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Large-scale solar projects in India face challenges from land constraints to harsh climates and technical losses. This article explores five key roadblocks and how installers are navigating around them. Datta Power Infra had significant challenges to overcome when commissioning ground-mounted solar Datta Power Infra Solar energy will play a dominant role in India’s transition to clean energy, contributing an estimated 280 GW of the nation’s targeted 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. As of July 31, 2025, the country had already installed 119 GW of solar capacity, according to analyst figures. Growth has been largely driven by massive utility-scale projects in solar-rich states like Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, the road to large-scale solar implementation is not without challenges. Many of India’s large-scale solar plants are underperforming, with discrepancies between the expected and actual energy yield. Conversations with project developers, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) suppliers, and other stakeholders suggest there are various causes for this, meaning project performance should be comprehensively monitored. As India’s solar buildout continues, fewer “perfect” patches of land will be available, and developers will need to consider building on more complex terrain. A study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has estimated India’s total solar potential at 10.83 TW, considering a land-use norm of three acres per MW for ground-mounted and floating solar installations. Ground-mounted solar on barren land contributes the largest share, with 4.9 TW of theoretical potential. A high-level assessment was carried out to identify suitable areas for utility-scale solar installations. Land parcels in mountainous and protected desert zones were excluded, and only 50% of the remaining barren land was considered usable –to ensure space for grazing, biodiversity, and community needs, thereby promoting a balanced land-use strategy. Among all of India’s states and union territories, Rajasthan in the northwest holds the highest potential for ground-mounted solar on barren land at 1.24 TW (post-exclusion), followed by neighboring Madhya Pradesh at 731.3 GW, and Maharashtra to the south at 606.7 GW. However, irregular terrain, soil instability, and fragmented land parcels pose challenges to large-scale solar deployments, especially in states like Rajasthan. “Securing large, contiguous land parcels for gigawatt-scale projects remains one of the biggest challenges,” said Sudhir Nain, head of domestic operations at Jakson Green, a developer and manufacturer headquartered in Uttar Pradesh. “Local disturbances, such as land disputes or community resistance, not only delay operations but also dent investor confidence.” Scattered layouts result in higher costs and more complex operations and maintenance. “Irregular terrain, soil instability, and erosion not only complicate construction but can also raise long-term maintenance costs,” added Varchasvi Gagal, chief executive officer at project developer Datta Power Infra. Similar to other regions, India’s electricity network brings further limitations because transmission infrastructure development lags the pace of generation capacity expansion. “Underdeveloped infrastructure can drastically bring down a project’s capacity to supply energy to the grid,” said Jakson Green’s Nain. “There are many such projects where generated energy is left unutilized due to transmission constraints.” Sanjeev Gupta, director of technical and projects at EPC specialist Hartek Group, said that grid congestion and curtailment often reduce plant output. “The challenge of integrating reactive power adds to the problem.” Harsh climates in many regions of India are another challenge. Extreme temperatures, frequent sandstorms, and dust accumulation affect plant performance and escalate operation and maintenance costs. PV modules don’t reach their full efficiency potential when operating at high temperatures and tend to degrade more quickly when these temperatures are sustained for long periods. “The extreme climatic conditions in Rajasthan and Gujarat, from soaring temperatures to sandstorms, impact PV panel efficiency and increase O&M costs,” said Gagal. A joint study by researchers at Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay demonstrated the impact of soiling on module temperatures and project performance in the Jaipur region of Rajasthan. The daily average reduction in power due to increased temperature was 0.614%, 1.044% and 1.31%, while on the same days, the daily maximum reduction observed was 1.55%, 2.53% and 3.46%, respectively. Higher temperatures led to energy yield losses and may also affect PV module health in the long run. “Extreme heat, dust storms, and high wind speeds accelerate wear and tear of equipment, reduce panel efficiency, and demand frequent cleaning and maintenance,” said Hartek Group’s Gupta. “With the increase in temperature, the efficiency of a solar plant goes down.” Plant performance depends on the use of quality PV modules and other components. “Sub-standard modules, weak mounting structures, or poor procurement practices inevitably drag down performance ratios over time,” noted Datta Power Infra CEO Gagal. Gupta added that “soiling, shading, hotspots, defects in PV modules, and potential-induced degradation (PID) remain persistent operational challenges, lowering generation efficiency in all PV based generating station irrespective of location.” Finally, while India’s government is broadly supportive of renewables, there are various regulatory hurdles that often creep in. Land title disputes, delayed clearances, and inconsistent state-level implementation can derail project timelines. Among environmental constraints, Gupta noted protected habitats as a complicating factor. “Rajasthan faces a unique hurdle with the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat. Restrictions on transmission line construction and the removal of LED reflectors, following Ministry of Defence orders, complicate project execution in sensitive zones.” Jakson Green Gagal emphasized that mitigating underperformance starts with getting the fundamentals right at the site selection stage: “Precision site selection and micro-siting, backed by terrain mapping, compression studies, and detailed solar resource assessments, ensures projects are located where they can truly deliver.” Once land is secured, efficient utilization becomes critical. “Optimized plant layouts, higher-efficiency modules, and the adoption of suitable advanced technologies can substantially increase energy output per acre – a critical consideration in land-constrained markets,” added Gagal. The industry is increasingly adopting bifacial modules, trackers, and compact layouts for higher energy yield per acre. Nain highlighted the shift toward higher-wattage modules, supported by technological advancements in PV cell and module technology and designs, which reduce the number of panels required for a given system capacity and enable greater energy generation from the same parcel of land. Larger capacity DC cables are also being used to reduce line losses. “A case study detailed that system losses in solar plants include around 3% loss due to electrical cables, alongside 2% from inverters and 5% from module mismatch. Also, a recent Central Electricity Authority study highlighted how transmission and technical losses continue to weigh heavily on India’s renewable energy output. This underscores how using larger gauge DC cables can cut losses and improve net output making such measures critical, Jakson Green’s Nain explained. Land scarcity means optimal plant layout is essential. “Tighter but well-considered spacing guarantees a higher ground coverage ratio and better land utilization. This is crucial when securing large plots is a challenge,” according to Nain. Gupta said that “restrictions on tree cutting in line with [environmental protection principles] and religious sensitivities towards trees, especially in Rajasthan, restricts land clearance. That’s where advanced site-mapping and design tools can optimize panel layouts to minimize shading losses without disturbing green cover. Elevated structures in select cases can also help maximize usable land.” The EPC company director added that instead of leaving buffer zones around water channels, projects can integrate soil stabilization techniques, embankments and bio-engineering solutions to safeguard natural drainage while using adjacent land for solar deployment. Performance over the project’s lifecycle depends on robust O&M practices. “Automated cleaning systems, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring tools are essential to sustain long-term efficiency,” Gagal said. Transmission planning is equally important. Given limited capacity, early coordination with state authorities and incorporating redundancies are vital to reducing curtailment risks. Gupta pointed out that with increasing demand for transmission corridors, congestion and shadows from high-voltage lines impact usable land. Careful master planning of solar parks, along with underground cabling or higher tower designs, can reduce land wastage caused by transmission shadows. Strong quality assurance across the EPC cycle – from procurement standards to supplier audits and third-party checks – ensures the asset remains reliable over its lifetime. • Jakson Green tackled land fragmentation by acquiring multiple smaller plots and linking them through overhead lines to create a unified project. “While this approach adds engineering complexity and higher transmission costs, it has proven to be a practical way to keep scale intact. We have successfully transformed dispersed land parcels into utility-scale solar projects through smart design and active community involvement,” said Sudhir Nain, head of domestic operations at Jakson Green.
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Solar panels typically experience only a 10-20% reduction in output during monsoons, not a complete shutdown. The reason is simple: modern panels efficiently capture diffused light, converting scattered sunlight even on cloudy days. A rooftop solar project by Freyr Energy Freyr Energy Across India, rooftop solar is fast becoming a household choice for those looking to cut electricity bills and embrace clean energy. Yet, every year as the monsoon clouds gather, one question seems to return: will solar panels still work when it rains? The assumption that solar becomes ineffective in the rainy season has held back many from making the switch, but the truth is very different. India’s Solar Advantage India is among the most solar-rich countries in the world. The National Institute of Solar Energy has estimated that the country receives nearly 5,000 trillion kilowatt-hours of solar energy annually, with most regions averaging 4–7 kilowatt-hours per square metre per day. Even when skies are overcast, sunlight continues to reach the earth in the form of diffused radiation, and modern solar panels are designed to capture it. Here’s the reality: While solar generation may decrease during the monsoon season, panels in India can still produce 7–8 units per day from diffused sunlight, ensuring energy supply continues even on cloudy and rainy days. This isn’t about bright sunshine alone, it’s about daylight, which penetrates cloud cover consistently. Global Proof: Solar Thrives Without Endless Sunshine This is not just theory. Germany, with nearly 100 gigawatts of installed solar capacity, and the United Kingdom, with about 18 GW, have emerged as solar leaders despite their cloudy climates. Rooftop and utility-scale solar systems consistently contribute 5–10% of annual electricity generation, proving that solar energy remains productive without uninterrupted sunshine. In India, the consistency of solar power during monsoon holds true. A recent analysis by Solargis – a global solar data and analytics company found that weather-related variations, including the impact of monsoon cloud cover, accounted for only a 3–10% decline in solar irradiation in 2024 compared to long-term averages. These dips are modest, and rooftop systems are designed to account for them when calculating annual output. How Solar Panels Perform During Monsoons Panels typically experience only a 10-20% reduction in output during monsoons, not a complete shutdown. The reason is simple: modern panels efficiently capture diffused light, converting scattered sunlight even on cloudy days. Overcast skies still provide sufficient brightness for panels to function effectively and generate meaningful electricity. Moreover, the annual balance of generation ensures that summer’s excess easily compensates for monsoon reductions, keeping performance steady and reliable across the year. So, the end users are not paying for solar based on daily output, but on yearly savings and those savings remain compelling. The Hidden Benefits of Monsoon Season Ironically, the rains that many see as a drawback often bring overlooked benefits. Dust and pollutants that gather on panels during dry months are naturally washed away by monsoon showers, helping them operate closer to peak efficiency. This reduces the need for frequent manual cleaning and ensures households benefit from higher performance without additional effort. There’s another advantage: rain-cured concrete foundations develop 30% greater strength compared to artificially cured alternatives. This natural curing process during monsoon installations creates superior long-term stability for the panels’ 25+ year lifespan, significantly reducing structural maintenance costs over time. Strong Economics – Rain or Shine The financial case for rooftop solar remains just as strong during monsoons. Under India’s grid-connected rooftop program, systems are designed to offset a significant share of household consumption and deliver long-term bill relief. Beyond immediate savings, rooftop solar provides a hedge against rising electricity tariffs, locking in predictable energy costs for years to come. Moreover, government subsidies, net metering policies, and declining solar panel costs have further improved the return on investment, making rooftop solar not only an environmentally conscious choice but also a sound financial decision for households across urban and semi-urban India. Here’s a bonus: the monsoon season itself brings a golden opportunity for adopters. Installers often offer 20-30% discounts on complete systems due to reduced demand during the rainy months, turning the season into a buyer’s market and giving homeowners greater negotiating power. The Bigger Picture India enjoys an average of 250 to 300 sunny days each year, giving it one of the strongest solar profiles globally. Seasonal rains are therefore just a small chapter in a much larger story of potential. Every rooftop that makes the switch reduces dependence on fossil fuels; eases stress on the grid during peak summer demand and contributes to lowering carbon emissions. For Indian households considering the switch, the numbers tell a clear story. A typical residential rooftop system pays for itself in 4-6 years through electricity savings, then continues delivering free power for two decades more. The monsoon dip, just three to four months is easily absorbed in this long-term calculation. Time to Rethink the Myth The monsoon myth, then, does not stand up to evidence. Solar panels continue working under cloudy skies, and their annual performance remains consistent and dependable. The technology is proven, the economics are sound, and millions of Indian homes are already benefiting. For Indian households, the conclusion is simple: rooftop solar is a year-round ally, offering both economic savings and environmental benefits. The clouds may roll in, but they do little to dim the promise of the sun. If anything, the monsoon season might be the smartest time to invest is when discounts are high and the competition for installers is low. The question isn’t whether solar works in the monsoons. It does. The real question is: how much longer do you want to keep paying high electricity bills when a reliable, clean alternative is available?
