or charge your EV, then top it up again with solar during the day. It’s transforming how people think about their energy use.”
For more information, read our guide on solar battery storage and how it works.
A diverter channels surplus solar electricity into your immersion heater to provide hot water. It’s a relatively low-cost add-on that can reduce gas or electricity bills further by making better use of your solar power. While it won’t save as much as a solar battery, it’s a simple way to get more from your system if a battery isn’t in your budget.
Choosing between them depends on your household’s budget, energy use and long-term priorities.
Without a battery, solar energy must be used as it’s generated. Any excess power you generate is then automatically sent to the grid, earning you payments through the Smart Export Guarantee.
While you won’t have stored energy at night, this setup is cheaper initially and still reduces daytime grid electricity use. Many homeowners later add a battery to increase independence and savings.
Savings and ROI from solar panels vary depending on your energy use, the size of your system, and how much sunlight your property receives. For many UK households, a standard 3-4kW system can cut hundreds of pounds from annual electricity bills, while also earning income through the SEG.
For example, in our guide to the cost of solar panels, one Bristol homeowner we spoke to installed a 5.5kWp (kilowatt-peak) system without a battery and saw her first-year savings reach more than £570, split between reduced bills and SEG income. With installation costs of about £8,750, she expects to break even in about 12 years, even after factoring in the cost of replacing the inverter. As panels typically last 25-30 years, that leaves at least a decade of essentially free electricity. You can read the full breakdown of her savings and ROI estimates in our previously mentioned guide.
According to data from the Centre for Alternative Technology, UK solar panel systems typically generate 800-1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year for every kilowatt (kW) installed. That means even modest systems can deliver meaningful reductions to annual bills.
With this in mind, Greenfield advises against chasing the lowest upfront price. “We often see homeowners offered lower-wattage panels because they cost less. But over 25-30 years, higher-wattage panels will generate more electricity in the same space and deliver bigger savings. Sometimes spending a little more upfront leads to far greater long-term returns.”
Explore your numbers
If you’d like to see how solar could work for your home, the Energy Saving Trust offers a free solar calculator that factors in your location, shading and usage.
The short answer is, yes, solar panels remain one of the most effective ways for UK households to reduce their energy bills and reliance on the grid. With electricity prices still high and solar panel efficiency continuing to improve, many homeowners are considering the long-term benefits of solar panels.
But whether solar panels are worth it depends on your circumstances. Homes that use more electricity during the day, when panels are generating, will see greater savings sooner. Excess energy exported back to the grid earns payments through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), and adding a solar battery enables you to store unused electricity for evenings or cloudy days – increasing self-sufficiency and the chance to sell electricity back to the grid. The size, angle and shading of your roof will also influence how much energy you can generate.
What’s more, money-saving expert Martin Lewis told The Independent that, despite the upfront cost of installing solar panels, they can immediately reduce your energy bills by around £350 per year. This reduction in bills, along with earnings through the SEG, can help you reach a break-even point on your investment in around 10 years.
And Lewis says that households with older, Feed-in Tariff (FIT) solar panels could make meaningful extra savings by switching their export payments to a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff. While FIT generation payments remain fixed, Lewis explained that moving to a higher SEG export rate can boost the value of surplus electricity sent back to the grid, potentially saving homeowners hundreds of pounds a year.
Greenfield, founder of Glow Green, says it’s easy to focus on the headline price, but the real question is what a system will generate over its lifetime. Panel wattage, roof space and overall design all affect long-term output, which means the cheapest quote isn’t always the best value once you spread the benefits across decades. “Sometimes it’s worth spending a little more for a system that delivers greater savings over 25-30 years,” he says.
In short, solar panels aren’t just about the financial returns. They also bring peace of mind, lower emissions, and offer protection against increasingly volatile energy markets.
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Dominion Energy asked the State Corporation Commission to cut compensation rates for rooftop solar customers who send excess energy to the grid.
The SCC’s verdict: a thumb pointed downward.
“Dominion’s proposal would have pulled the rug out from under thousands of Virginians who want to lower their bills and generate their own clean energy,” said Shawn Kelly, managing director for state regulatory policy at Advanced Energy United.
Rooftop solar is photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs of residential, commercial and industrial buildings to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity.
Net energy metering allows customers to receive credit for the electricity they generate and send back to the grid.
The SCC ruling denied Dominion’s attempt to slash the current 1:1 net metering credit that environmental advocates point to as the key to making rooftop solar pay for itself over time nearly in half.
According to the latest Solar Market Insight report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, Virginia currently has 7.6 GW of installed solar capacity, enough to power over 850,000 Virginians homes.
More than 64,000 Virginia homes have installed solar.
“Smart net metering policy is good for solar customers, grid reliability, electricity prices and the clean energy economy,” said Kevin Lucas, the vice president of policy analysis at SEIA. “The State Corporation Commission was right to reject Dominion’s request that would have made it much harder for Virginians to lower their electricity bills and contribute to grid reliability by investing in rooftop solar.
“We’ve always known that the benefits of net metering extend far beyond any one home that has rooftop solar, and it is great to see regulators affirm the widespread benefits of rooftop solar in their ruling,” Lucas said.
Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].
John Fetterman, still claiming to be a Democrat, went on the Jesse Watters MAGA talk show this week to expound on what’s wrong with the Democratic Party.
100 Black Men of Central Virginia has awarded college scholarships to 54 high-school seniors from across the Greater Charlottesville region.
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Experts weigh in on the future of the $2.2B Ivanpah solar plant as officials clash over whether it should remain open despite high electricity costs.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Federal taxpayers helped build a $2.2 billion solar plant — now electricity customers are on the hook to keep it running.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, a sprawling facility near the California-Nevada border built with billions in federal support during the Obama-era economic stimulus program, is stuck in a costly dilemma.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations — along with the utility company that buys its power — have sought to shut it down, saying it underperforms, produces expensive electricity and has been overtaken by cheaper energy sources. But California regulators have refused to allow it to close, warning that closing the plant could strain the power grid.
The result is a costly standoff rooted in years of government decisions: shutting it down could leave taxpayers responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars tied to a $1.6 billion federal loan, while keeping it open means higher electricity costs for consumers.
“This project makes no economic sense to keep afloat, and the market itself has shown that,” Daniel Turner, founder of the energy advocacy group Power The Future, told Fox News Digital.
“This is a boondoggle, like most of California’s large projects are a boondoggle,” he said, arguing it is being kept alive for political reasons, with costs ultimately passed on to customers.
“At some point, you have to stop throwing good money after bad,” he added.
EARTH DAY: THREE BIG SIGNS THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT IS RUNNING OUT OF GAS
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Desert uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto three towers to generate electricity. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Rising out of the Mojave Desert, the more than 4,000-acre facility still looks like the future. It has roughly 350,000 mirrors — mounted on more than 170,000 heliostats — which stretch for miles and reflect blinding sunlight into three towering structures that glow eerily white against the barren terrain.
But more than a decade after it opened, the technology behind it has been overtaken by cheaper, more efficient solar alternatives — turning what was once a symbol of clean energy progress into a costly problem. The project has also faced scrutiny over its environmental impact, with thousands of birds killed after flying through the plant’s concentrated solar beams — along with the destruction of large areas of desert land and displacement of desert tortoises.
The costly tradeoff
Roughly $730 million to $780 million of the $1.6 billion federally backed loan tied to the project remains outstanding, according to federal data. In addition, the U.S. Department of the Treasury provided a $539 million grant to help build the facility, covering about 30% of construction costs.
At the same time, some analysts estimate the plant’s electricity could cost customers roughly $100 million more per year than power from newer solar alternatives.
That leaves policymakers facing a stark choice: shut it down and risk sticking taxpayers with hundreds of millions in losses tied to the loan, or keep it running and continue passing higher costs on to electricity customers.
Critics argue that without government backing and long-term contracts, the plant would likely struggle to remain economically viable.
Even the federal government and the utility paying for the power have tried to walk away.
Officials under both the Trump and Biden administrations, along with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) — which buys electricity from the plant — have supported shutting it down. PG&E has described the contracts as part of an effort to reduce “uneconomic resources” in its energy portfolio, according to regulatory filings.
California regulators, however, have refused.
The California Public Utilities Commission rejected efforts to terminate the plant’s contracts, citing concerns about grid reliability as electricity demand rises, including increased demand from data centers.
In its decision, regulators warned that shutting down Ivanpah could strand more than $300 million in ratepayer-funded transmission and infrastructure tied to the project, while also creating potential risks for grid reliability — particularly as uncertainty grows around how quickly new energy projects can be built.
PG&E, meanwhile, has argued that terminating the contracts would save customers money compared with continuing to purchase electricity from the facility.
The dispute highlights a broader challenge facing the energy sector — how to balance reliability, cost and past investments as demand rises and technology evolves.
Outdated technology, shifting market
Standing near the site, the scale of the project is unmistakable.
The plant uses a technology known as concentrated solar power, in which computer-controlled mirrors reflect sunlight onto boilers atop nearly 460-foot towers, creating visible beams of concentrated light and causing the structures to glow brightly. The heat is then used to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity.
When it opened in 2014, the technology was considered cutting-edge. However, rapid advances in photovoltaic solar panels and battery storage have since made cheaper, more flexible alternatives widely available.
The project was fast-tracked during the Obama-era stimulus push, prompting concerns about the speed of its environmental review. It was part of a broader federal effort to boost the economy following the 2008 financial crisis and expand renewable energy.
It represented a significant scale-up of relatively new technology, expanding from smaller pilot projects to a nearly 400-megawatt facility — a leap that introduced uncertainties about long-term performance.
But the industry moved on faster than expected.
Cheaper and more efficient photovoltaic solar panels, often paired with battery storage, quickly overtook the concentrated solar technology used at Ivanpah — leaving the plant at a competitive disadvantage.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Desert uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto three towers to generate electricity. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
“The technology used at Ivanpah is no longer really competitive with a new solar farm that uses conventional solar panels,” Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley, told Fox News Digital.
Borenstein said the project reflects the risks of investing in emerging energy technologies at scale.
“When this plant was planned, solar thermal looked like a promising approach,” he said. “But photovoltaic costs fell much faster than anyone anticipated, and that changed the economics entirely.”
Borenstein explained the project was part of a broader wave of experimentation in early clean energy development, noting that while some technologies — including solar panels, batteries and wind power — became dramatically cheaper over time, Ivanpah “fell into the latter category,” with costs failing to drop as expected.
“That doesn’t mean it was a bad idea to build it originally,” he said.
Borenstein added that once those shifts occur, large infrastructure projects can be difficult to unwind.
“These are long-lived assets with long-term contracts,” he said. “Even if they no longer make economic sense, you can’t easily just walk away.”
Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University energy systems expert, contended the technology itself is not inherently flawed but lacks key features used in newer systems.
“There’s no role for a concentrated solar plant without storage,” Jacobson told Fox News Digital, noting that modern systems typically store energy for use at night — something Ivanpah cannot do.
An aerial view shows the Ivanpah Solar Power Plant near the California–Nevada border, where mirrors reflect sunlight onto towers to generate electricity. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Jacobson added that while the plant may no longer be competitive with new projects, that does not necessarily mean it should be shut down.
“It’s already built,” he said. “So the question is whether it’s cheaper to keep it running than to replace it.”
In addition to the $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee, the project received a roughly $539 million Treasury grant covering about 30% of construction costs, along with tax credits, accelerated depreciation and other federal incentives.