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Searching for your content… Phone +44 (0)20 7454 5110 from 8 AM – 5:30 PM GMT Contact Us +44 (0)20 7454 5110 from 8 AM – 5:30 PM GMT 26 Mar, 2026, 09:26 GMT Share this article WASHINGTON, March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cando Solar, a pioneer in lightweight solar energy technology, has unveiled its custom-developed rollable crystalline silicon heterojunction (HJT) solar wing solution—the Cando Solar Cloth—at the SATELLITE × GovMilSpace event on March 24 in Washington, D.C. The innovative solution is specifically designed for commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, 6G communications, and space computing power applications.
Cando Solar Cloth marks a pivotal shift from “area efficiency” to “weight efficiency,” unlocking energy abundance in space and enabling power equity on Earth, making scalable, lightweight solar power a reality. As the global commercial space industry accelerates into an era of high‑frequency launches and satellite constellation deployment, weight and cost have emerged as the primary constraints to large‑scale satellite deployment. Traditional rigid solar arrays are bulky, heavy, and expensive, a struggle to meet the growing demand for low‑cost, high‑frequency launches. Cando Solar is addressing the industry pain points with rollable HJT solar wing solution developed with advanced design and flexible engineering technologies: “Our presentation at SATELLITE × GovMilSpace is not only a milestone in showcasing our space energy capabilities but also a critical step in Cando Solar’s global expansion strategy. Moving forward, we will continue to drive the large‑scale application of lightweight solar technologies in space communications and in-orbit computing power, making efficient, cost‑effective clean energy a core enabler for humanity’s journey beyond Earth,” noted Huang Qiang, founder of Cando Solar. For more information, please visit www.cando-solar.com. Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2941810/20260325094531_3406_391.jpg Do not sell or share my personal information:
HARRISBURG- Even though warehouses continue to dot the I-81 and I-70 corridors, many of them remain empty….on their roofs. Restrictions on weight often lead to these giant, industrialized spaces being taken up by nothing except limited HVAC equipment. However, a Democrat Pennsylvania State Representative is looking to incentivize making them strong enough and solar-ready as they continue to be built up throughout the area. PA State Rep. Jacklyn Rusnock announced that her bill to allow for a tax credit to incentivize existing buildings like warehouses put the panels on their roofs and not in farmer’s fields. “The rise of online buying has brought significant changes to the logistics industry across Pennsylvania,” said Rusnock. “It provides us with a unique opportunity to leverage all this space by addressing a challenge that many Pennsylvanians are facing: rising energy costs.” House Bill 1260 would require that all new warehouses and distribution centers be constructed solar-ready and provides a tax credit for existing warehouses and distribution centers to make any retrofits necessary to become solar-ready. “These buildings offer ample real estate to advance solar energy, increase Pennsylvania’s share of electricity generated by renewable sources, create high-paying jobs, and lower utility bills for consumers,” said Rusnock. “The Commonwealth is already a leader in e-commerce; this bill paves the way for us to lead the charge in solar-ready warehouses as well.” The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
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Silver prices have fallen by more than 40% since early January, when they reached an all-time peak of about $120/oz. Image: pv magazine From pv magazine Global After oscillating above $80 per ounce (oz) between Feb. 19 and March 13, silver prices now appear to have stabilized around $70/oz. “For the time being, silver prices seem to have found a new floor, supported by yesterday’s announcement of a pause in attacks on Iran,” Philip Newman, managing director of independent research consultancy Metals Focus told pv magazine. From mid-October 2025, silver was already on a strong upward trajectory after breaking historic levels near $50/oz. The rally accelerated toward year-end, with prices climbing rapidly through November and December to around $70–75/oz, marking one of the sharpest late-year increases in decades. In early January 2026, the surge intensified further, pushing silver past previous highs to an all-time peak of about $120/oz, driven by speculative momentum, tight supply, and strong investment demand. Shortly after reaching this record, the market turned volatile again but began to stabilize compared to January’s spike. The photovoltaic industry is expected to use less silver in 2026, according to analysis published by the Silver Institute. Silver paste currenly accounts for more than 20% of total solar cell costs, creating a difficult environment for manufacturers already facing overcapacity, falling module prices and squeezed margins. Companies are exploring alternative metallization technologies and other ways to reduce silver consumption. Recently, China-based metallization paste supplier DK Electronic Materials highlighted this trend, revealing that a gigawatt-scale customer will adopt its high-copper paste for commercial production. According to Radovan Kopecek, the co-founder and director of German research institute the International Solar Energy Research Center Konstanz (ISC Konstanz), an immediate transition to copper is technically and economically feasible. “Copper screen printing can be implemented quickly, and we have received many inquiries about it,” he told pv magazine last month. Ning Song, from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, explained that even if adopting a high-copper paste results in a small efficiency drop, the price trade-off should be acceptable to manufacturers. “That trade-off is acceptable if it does not introduce new reliability risks. Ultimately, the decision depends on how well the efficiency loss can be offset at the module and system level,” she told pv magazine. Research published last September found th This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com. More articles from Emiliano Bellini Please be mindful of our community standards. Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *
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German inverter manufacturer SMA Solar has posted losses of €65.4 million (US$75.5 million) in 2025, which it attributed to a series of “one-time items”, including falling inverter prices, muted market demand and the “general macroeconomic circumstances”. The latest financial report, covering the company’s 2025 performance, largely confirms the preliminary results announced at the start of this month. At the start of March, SMA Solar anticipated end-of-2025 sales to hit €1,516 million, down 0.9% from the €1,530 million reported in 2024; today, the company confirmed that the figure. Get Premium Subscription This delivered earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €106.6 million, falling within the range of €50-180 million forecast at the beginning of March, but this does not include the “one-time items” that include macroeconomic challenges; including these figures, the company’s earnings fall below zero. This means that SMA’s losses are in line with forecast losses of €30-80 million made last September, which was itself a revision downwards from an earlier forecast of earnings of as much as €80 million. Last year, the company also announced plans to cut 350 jobs to save money as it adapts to what it called at the time a “weak” market for residential PV inverters; this ‘weakness’ is reflected in the fact that the contributions of the small-scale sector to the company’s overall revenue has shrunk over the past year. In 2025, the company’s ‘large scale and project solutions’ division delivered revenue of €1,268.8 million, up 7.9% from the year before and accounting for 83.7% of SMA’s total revenue. The ‘home and business solutions’ division, meanwhile, delivered €247.2 million in sales, down from €354.1 million the previous year; the contribution of the small-scale sector to the company’s final balance sheet has therefore fallen from 23.1% in 2024 to 16.3% last year. This is reflective of a broader decline in Europe’s residential solar sector. At the end of 2025, SolarPower Europe reported that 19 European markets saw a contraction in residential solar installations that year, and that residential solar accounted for just 14% of the continent’s total operational solar capacity. This is half of the 28% for which residential solar accounted as recently as 2023. The trade body attributed this decline to the withdrawal of government incentives for rooftop solar installations and a reversal of the high energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine that first encouraged many homeowners to invest in residential solar. SMA plans to transition away from relying on system integrators, at least for its battery energy storage system (BESS) inverters. While the company did not provide further details on this transition, the presentation accompanying its results included a graph showing integrators accounting for the entirety of its customer base in the past; between 2025 and 2030, SMA plans for BESS companies to account for the majority of its customers, while independent power producers (IPPs) will account for a significant minority. “SMA’s large-scale business is transitioning from a transaction-driven integrator model toward a more asset-owner-driven model with IPPs and storage players, which should fundamentally change both margin structure and competitive positioning,” reads the company’s results presentation. “The effect will be longer sales cycles, higher technical requirements, but also potentially more recurring service and software revenue.” Leaders in the European solar sector are turning their attention to this year’s SolarPlus Europe event, to be held in Italy on 15-16 April by PV Tech publisher Solar Media. Information about the event, including the full agenda and options to purchase tickets are available on the official website.