California’s renewable energy mandates also required utilities to purchase power under long-term contracts, helping ensure demand even as newer technologies emerged.
Ivanpah is not the first federally backed clean energy project to face scrutiny. Solar company Solyndra collapsed in 2011 after receiving $535 million in federal loan guarantees.
The Ivanpah project drew backing from major private investors, including NRG Energy and Google, which invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its development.
But the project’s financing structure spreads risk unevenly. Federal loan guarantees, taxpayer-funded grants and long-term power contracts help stabilize returns for investors, while leaving taxpayers and electricity customers exposed to potential losses and higher costs.
Operational challenges have also been documented. A 2025 audit by California regulators identified recurring forced outages and equipment issues that could affect reliability.
NRG Energy, which operates the facility, told Fox News Digital it remains committed to running the plant under existing agreements and providing renewable energy to California.
Although Ivanpah has a nameplate capacity of nearly 400 megawatts, solar plants typically operate below full capacity because they only generate electricity when the sun is shining. Even so, the facility has underperformed.
In 2023, it operated at roughly a 17% capacity factor, according to data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — well below the 25% to 30% levels originally expected.
The Ivanpah Solar Power Plant near the California–Nevada border uses mirrors to reflect sunlight onto towers to generate electricity. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Real-world impact
While the facility spans thousands of acres in a remote stretch of desert, it feeds electricity into the broader grid rather than a specific community and has drawn relatively limited public attention despite its scale and cost. The town of Baker, for example, is the nearest town to the facility on the California side, but it is about 50 miles away from the plant.
For some residents and business owners in the region, however, rising electricity prices remain a growing concern.
“During the summer it can be anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 … in the winter anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000,” said Lazarus Dabour, owner of the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker.
“It still restricts your bottom line when your overhead from more electricity goes up. It’s a big factor,” he said.
A tower at the Ivanpah Solar Power Plant is illuminated by concentrated sunlight in the Mojave Desert, where mirrors reflect solar energy to generate electricity. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
“Our electricity is too high here in Baker,” said Eddie Bravo, a local store worker who said his bills can reach between $650 and $750 in the summer.
He said he notices the plant when he travels to Las Vegas, but “[doesn’t] know much about it.”
Despite the scale of the project, many people passing through the area said they were largely unaware of the facility or the controversy surrounding it.
Some expressed frustration with rising energy costs, while others took a more neutral view.
“It seems like it’s doing its job … it’s definitely working,” said Gregory Simons, a truck driver from Rancho Cucamonga who was stopped at a gas station near the Nevada state line.
Just across the road, newer solar facilities sit quietly on the desert floor, using photovoltaic panels to generate electricity more simply and at lower cost — highlighting how quickly the industry has shifted away from Ivanpah’s technology.
More than a decade after it opened, the plant now stands as a symbol of how quickly energy technology can evolve — and the cost of getting it wrong when a project becomes too expensive to shut down and too costly to justify keeping it running.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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A TAUNTON-BASED health insurance firm is hoping to save around £1.2 million in the coming years – after installing solar panels at its Somerset HQ.
WPA Health Insurance (WPA), based in Blackbrook Park Road, said as well as saving money in fuel costs, the company was inspired to make the change by a “commitment to environmental protection”.
Around 400 commercial solar panels have been installed at the Taunton site, and operate alongside electric or hybrid vehicles in the company fleet, and energy-saving LED lighting and energy-efficient boilers inside.
The solar installation was carried out last summer by south west firm, SolarSense.
“We hadn’t worked with SolarSense before, but they were in the final two companies we considered during a competitive tender process,” said Clare Sampson, WPA’s head of operations.
“Our motivation was very much about reducing emissions and this system promises annual carbon savings of more than over 31 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year – that’s equivalent to over 1,000trees absorbing carbon across a year – and generates up to 150kWp of clean energy.
“We can already see solar helping to offset off the environmental impact of the rapid growth of our business since the pandemic,” she added.
“When we met with SolarSense we knew straight away they had a similar ethos to ours. They were forward thinking, excited by our ambitions, and had both the specialist knowledge we needed for this project, and connections with other companies who could offer the very specific technology we wanted to embrace including the Sigenergy App.
“It helps us manage energy in real time, giving us insight into how we can get the most out of every watt generated.”
“This was such an exciting job to work on,” said SolarSense MD, Russell Mees. “Organisations like WPA, and their commitment to what is possible, allow for really innovative and efficient energy solutions to reduce their carbon footprint.
“We couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of what they are now showing the region and their sector.”
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Nagpur Metro installs 50 kWp solar panels between tracks, generating 70,000 units annually, reducing emissions, showcasing innovative renewable integration in urban transport systems.
May 03, 2026. By EI News Network
In a first-of-its-kind initiative by a metro rail system in India, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (MahaMetro) has installed solar panels between railway tracks at its Hingna depot, advancing its push toward sustainable urban transport.
The project involves a 50 kWp solar photovoltaic system deployed along a nearly 200-metre stretch between operational tracks. Designed to optimise unused space within rail infrastructure, the system is expected to generate around 70,000 units of electricity annually, helping reduce carbon emissions by approximately 65 tonnes each year.
Officials said that the installation has been engineered to withstand the operational challenges of a metro environment, including vibrations from train movement, safety constraints, and maintenance access. The panels use monocrystalline half-cut technology, known for higher efficiency and durability.
The initiative has been implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, ensuring no upfront capital expenditure for the metro authority. The electricity generated will be utilised for captive consumption within the metro system, without relying on net metering mechanisms.
According to MahaMetro, the pilot project demonstrates how urban transit systems can integrate renewable energy solutions within existing infrastructure, especially in space-constrained environments. If successful, similar installations may be extended to other depots, including Mihan, and could serve as a model for metro networks across the country.
The move aligns with broader efforts to increase renewable energy adoption in public transport while reducing operational costs and environmental impact.
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Researchers combined ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy to measure key energy properties in representative materials.
Over the past decade, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have moved to the forefront of next-generation renewables, combining high power conversion efficiency with low-cost, solution-based manufacturing. Their lightweight structure also opens up applications beyond traditional panels, including integration into windows, vehicles, and portable devices.
A major step forward has been the introduction of hole-collecting monolayers (HCMs), ultra-thin interfacial layers that extract positive charges from the perovskite. These materials have helped push single-junction PSC efficiency to 26.9% while enhancing stability.
Even so, the underlying physics remains poorly resolved – in particular, how energy levels align at the electrode–HCM–perovskite interface is still debated. Multiple competing models are used inconsistently, making it difficult to predict performance or design new materials without trial and error.
To tackle this issue, a Chiba University-led team has now developed the first universal model for energy level alignment at electrode/HCM/perovskite interfaces, addressing a key gap in perovskite solar cell research. Led by Professor Hiroyuki Yoshida, the study provides a consistent framework explaining how hole-collecting monolayers work across different material systems and offers design guidelines for improving device performance.
Researchers combined ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy to measure key energy properties in representative materials. This allowed precise determination of parameters such as work function and ionization energy, improving understanding of charge behavior at critical interfaces.
The new model divides the electrode/HCM/perovskite interface into two separate regions to better explain charge behavior. At the electrode–HCM boundary, energy alignment is dominated by an interface dipole, an electric field formed by the oriented molecular dipoles of the hole-collecting monolayer.
In contrast, the HCM–perovskite boundary is described using semiconductor heterojunction theory, a standard framework in electronics for understanding how two materials with different energy levels interact when joined together.
According to the researchers, two key factors control hole collection efficiency in perovskite solar cells. The first is band bending, a gradual change in energy levels caused by built-in electric fields at material interfaces. The second is the interfacial energy barrier height, which describes the energy mismatch that can either support or obstruct charge transfer between layers.
Yoshida notes that these effects depend only on a few fundamental parameters, including the electrode work function and the work functions and ionization energies of the HCM and perovskite. Using this limited dataset, the model consistently explains why some HCM materials deliver better performance than others.
The team further confirmed its validity by comparing predictions with experimental results across a wide range of material combinations. Taken together, the study offers practical guidance for designing higher-performance materials in next-generation solar technologies.
Yoshida pointed out that the proposed model provides clear selection rules and molecular design principles for hole-collecting monolayers, helping to optimise interfacial energy alignment while reducing both development time and cost. In turn, this could enable higher power conversion efficiencies and more reproducible device performance across different material systems.
Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.
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The panels, which are popular in Germany, could face hurdles in the UK due to the way older homes are wired, according to engineers
Plug-in solar panels may not be available in British supermarkets in time for this summer due to safety concerns, experts have warned.
Ministers have promised to change safety regulations to make plug-in solar available in retailers such as Lidl and Iceland within the coming months, but some experts are concerned the lightweight panels may not be suitable for older houses in the UK.
Plug-in solar panels are already widely used in other countries, but differences in the way UK homes are wired could leave residents exposed to electric shocks or fires, the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) has warned.
The Government is currently conducting tests and said the initial results have shown the panels are safe to use in UK homes. However, The i Paper understands it could be recommended that residents of older properties have an electrician check their system.
Plug-in solar is a type of lightweight panel that can be plugged directly into a plug socket to provide free solar energy.
Panels cost around £400 and could save households up to £110 per year on their bills, according to Government estimates.
The UK Government is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Germany, where millions of households have installed plug-in solar on their roofs, balconies and garages.
However, the IET, the largest professional engineering society in Europe, has warned differences in electrical wiring between UK and German homes means the rollout may face additional hurdles in the UK.
The differences relate to Residential Current Devices (RCD), an important safety feature on fuse boxes, which cuts off electricity when it detects a leak of current.
Mark Coles, technical director of the IET, said plug-in solar, which works by pushing electricity into the mains, requires “bidirectional RCDs” that direct leakages of electrical currents in either direction.
Bidirectional RCDs have been mandated in Germany since the 1980s, however, many UK properties, particularly older buildings, still use older RCDs.
According to Coles, these older RCDs are not suitable for electricity flowing back into the circuit, raising the risk of them malfunctioning and potentially leading to electrical shocks or fires.
“We’re not looking to frighten anyone, but what we’re looking to say is: be careful. Get your installation checked because there could be a dormant issue just sitting there waiting for the right circumstances,” he said.
Coles said these concerns mean he believes it’s unlikely a product standard would be approved in time for them to become available over the summer.
Luke Osborne, Technical Director at the charity Electrical Safety First said they had “concerns surrounding how, without changes, plug-in solar panels may negatively impact protective devices such as RCDs”.
“Whilst the Government sets its sites on an ambitious roll out of this technology it’s important these potential risks are addressed,” he said.
The Government has commissioned a study to inform the changes to the safety regulations, which is looking into the issue of RCD devices.
The Department for Net Zero and Energy Security (DESNZ) has not provided an exact timeline on when the new safety regulations will be published.
The IET has urged consumers to have their electrical system checked by a competent professional before using plug-in solar, adding that it risks compounding any pre-existing electrical safety issues.
Coles added: “Consider my mum, she’s 86; she’s not had a lot of electrical work carried out over the years. Is her installation safe for the plugging in of these devices? When is the last time she had her circuit tested? Have there been mice chewing through the installation of the cables? Has she had somebody in to add another light, another socket outlet? Has it been done properly?
“Going and buying something off-the-shelf from [a] hardware store is brilliant, but bringing it home and plugging it [in] – we don’t know what’s there.”
Other experts were optimistic about the potential of plug-in solar.
“It’s a great and flexible system as long as it’s done properly and well,” said Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK, a solar energy trade association.
He said he was waiting on the results of a safety study commissioned by the Government but saw no reason why plug-in solar can’t work in the UK or be ready by the end of the summer.
“[Plug-in solar] broadens the market and is more accessible. It’s not just about cost, but about putting solar on different types of buildings.”
A DESNZ spokesperson said: “Our tests have shown plug-in solar is safe to use on UK domestic circuits. All products will need to meet the UK’s high product safety standards, and we have commissioned an independent study to inform further regulations ahead of their sale.”
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On the surface, a natural fallout of the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war could see resource-poor Japan pivot to renewable energy in order to reduce its heavy dependence on oil from the Middle East.
But two months since the start of the war, a sea change to energy policy looks like a long shot.
In recent months, Japan has stepped up regulations against megasolar projects, which have proven unpopular in many corners of the country due to the destruction of the natural environment and lack of coordination with neighboring communities. Japan also announced it will stop offering subsidies for newly installed industrial-use solar panels from April 2027, while submitting a bill in the current parliament session to mandate the recycling of old panels.
While some of these government measures may be justified to weed out unscrupulous operators, some analysts and civil society advocates say Japan can do more to promote the proper adoption of solar.
“Amid this Iran crisis and surges in oil prices, you’d expect people to seize it as an opportunity to reassess things or rethink their approach,” Kimiko Hirata, executive director of independent thinktank Climate Integrate, told a news briefing last month. “But overall, the momentum to shift to renewables is still quite weak in Japan.”
Hirata notes that Japan has long perceived renewable energy as unreliable, costly, and overly dependent on China. Recent geopolitical tensions and the environmental impact of large-scale solar projects have further entrenched this view domestically, despite recent moves by other countries in Asia, such as South Korea and the Philippines, to rapidly boost solar capacity to protect their consumers against global price movements.
In its latest analysis of the government’s energy-related spending, the think tank said Japan allocated 3.3% of its national budget on climate and energy measures for fiscal 2026, out of which renewables accounted for just 3%. By contrast, the portion of that outlay for energy-conserving measures made up 52%, though most of that is being saved for spending related to artificial intelligence and semiconductors. Spending on fossil fuels and nuclear power (including nuclear fusion) followed, at 21% and 10%, respectively.
For advocates of renewable power, however, there is reason for cautious optimism. Some businesses have demonstrated how well-executed renewable energy projects — especially when it comes to rooftop solar and agrivoltaics (the dual use of land for agriculture and solar energy generation) — can reduce energy costs for consumers and help support community well-being.
Seiya Miyake, a former nuclear engineer at Kansai Electric Power Co., is the CEO of the Renewable Energy Promotion Organization, an “aggregator” that bundles small renewable energy producers and trades the energy they produce with regional utility companies.
A year and a half ago, he set up a group company called Repo Storage, based on his experience installing do-it-yourself solar power systems in his parents’ home in Mie Prefecture and for his new home in Chiba Prefecture. He bought solar panels and batteries online from China and was surprised at how cheap they were compared with the systems being sold in Japan. While some Chinese solar panels are controversial due to ties to forced labor by the Uyghur minority group in the Xinjiang region, Miyake says his company uses products made in Shenzhen that are free from such human rights concerns.
In Japan, the initial cost for installing rooftop solar power systems remains high, costing about ¥3.3 million to produce 10 kilowatt-hours, he says, noting that it takes about 20 years for the average home (outside heavily subsidized Tokyo) to break even on solar installations, assuming that the household saves about ¥170,000 per year by consuming 70% of the energy produced and sells the remaining 30% to the grid.
To sell electricity to the grid, people need to buy panels and batteries from domestically certified manufacturers. Also, while some municipalities offer subsidies for home-based solar systems, the application process can take up to a year. In some cities, applicants must win a lottery to be eligible.
Miyake, on the other hand, markets what he dubs “the Miyake method,” whereby people harvest energy only for their home-based consumption and not for selling, just like they harvest vegetables from their gardens.
“If you don’t connect to the grid and don’t apply for subsidies, you can use internationally certified high-quality models,” he says. “You can also set the system up quickly and cheaply.”
In a scenario where users buy units from Repo Storage and install panels with a capacity of 7 kW, along with batteries capable of storing 16kWh, both imported from abroad, the initial cost is estimated at ¥2 million. While prices of foreign models have been rising since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, people should still be able to recover installation costs within 10 years, he says.
The firm has applied for a patent for a control technology that would allow off-grid homes to buy power from utility companies in case of bad weather or other emergencies. In such situations, users can automatically get connected to the grid and avoid blackouts, he says.
The firm, which has sold about 30 units to individuals around the country so far, won an award last December in a business pitch contest organized by the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership, a coalition of 230 companies committed to climate action.
“With the spread of EV batteries, the production cost of lithium-ion batteries (globally) has come down to one-fifth of what it used to be 10 years ago,” he says, suggesting more people can take advantage of price falls amid rising energy prices. “But many people in Japan haven’t benefited from it.”
Chiba Prefecture-based Citizens Energy Chiba Co., known by its nickname Min-ene (derived from its Japanese name, Shimin Enerugi Chiba), and its group company Terra, are a major force in the field of solar sharing, known as agrivoltaics, in which farmers grow crops under solar panels.
Originally set up in 2014 by nine local environmentally conscious residents who each put up ¥100,000 as capital, Min-ene has grown into a firm with capital holdings of ¥500 million. The company’s first solar farm was manually built using scaffolding pipes, and it raised funds by soliciting citizens to become owners of the panels.
While the number of permits issued for agrivoltaic farms in Japan has grown to a total of 6,137 as of March 2024, Min-ene differentiates itself from many other farms by adopting a method developed by retired engineer Akira Nagashima.
In 2004, long before agrivoltaics took off in Japan, Nagashima invented the idea of installing rows of solar panels on farmland at certain intervals so that just around 30% of sunlight would be blocked.
The panels are raised about 3 meters off the ground so that agricultural machinery can freely operate underneath. Min-ene’s panels are long and narrow, with twice as much space between them to allow wind and sun through. The panels are tilted at angles of 25 and 30 degrees, depending on their orientation, according to Tomomitsu Miyashita, a senior managing director of Min-ene.
This design is based on Nagashima’s finding that there’s a saturation point for the amount of light needed to promote photosynthesis, and that plants can actually grow better with moderate shade. Nagashima, who made this patented farming method public so other people could freely use it, later built a test field in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture.
“Solar sharing was invented to support farmers so they can continue farming (without going bankrupt),” Miyashita says.
Min-ene now operates 31 solar farms, growing barley and soy beans under rows of panels in the city of Sosa in Chiba Prefecture mostly on what used to be idle or abandoned farmland. Over the last four years, the company has received more than 2,100 visitors who are interested in learning about their methodology, Miyashita says.
Miyashita adds that Min-ene is rooted in Sosa and is committed to sharing its profits with the local community. It has set up two agricultural corporations to which it provides subsidies for the farming work in proportion to the size of the fields. It has also come up with a system for all the area’s energy producers, including Min-ene, to chip in a total of ¥4 million to ¥4.5 million per year to a local fund that supports community projects. Among the projects are eco-friendly endeavors such as cleaning up abandoned farmland filled with illegally dumped waste and donating computer monitors to a local elementary school.
Terra, however, was founded with an eye on scaling up solar sharing worldwide, and it is engaged in not only power generation, but also consulting and product development. Mitsuhiro Higashi, an owner of an organic vegetable store turned-president of Min-ene, founded Terra in 2021, and he is keen to promote solar sharing in parts of the world where there’s a dire energy shortage.
In 2024, Terra and Sekisui Chemical launched Japan’s first joint field test of film-type perovskite solar cells in solar sharing in Sosa. Sekisui Chemical is a front-runner in the development of perovskite panels, a Japan-born technology that is being touted as a way to help the country meet its renewable energy goals and gain a competitive edge over China, which dominates the global solar market.
Perovskite panels could be particularly key for Japan, where land is limited, because they are light and bendable and therefore can be placed on curved surfaces and places where conventional silicon-based panels cannot be installed. They can also capture sunlight from wider angles than silicon panels, though industry experts say that cost and durability challenges need to be addressed for them to become commercially viable.
The firms are testing installation methods, measuring power generation efficiency and assessing impacts on crop growth. They say they plan to use the results to scale deployment nationwide, including on idle or abandoned farmland, with the overarching goal of contributing to decarbonization efforts.
In addition, Terra is spearheading projects to expand solar sharing abroad, aiming to support sustainable development in the Global South. One initiative focuses on revitalizing the Ethiopian city of Mekelle, where over 200,000 internally displaced people have settled.
Higashi says he envisions providing energy, food and jobs there by using the energy generated from solar sharing to power machines that extract water from the air, enabling crop production.
While the project sounds undeniably ambitious, Higashi’s proposal won a business idea contest focused on refugee issues that was held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency at the Osaka Expo last August. As one of four winners in the contest, Higashi will have an opportunity to tour the city and receive support from business consultants. He plans to make several trips to Mekelle this year and aims to establish two pilot facilities by next March.
“We picked Ethiopia as a starting point because it presents the toughest challenges,” Higashi says. “The country has a really tragic history, including sexual violence against women. So if we can make it work there, we can apply the model across Africa, be it Tanzania, Kenya or Uganda.”
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Solar is becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing forms of renewable energy, cushioning Europe from the crippling costs of fossil fuel reliance.
A recent analysis from SolarPower Europe found that harnessing sunlight for energy saved the continent more than €100 million per day in March by lowering demand for imported gas. If gas prices remain high due to geopolitical tensions related to the war on Iran, solar capacity could save Europe more than €67 billion in 2026 alone.
While traditional rooftop panels and large-scale farms make up the majority of solar power generation, plug-in alternatives have recently been cast under the spotlight.
Popular in Germany, plug-in solar panels are small devices that can be attached to external surfaces such as balconies, terraces and shed roofs.
The power generated from plug-in solar, which doesn’t need to be professionally installed in certain European countries, can be used directly through a mains socket like any other device.
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The main advantage of plug-in solar is that it avoids the hefty upfront costs of traditional rooftop solar, and is suitable for those who don’t own their home, or who live in shared accommodation where permanent panels aren’t permitted.
While plug-in solar panels are considerably cheaper, costing as little as €200 in Germany, their output is significantly smaller than rooftop panels – meaning they’ll have less impact on your energy bills.
The UK is the latest European country to greenlight plug-in solar panels being sold in supermarkets to help households cut their energy bills.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says the move will drive clean, homegrown power to help the UK reduce its reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets, and boost the nation’s energy sovereignty.
“Plug-in solar panels are expected to cost £400 to £500 (around €462 to €577) a panel, with each one estimated to save the average UK household between £70 and £110 (€80 and €127) a year, so payback isn’t immediate,” Natalie Mathie, an energy expert at Uswitch.com, tells Euronews Earth.
“Household savings will differ per home and will also be determined by the panels’ output. Poor orientation, shade and unfortunate UK weather will all play a part in limiting how much power they can generate.”
Mathie explains that for maximum savings, households would need to run their appliances during the sunniest hours of the day. Plug-in solar systems are designed mainly for using what you generate, rather than sending excess electricity generation to the grid in exchange for money (like traditional rooftop solar).
The UK is yet to confirm the exact power wattage that plug-in solar panels will have, but existing EU ratings tend to generate between 400 and 500 watts. In Germany, plug-in solar devices are allowed to have a maximum inverter output of 800 watts.