Preston More in Research from Swansea University has found that perovskite solar cells (PSCs) can be manufactured outside of expensive cleanrooms, an advance that could lead to low-cost, global green energy. PSCs are a new type of technology that uses a unique crystal structure to harvest light. They are thinner, lighter, and potentially much cheaper to produce than the traditional silicon panels seen on roofs. These silicon cells are highly fragile during manufacturing, where even a single microscopic dust particle can render a cell unusable, forcing reliance on expensive, energy-intensive cleanrooms and creating a significant barrier to production in developing nations. Now, researchers at Swansea University’s Faculty of Science & Engineering have found that perovskite technology has a unique tolerance to common dust and debris. Their work is detailed in Communications Materials. Lead author of the study, Kat Lacey, said: “To test the limits of the technology, we designed a custom ‘dust box’ to simulate various environments, from standard laboratories to dusty corridors. We used industry-standard test dust to see how these foreign particles impacted the devices during production.” The team tested standard laboratory solar cells and a scalable ‘roll-to-roll’ version designed for mass production. They systematically introduced dust at different stages of the process, simulating a device sitting in an unprotected room for several days. The results showed that the presence of microscopic dust had little impact on performance. Solar cells fabricated under non-sterile conditions operated almost identically to those produced in cleanroom environments, suggesting the manufacturing process is more tolerant to contamination than previously thought. Researchers found that perovskite crystals were able to grow around and over dust particles without significantly affecting the device’s ability to generate current. Moreover, the contamination did not accelerate degradation, even under conditions of high heat and humidity. “Our findings are a major win for the future of affordable green energy,” said Lacey. “For a long time, we believed high-quality perovskite solar cells had to be made in expensive, ultra-sterile environments. However, our research shows that these cells are surprisingly resilient – they can still perform remarkably well even when exposed to common dust. “By providing quantified evidence that we can manufacture effective solar cells outside of a controlled lab, it opens the door to much cheaper production. This is a gamechanger for bringing low-cost renewable energy to parts of the world where expensive facilities simply aren’t an option. While there is still a need to test how this holds up on a larger, industrial scale, these results are a massive first step. We’ve shown that the path to a sustainable future might be a lot less complicated, and a lot less expensive, than we previously thought.”
Under what circumstances would you want to fully discharge a battery in 36 seconds – which is ″100C″, as defined above? The assumption that AI is "Unbiased" is very questionable ! "on the road" not registered. How many cars are on the road compared to how many registered?
With an existing 6.5 GW PV module facility in Dudu (Jaipur), GREW Solar is expanding capacity to 11.0 GW, alongside an 8.0 GW PV cell facility in Narmadapuram (Madhya Pradesh). October 29, 2025. By News Bureau From Aerospace to EVs: Why Spherical Aluminium Powders Are Game-Changing Re Sustainability's Masood Mallick Highlights Key Challenges in India’s Waste Management Sector Dr. Faruk G. Patel Explains KP Group’s Green Hydrogen Push and 10 GW Vision EVs Emerging as High-Yield Financial Assets for Businesses: Bharat Bala, Builder & CEO, AMP.EV Technology & Grid Modernisation Key to Reliable Power Supply, Says Lokesh Chandra, CMD, MSEDCL
ReNew Energy Global Plc, an Indian renewable energy company, announced it will invest about US$9.33 billion (around ₹82,000 crore) in green energy projects in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. This is one of the largest private investments in renewable energy in the region. The plan aims to expand India’s clean energy capacity while supporting local industries and jobs. The investment will focus on key areas of renewable energy. This includes solar, wind, energy storage, and green fuel production. India is shifting from just power generation to a full renewable energy value chain. This multi-pronged approach highlights that change. ReNew Energy’s projects in Andhra Pradesh are diverse. The company will set up a 6 GW solar ingot and wafer manufacturing plant. This facility will produce essential materials for solar panels. By making them locally, India can reduce its reliance on imports and strengthen its domestic solar industry. In addition, the company will build a 2 GW pumped-hydro storage system. This storage will allow renewable energy to be saved when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, making the electricity supply more reliable. A green ammonia facility will also be built, producing around 300,000 tonnes per year. Green ammonia can be used as a cleaner fuel and for industrial purposes, helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ReNew plans to develop 5 GW of hybrid renewable projects combining wind, solar, and battery storage. These projects aim to maximize energy output and efficiency. Together, all these efforts cover manufacturing, generation, storage, and newer forms of clean energy. Andhra Pradesh has set ambitious renewable energy targets. The state aims to achieve 78.5 GW of solar, 35 GW of wind, and 25 GWh of battery storage. ReNew Energy’s investment will help move the state closer to these goals. The projects are expected to create over 10,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly. Jobs will vary from factory work at the solar plant to construction, operations, and maintenance of storage and hybrid projects. The investment will strengthen local supply chains. This gives businesses chances to provide materials, transport, and other services. By producing solar wafers and ingots locally, the state can also reduce dependency on imported materials. This supports both energy security and the development of local industries. Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, ReNew remarked during the announcement: “ReNew has a long-standing presence in Andhra Pradesh and with this expansion we are bringing a fully integrated clean energy value chain to the state of Andhra Pradesh, from wafer to large-scale renewable projects and storage deployment…We appreciate the leadership and clear policy direction of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, which makes the state a natural partner in accelerating India’s energy transition and sustainable economic growth.” The world’s third-largest CO2 emitter has the following progress in its renewable power targets. Investments like ReNew Energy’s are essential to achieving this goal. They provide not just electricity but also infrastructure that supports the country’s shift away from coal and oil. The company’s plans show that India is moving beyond simply building solar and wind farms. Making solar parts, building storage systems, and producing green fuels are key steps in creating a complete renewable energy ecosystem. This approach also strengthens India’s position in global renewable energy markets. ReNew Energy already operates wind and solar plants in Andhra Pradesh, including 717 MW of wind capacity and 60 MW of solar capacity. The new projects build on earlier investments of about ₹22,000 crore (US$2.5 billion) made in May. The scale of the projects means careful planning is essential. Building factories and large storage systems requires land, permits, skilled workers, and strong infrastructure. Financing will also need to be managed carefully. It is not yet clear how much funding will come from company funds, loans, or government incentives. Although the announcement is positive, implementing these projects will take years. The company, state authorities, and other stakeholders will need to work closely to ensure timely completion. The investment could bring both environmental and economic benefits for India. Cleaner electricity means lower greenhouse gas emissions. Local manufacturing reduces the need to import materials, which also lowers carbon footprints from transportation. Economic benefits include job creation, skill development, and opportunities for local businesses. The green ammonia project could support industries that require cleaner fuels. Battery storage and hybrid projects can boost energy reliability. This benefits both households and industries. ReNew Energy has strengthened its sustainability plans as it works toward becoming a net-zero company by 2040. The company aims to cut almost 90% of its total emissions from its 2022 levels, covering all scopes, including its supply chain. The company is boosting energy efficiency at its sites. It’s also increasing clean power use and swapping out fossil-fuel equipment for electric options. It is also working with suppliers to adopt science-based climate targets and cleaner transport systems. ReNew has made progress in recent years. In its latest reporting cycle, it reduced 18.2% of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions and helped avoid 18.6 million tonnes of CO₂ through its renewable projects. The company now gets 76% of its electricity from renewable sources. It has also saved over 540 million liters of water by focusing on conservation. ReNew’s targets are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, reflecting stronger accountability and transparency. Beyond emissions, ReNew also has broader environmental goals: It aims to be water-positive by 2030 — meaning it gives back more clean water than it uses. It targets zero waste to landfill in its operations. It also aims to make a positive social impact, including having 30% women in its workforce and improving ESG If successful, ReNew Energy’s investment could serve as a model for other states in India. Private companies can invest in many areas of renewable energy. This includes manufacturing, generation, and storage. The size of the investment shows trust in India’s clean energy policies. It also highlights the country’s long-term renewable energy market. ReNew Energy $9.33 billion investment in Andhra Pradesh is a big step for India’s renewable energy efforts. It includes solar manufacturing, storage systems, hybrid renewable projects, and green fuel production. For the state, the projects offer job creation, energy security, and industrial growth. For India, they support national renewable energy targets and demonstrate the country’s commitment to cleaner energy. The success of these projects will depend on execution, planning, and coordination among the company, governments, local communities, and supply chains. If done well, it could set a benchmark for future investments and contribute significantly to India’s transition toward a low-carbon economy.