Mathie says that this can generate electricity to help power always-on appliances such as fridges, wifi routers and other standby devices – as well as energy-efficient appliances such as slow cookers (which use around 300 watts on average depending on their size).
“They may not produce enough power to run a 1.4kW air fryer, or a plug-in air conditioning unit, which can use about 1kW, ” the expert adds.
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Twenty-four solar panels will be installed on the roof of a library, if a planning application is approved.
Documents posted online show plans for Guernsey's Guille-Allès Library would cost £18,505 to install, but that it would lead to an estimated net utility bill saving of £83,631 by the end of 2045.
CCD Architects, which has submitted the application on behalf of the Trustees of Guille-Allès Library, said the solar panels would "only be visible from a small number of vantage points", and they would not be seen by people on the public highway at Market Street level.
The panels would be placed on the front slope of the library's rear roof, which faced south-east, the architects added.
While the library is a protected building, the applicants said the proposed works would not alter its existing fabric or structure.
They added they believed the nature and location of the works on the building would have "no adverse effect on the surrounding town setting".
Documents show the solar panels would generate 11,456 kWh of energy per year.
The application said: "As a public building in constant use, we believe the installation of new Solar PV Panels will support the island's approach towards renewable energy production and help reduce the overall running costs and carbon footprint of the Guille-Allès Library."
Anybody who wishes to comment on the application has until 19 May.
Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.
Designers say Union House is in a poor state and needs modernising.
The material was discovered during previous works to the Grade II-listed building's floors.
Residents want St Helier skatepark decision rethink over noise and safety concerns.
The States is asked to approve £16.5m to remove and treat the stored PFOS contaminated soil.
The store replaces its large red signs with plainer ones to comply with an enforcement notice.
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Solar energy company Silicon Ranch’s $100 million, 100-megawatt solar farm on Cordova Road will supply more than just electric power.
Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5551. Check out Zaleski on Twitter at @ZaleskiTD.
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With the average gas price in Virginia exceeding $4 a gallon due to the war in Iran, and power bills stretching family budgets to the brink, the need to transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy solutions couldn’t be more self-evident. The United States should be the leader in green power innovation and, with investments in efficiency, could usher in a more sustainable and responsible era for domestic energy.
The Trump administration, with its relentless push for oil and gas, stands as the largest obstacle to those efforts, but Virginia is making strides regardless. As wind and solar expand across the nation, in spite of the White House efforts, Americans should demand a future powered by clean energy and favor leaders willing to enact that vision.
For the first time, in March 2025, renewable energy accounted for more than half of the total power usage nationwide. Wind, solar and other green fuels provided 50.8% of Americans’ energy needs that month compared to fossil fuels such as coal and oil at 49.2%, according to energy think tank Ember.
That achievement was a long time coming — Ember researchers noted that 10 years prior, fossil fuels accounted for 65% of U.S. electricity generation, with wind and solar generation providing only 5.7% — though it was fleeting.
Green energy sources provide more power than ever but still lag well behind other fuels used across the grid, especially natural gas, and the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that fossil fuels will still provide about 71% of domestic energy needs by 2050.
What’s changed? Begin with the overwhelming scientific consensus that fossil fuel combustion produces harmful emissions that are driving climate change and global warming. Atmospheric carbon dioxide stood at 331.56 parts per million 50 years ago; the latest figure from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in May 2025, put that number at 425.93 ppm — and it’s still rising.
More CO2 in the atmosphere means more heat trapped and reflected toward the surface and into oceans, raising temperatures and sea levels. The effects of this are evident throughout Hampton Roads, which is one of the regions most threatened by sea-level rise in the nation.
Beyond that, the cost of building renewable generation and storing its power has plummeted. While natural gas remains cheaper per kilowatt hour, solar and wind are quickly closing the gap.
There is also the realization that the nation must secure its energy independence. The United States has repeatedly embroiled itself in foreign wars and international disputes due to its historical reliance on imported oil. A crisis in the Middle East, such as in the 1970s or now, brings pain to the pump as supply is disrupted and gas prices spike.
The United States is the third-largest exporter of crude oil, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, but still isn’t insulated from price shocks in the global market. Domestic oil consumption peaked in 2005 but has been generally static since, at about 20 million barrels a day.
In that period, though, the nation has seen dramatic growth of wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal generation. The U.S. is making real, demonstrable progress, but there is no doubt the nation can do better. Virginia is working to show how.
From the Dominion Virginia Offshore Wind project now harnessing wind off the Virginia Beach coast to the proliferation of solar collection from here to the mountains, the commonwealth is embracing renewable energy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
Among other measures passed this year, the General Assembly approved bills to facilitate the proliferation of solar and ease its connection to the grid, and set more ambitious goals for green energy generation linked to the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
Balancing those targets against the need for energy affordability is a real challenge, one not to be shrugged off, but it’s also clear that continued reliance on fossil fuels comes at a tremendous cost. America should lead the world in this area, and it needs public- and private-sector leaders eager to see it done.
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South Australia is experiencing a dramatic reversal of decades of flat electricity demand, with peak load projected to double from 3.3GW today to potentially 6.5-7GW by 2040.
According to ElectraNet, South Australia’s principal electricity transmission network service provider, this will be driven by an unprecedented industrial expansion that could see the state’s annual energy consumption triple to 50TWh under high-growth scenarios.
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ElectraNet’s 2026 Transmission Annual Planning Report (TAPR), released yesterday (31 March), reveals that over 75 prospective projects across 41 proponents are currently in discussions to connect to the South Australian transmission network, representing multiple times the state’s current peak demand in potential new load.
This marks a stark contrast to the decade between 2012 and 2022, when only one new large industrial load of approximately 50MW connected to the grid.
ElectraNet notes that the surge in connection enquiries spans data centres, critical minerals processing, green steel production, defence manufacturing, hydrogen production facilities and large-scale desalination infrastructure.
Adding just 1,500-3,000MW of new industrial demand would raise South Australia’s peak load by 50-100% over current levels.
The industrial boom is colliding with South Australia’s world-leading renewable energy transition, creating urgent challenges with transmission capacity.
The state already generates approximately 75% of its electricity from renewable energy sources and is targeting 100% net renewable energy by 2027, supported by 3,400MW of grid-scale wind and solar capacity plus 3,000MW of rooftop solar across 439,664 installations.
However, the existing 275kV transmission backbone was not designed for current conditions of sustained high renewable energy penetration, material two-way power flows, and large new regional loads.
Practical transfer capability into Greater Adelaide currently maxes out at 1,470MW and averages closer to 1,100MW, while transfer capability into the Upper Spencer Gulf region around Whyalla is limited to approximately 450MW.
“Studies indicate that around 2030, congestion hours on key interfaces into Adelaide will increase materially,” the TAPR states.
“Without augmentation, this will restrict access to lower-cost renewable energy supply and increase the risk of higher wholesale prices and reduced reliability margins.”
The challenge is compounded by the retirement of traditional dispatchable generation. The Torrens Island B steam plant (800MW) is scheduled to retire by 2028, Osborne CCGT (175MW) by 2027, Pelican Point CCGT (478MW) by 2037, and Dry Creek (156MW) by 2030.
This will eliminate most firm generation capacity within Greater Adelaide, making the city increasingly reliant on transmission imports from renewable-rich northern regions.
ElectraNet is advancing three major transmission augmentation projects to address emerging constraints.
The first is the Northern Transmission Project (NTx). This was first identified as an actionable project in AEMO’s 2024 Integrated System Plan and comprises a new high-capacity transmission line in two stages.
NTx South would run from Adelaide to the Mid North (Bundey, near Robertstown), while NTx North would extend from Bundey to the Upper Spencer Gulf near Whyalla/Cultana.
The project would create a 2,000MW+ north-south “electricity highway,” materially increasing transfer capability and providing a geographically distinct pathway into Greater Adelaide to improve resilience against bushfire and extreme weather risks.
Another major transmission project in South Australia is the Eyre Peninsula Upgrade. This builds on the Eyre Peninsula Link commissioned in 2023 and would enable the connection of significant new industrial loads and renewable energy generation.
The 132kV double circuit line from Cultana to Yadnarie was designed with the option to upgrade to 275kV to support future load development from energy-intensive industries including mining, data centres, and green steel processing.
The final transmission project noted in the TARP is the South East Expansion (Stage 1). This targeted reinforcement would string a second 275kV circuit on the Tailem Bend-Tungkillo corridor, increasing transfer capability between the South East, Mid North and Adelaide regions.
The upgrade would improve flexibility in routing power flows and support more robust utilisation of South East renewable energy output, and interconnector flows through the Heywood interconnector to Victoria.
The TAPR identifies several key sectors driving unprecedented demand growth across South Australia’s electricity network.
Adelaide is now hosting data centres designed for artificial intelligence and high-density computational workloads, serving government, defence, space, health and mining clients.
These facilities anchor continuous, high-load demand profiles that compound with AI adoption across the economy, representing a fundamentally new category of electricity consumption for the state.
The proposed transformation of steel-making facilities at Whyalla from coal-based production to electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, coupled with a direct reduction iron (DRI) plant, will have materially higher electricity requirements.
This green steel transformation leverages South Australia’s renewable energy resources to produce low-emissions iron and steel, positioning the state as a potential leader in decarbonised heavy industry.
Meanwhile, the Osborne Naval Shipyard precinct is entering a multi-year expansion phase to deliver Hunter-class frigates and prepare for AUKUS submarine construction.
New production facilities and advanced manufacturing lines will add steady industrial loads with specialised reliability requirements, reflecting the strategic importance of defence manufacturing to South Australia’s industrial future.
The Northern Water Project, a US$5 billion+ strategic initiative, proposes a large-scale desalination plant on Spencer Gulf and a 600km pipeline to deliver water to the state’s north. The facility will be powered by renewable energy and will require significant grid integration, adding another major electricity consumer to the network.
Finally, South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf is being positioned as a hydrogen export hub, with state ambitions targeting approximately 1.8 million tonnes of hydrogen production by 2030.
Electrolytic hydrogen production is fundamentally electricity-intensive, representing a major potential demand source that could reshape the state’s energy consumption profile if projects proceed at scale.
ElectraNet’s analysis reveals a significant divergence between its demand projections and AEMO’s national scenarios. The transmission company’s central outlook shows annual energy consumption growing from approximately 12TWh in 2025 to around 30TWh by 2040, approximately 40% higher than AEMO’s Step Change forecast for South Australia.
“The weightings attached to AEMO’s scenarios continue to understate South Australia’s expected economic development, advanced position in the energy transition, and significant interest in connecting new large industrial loads,” the TAPR states.
The challenge for transmission planning is acute because lead times for network development are generally longer than for load and generation development.
Major transmission investments commonly require multi-year development timelines, and delayed delivery carries high costs: higher wholesale prices, greater curtailment of low-cost renewables, tighter reliability margins, and reduced ability to accommodate new industrial demand at least-cost.
Grid-scale battery storage is playing an increasingly important role in system firming.
The Mid North region is anticipated to host approximately 2,300MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS), representing 65% of the state’s total grid-scale battery capacity.
Behind-the-meter storage is also expanding rapidly. Between July and December 2025, 23,587 residential batteries with a combined capacity of 527MWh were installed in South Australia, nearly matching the 26,674 batteries installed over the entire decade from 2015 to 2024, driven by the Federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
You can find out more about the Cheaper Home Batteries Program and Australia’s energy storage rollout on our sister site, Energy-Storage.news.
ElectraNet has already delivered four synchronous condensers commissioned in 2021 to provide inertia and voltage support, upgraded the System Integrity Protection Scheme into a Wide Area Protection Scheme (WAPS), and implemented automated voltage control schemes at key nodes.
These measures supported an important milestone in late 2025: agreement to reduce the minimum number of synchronous gas units required to be online from two to one under certain conditions.
The TAPR emphasises that South Australia is moving toward an era of sustained ultra-high renewable energy penetration and ultimately toward secure operation under conditions where synchronous generation may be absent, requiring continued evolution of system strength arrangements and wider deployment of advanced protection and control schemes.
Tindo has marked 15 years of continuous Australian manufacturing, highlighting the company’s role in domestic solar panel production from its Mawson Lakes facility in South Australia as it enters a new phase of expansion and demand for locally made renewable energy products.
The company, which describes itself as Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer, said its manufacturing operations have continued since producing its first module in 2011, supplying residential, commercial and large-scale projects while navigating global price pressures, supply-chain disruptions and the broader shift of solar manufacturing offshore.
“Fifteen years is a long time in solar PV,” said Richard Petterson, Tindo Chief Executive Officer. “The industry has been continually reshaped and manufacturers around the world have come and gone. We’ve built through every cycle because our customers told us something simple: they want panels that perform, warranties that mean something and a manufacturer they can call directly. That’s what we’ve stood for since day one.”
Tindo said its manufacturing approach centres on local engineering, production and testing, with all panels designed and built in Adelaide using components and processes tailored to Australian operating conditions.
The company said this focus has supported long-term durability and field performance, alongside what it describes as a strong warranty position in the local market.
The milestone comes as government policy continues to prioritise domestic clean energy manufacturing through initiatives such as the Future Made in Australia agenda, including a $34.5 million Solar Sunshot package from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced in 2025.
Tindo said the support is enabling expansion of its Adelaide facility to 180MW annual output and a feasibility study into a potential 1GW “Gigafactory” for Australian-made solar panels, as demand grows for locally supplied renewable infrastructure.
Petterson said the company’s performance has been underpinned by long-term workforce development and operational consistency.
“Resilience is not survival,” he said. “It’s sustained performance under pressure. Our panels are built for the harsh Australian conditions, just as our business is built for the long haul. After fifteen years, we are built stronger than ever and our plans are for further growth to meet the demand for quality solar panels.”
Tindo said it will mark the anniversary with a national campaign across trade and industry channels in 2026, along with partner engagement activities at its Mawson Lakes manufacturing site.
Keep me up to date with the latest Australian Manufacturing news, events, resources, and information.
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A quarter of Pakistani households are now using solar panels. This insulates millions of families from the energy supply crunch prompted by the US-Israel war on Iran.
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Dasht, Balochistan, Pakistan – Karim Baksh bends down to a narrow channel of water, guiding it with his hands through shallow mud channels towards a row of ripening watermelons growing.
In Dasht, a remote village in the southern part of Balochistan, geographically Pakistan’s largest province, Baksh’s crops for years depended on a diesel-powered pump that drew water from the ground to irrigate his land.
That changed after Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which set off a surge in fuel prices, making it difficult for him to buy expensive diesel for his daily use. “It became impossible for me to run the pump on diesel daily,” he said.
With little water, his watermelons started to suffer. In some seasons, he reduced the land he cultivated. “If there is no water, there is no crop. And if there is no crop, there is no money,” he added.
Then, in 2023, he made a decision that at the time seemed risky: He borrowed 300,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,075) from relatives and friends and installed a row of solar panels next to his field.
Three years later, that gamble is paying off.
Amid the US-Israel war on Iran, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – through which 20 percent of oil and gas passes during peacetime – energy prices have soared around the world.
But Baksh isn’t worried. Under the scorching sun of Dasht, where temperatures rise as high as 51 degrees Celsius (124 degrees Fahrenheit) in peak summer, his pump runs without diesel, and Baksh can irrigate his watermelons uninterrupted.
“Now, I don’t care if the prices of diesel increase,” he says, proudly pointing to the sun above. “As long as there is this sun, I can grow my watermelons.”
Baksh’s story underscores both a much larger vulnerability that Pakistan has faced – and continues to face – and the unlikely gains that could shield the country of 250 million people from some of the worst effects of the war on Iran.
Pakistan’s energy systems remain highly tied to global supply routes, especially the Strait of Hormuz: Eighty percent of the country’s oil imports pass through the narrow but critical maritime chokepoint between Iran and Oman, while 99 percent of its LNG is sourced from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
A recent report by the Council on Foreign Relations states that Pakistan could face severe energy strain if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for the next few months. Pakistan has limited storage capacity. A shortage of gas supplies to power plants and energy-intensive industries could quickly translate into high power outages, factory shutdowns and impacts on public services, transport and households.
But a quiet transformation that has unfolded on Pakistan’s rooftops and farmlands in recent years promises to partly insulate it from the crisis that the world is bracing for.
Dozens of solar panels are changing how energy is produced and used, cushioning Pakistan a little against global energy disruptions.
A recent study by Renewables First and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air highlights this shift. Since 2018, Pakistan’s rooftop solar boom has helped the country save more than $12bn in fuel imports. At current market prices, this would also help the country save about $6.3bn during this year.
This transition hasn’t been built on a single national plan. Instead, it is the result of millions of individuals – farmers switching from diesel, businesses and households seeking reliable power – making a change.
The solar share in the country’s energy mix has increased from 2.9 percent in 2020 to a whopping 32.3 percent in 2025, according to EMBER, an independent think tank.
Rabia Babar, an energy data manager at Renewables First, points out that this has helped reduce oil imports. “Pakistan’s solar revolution wasn’t planned in Islamabad – it was built on rooftops,” she says. “As tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remain high, those panels are proving to be one of the country’s most effective energy security strategies.”
In larger cities like Lahore or Karachi, rooftop solar panels are a common sight. For many middle-class families, the decision to opt for solarisation can be economic and practical. They can typically recover the installation costs in a few years. The electricity they get from the panels is then free. Even better, they can feed extra solar electricity back to the national grid and earn from it.
According to the Gallup Pakistan Survey conducted in 2023, approximately 15 percent – roughly 4 million – of households in Pakistan used solar panels in some form.
By 2025, that number had risen even further: A household survey conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed that 25 percent of households now use solar power in some form.
Of those, per government data, the number of households with net-metering has crossed more than 280,000 consumers in the country and is sharply increasing annually. Net metering allows families who generate extra solar power to send it back to the grid in exchange for credits that they can use when they need non-solar power.
But analysts say it is mostly upper-middle-class and upper-class Pakistanis who are benefitting. The upfront costs of installing solar systems can range from several hundred thousand to more than a million rupees, depending on the system size and batteries. Poorer Pakistanis cannot afford that cost.
Once installed, the electricity bills of consumers suddenly drop. Commercial and industrial users are major beneficiaries, installing solar systems to also shield themselves from power outages. Lower electricity costs make the industries more competitive internationally, especially for export-oriented ones.
Several farmers in Balochistan and Punjab who use solar-powered tube wells for irrigation get a reliable water supply and avoid fluctuating diesel prices. In rural areas, where electricity supply is erratic, solar power has become a source of survival rather than a luxury.
But poorer people in urban and rural Pakistan risk getting left behind.
Further, net-metering users use electricity from the grid at night or when it is not sunny, but do not pay many fixed costs associated with the nation’s power system. In effect, that means that non-solar users – including many poor Pakistanis – subsidise the limited use of the national grid by solar consumers.
Reports suggest that net-metering has already shifted a financial burden of 159 billion rupees ($570m) onto grid consumers, which could rise in the future in significant proportions.
As a result, experts fear that Pakistan is producing a two-tier energy system – one for solar users and the other for everyone else.
Most of Pakistan’s solar panels are imported from China, which controls 80 percent of the industry’s global solar supply chain and produces a large number of solar wafers, cells and panels used globally, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Chinese lithium-ion batteries are simultaneously entering Pakistan’s market. These batteries store electricity during the day to be used at night. With decreasing prices of Chinese lithium-ion batteries, more people are installing solar panels coupled with batteries, which reduces their dependence on the national grid even more.
In Pakistan, this dependence is predominantly visible. Solar imports, primarily from China, collectively produced below 1GW in 2018. In early 2026, this grew to a staggering 51GW, making Pakistan one of the fastest-growing solar markets globally.
“Pakistan’s solar boom isn’t the story of Pakistan. It is also a China story,” says an electrical engineer at the University of Turbat, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. “These cheap Chinese solar panels are changing the renewable energy sector around the developing countries.”
The prices of Chinese solar panels have decreased substantially over the past decade due to huge production and global competition. This oversupply has pushed prices down, especially since 2018.
In the early 2010s, the price of solar panels per watt was between 100 rupees ($0.35) and 120 rupees ($0.42) per watt. This has now fallen to about 30 rupees ($0.10) per watt. A home solar system of 3KW typically costs about 450,000 rupees ($1,610), while larger commercial systems cost up to 2,200,000 rupees ($7,874).
In Pakistan, this lower cost of solar modules coincided with a period of electricity shortage, rising tariffs and a spike in global oil prices following the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. This made solar energy a viable alternative for households, businesses and farmers who could afford the one-time investment.
The price of lithium-ion batteries, particularly from China, has also fallen, allowing households to even store electricity for night use and reduce their dependence on unreliable grid electricity. Prices fell by 20 percent in just 2024, according to the IEA.
But the University of Turbat engineer pointed out that Pakistan, while cutting its reliance on fuel imports, was building a new form of dependency. “Without manufacturing solar panels itself, Pakistan is falling into a new form of dependency – this time on imported technology rather than imported fuel.”
The government of Pakistan, meanwhile, has flip-flopped on its attitude towards solar power.
It introduced a net-metering policy in 2015 to promote renewable energy and allow people to sell electricity to the grid at about 25 rupees ($0.090) per unit. The government also removed some taxes on solar panel imports, which made solar systems cheaper. These policies helped the solar market grow quickly.
However, the government subsequently grew concerned about the financial impact on the power sector, as solar installations increased. Recently, the government reduced the buyback rate for new net-metering users to about 10 rupees ($0.036) per unit.
All of that is a small compromise for farmers like Baksh.
Back in Dasht, he prepares his watermelons for transport, loading them on pick-up cars and trucks bound for nearby markets in Turbat and Gwadar cities.
Fuel prices fluctuate, and the transport of these watermelons remains uncertain. But one part of his work is stable and isn’t dependent on global events.
He aspires to buy more solar panels, cultivate more watermelons the next season and send them to larger markets in Quetta and Karachi – cities that are farther away.
For him, at least, he says: “The water keeps flowing no matter what.”
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Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury begin to graze as soon as they are released from a trailer at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Two ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury keep an eye on a roaming photographer while grazing at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the sheep will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Caroline Owens of Owens Farms in Sunbury opens the gate to her trailer to release sheep to graze at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove until late fall on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
A portion of the 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove is shown on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
Caroline Owens of Owens Farms in Sunbury opens the gate to her trailer and watches sheep run to graze at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove until late fall on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
A portion of the 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove sits in the sun on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
A lone ewe from Owens Farms in Sunbury keeps an eye on a roaming photographer between grazing and moving around at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the sheep will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
A portion of the 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove is shown on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
A lone ewe from Owens Farms in Sunbury grazes under a row of solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
A panoramic view of 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall, when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury begin to graze as soon as they are released from a trailer at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Caroline Owens of Owens Farms in Sunbury opens the gate to her trailer to release sheep to graze at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove until late fall on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
A portion of the 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove is shown on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
A portion of the 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove sits in the sun on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
A lone ewe from Owens Farms in Sunbury keeps an eye on a roaming photographer between grazing and moving around at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the sheep will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury graze on the grass at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the animals will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
A portion of the 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove is shown on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
A panoramic view of 12,000 solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Sheep from Owens Farm in Sunbury arrive each spring, with two to three dozen grazing the site until late fall, when they return home. The practice keeps the grass trimmed without the need for mowers.