In a surprising move, the Australian government is advocating giving the public access to free electricity for three hours a day starting next July. The Solar Sharer energy reform will be available in South East Queensland, South Australia, and New South Wales. Other states will join in 2027. The reform is expected to reduce electricity bills by AU$800 per year for those who plan wisely. Of course, electricity retailers are screaming about loss of profits. Australia has the highest per capita takeup of rooftop solar, plus many solar farms. So much solar is entering the grid in the middle of the day that the grid has to curtail it. The answer, of course, is more batteries, but in the meantime, the electricity generated is being wasted. Why not give it away? This is what it looked like at 9:00 am today (the sun got out of bed at 5:00 am): Of course, like PHEV cars, you have to plug in. The highest users of electricity in the home are appliances that heat and cool. According to my supplier, AGL, electric hot water has the highest consumption, at 5 kWh; followed by centralised air conditioning at 4 kWh; then clothes dryers at 3.5 kWh; an electric oven at 3.5 kWh; and the washing machine at 0.55 kWh. Leaving the TV on uses only 0.15 kWh and an LED lightbulb uses only 0.01 kWh. AGL hastens to add: “Please note that these are representative energy consumption figures, calculated for average appliances of this type and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Your actual energy use may vary depending on the brand, type and age of your appliance.” (Per email.) Maximum benefit will accrue to those who are able and/or willing to change their behaviours. However, even those who do not change their behaviours will still receive some bill relief. This will be a boon to those who live in buildings that do not have solar, like apartment blocks and for renters who cannot fit solar to their roofs. For me, we have converted all the appliances we can to electric, and for greater health benefits we have shifted our main meal, which involves cooking on our electric stove, to the middle of the day. We are retired and so we have that latitude. What about those wage slaves who work during the day? Most modern appliances come with timers. The biggest energy thief — your hot water system — can easily be set to run in the middle of the day and provide hot water for 24 hours. Washing machines and dryers could run during the free power zone. Many Australians are installing home batteries — this would be the time to fill them if they don’t have solar. Keep the power for peak hour. Midday is the new “off peak.” This might even encourage people to bite the bullet on buying an electric car. Free fuel. Not petrol or diesel, but electrons. This is not just good for a consumer saving thousands a year on petrol costs, but also good for the country, as Australia imports all of its fuel. If you are at home, just plug in. If you are at work, chat to the boss — he doesn’t have to pay for power for three hours, so there shouldn’t be too many objections. Of course, the opposition conservative parties are trying to say that this will put up power prices. I don’t see how. If you do, please share your thoughts in the comments. And as I mentioned, the power providers are worried that it will cut into their profits. I am sure they will find a way to squeeze more money out of the consumer. How about that connection fee, eh? At the moment, it is the highest part of my monthly bill. How would you use your three free hours of electricity? What would you have to change in order to get maximum benefit? It is going to be fascinating to see how the Australian public takes up this offer. For those running on gas, can I say to you: don’t throw out working appliances, but as something breaks down, replace it with electric. This applies to a car purchase also. Over the past ten years, as something has broken down, we have done this. Lawnmower won’t work — replace with electric. Hot water system springs a leak — replace with electric. Gas stove goes rusty and fails — replace with electric. We did this over concern for the climate. Today, there is a more powerful driving force — saving money! “Today’s announcement is a big win for consumers across the energy system, especially for renters and apartments who often miss out on savings from having their own solar panels,” Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom comments. “In the middle of the day, our grid is humming with cheap solar. The underlying price of that electricity is often zero or negative. This Solar Sharer reform means energy retailers will have to pass on those ultra-low prices to consumers for at least three hours. “That’s enough time to heat up a hot water tank, blast the air conditioner to cool a home on a hot day, run a pool pump, or charge an EV, and each one of those could mean hundreds of dollars of savings per year.” In turn, this should mean that the grid is cheaper to maintain by reducing the need for upgrades to cope with the evening peak. Smart meters are required to access the Solar Sharer program. It is expected that all Australian homes will have these fitted by 2030. Rewiring Australia commends the federal government’s plan that requires retailers to include three free hours of electricity in the middle of the day in the energy plans they offer to consumers. Some questions will need to be considered. “Will electricity retailers put up the connection fee to cover any lost profits?” Currently, I pay about AU$40 a month just to be connected to the grid, irrespective of how much power I use. Will Australians slow in their plans to install home solar if there is free electricity from the grid? It looks like the canary is singing again. First we had the Tesla Big Battery (Hornsdale Power Reserve) experiment in South Australia. This has been a resounding success and is now emulated worldwide. We are seeing more and more Chinese cars on our roads. Another success story. Next year, we will see how well the free power — Solar Sharer — reform is implemented. We will no doubt encounter those pernickety unknown unknowns. But I am looking forward to another Aussie gold medal on this one. It is now 12 noon and this is the state of electricity production at the time the free electricity would be available. It is worth interacting with the widget. Meanwhile, back at the ranch: In my house, we already cook “dinner” in the middle of the day, then relax in the cool of air conditioning for a couple of hours before we pick up the grandkids from school. These three hours of free power correspond to our highest power use. My electricity bill credit is just going to get bigger. In winter, when my solar is not producing enough power to charge the car, I will charge my Tesla at this time! What about you, how will you maximise this gift from the government, and the sun? CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy David Waterworth is a retired teacher who divides his time between looking after his grandchildren and trying to make sure they have a planet to live on. He is long on Tesla [NASDAQ:TSLA]. David Waterworth has 948 posts and counting. See all posts by David Waterworth
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Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Scientific Reportsvolume 16, Article number: 5004 (2026) Cite this article 1203 Accesses Metrics details Financial analysis has a long history of capturing the stochasticity of real-world phenomena. For informed investment decisions, it is crucial to understand and quantify uncertainty propagation from financial model input to output. Yet to that end, in the photovoltaics sector one has so far relied on coarse-grained approximations or extensive simulations. Here we present a numerically inexpensive approach that exactly traces uncertainty propagation on the level of probability distributions. It leverages analytic shortcuts through switching between different distribution representations, and only assumes independent input variables. With the financial analysis of a typical photovoltaic system as a case study, we use this approach to compute key financial metrics and demonstrate that their values can differ significantly from those obtained by a standard approximation. Moreover, we show with both frameworks that input uncertainty alone can significantly impact the outcome of financial analysis. A swift and large-scale deployment of renewable energies is essential for limiting global warming1, yet it relies on financing. Respective investment decisions however hinge on the computation of profitability metrics such as the net present value (NPV) or levelized cost of electricity (LCOE)2,3,4. These computations in turn need as an input accurate long-term (20+ year) forecasts of often highly fluctuating random variables describing, among others, meteorological conditions, costs and generated yields. The stochastic character of these input variables propagates to calculated economic target variables, and the challenge is to accurately model this uncertainty propagation to enable more informed investment decisions. As an important pillar for the transition towards renewable energies, photovoltaic (PV) power plants are a popular subject of economic analyses4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14. Relevant work on uncertainty propagation in the PV context focuses primarily on LCOE calculation8,14,15,16,17, but lacks a systematic account of the impact of input uncertainty on the calculation result. One route to achieving the latter is to disentangle the shifting input averages from varying fluctuations around those averages. Our first main contribution presented here is precisely to investigate how input uncertainty alone — while keeping input averages fixed — influences from an investor’s perspective the outcome of LCOE analysis and associated economic metrics. Moreover, we extend this investigation to another key variable, the NPV. A very coarse-grained way to account for uncertainty propagation in computations are scenario18,19 and sensitivity8,13,14,17,20 analysis, which are adequate in the absence of both data on and educated guesses for the random character of input variables. Yet nowadays, the availability of big data more often than not allows for a more detailed characterization of input uncertainty in terms of probability distributions or some of their moments — most notably through averages and standard deviations. In NPV and LCOE computations for PV power plants, random input variables like annual yields or costs are continuous (see Methods) and thus described by probability density functions (PDFs). In case underlying PDFs are unknown, their averages, standard deviations and percentiles can be well approximated using real-world time series, delivering already useful uncertainty quantifiers. Clearly, NPV and LCOE averages are the primary measures of profitability in NPV and LCOE analysis. Standard deviations, variances and coefficients of variation (CVs) can be interpreted as measures of uncertainty in input and target variables, respectively. In the PV sector, percentiles are used to define thresholds for the respective random variable that are exceeded with a given probability, e.g., the 10th percentile yields P90 as a relatively robust lower bound that is exceeded with probability 90%. These deliberate underestimations are a handy metric for investors to assess the bankability of projects. They can also be exactly computed with the random variable’s cumulative distribution function (CDF) F(x), e.g., by solving (F(P90)=1-90%) for P90. Other valuable uncertainty measures can only be computed with full information on underlying PDFs, such as the probability (P_mathrm {textrm{NPV}> 0}) that the NPV is positive, i.e., that a given project is profitable. The guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) lays out the de facto standard of how to define and measure uncertainties, as well as how to trace their propagation from model input to output21. It gives approximate equations relating input and output averages as well as respective variances (see equations 3a–3b). These equations, in the following referred to as the standard approximation (of uncertainty propagation), generally break down for large standard deviations of nonlinear input variables that can result from a highly intermittent character of renewable energies. Moreover, these equations in their standard form do not capture strongly correlated input variables, but can be amended to account for input correlations. Gaussianity of the target variable is often assumed in literature9,15,21 and considered part of the standard approximation here. For