In 2023, Boston-based solar developer New Leaf Energy and property owners Gerald and Jewel Gruber sought permission from the West Lampeter Township Zoning Hearing Board to build a 25-acre installation of solar panels on their farmland.
The pitch to the zoning board was that sheep would graze around and under the panels.
The property owners tried to argue that the solar array qualifies as agriculture because of the plan to raise sheep underneath them.
The zoning board did not buy it. Nor did the courts, after appeals from Gruber and New Leaf.
A ruling from the Court of Common Pleas, affirmed in January by the Commonwealth Court on appeal, concluded that a solar array on top of a sheep pasture did not conform to the township’s rules around use of agricultural land.
The court decision was a win for farmland preservation, according to Jeff Swinehart, president and CEO for the Lancaster Farmland Trust. It matched his organization’s view that solar arrays are not agriculture. The rulings affirmed that a farm with solar panels erected on the land, and not on a barn or house, clearly violates the deed restrictions property owners use to preserve their land, according to Swinehart.
“When we’re sitting on the most productive non-irrigated soils here in Lancaster County and we’re within a day’s drive to large metro areas with big populations, it just seems that the best use (of that land) is food or fiber rather than producing energy,” Swinehart said.
Advocates of solar energy like Daniel Dotterer, a Clinton County farmer who testified in the case as the shepherd who would be grazing sheep on the property, saw the ruling as a setback to what they see as an opportunity for multi-generational family farmers like Dotterer to sustain their business and, yes, preserve farmland.
“Ninety-nine percent of all development is permanent,” Dotterer said. “You put in a house, you put a Walmart, a Dollar General, that land is gone forever. The beauty of solar is it’s all removable.”
The property owner of the West Lampeter Township zoning case, Gruber, argued that point in court, saying that his land would become “pasture again” after the solar panels are decommissioned and removed.
Solar advocates argue installing solar arrays on farmland aids the preservation of that land in its own way, at least if the alternative is development.
Unlike a housing subdivision or a shopping center, solar arrays can be removed after their useful life, usually between 30 and 50 years. That ultimately protects farmland, advocates said.
But some residents who live next to solar projects see them as an industrial presence; ugly compared to green hills of crops and pastures.
Two ewes from Owens Farms in Sunbury keep an eye on a roaming photographer while grazing at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, where the sheep will stay until late fall, on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Mixing pastures and solar arrays is a burgeoning practice that goes by various names. Dotterer prefers the term “solar grazing,” but researchers and solar industry people also refer to it as agrivoltaics, which also includes growing crops under solar panels, not just raising livestock.
According to a 2021 U.S. Department of Energy study, growing the country’s solar power to 50% of all energy production could require 10.4 million acres of land by 2050. Of the new land to be taken up in new solar installations, 90% would be in rural communities, the study predicted.
Recent studies from Cornell University and the American Farmland Trust estimated that some 80% of that land for solar production could end up being farmland.
Growing crops like lettuce under solar panels has shown promise, but questions of making the practice cost-effective and commercially viable remain, experts said. Sheep grazing under solar panels, meanwhile, has proven an effective replacement for lawn mowers that can’t reach under the arrays mounted on steel supports just a few feet off the ground.
“If you look at the number of projects being proposed in the state, we’re going to run out of sheep,” said Tom Murphy, solar energy adviser for the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.
Other livestock like cattle may be more plentiful in the U.S. and Pennsylvania, Murphy said, but they require more height to graze under solar panels and tend to damage unprotected solar equipment.
Though the U.S. Department of Agriculture says Lancaster County is home to the largest sheep population of any county in Pennsylvania, with 10,111 in 2022, Dotterer, policy experts and stakeholders in Pennsylvania’s solar industry, municipal land planning, agriculture and energy did not know of any agrivoltaic operations here.
The county became home to the largest solar field in the state back in 2013, when a 30-acre solar array went up on a former poultry farm owned by Gerald and Linda Kreider in East Drumore Township. But since then, solar developers have gravitated west to areas like Franklin County, where land is cheaper and continuous tracts of land are larger.
More than 2,000 megawatts of solar capacity have been certified in Pennsylvania through the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards program. That’s enough clean energy to power the combined households of Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Scranton, York, and Williamsport — based on average electricity usage of 10,000 kilowatt-hours per year per household, and U.S. Census data estimating 2.4 persons per home.
A lone ewe from Owens Farms in Sunbury grazes under a row of solar panels at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
According to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission, Lancaster’s solar energy capacity stood at 122 megawatts last year, third among counties in Pennsylvania, behind York (127 megawatts) and Franklin (398 megawatts).
By comparison, the restarting of the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island is expected to carry a capacity of 835 megawatts. Microsoft contracted with the plant’s owner to use the power for a data center.
The nascent practice of agrivoltaics raises unique questions for Lancaster County farmers, their non-farming neighbors and municipal officials alike about the use of undeveloped land for larger-scale solar fields, and whether they represent a threat to the future of farming or a lifeline.
In just the last few years, a growing number of farmers like Dotterer are pointing to agrivoltaics as a solution to the land-use pressures associated with solar energy.
For more than a decade, Pennsylvania has been an energy powerhouse, thanks to the Marcellus Shale boom. Since the 2010s, the commonwealth has been a net exporter of energy, becoming a central supplier for the Northeast.
But as Pennsylvania’s natural gas boom continues, surrounding states have set aggressive goals to expand their renewable energy portfolio, attracting developers in solar, wind and hydroelectric energy.
The increasing viability of solar power, helped by a steady decline in the price of solar panels over the last decade, has led sun-drenched states like Florida, Texas and California to see enormous gains in solar development, according to federal energy data.
Pennsylvania ranks 49th in the nation when it comes to how much its total energy production comes from renewable energy, according to Department of Energy data, 22 years after it became the first state to adopt renewable energy standards.
Meanwhile, the growth of data centers to fund the nation’s AI boom has placed additional demands on grid infrastructure and put price pressure on consumers, according to a 2025 report commissioned by PJM Interconnection, the nonprofit that operates the electrical grid across Washington, D.C. and 12 states, including Pennsylvania.
The rising cost of electricity has helped to offset some of the loss of federal tax incentives for solar developments under the Trump administration, said Andy Schell, senior marketing manager at Paradise Energy Solutions, a solar company in Paradise Township.
“That’s really driving a lot of the demand” in Pennsylvania and beyond, Schell said.
According to tracking site Cleanview, there are currently 238 solar projects in development in Pennsylvania, representing a total of 13,519 megawatts of new electricity capacity in the next few years.
While large-scale solar project developers have gravitated to Franklin County in particular, the number of smaller solar arrays continue to come online in Lancaster County and nationwide, as individual property owners look to offset the rise in consumer electricity rates.
Many Amish and Mennonite communities have adopted smaller solar installations as a cheaper and easier alternative to power manufacturing businesses, said Steve Nolt, professor of history and Anabaptist studies at Elizabethtown College.
Other farmers, like Mitch Shellenberger of Shelmar Acres in East Donegal Township have embraced roof-mounted solar arrays on buildings on barns, to offset their energy bills, a practice called “net-metering” that is also available to residential customers. Power they generate on their property is calculated against their energy bills, and excess energy can be sold off through the grid.
Shellenberger’s cattle and hog operation does not have the space for a pasture with or without solar panels, but he said he would have a hard time installing solar panels over Lancaster County’s prized soil.
Shellenberger said he wants farmland in Lancaster County to stay visible and part of the landscape. “You fill it up with panels, it looks like we’re living on Mars or something,” he said.
Roof-mounted systems for farmers have been the heart of Paradise Energy’s business in Lancaster County, Schell said.
“Our owners grew up farmers so they fully believe farmland should be used for farming, so we’re not in the market to take up farmland with solar panels,” Schell said.
Preserving farmland is not just about maintaining a way of life in Lancaster County, it’s also about the look and feel of a community.
That has dovetailed into concerns from homeowners that nearby solar installations could hurt their property values, according to Matthew Svetz, educator at the Penn State Ag Extension.
Early studies looking at the effect of solar fields on property values have indicated so far that solar fields have had little effect, Svetz said.
“A big part of it is that community aesthetic,” said Svetz. “Oftentimes these things are going to be sited on farmland and there’s this idea that (residents) want these nice pastures out there.”
Solar advocates concede those points, recognizing that Lancaster County’s makeup may not make agrivoltaics an ideal fit.
For one, Lancaster County’s farmland is largely family-owned and smaller than other agriculture-intensive parts of the country like the Midwest, where many farms grow thousands of acres of commodity crops like corn and soy.
Large-scale solar developers are generally looking for 300 to 700 acres of uninterrupted land that has close access to a power station to connect to the grid, Swinehart said.
“Our parcels are so fragmented, they average 72 acres in size and they inherently run into a preserved farm,” Swinehart said of Lancaster County.
That means there are few opportunities for solar developers to build the most profitable arrays at large scales that feed directly into the electric grid like a power plant.
Lancaster County is also well-populated, with lots of suburban pockets and residential developments running up against its agricultural areas. That makes it more likely for neighboring residents to find larger arrays intrusive, they said.
Solar grazing found Caroline Owens.
After Susquehanna University built a 14-acre solar array in 2017 (built on a former wheat field that adjoins a field station students and faculty use for environmental science research and education), school officials approached Owens about using sheep to maintain the field.
The 2,000-panel array has a 3.9-megawatt capacity, powering about 30% of the university’s electricity usage, according to Amanda O’Rourke, the school’s public relations manager.
Owens, whose 112-acre farm is a few miles from campus, had never heard of solar grazing when she took the job in 2018.
Caroline Owens of Owens Farms in Sunbury opens the gate to her trailer and watches sheep run to graze at a solar farm at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove until late fall on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
Now, she teaches other sheep farmers about the practice.
Most large-scale solar arrays are owned and operated by solar companies, who lease land from property owners, a setup not unlike the natural gas boom in Western Pennsylvania.
Unchecked vegetation can obscure solar panels from sunlight and interfere with wiring and components that may need to be serviced. Weed-whackers and mowers are an option, of course, but they aren’t necessarily faster. Cutting the vegetation is often difficult work that landscaping services unfamiliar with working on solar fields tend to underestimate, Owens said.
Solar companies have become increasingly enthusiastic about solar grazing, at least in part because of its public-relations and environmental benefits, according to Owens. As a result, more solar developers are building arrays with sheep in mind, she said.
Sheep require a little bit more planning, according to Owens. They need access to water and the land should be planted with a mix of grasses the sheep prefer, and adequate fencing is needed to keep them penned on the site.
Some solar arrays also might still need a weed whacker to remove plants sheep avoid, Owens said.
The Cumberland County farmer said she’s aware that solar developments are not always locally popular, but she has found sheep tend to charm neighbors.
“People stop to watch and take photos,” Owens said.
Solar developers are increasingly embracing sheep grazing as part of their normal maintenance operations, Owens said, even if it isn’t always the cheaper option.
“Sheep are agriculture,” Owens said.
Research dispels environmental concerns over solar panels
Local opposition to solar panels is not always about aesthetics or property values, at least on the surface.
Matt Eckert, an East Earl Township resident, argued at a township zoning board hearing in March that a small ground solar installation planned on a 9-acre commercially-zoned property behind his house could lead to PFAS, known as forever chemicals, leaching into the ground and contaminating drinking water.
Eckert told LNP | LancasterOnline he is not wholly against the project or solar power, but he wants written assurances from the solar developer, Paradise Energy Solutions, that it will take steps to avoid any negative environmental impacts.
“Documentation that they’re PFAS-free and ensuring the field is prepared properly to allow for any remediation of PFAS if it’s detected,” Eckert said.
Other environmental concerns from the public regarding solar panels have cropped up elsewhere in the country, including worries of electromagnetic radiation, said Matthew Svetz, educator at the Penn State Ag Extension.
Svetz cautioned that modern solar panels have simply not been around long enough for there to be long-term studies to conclusively show what effect they may have on soil or the environment across their multi-decade lifespans.
But researchers, including at Penn State, so far have found no evidence that solar panels are shedding harmful chemicals, Svetz said, or radiation.
Recent studies from Michigan State University found a type of PFAS chemicals are sometimes used for certain coatings and sealants in solar panels, but they generally pose no health risk. They do not break down and contaminate water like other compounds classified as PFAS.
Researchers have focused extensively on some heavy metals that can be found in solar panels, like lead for soldered wiring connections, and found no evidence those were contaminating the ground either, Svetz said.
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In Richland County, the power of the sun is on the primary ballot.
Last July, the county’s three commissioners, all Republicans, added Richland to a growing list of 27 Ohio counties that have banned utility-scale wind and solar power developments. In the rural stretch of north central Ohio, that would only apply to 11 of 18 townships, whose trustees requested inclusion when the commissioners asked.
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The county-level renewable bans in Ohio exist under a 2021 law, passed by statehouse Republicans, that gives local officials unique powers to kill individual wind and solar projects in town or prohibit them entirely. State law is explicit that with other energy projects like oil wells and gas plants, only state officials, who aren’t exposed to the same political and electoral pressure, and not local ones can make the siting decisions.
But in Richland, local citizens are fighting back. After turning in just a few dozen more than the required 3,300 valid signatures within 30 days of the commission vote last year, the Richland County Citizens for Property Rights & Job Development has put the ban up for a referendum.
That means a county that President Donald Trump won by more than 44 points will have the future of solar development on the ballot May 5. This marks the second challenge of a renewable ban, after Crawford County voters in 2022 overwhelmingly upheld a wind power ban there.
Supporters of the ban say the issue is about preserving farmland. Opponents say it’s about property rights and government overreach. And notably, neither side is offering solar power as a bulwark against climate change, even as domestic oil and gas production hits record levels and the past 11 years have all been the warmest on record for the planet, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Morgan Carroll, a Shelby woman who by day raises her 3-year-old and 5-month-old, has been working on the referendum at night ever since the commissioners made their abrupt vote last year with little public notice. She said she has never been engaged in political activism before.
In an interview, Carroll said she and others backing the referendum see the county ban as a government infringing on farmers’ rights to do as they please with their land. If landowners swap soy beans for solar panels, why should the local government tell them they can’t?
“Government overreach is impeding on that,” she said.
The well-monied referendum supporters are facing a powerful opposition. In Ohio, grassroots fervor in rural communities around the state have managed to pressure the Ohio Power Siting Board to reject seven major solar projects. These projects would have been worth hundreds of millions each, collectively producing enough electricity to power millions of homes.
Some established Republican interests have waded into the race. Dustin McIntyre – a political operative who has served as treasurer for conservative political action committees around the country – recently formed the Richland Farmland Preservation PAC.
Richland Farmland Preservation’s website urges voters to keep the bans in place in the interest of “farmland preservation.” The site warns against “out of state, special interests” pushing the referendum, like the Natural Resources Defense Council. And it warns of birds killed by wind turbines each year.
“Solar requires ~20x more land than natural gas,” the site states.
Calls to a phone number listed on the organization’s campaign records were not returned.
County-level campaign finance reports obtained in a records request suggest establishment Republican interests are supporting the existing wind and solar ban. Meanwhile, progressive grassroots organizations have been lending huge amounts of staff and resources to back the overturn effort.
Richland Farmland Preservation has only so far disclosed some of its early fundraising, current as of April 15.
The PAC has raised money from some local farmers; $1,500 from Republican state Sen. Mark Romanchuk; and $2,500 from Whatman Farms, owned by Tom Whatman of the GOP political firm Majority Strategies.
And Majority Strategies, per campaign finance records, has charged the committee for more than $12,000 worth of digital advertising and text messaging on the campaign.
In comparison, Richland County Citizens for Property Rights & Job Development has raised nearly $84,000 in cash – mostly via $74,000 from Ohio Citizen Action, a grassroots advocacy, and small-dollar contributions from locals.
The Natural Resources Defense Council provided $250,000 in in-kind contributions to pay for ads and media, the disclosures say.
And Ohio Citizens Action provided another $56,000 as an in-kind contribution, funding staff, message testing, food, consulting and canvassing.
Ask us — we may dig up the answer through our reporting.
There’s no project in the Ohio Power Siting Board development queue in Richland County. But not far from there, you can find an operational solar plant, and locals who have blocked another before it ever broke ground.
In Crawford County, developers recently began construction on Sycamore Creek Solar, a 117 megawatt project spread over 917 acres. Geronimo Power, the developers, say it’ll generate $16 million in new tax revenue over the first 20 years of operation.
The county commission there, meanwhile, has voted to ban all further solar development within the jurisdiction.
Nearby, in Morrow County, the Ohio Power Siting Board last month voted to kill Crossroads Solar, a $98 million, 726-acre development. There, as in the six similarly rejected projects since 2020, the Ohio Power Siting Board said the project met all the technical requirements in Ohio law. But the local opposition from some members of the public, township trustees and county commissions convinced the OPSB to nix them.
“This is no longer a good business proposition,” said Craig Adair, vice president of Open Road Renewables, in a previous interview. “We’re not starting any new projects in Ohio.”
The petitioners have every right to oppose the ban, but Commissioner Daryl Banks, who has served in the role for 10 years now, said he’s suspicious of the money coming into Richland County from New York (the NRDC) and Columbus (Ohio Citizens Action).
He said he doesn’t buy the claim that it’s a “property rights” issue – if that’s true, so is every zoning law that says you can’t build a gas station in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Plus, as he emphasized, the county only banned industrial scale solar (i.e. huge operations, not rooftop panels) in places where elected leaders asked commissioners to.
He questioned the viability of any solar project in the area, and said that a natural gas-fed power plant can produce far more electricity with much smaller acreage.
“We want to preserve farmland,” he said. “Once it goes to solar power or wind power, it’ll never be farmland again.”
Brian McPeek works as the business manager and financial secretary for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 688 in Mansfield. But by night, he has been gathering signatures to keep the door open for solar in Ohio to try to attract the kind of projects his union might help build.
He said there’s a lot of “misinformation” in the ether that riles people up about solar. But to anyone who worries about some of the naysayers’ claims that solar is a means through which Chinese entities could “take over” our electric grid, he points to First Solar, near Toledo, the nation’s largest domestic solar panel manufacturer according to the Federal Reserve of Cleveland.
He said it’s an election about government overreach, not solar power, and he questioned who any township trustee or county commissioner is to tell landowners what they can and can’t do on their farms.
Richland County, he said, is the land of firsts. The first home microwave, glass-windowed oven, seamless tubing, and Elektro (the robot from the 1939 World Fair) all came from there.
“Mansfield used to be on the cutting edge of development for a long time,” he said. “It’s fitting that we have a historic vote and that development is once again being decided at the ballots.”
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Review and Perspectives of Perovskite Solar Cells: Toward Environmentally Sustainable and Efficient Photovoltaics ACS Publications
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Porphyrin-Sensitized Solar Cells with Cobalt (II/III)–Based Redox Electrolyte Exceed 12 Percent Efficiency Science | AAAS
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As surging AI and compute demand pushes terrestrial data centers to their limit, space-based data centers can harness infinitely abundant solar energy in orbit thanks to Rocket Lab’s rapidly scalable silicon solar arrays
Long Beach, Calif. – February 26, 2026 – Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced the introduction of advanced silicon solar arrays designed to power gigawatt-scale space-based data centers spanning kilometers in orbit.
Terrestrial-based data centers are power-constrained, land-intensive, and consume significant volumes of water for cooling. Space-based data centers are freed from these environmentally intensive and resource-heavy constraints by taking advantage of the abundant space in orbit, the cold space environment, and the limitless energy of the sun. Power is the gating factor to the scalability of data centers on orbit and Rocket Lab’s silicon solar arrays deliver low cost per watt at industrial scale, enabling gigawatt-class power generation in space using mass-manufacturable, lightweight, and modular systems that can scale economically as orbital compute demand rises.
Space solar power explained: Solar cells capture energy from the sun to generate the electricity needed to power satellites on orbit. Typically, these cells have been made of gallium arsenide and germanium due to these materials’ ability to withstand the harsh radiation environment of space. Both are critical minerals for which supply is constrained by evolving geopolitical challenges. The stark reality is that the satellite industry is projected to grow seven times by 2035, space-based data centers are on the horizon, and solar power supply chains are at risk of failing to keep up. A new solution is needed now, not years or decades into the future, and silicon is the answer.
Rocket Lab already boasts the world’s largest installed production capacity for gallium arsenide and germanium based solar arrays, and now the company has taken the future-proofing step of introducing silicon-based solar arrays to its production capabilities. Designed for constellation scale production, the arrays feature radiation hardened solar cell modules that are flexible and lightweight. This is crucial to supporting a variety of stowage and deployment methods tailored to any mission requirements. As the world’s only fully vertically integrated space power supplier, Rocket Lab already streamlines production and delivers cost efficiencies by offering solar cells, solar cell assemblies, and solar modules, solar panel substrates, complete solar panels and entire solar array wings, all integrated under one roof. Adding a space-qualified silicon solution to the Rocket Lab portfolio reduces reliance on critical mineral supply chains, mitigates potential vulnerabilities, and enables the ambitious and revolutionary space capabilities of the future including mega constellations and data centers on orbit.
Rocket Lab has taken the additional step of developing a hybrid solar array solution that incorporates both high efficiency and silicon solar cells, an approach that leverages the benefits of both solar cell technologies and enables adaptable and scalable solutions for any mission. When size, weight, power or performance are at a premium, high efficiency cells are enabling. When cost, schedule or constellation scale are required, silicon cells can meet the demand. When these factors must be traded off and balanced, hybrid arrays enable a combination of the two to deliver optimum performance at a compelling value.
“Space-based data centers are the next frontier in computing infrastructure, and reliable solar power systems will form the backbone of this revolution,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab Founder and CEO. “Rocket Lab’s silicon solar arrays are designed to meet the unique challenges of operating in space while delivering the performance needed to support the growing demand for data processing and storage beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Brad Clevenger, President of Rocket Lab USA, said: “We are at a pivotal moment in space power capability and the time for leadership is now. Space infrastructure is now as critical to the economy, national security, and daily life as roads, electricity, and running water. Introducing silicon solar arrays at constellation scale is Rocket Lab taking an essential and industry-leading step toward ensuring the ongoing security and growth of America’s space capabilities.”