a more detailed treatment of uncertainty propagation, GUM proposes a full mapping of input variable PDFs onto target variable PDFs, yielding all uncertainty measures discussed above as a by-product. For such a mapping, it is straightforward to write down the respective — and generally high-dimensional — integral transforms whose solving GUM advises against, arguing it to be too time-consuming without further simplifications. Instead, the use of Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations is recommended22 and indeed pursued in relevant literature for only a handful of input variables7,8,15,16,23,24. These stochastic algorithms (i) sample probability distributions of input variables (ii) compute target variables based on sampled input variables and (iii) repeat steps (i)-(ii) to generate probability distributions of target variables. This allows MC simulations to trace uncertainty propagation also for correlated sets of input variables. However, it is difficult to draw analytic conclusions from computed output statistics. Moreover, in order to obtain reliable output statistics, one relies on extensive sampling of input distributions. Achieving acceptable runtimes for MC simulations with dozens of input variables (as in the scenario definitions further below) is beyond the scope of this work and left for future consideration. Here, as our second main contribution, we extend the aforementioned systematic economic analysis of PV systems to large input uncertainties for which the standard approximation fails. To this end, we present a novel analytic approach that tracks — on the level of entire PDFs — uncertainty propagation in modelling, promising feasible runtimes also for large numbers of input variables. This PDF mapping approach consists of the (mostly numerical) solution of integrals that are of significantly lower dimension than those GUM22 puts forward, with the simplification achieved through appropriate conversions between characteristic functions (CFs) as well as PDFs and CDFs. On the one hand, this Accelerating Conversion of Mapping Equations (ACME) approach sidesteps the long computation times associated with both MC simulations and brute-force integral transforms while still leaving room for further numerical optimization of involved integrals. On the other hand (and unlike the standard approximation), the presented method is valid for arbitrarily large input uncertainties and delivers the propagation of all PDF moments. The only prerequisite is that of the independence of input variables, which is a common modelling assumption due to scarce data on joint PDFs or even just covariances. In order to systematically analyze uncertainty propagation in the economic forecast for a PV system, we apply the novel approach from an investor’s perspective to multiple scenarios that represent different degrees of input uncertainty, yet constant input averages. To that end, we lay out and motivate in the Methods section the scenarios, as well as relevant input and target variables. These variables are then used to formulate the standard approximation equations and to introduce the proposed ACME formalism. Scaling relations are derived for the dependence of model outputs on a crucial model parameter, and consistency checks for the ACME formalism are formulated to ensure proper numerical implementation. In Results and Discussion, we benchmark both methods using proposed scenarios and a sensitivity analysis, assessing when and how differing degrees of input uncertainty impact key metrics for a PV system’s profitability (cf. Fig. 1). A PV plant’s profitability is influenced by its electric yield, which itself is determined by on-site meteorological conditions such as irradiance, ambient temperatures and wind, but also by technical specifications (e.g., module setup and performance ratio) and the degradation of plant components. Economic factors influencing profitability are the selling price of generated electricity, costs for operation and maintenance (O&M) and investment costs. To assess PV plant profitability in a comparative analysis of ACME approach and standard approximation (cf. Fig. 1), we focus on target variables NPV and LCOE and — without loss of generality — on uncertainty in two types of input variables. This is justified from an investor’s perspective with near-definite knowledge on project-specific input for such an economic analysis, but residual uncertainty tied to environmental variability. Workflow of and interaction between standard approximation (dashed boxes) and ACME approach (solid boxes) for the three considered scenarios (dotted boxes). Model output – distributions, scalars and equations – is represented and distinguished through shaded boxes. Assumptions used in the workflows are indicated through shaded arrow labels. In the PV context, we compute the net present value as which incorporates specific (i.e., normalized by nominal capacity) investment costs I, specific time-dependent revenues (scdot Y_t) as well as specific operation and maintenance (O&M) costs (O_textrm{M}+O_{textrm{R},t}) for each year t during a PV plant’s lifetime of T years. Here (Y_t) is the specific yield in year t sold for a fixed selling price s, while O&M costs are split into a constant maintenance-related ((O_textrm{M})) and t-dependent repair-related ((O_{textrm{R},t})) part. The quantity (O_textrm{M}) can be assigned a flat rate because it covers routine tasks like monitoring and inspections. Running costs and revenues are discounted with a rate (r_textrm{DI}) and, for the sake of simplicity, the residual value of decommissioned plants is not considered here. The levelized cost of electricity gives the average cost of electricity generation over a plant’s lifetime T, with the annual specific yields being discounted. With the LCOE, one can rank the competitiveness of different forms of electricity generation independently of electricity monetization, accounting for different plant sizes and cost structures. Unlike the NPV however, it is of limited use when assessing the absolute profitability of PV plants. Due to their complementary character in economic analysis, NPV and LCOE are chosen in the following as metrics whose uncertainty propagation from input variables is tracked in three scenarios. The input quantities in NPV and LCOE computation depend on many factors such as PV plant specifications, its geographical location, regional market dynamics, legislation and the pursued business model (in the NPV case). While the validity of the ACME approach does not depend on such specifications, we still assign to input quantities values describing a typical PV plant (see parameters in Table 1), mainly taken from19 and largely corroborated by25. In the following, we consider — in three main scenarios for NPV and LCOE computation — uncertainty propagation from two sets of random input variables: T annual specific yields ({Y_t}) and T annual specific repair-related O&M costs ({O_{textrm{R},t}}), with (t=1..T). In these scenarios, any uncertainty in computed NPVs and LCOEs arises through uncertainty in these input variables, which are considered on an annual basis t, as this is the temporal resolution on which standard NPV and LCOE operate [see equations (1)-(2)]. However, this input uncertainty does not refer to the random character of inter-annual variability as in other works26. Instead, each year t of operation in equations (1)-(2) is given its own pair ({Y_t,O_{textrm{R},t}}) of random input variables, reflecting respective uncertainties in year t, but not beyond. As in other works, it is assumed here that all random input variables are independent, which implies zero correlations within any pair of input variables. The choice of these two sets of random input variables is motivated by the following observations: (i) In the planning stage for PV plants, investors and project developers usually have specific information on quantities like I, (O_textrm{M}), (r_textrm{DE}) and (r_textrm{DI}) which are typically fixed over the project lifetime. Yet they need to accept and capture the stochasticity of yield generation and failure occurence [cf. (P_{textrm{Y}_t}(x)) and (P_mathrm {O_R}(x)) in Table 1]. (ii) The random character of these latter two processes is quantified in literature. (iii) They have markedly different PDFs, allowing for non-trivial behavior of the calculated target PDFs (see below). Correlations are neglected in all calculations of this work, an assumption that could however be relaxed (see Methods section). To systematically analyze uncertainty propagation in NPV and LCOE calculation, we choose a sequence of scenarios that represents different degrees of uncertainty in the set ({Y_t}) of T annual yields, while keeping uncertainty in ({O_{textrm{R},t}}) as well as all averages and other parameters constant across scenarios. This is to investigate the impact of input uncertainty on the outcome of economic analysis, and to disentangle in the process the contribution of either set {(O_{textrm{R},t})} and {(Y_t)}. In the O-scenario, we assume deterministic (Y_t) and thus set (hat{sigma }_Y=0), but draw T random variables {(O_{textrm{R},t})} ((t=1..T)) from a t-independent exponential distribution (P_mathrm {O_R}(x)) (cf. Table 1). Consequently, both NPV and LCOE are linear combinations of T independent and identically distributed random variables as also frequently assumed in standard literature. This is used as a base scenario to verify derived expressions, as well as to assess the propagation of the non-Gaussianity in ({O_{textrm{R},t}}) to the respective target variable. In the YO-scenario, the T exponentially distributed ({O_{textrm{R},t}}) ((t=1..T)) are combined with another set ({Y_t}) ((t=1..T)) of T random variables drawn from a t-dependent narrow Gamma distribution (P_{textrm{Y}_t}(x)) (cf. Table 1). This incorporation of non-identically distributed variables in linear (NPV) or nonlinear (LCOE) expressions reflects our current understanding of input uncertainties in LCOE and NPV computation. In the wYO-scenario, the same 2T independent random input variables as in the YO-scenario are considered, but the Gamma distribution underlying ({Y_t}) is widened considerably. This describes a strongly fluctuating annual yield (around the same average as in the YO-scenario) induced through pronounced climate volatility. Used input PDFs and their parameters in Table 1 can be motivated both on theoretical and empirical grounds. On the theoretical side, the employed Gamma distribution with shape parameter (alpha) and t-dependent scale parameter (theta _t) is highly versatile, with the exponential and normal distribution as limiting cases for (alpha =1) and (alpha rightarrow infty), respectively. These limiting cases are indeed observed for ({O_{textrm{R},t}}) and ({Y_t}), see below. Moreover, the Gamma distribution has support ([0,infty )), accounting for the fact that both (O_{textrm{R},t}) and (Y_t) are non-negative for all considered t. Lastly, it has a very simple characteristic function (varphi (f)=(1-icdot f cdot theta _t)^{-alpha }) that allows for quick algebraic manipulation and numeric integration in the ACME approach. Experimentally, the choice of the PDF for (O_{textrm{R},t}) is motivated by a recent comprehensive study involving around 80 PV rooftop systems27. There, a t-independent exponential distribution with mean (mu _mathrm {O_R}) and standard deviation (sigma _mathrm {O_R}) of (7 , mathrm {EUR/kW_p}) is found to sufficiently capture data variability, which is reproduced here by setting the Gamma distribution’s shape parameter to (alpha =1) and its scale parameter to (theta =7 , mathrm {EUR/kW_p}). Other studies quantify uncertainty in overall annual O&M costs ((O_{textrm{R}_t}+O_textrm{M})), assigning a normal distribution8,16 or uniform distribution ([17]), with CVs ranging from 0.058 to 0.3316. Yet in those cases, the chosen probability distributions seem to stem from the maximum-entropy principle rather than from sampling real-world cost PDFs. For (Y_t), a normal distribution is commonly assumed16,28,29 or deemed plausible8; but see17 that operates with an exponential shape instead. The YO-scenario approximates this normal distribution, as there the Gamma distribution’s shape parameter (alpha =100) is fairly large, with the associated CV of 0.1 in line with16. The wYO-scenario with its shape parameter of roughly (alpha =1) and CV of 0.9 resembles the setup with an exponentially distributed capacity factor in17, while the O-scenario approximates the very narrow normal distribution with CV=0.03 used in8 (cf. Table 1 and Fig. 1). Note that, to account for module degradation, the Gamma-distributed (Y_t) have a time-dependent mean (mu _textrm{Y}(t)=hat{mu }_textrm{Y}left( 1-r_textrm{DE}cdot tright)) and standard deviation (sigma _textrm{Y}(t)=hat{sigma }_textrm{Y}left( 1-r_textrm{DE}cdot tright)) with the scenario-specific initial annual specific yield (hat{mu }_textrm{Y}) and standard deviation (hat{sigma }_textrm{Y}), as well as the annual linear degradation rate (r_textrm{DE})30 (see Table 1). Both the mean and the standard deviation are set to decrease by the same fraction in each year t. This is because small averages usually entail small variability and, without further data, a constant coefficient of variation in (Y_t) is a sensible guess. Consequently, (alpha) is a constant, while (theta _t) depends on t (cf. Table 1). Formalizing notation in uncertainty propagation, one deals with a vector (textbf{x}=(x_1, x_2,…, x_v)) of input variables — with associated mean values (mathbf {mu _x}=left( mu _1, mu _2,…, mu _vright)) and standard deviations (mathbf {sigma _x}=left( sigma _1, sigma _2,…,sigma _vright)) — feeding into the computation of a target variable (f(x_1, x_2,…,x_v)) (e.g., the LCOE or NPV). If (f=sum _{j=1}^v{a_j x_j}) is a mere linear combination of uncorrelated input variables, then its variance — the squared standard deviation — is (sigma _f^2=sum _{j=1}^v{a_j^2 sigma _j^2}). This is similar to the propagation of averages (mu _f=sum _{j=1}^v{a_j mu _j}) for such a linear function f. If, instead, f factorizes as (f=kprod _{j=1}^v{x_j}) with independent input variables and constant k, then (sigma _f^2=k^2left[ prod _{j=1}^v{left( sigma _j^2+mu _j^2right) -prod _{j=1}^vmu _j^2}right]) since f’s raw moments also factorize. The latter re-declaration of a given output variable f as a product of input variables is a common procedure in literature to simplify the computation of (sigma _f)15,24. However, it shifts the modeller’s efforts towards interpreting the associated input variables (x_j) and quantifying their standard deviations (sigma _j). For general functional forms (f(x_1, x_2,…,x_v)), the standard approximation is to consider their Taylor expansion around (textbf{x}=mathbf {mu _x}), assuming uncorrelated input variables (x_j)21. This delivers output averages and variances as where only terms up to (O(sigma _j^2)) are considered. Note that already the approximate equation for the average yields a counter-intuitive second-order term which can however be motivated through a simple example: consider the function (f(x)=x^2) of a single random variable x with mean (mu _xequiv langle x rangle) and variance (sigma ^2_xequiv langle x^2 rangle -langle x rangle ^2), where (langle cdot rangle) denotes averaging. From (mu _fequiv langle f rangle =langle x^2 rangle) follows (mu _f=f(mu _x)+sigma _x^2), i.e., (mu _f= fleft( mu _xright) +frac{1}{2}frac{partial ^2 f}{partial x^2} biggr |_{{textbf {x}}={mu _{{textbf {x}}}}} sigma _x^2) as an exact equality. The equation for the variance is known as the Gaussian law of error propagation and, for the special case of (f=kprod _{j=1}^v x_j), turns into (sigma ^2_f/f^2approx sum _{j=1}^vsigma ^2_j/x_j^2), directly relating coefficients of variation instead of absolute standard deviations, which is the de-facto standard expression in the PV sector for analytically calculating uncertainty propagation9,15. Reassuringly, these equations are completely agnostic with respect to the shape of underlying PDFs, including the symmetry of the latter. And yet, assuming Gaussian input variables further simplifies calculations: The target variable f is Gaussian if it is a linear combination of independent Gaussian input variables. This is useful, because in the Gaussian case, standard deviations can be quickly converted to percentiles through standard normal tables. These simplifications add to the appeal of using Gaussian variables, but also let some modelers mistake their usefulness for their necessity. For averages and variances of NPVs and LCOEs, equations 3a–3b yield where only equations (4a)-(4b) are exact due to the linearity of the NPV in its considered input variables [cf. equation (1)]. Additionally assuming a Gaussian target distribution parametrized by the calculated averages and variances, the standard approximation equations (4a)-(4d) can be used to estimate (P_mathrm {textrm{NPV}> 0}) as well as P90 values. Note that equations (4a)-(4d) are also valid in the O-scenario (setting (sigma _textrm{Y}=0)) and, in that case, moreover all exact [due to the linear dependence of equations (1)-(2) on (O_{textrm{R},t})]. The proposed PDF mapping is a two-step process, where the second step is necessary only for nonlinear target variable LCOE: In the functional form of the target variable, any linear combination (sum _i a_i X_i) of independent input variables (X_i) (with possibly different PDFs) is expressed as a new composite variable Z. The characteristic function of Z, which is defined as the Fourier transform of Z’s PDF, is then simply (varphi _Z (f)=prod _i{varphi _ileft( a_i fright) }), where (varphi _i(f)) is the CF of input variable (X_i). Introducing such composite variables significantly reduces complexity through replacing multiple integration of PDFs in probability space with mere multiplication of CFs in Fourier space. This already delivers the NPV PDF and CDF through a single numerical integration (with the respective Gil-Pelaez inversion formula) in all considered scenarios and the LCOE PDF in the O-scenario, since — according to equations (1)-(2) — we deal in those cases with just a linear combination of (assumed independent) input variables. In contrast, the brute-force strategy laid out in GUM22 requires — both for obtaining NPV and LCOE PDFs — solving high-dimensional integrals over the PDFs of (T=30) (O-scenario) or (2T=60) (YO- and wYO-scenario) random variables. For the target variable LCOE in the YO- and wYO-scenario that is a nonlinear function of random variables, PDF and CDF cannot be exclusively computed with step 1. Instead, both numerator and denominator are expressed as composite random variables (hat{Z}) and (Z_1), respectively, according to step 1. Both are measurable functions of disjoint sets of independent random variables and thus also independent. This allows to write the CF of LCOE as (varphi _textrm{LCOE}(f)equiv varphi _{hat{Z}/Z_1}(f)=int _{-infty }^infty {textrm{d}z_1,varphi _mathrm {hat{Z}}left( f/z_1right) P_mathrm {Z_1}(z_1)}), where (varphi _mathrm{hat{Z}}(f)), (varphi _mathrm {Z_1}(f)) and (P_mathrm {Z_1}(z_1)) are obtained as in step 1. Finally, the PDF and CDF of the LCOE are computed from (varphi _textrm{LCOE}(f)). Hence in total, two single integrations are necessary in this case to compute LCOE distributions. We first detail the NPV PDF computation for the YO- and wYO-scenario, and then adapt obtained expressions to the O-scenario. According to equation (1), one can write (textrm{NPV}=s cdot Z_1-Z_2-Z_3) with composite variables (Z_1equiv sum _{t=1}^T{Y_t/(1+r_textrm{DI})^t}) and (Z_2equiv sum _{t=1}^T{O_{textrm{R},t}/(1+r_textrm{DI})^t}) as well as constant (Z_3equiv I+O_textrm{M}sum _{t=1}^T{(1+r_textrm{DI})^{-t}}). The CF of the annual yield (Y_t) is (varphi _{textrm{Y}_t}(f)=left[ 1- icdot fcdot hat{sigma }^2_textrm{Y}/hat{mu }_textrm{Y} left( 1-r_textrm{DE}cdot tright) right] ^{-hat{mu }^2_textrm{Y}/hat{sigma }^2_textrm{Y}}), the CF of (O_{textrm{R},t}) is (varphi _{textrm{O}_textrm{R,t}}(f)=left( 1-icdot f cdot sigma _mathrm {O_R} right) ^{-1}), and the CF of any constant c is (varphi _textrm{c}(f)=e^{icdot fcdot c}). Therefore the CFs of (Z_1), (Z_2) and (Z_3) are, according to step 1 of the PDF mapping approach, The CF of the NPV is simply the product again according to equation (1) and the fact that also (Z_1) and (Z_2) are independent, being measurable functions of disjoint sets of independent random variables. The Gil-Pelaez inversion formulas then yield for the NPV PDF and (F_textrm{NPV}(x)=1/2-pi ^{-1}int _textrm{0}^infty {textrm{d}f,f^{-1}operatorname {Im}left[ e^{-icdot fcdot x}varphi _textrm{NPV}(f)right] }) for the NPV CDF. Here (operatorname {Re}[z]) and (operatorname {Im}[z]) are real and imaginary part of complex number z, respectively. For the O-scenario, we set instead and compute PDF and CDF as above. Here (langle . rangle) is the ensemble average, so that (langle Y_{t}rangle =hat{mu }_textrm{y}(1-r_textrm{DE}cdot t)) in (langle Z_1rangle). For the YO- and wYO-scenario, we set (hat{Z}equiv Z_2+Z_3) and observe (textrm{LCOE}=hat{Z}/Z_1) [cf. equation (2]. We then calculate the characteristic functions of (hat{Z}) [delivering (varphi _mathrm {hat{Z}}(f)=varphi _mathrm {Z_2}(f)cdot varphi _mathrm {Z_3}(f))] and (Z_1) [yielding (varphi _mathrm {Z_1}(f))]. Knowing that (P_{textrm{Y}_t}(0)=0) in all scenarios due to (alpha>1) (cf. Table 1), it follows that also (P_mathrm {Z_1}(0)=0), so that For the LCOE PDF computation in the O-scenario, we proceed similarly to the respective NPV calculation, obtaining The LCOE PDF and CDF are then obtained from the CF analogously to the NPV case. In our systematic analysis of uncertainty propagation further below, all computed quantities are subject to an additional sensitivity analysis with respect to the plant lifetime T. This is because uncertainty propagation from T to target variables NPV and LCOE, with T being a discrete model parameter, cannot be traced with ACME or standard approach in their form laid out above. Still, uncertainty in T can be considerable due to environmental or economic hazards, and thus should be accounted for. Here, we qualitatively predict — through approximate scaling relations — benchmarking results in Results and Discussion for the T-dependent behavior of computed quantities. To this end, we make use of the fact that both the discount rate (r_textrm{DI}) and degradation rate (r_textrm{DE}) commonly attain very small values (see Table 1). To assess the T-dependence of computed averages and standard deviations, we use equations (4a)-(4d). For small (r_textrm{DI}) and (r_textrm{DE}), we obtain In these simplified standard approximation equations, the averages’ and variances’ dependence on T can be read off easily and compared to predictions of the ACME approach and the original equations (4a)-(4d) (see Results and Discussion). We further note that the LCOE equations (4c)-(4d) are exact only in the O-scenario and approximate in the YO- and wYO-scenario. To understand how T influences the quality of latter approximations, we first remark that for (r_textrm{DE}rightarrow 0), (P_{textrm{Y}_t}(x)) is t-independent (cf. Table 1). With now all input distributions being t-independent as well as (r_textrm{DI}rightarrow 0), we rewrite equation (2) as Here (langle Y_t rangle _T=T^{-1}sum _{t=1}^T Y_t) and (langle O_{textrm{R},t}rangle _T=T^{-1}sum _{t=1}^T O_{textrm{R},t}) are sample means (with sample size T) of random variables (Y_t) and (O_{textrm{R},t}), respectively. These sample means are themselves random variables drawn from T-dependent distributions with variances (hat{sigma }_textrm{Y}^2/T) and (sigma _mathrm {O_R}^2/T), respectively. Consequently, the LCOE output variable can be approximated as a function of only two random input variables (langle Y_t rangle _T) and (langle O_{textrm{R},t}rangle _T) whose variances decrease with T (with the only other LCOE dependence on T given by a vanishing additive term in the numerator of the LCOE). This suggests that the accuracy of the standard approximation equations for LCOE averages and standard deviations will increase with T. Given independent input variables, the presented ACME approach is exact, but needs careful numerical implementation. This is ensured by the following consistency checks on ACME output: Computed PDFs of NPV and LCOE (as well as of all input and intermediate characteristic functions) must be non-negative on considered intervals. The area under each of these PDF curves must moreover be 1 on considered intervals. NPV averages and variances computed from equation (7) must match those in equations (4a)-(4b). Additionally, LCOE averages and variances computed from the inversion formula applied to equation (10) in the O-scenario should match those in equations (4c). Furthermore, averages and variances computed from (P_mathrm {hat{Z}}(x)) and (P_mathrm {Z_1}(x)) must match those obtained from the numerator and denominator in equation (2), respectively (as both (hat{Z}) and (Z_1) are also linear in considered input variables). ACME averages and variances should qualitatively obey scaling relations given by equations (11a)-(11d). LCOE averages and variances computed in the ACME approach should coincide with their standard approximation counterparts (i) for small input variances (i.e., in the O- and YO-scenario) as