This strategic decision builds on Rocket Lab’s semiconductor manufacturing expansion supported by the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. In October 2025, Rocket Lab announced a $23.9 million CHIPS award to expand semiconductor production capabilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, further bolstering its mission to deliver secure, high-performance, and domestically produced technologies.
Rocket Lab Media Contact
media@rocketlabusa.com
About Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is a leading space company that provides launch services, spacecraft, payloads and satellite components serving commercial, government, and national security markets. Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is the world’s most frequently launched orbital small rocket; its HASTE rocket provides hypersonic test launch capability for the U.S. government and allied nations; and its Neutron launch vehicle in development will unlock medium launch for constellation deployment, national security and exploration missions. Rocket Lab’s spacecraft and satellite components have enabled more than 1,700 missions spanning commercial, defense and national security missions including GPS, constellations, and exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and Venus. Rocket Lab is a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq stock exchange (RKLB). Learn more at http://www.rocketlabcorp.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at http://www.rocketlabcorp.com, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
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©2026 Rocket Lab USA
“The best time to install solar farms was yesterday.The second best time to install solar farms is now “
“A region (Sub- Saharan Africa) with abundance of Sun is knee deep in energy poverty”
3 May International Sun or Solar Day
International Sun or Solar Day is a worldwide day for observing and highlighting solar technology's potential in providing clean energy and promoting Sustainable Development Goals( SDGs). This Solar Day tradition dates back to 1978.
Introduction
Africa is synonymous with the sun. It is often referred to as the “Sun Continent”. Africa receives 60% of the sun energy, more than half of the entire Globe, that is according to International Energy Agency, (IEA). But shockingly, only 1_2% of global installed capacity and solar generation capacity is done in Africa. According to the “World Sunshine Map“, Africa receives many more hours of bright sunshine during the course of the year than any other continent of the Earth, (Powell, 2012). The solution to Africa's energy crisis or energy poverty seems so so obvious…. investment in Solar Energy; installation of Solar Panels , establishment of Solar Farms. A region with abundance sun is hungry for more electricity. Africa is thirsty for more energy, more power, the sun is literally around & in abundance throughout the whole year. Given Africa’s colossal untapped solar radiation, the continent should be installing solar panels, solar farms at an ambitious and furious pace. But this is not happening… WHY?
Dissapointing Reality
According to IEA in 2022, all of Africa added less new solar capacity than Belgium. And, in that year, it is estimated that at least 30 countries on the continent added no new utility-scale solar capacity at all. The entire African region of 1.57 billion people has just one-fifth the solar capacity of cloudy, temperate Germany…. it's mind boggling!!!
Glimmer Of Hope
Observers pointed that in the year 2025-2026, Africa’s solar power sector is experienced a record growth, with ~4.5 GW of new capacity added in 2025—a 54% increase from 2024. This development was courtesy of South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt. In 2025, South Africa led in new installations (1.6 GW), followed by Nigeria (803 MW) and Egypt (500 MW). It is said that mportation of solar related power infrastructure surged.Mostly, solar panel imports were from China, surging by 60% (15 GW) between July 2024 and June 2025, signaling massive growth in smaller-scale, off-grid projects. While large-scale utility projects are growing, a significant portion of solar adoption is driven by small, individual household, and business systems.
Africa's Energy Poverty
United Nations (UN) 7th Sustainable Development Goal reads “Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030”. However, as of now, energy poverty is a lived reality in Africa. Energy poverty refers to the lack of access to adequate and sufficient energy services. This is a severe development problem for the African economies according to former United Nations Secretary General,Ban Ki Moon:
“Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive”, Surroop etal, 2018.
Energy is not only essential for ensuring basic social services, food security, and women and vulnerable empowerment, but also for industrialisation, general economic development, and good governance. However, almost half of Africa's 1,2 billion population , that is, 600 million people lack access to power or electricity. Most people in Africa today use less electricity than a typical American family refrigerator. So while the rich world is racing ahead to electrify everything and build out a highly digital economy 1,57 billion people of Africa are being left out. Energy poverty deepens poverty, exarcabates social inequalities, depresses living standards even further. Energy poverty is harmful and harming. Modern commerce, most industries, and the entire digital economy all depend on 24/7 electricity. Any economy where outages are regular (or where costs are very high) is going to be, by definition, inefficient and unable to compete globally. Most African manufacturing firms cite electricity as one of the top constraints to productivity. As Justice Mensah puts it in his 2018 study “power outages in Africa are job killers”.
Actors
According to Todd Moss in his article titled Why Isn't Solar Scaling In Africa? of 21 February 2024, published in the Asterisk Magazine wrote:
“Of course, plenty of reasons explain why an African solar boom has not yet materialized. An array of actors — *governments, developers, investors* , even *environmental activists* — have all played a role. And it’s not that the *World Bank* holds primary responsibility for building solar farms in Africa; it’s that the Bank is the sole global institution that wears all the hats of planner, advisor, and financier for infrastructure, while its mission is to fight poverty and climate change. If any single organization should be ideally placed to catalyze Africa’s solar markets, it’s the World Bank.The organization proudly accepted that mantle to showcase to the world how it could be done. Only it didn’t catalyze Africa’s solar markets, it’s the World Bank.The organization proudly accepted that mantle to showcase to the world how it could be done. Only it didn’t”.
Scaling That Did Not Scale
According to (IFC, 2015) in 2015, the private sector arm of the World Bank launched Scaling Solar Program, to prove that bundling support for investments could blaze a trail to a solar future for everyone. Its first big project was impressive: Zambia, one of the world’s poorest countries, was able not only to attract private capital but also to slash costs for power by more than 80%, (IFC,2023). Scaling Solar’s next project in Senegal came in even cheaper (IFC,2023) Then a 2019 solar farm in Uzbekistan was even lower, (IFC,2023).And then nothing…. scaling did not scale.
Possible Impediments To Africa Solar Boom
Several possible factors hinder widespread investment in solar farms…these may include;
1. High Initial Costs and Financing
The initial investment required for solar farms, including equipment, installation and grind on the connection, can be substantial.Africa faces limited access to affordable financing.Difficulties in attracting the necessary capital for large-scale projects.Traditional financing maybe be difficult because of perceived risks.
2. Lack of Infrastructure
Inadequate infrastructure, such as roads, transmission lines, and skilled labor is also a factor in solar farm development. Furthermore, there is lack of infrastructure for efficient energy distribution.
3. Policy and Regulatory Frameworks
Lack of consistent, stable and supportive policy environment to attract investment in solar energy may be lacking.
4. Land tenure Complications
Land issues and conflicting land use policies can also create barriers to solar farm development.
5. Technical and Operational Challenges
Some African regions experience extreme temperatures and dust storms, which can affect the efficiency of solar panels. Another issue is storage of solar energy for use during periods of low sunlight or at night. Also, lack of local capacity for manufacturing solar components and the need for skilled technicians to maintain and operate solar farms.
6.Political instability and economic uncertainty
This can deter investors and hinder long-term planning for solar projects.
7. Other Considerations
The reliance on biomass energy for household needs in many African countries can be a barrier to the adoption of solar energy.
ALGERIA's Solar Farms Shining Power Example In Africa
In the Sahara Desert, Algeria is building one of the world’s largest solar farms. Part of the Sahara Solar Breeder Project , it aims to export clean energy to Europe (paradoxically ,Africa remains dark) turning desert sun into a continental power source.The Algerian government has delineated a clear roadmap for its solar energy expansion. Algeria’s solar energy agenda is among the most ambitious in Africa (IEA,2022). The country’s vast desert landscapes provide optimal conditions for large-scale solar power initiatives. By tapping into this natural resource, Algeria aims to position itself as a leader in renewable energy on the continent.
ALGERIA'S SOLAR TARGET
The country is actively transitioning itself from a fossil fuel-dominated economy to solar dominated economy. Aiming to produce 15,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035. Algeria serves as a model for both large-scale photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) development in arid regions. The Algerian government is targeting 22,000 MW of renewable capacity by 2030, with solar, particularly PV, set to account for 84% of that, alongside wind. Recent projects, such as the 3,000 MW Solar 1000 project and the planned TAFOUK1 project, demonstrate a serious push towards developing utility-scale solar farms.
Benefits of Solar Farms
This initiative underscores Algeria’s commitment to diminishing its dependence on fossil fuels* and amplifying the use of renewable energy sources. It is also a broader strategy to diversify energy sources and lessen reliance on oil and gas. Such projects also help in generating employment , invigorating local economies , and providing a sustainable and reliable energy source for the country.The construction of such solar power plants is a fundamental element of plausible Africa’s blueprint plan to curtail its carbon footprint and enhance the proportion of renewable energy in its energy mix. For example, Algeria is targeting that by 2035, Algeria will have achieved 15,000 MW of solar capacity, contributing to global efforts to mitigate climate change and reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
A Possible Future; Africa- A Net Exporter Of Energy
Africa can become a net exporter of energy in future if it really massively invests in Solar farms. In India, a huge power plant covering an area more than 5 times the size of Paris (a hybrid farm – Solar and Wind energy) is getting commisioned and has started production in phases.The hybrid farm is expected to export energy to other consuming Nonetheless, other commentators point out that a having solar farms capable of exporting energy to other parts of the world is a classic example of something good on paper but lots of practical constraints in implementation. While generation is going to be very high with such solar panels, the storage and transmission of the generated electricity to those who actually need it (who don't live in the Sahara, by the way and are quite far off) is very expensive, making the project economically unviable at present.Who knows, maybe in future years down the line when storage technology becomes more efficient, the project could be revived. Also such commentators cite the need to consider & be careful with environmental impact of such However, despite such arguments, Africa, individual households and small community living can still benefit from solar in a big way.
Way Forward
There is need to change ownership of the energy discussion.Solar is not about poor people’s energy access — it is about green power period. In the same way that Steve “Bantu” Biko’s Black Consciousness movement preceded real moves to Black Empowerment, there must be a Green Consciousness movement in Africa to push for environmentally- sound energy strategies. A green-minded civil society must demand mainstream green power from authorities in Africa. This is not something that will be given to Africa by donor agencies, social entrepreneurs or missionaries. It is something that Africans themselves must achieve through discourse and political struggle. Struggle for energy. Also, there is a need to do the hard work of re-writing policies, framing enabling environments, drafting regulations and building up capacities of companies to manage the use of solar energy. Finally, there is a need to re-think how local and international incentives can build solar markets. It is a complicated discussion.The question of energy access will remain central – because providing access to those without power is about development, about poverty reduction, about employment creation. But at the same time, solar farms must be built, solar panels plants must be installed — in the same way electricity sectors have been built in the past through large investments in dams, coal stations, geothermal wells and transmission infrastructure.
Conclusion
Africa possesses immense solar energy potential but as for now it has remained just mere potential. Solar energy has long been recognized as a promising solution to Africa’s energy crisis & energy poverty. With abundant sunlight, vast land resources, and growing energy demands, the continent has the potential to become a global leader in solar power generation. However, despite this potential, solar energy development in Africa faces numerous challenges that hinder its widespread adoption and implementation. From financial constraints and inadequate infrastructure to policy inconsistencies and other barriers. The road to a fully solar-powered Africa is fraught with many difficulties….and it is a shame that a number of Sub- Sahara African countries, to date, do not have even a single solar farm to date.
F. Madondo (African Teacher) [email protected]
REFERENCES
Disclaimer: “The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect ModernGhana official position. ModernGhana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here.”
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