well as (ii) for large T (in any scenario). Moreover, for large T, the NPV PDFs must be Gaussian to a high degree of accuracy, since then in equation (1), the central limit theorem approximately holds due to (r_textrm{DI}approx 0) and (r_textrm{DE}approx 0). This also applies to the LCOE PDF in the O-scenario [cf. equation (2)]. Some frameworks competing with ACME can in principle incorporate input covariances, but in practice assume uncorrelated input variables9,15,21,22,23. Like24, the ACME framework relies on the stronger assumption of independent input variables which, given the lack of data on respective joint probabilities, is a sensible approach from an operational perspective. But ACME’s independence assumption translates into strict real-world requirements for the modeled PV system: First, assuming independent annual yields ({Y_t}) implies neglecting inter-annual climate trends. Second, independent repair-related operation and maintenance costs ({O_{textrm{R},t}}) presuppose that PV system failure events appear independently of failures and repairs in previous years. Third, imposing independent ({Y_{t_1},O_{textrm{R},t_2}}) (with (t_1,t_2=1..T)) assumes that losses in (Y_t) (due to failure- and repair-induced PV system downtime) are balanced out by repair-induced gains in (Y_t) due to higher system performance. These requirements are hardly realistic, so it is natural to ask how the ACME approach can be adapted to account for input correlations in case these are known. One obvious strategy targets the summation over t in equations (1)-(2): Instead of binning all summed input variables into a single composite random variable as in the original approach, only those with sufficiently large time lags are pooled together to minimize cross-correlations between them — for example, only those with an even index t into one composite variable and those with an odd index t into another. This results in NPV and LCOE expressions with potentially very few significantly correlated composite variables, with higher chances of proper analytical or numerical treatment than the initial expressions. With both uncertainty propagation frameworks laid out, input and target variables specified as well as scenarios defined, we want to use these to systematically trace uncertainty propagation in the NPV and LCOE analysis of PV plants (cf. Fig. 1). To that end, equations (4a)-(4d) from the standard approximation are used to compute (mostly approximate) quantities that are then contrasted with their exact counterparts obtained from the ACME approach. These are NPV and LCOE averages, standard deviations as well as P90 values. To explore the behaviour of P90 values, we additionally plot cumulative distribution functions. Moreover, we consider (P_mathrm {textrm{NPV}ge 0}) (the probability of profitability) as well as the LCOE coefficient of variation. The respective ACME output in the YO- and wYO-scenario is obtained from equations (6) and (7) (NPV) as well as the Gil-Pelaez inversion of equation (9) (LCOE). In the O-scenario, equations (7) and (8) (NPV) as well as the Gil-Pelaez inversion of equation (10) (LCOE) are used, with all ACME output subject to the consistency checks laid out above. Plotting the underlying ACME PDFs, we assess their degree of Gaussianity to evaluate whether and when Gaussianity is a justified assumption in simplified models like the standard approximation. As shown in Fig. 2a, NPV averages increase roughly linearly with the number of years of operation T [cf. equation (11a)]. Moreover, since the NPV is linear in considered input variables, the latter variables’ variances do not affect computed NPV averages — hence NPV curves for the O-, YO- and wYO-scenario coincide. This linearity furthermore renders equation (4a) exact, letting NPV curves for the standard approximation and for the ACME approach coincide as well. (a) NPV averages and (b) LCOE averages computed with ACME approach and standard approximation in three scenarios. As expected [cf. equation (11c)], LCOE averages decrease with T (Fig. 2b). For large T, LCOE averages converge across scenarios, as then the only scenario-specific term (hat{sigma }^2_textrm{Y}/hat{mu }^2_textrm{Y}/T) in equation (11c) vanishes. For small T however, input uncertainty (in (Y_t)) does have an effect on LCOE averages — it increases the LCOE, especially for small T [cf. equations (4c) and (11c)], while small (Y_t) uncertainty lets the LCOE curves for the O- and YO-scenario largely coincide. Also, the approximate character of equation (4c) becomes most apparent for large (Y_t) uncertainty (i.e., in the wYO-scenario) and very small T. There, the standard approximation underestimates the LCOE. For larger T, we observe a quick convergence to ACME output as anticipated in the Methods section [cf. equation (12)]. As a consequence, the value of the calculated NPV does not hinge on the amount or shape of input uncertainty. In contrast, the projected LCOE is driven up by yield forecast uncertainty, particularly for short project lifetimes. For large yield forecast uncertainties and short project lifetimes, the standard approximation underestimates the LCOE and thus — by this measure — overestimates the economic feasibility of the PV project in question. NPV uncertainty — as given by the NPV standard deviation — increases with T and with input uncertainty (Fig. 3a), as predicted by equation (11b). Values delivered by the ACME approach and the standard approximation moreover match exactly due to the exact character of equation (4b). In contrast, LCOE uncertainty decreases with T (Fig. 3b), in line with the prediction of equation (11d). (a) NPV standard deviations and (b) LCOE standard deviations computed with ACME approach and standard approximation in three scenarios. As in the NPV case, an increased input uncertainty is reflected by increasing LCOE uncertainty, with only the O-scenario yielding a perfect match of standard approximation and ACME predictions due to the linearity of equation (2) in (O_textrm{R,t}). As for LCOE averages, the standard approximation underestimates LCOE uncertainty in the wYO-scenario, but across a fairly large T interval, before convergence to ACME output. Hence both NPV and LCOE forecasts follow intuition in that for them, input uncertainty is a driver of output uncertainty. Yet in contrast to the NPV case, the LCOE forecast accuracy actually increases with project lifetime and is moreover systematically overestimated by the standard approximation, especially for short project lifetimes. With NPV averages increasing faster with T than standard deviations (cf. equations (11a)-(11b) ), the monotonically increasing behaviour of NPV P90 values in Fig. 4 is plausible across all three scenarios of varying input uncertainty. Moreover, the higher the input uncertainty, the smaller the NPV P90 value for fixed T, which is a consequence of increasing NPV uncertainty (Fig. 3a) around constant NPV averages (Fig. 2a). We observe a fairly good agreement between ACME predictions and the standard approximation, with only large input uncertainty triggering a slight underestimation of P90 values by the standard approximation. The good performance of the standard approximation here can be attributed to averages and standard deviations coinciding with ACME predictions in Fig. 2a and Fig. 3a. (a) NPV P90 values and (b) LCOE P90 values computed with ACME approach and standard approximation in three scenarios. For similar reasons as in the NPV case, the monotonically decreasing T-dependency of LCOE P90 values in Fig. 4b follows from equations (11c)-(11d). Again we observe that, for fixed T, increasing the input uncertainty decreases the LCOE P90 value. The excellent fit of standard approximation P90 values and ACME output in Fig. 4b is counterintuitive, especially for small T in the wYO-scenario. This is because in this regime — and unlike in the NPV case — averages and standard deviations obtained from the standard approximation can differ significantly from ACME predictions (cf. Fig. 2b and Fig. 3b), with ACME PDFs being non-Gaussian (cf. Figs. 8c-i). NPV cumulative distribution functions and LCOE cumulative distribution functions computed with ACME approach and standard approximation in the wYO-scenario. This remarkable fit is put into perspective by plotting the cumulative distribution functions for small T in the wYO-scenario. In the resulting Fig. 5, we observe for both the NPV and LCOE case that percentiles of very small and very large rank are underestimated by the standard approximation, while being overestimated for intermediate percentile ranks. At the two intersections of ACME and standard approximation CDFs, computed percentiles coincide — for (T=6) in the wYO-scenario, these are roughly the 20th and 85th percentile (Fig. 5a) or the 10th and 80th percentile (Fig. 5b), explaining the good fit for P90 values in Fig 4. The larger T and the smaller input uncertainty, the less ACME and standard approximation CDFs differ from each other, and the less pronounced are resulting percentile mismatches. An added benefit of considering CDFs is that they directly deliver the probability of the target variable being in a given interval. For instance, in the wYO-scenario with (T=6), the probability of the LCOE being between 0.1 EUR/kWh and 0.2 EUR/kWh is (F_textrm{LCOE}(0.2,mathrm {EUR/kWh})-F_textrm{LCOE}(0.1,mathrm {EUR/kWh})approx 0.38) in the ACME framework and 0.27 in the standard approximation (cf. Fig. 5b). The consequences for investment decisions are multi-faceted: As in the case for NPV and LCOE averages, prolonging the project lifetime increases profitability when instead considering P90 values. Yet in the NPV case, the projected competitiveness decreases with input uncertainty while it increases in the LCOE case. Moreover, the competitiveness in the LCOE case is now underestimated by the standard approximation for large input uncertainty and short project lifetimes. Apart from the classical profitability metrics computed above, we can extend the economic analysis to two other quantities. It is straightforward to compute the probability of profitability (P_mathrm {textrm{NPV}> 0}equiv 1-F_textrm{NPV}(0)). As expected, this probability is close to zero for small T and almost 1 for large T (Fig. 6a). The location of the transition between these two values (the NPV payback year) does not significantly depend on the degree of input certainty (cf. Fig. 2a). However, the transition is steeper for smaller input certainties, in line with Fig. 3a. It is only for large input uncertainties that the quality of the standard approximation’s predictions noticeably worsens. (a) Probabilities of profitability and (b) LCOE coefficients of variation computed with ACME approach and standard approximation in three scenarios. Additionally, we calculate the LCOE’s coefficient of variation (textrm{CV}_textrm{LCOE}=sigma _textrm{LCOE}/mu _textrm{LCOE}), which in our case is a measure of relative uncertainty in the computed LCOE. With both (sigma _textrm{LCOE}) and (mu _textrm{LCOE}) monotonically decreasing with T (cf. Fig. 2b and 3b), the resulting behaviour of the (textrm{CV}_textrm{LCOE}) is not obvious. In Fig. 6b, we observe that (textrm{CV}_textrm{LCOE}) is a monotonically increasing function of T if only input uncertainty in the numerator of the LCOE is involved (i.e., in the O-scenario). For sufficiently large input uncertainty in the LCOE denominator (i.e., in the YO- and wYO-scenario), we note instead a monotonic decrease of (textrm{CV}_textrm{LCOE}) with T. Moreover, (textrm{CV}_textrm{LCOE}) increases with input uncertainty, with the standard approximation significantly underestimating the ACME value for large input uncertainties and smaller T. For PV investors envisioning a concrete business model for electricity monetization, Fig. 6a demonstrates that input uncertainty can significantly smear out the predicted NPV payback year both to earlier and later dates. Contrasting the results of Fig. 3b on absolute LCOE uncertainties, Fig. 3b suggests that the relative LCOE uncertainty actually increases with project lifetime if the yield forecast uncertainty is negligible compared to O&M cost uncertainty. The above discussion of computed NPV and LCOE quantities often invoked the purported shape of underlying PDFs. Here, we show the latter in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 for the most relevant parameter regimes. Centered ACME NPV probability density functions and normal distributions of same mean and variance. Computed for three scenarios and different lifetimes. Centered ACME LCOE probability density functions and normal distributions of same mean and variance. Computed for three scenarios and different lifetimes. We observe that in the NPV case, PDF widths grow both with input uncertainty and T, whereas they decrease with T in the LCOE case (cf. Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b). The O-scenario (Fig. 7a and Figs. 8a,d and g) illustrates how heavily non-Gaussian input (drawn from a single exponential distribution) propagates in NPV and LCOE calculation. For small T, the resulting PDFs are heavily non-Gaussian, but become Gaussian for larger T when conditions for the central limit theorem are better met. To a weaker extent, these observations also apply to the wYO-scenario (Fig. 7c and Fig. 8c, f and i) that features a more heterogeneous non-Gaussian input drawn from an exponential distribution as well as a broad and time-dependent unimodal distribution. In the YO-scenario, Gaussian-shaped input propagates to Gaussian-shaped output, independently of the value of T (Fig. 7b and Fig. 8b, e and h). The plots show that, in an investor-oriented model setup like ours, the Gaussian assumption for NPV and LCOE PDFs only holds in two cases: if the yield uncertainty is indeed given by a normal distribution or the projected lifetime surpasses 30 years. Consequently, caution should be exercised when leveraging the purported Gaussianity of LCOE and NPV variables for computational shortcuts in economic analysis (cf. Methods section). In this work, we perform a systematic study of uncertainty propagation in the NPV and LCOE analysis of PV plants. To this end, we introduce the ACME approach that traces — on the level of probability distributions — the uncertainty propagation from independent input variables to target variables. This is achieved through leveraging the occurrence of independent random variables in basic arithmetic operations occurring in NPV and LCOE, switching between different representations of probability distributions. The accuracy of the framework is limited only by its numerical implementation (for which we formulate several sanity checks), and its execution speed promises to be often much faster than that of Monte-Carlo simulations of similar accuracy. Computed ACME expressions tend to involve only low-dimensional integrals (relative to the number of considered input variables) that are more amenable to analytic treatment than the brute-force formulation of the problem. We apply the ACME approach to different scenarios that reflect an investor’s perspective in the economic analysis of PV plants. These scenarios feature constant input averages, yet varying degrees of input uncertainty, and compute several quantifiers of the stochastic character of NPVs and LCOEs. This is done for a range of plausible PV plant lifetimes, with results qualitatively predicted by scaling relations and quantitatively compared with the output of a standard approximation framework. The analysis confirms the intuition that increased input uncertainty triggers increased output uncertainty (i.e., decreases forecast accuracy) in both the NPV and the LCOE case. Less intuitively, we observe that the effect of input uncertainty on economic analysis is not clear-cut: In the NPV case, the forecast economic competitiveness is independent of input uncertainty (according to NPV averages) or a decreasing function of it (according to NPV P90 values). In the LCOE case, the forecast competitiveness decreases or increases with (nonlinear) input uncertainty, depending on whether LCOE averages or P90 values are considered. Moreover, we observe that the forecast accuracy increases (NPV) or decreases (LCOE) with the assumed project lifetime. We notice that even for longer project lifetimes, non-Gaussian input can trigger non-Gaussian NPV and LCOE output, with the latter being rather the norm than the exception in our investor-centric analysis. In our study, the standard approximation and ACME approach give matching predictions whenever they should (i.e., for many years of operation as well as for any NPV average and standard deviation), and a fairly good agreement for all other quantities and regimes. The one exception are large uncertainties entering LCOE calculations nonlinearly, i.e., exactly the scenario where the assumptions of the standard approximation are violated. Observed discrepancies should hence also occur for other choices of input PDFs provided that the yield standard deviation is sufficiently large. For a broader picture — beyond our input uncertainty scenarios and sensitivity analysis for T — of how input assumptions influence ACME and standard approximation output, we encourage further computational studies featuring comprehensive robustness checks. 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Download references S.W and U.G. would like to thank Simone Vitale and Jonathan Leloux for fruitful discussions. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. S.W. and U.G. acknowledge funding from the European Commission through the SERENDI-PV project (grant number 953016) as well as financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) through the PV2Float project (grant number 03EE1097A). Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstr. 2, 79110, Freiburg, Germany Stefan Wieland & Utku Gürsal Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar Search author on:PubMedGoogle Scholar S.W. devised the project, developed conceptual ideas and wrote the manuscript. Both authors performed the numerical analysis and reviewed the manuscript. Correspondence to Stefan Wieland. The authors declare no competing interests. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Reprints and permissions Wieland, S., Gürsal, U. Uncertainty propagation in financial models of photovoltaic systems. 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A huge scientific survey of over 1 million German solar installations has revealed a surprising statistic: their potential to degrade year by year has been significantly exaggerated. Previous models have overestimated the rate of degradation in a solar installation’s ability to generate power by between 20% to 50% according to this new survey. “Back of the envelope,” the authors admit, “the estimated cost of degradation would decrease, compared to previous findings, by about €638 million per year to maintain installed capacity in 2040.” Germany has been steaming forward with green energy installation for 20 years. Having decommissioned many of its coal power plants, and controversially eliminated its entire nuclear fleet as well, the country has installed some 60 gigawatts just of solar capacity since 2006. A common criticism of solar is that photovoltaic panels—like all electrical hardware—lose efficiency over time, and, being exposed to the elements 365 days a year, frost, heat, wind, and dust beat them down such that the power you expected to receive when you built the solar installation isn’t what you are receiving a decade after. The survey, conducted by scientists from Brandenburg University of Technology alongside a collaborator from University College London, involved around 1.25 million large and small solar installations across Germany, totaling 34 gigawatts of capacity. At 16 years, the study period was longer than any other examination, while the study period accounted for newer generations of solar panels. The authors found annual degradation rates of 0.52–0.61%, roughly half the average reported in prior studies, which also had limitations of smaller sample sizes (the largest other survey of this kind was with 4,200 installations) and shorter study durations averaging between 2 and 7 years. Other key findings support the value of large-scale solar installations. Degradation rates slow as the PV panels age. In other words, new PV panels lose capacity faster than older ones. Additionally, larger installations like solar farms degrade slower than smaller ones like rooftop arrays. “That is important because it suggests that utility-scale PV cannot simply be treated as a scaled-up version of rooftop solar,” said lead author Peitro Melo, speaking with PV Magazine. “Reliability and maintenance strategies have a measurably different impact on outcomes.” PV POSITIVITY: Planned Expansion to Take Latin America’s Largest Solar Plant Beyond 1 Gigawatt Capacity Frost, extreme heat, and air pollution affect PV panels differently at different stages of their lifespan. Extreme heat tends to reduce the efficiency of older panels more than newer ones, even though for frost and air pollution, it’s the opposite. “This is a positive result for the solar industry, from households who have bought systems up to investors in megaprojects. Lower degradation means greater output and revenue over a project’s lifetime.” GERMAN NEWS: Another way to summarize the team’s findings is that this new and more accurately-estimated degradation rate for PV systems translates to a 4.8% reduction in the levelized cost of electricity from solar panels. This means that, in order to maintain nameplate power production across the entire German fleet, 2.3 gigawatts of PV panels would have to be installed every year, while under previous assumptions, replacement rates have reached as high as 4.5 gigawatts. SHARE This Positive Revaluation Of The Power Of Solar Panels… You must be logged in to post a comment.
BEIJING — A Chinese research team has recently achieved a breakthrough in the performance of a new thin-film photovoltaic technology, raising the certified efficiency to 16.6 percent, marking a critical step toward industrialization, said the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, on Wednesday. As global energy transition accelerates and deep-space exploration and space infrastructure development make progress, major projects such as low-orbit satellite internet and space-based energy facilities are imposing core requirements on solar technology like low cost, long lifespan, lightweight design, and sustainable resource utilization. The research team from the Institute of Physics, led by Meng Qingbo, has focused on the development of CZTSSe photovoltaic, which is composed of common elements such as copper, zinc and tin. The CZTSSe photovoltaic offers advantages including abundant resources, low cost, environmental friendliness, and resistance to space radiation. It is expected to play a significant role in future large-scale energy applications both on Earth and in space. The team has tackled key challenges, including material crystallization, atomic structure and defect control. They developed an atomic vacancy strategy to guide the orderly positioning of copper and zinc atoms, fundamentally reducing defect activity and internal energy losses. Based on the progress, the team also developed the high-performance flexible cells and modules. The current 16.6 percent efficiency of CZTSSe cells already provides a foundation for industrialization. The team said that once cell efficiency approaches 20 percent and module efficiency reaches 18 percent, enabling mass production, the technology will become market-competitive and is expected to be widely applied in aerospace equipment and other scenarios. Copyright 1994 – . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form.
The “new shape of solar” in the US residential sector is driven by flexible private financing, as the industry moves away from the tax credit incentives that formed a cornerstone of the Biden administration. This is the key takeaway from Aurora Solar’s latest ‘Solar Snapshot’, an annual report that surveys more than 1,000 US homeowners and residential installers to gauge interest in, and opinions of, the residential solar sector. Get Premium Subscription Published today, the report notes that the Trump administration’s removal of many of the Biden-era tax credits available for renewable energy developers, such as those introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), has significantly shifted the market dynamics underpinning US solar, with many residential customers looking for “flexible financing [and] soft cost reduction” from the market. For instance, 55% of installers now say that third-party ownership (TPO) models, such as power purchase agreements (PPAs) or leases of solar installations built on residential properties, are now their most popular financing option for new residential solar installations. This is more popular than both loans and cash transactions, and almost two-thirds of installers say that TPO models will account for more than half of their 2026 sales volume. This shift towards TPO models contrasts to financing trends in European solar. A report from SolarPower Europe, published earlier this month, found that 2025 was a record year for solar PV capacity awarded through government auctions, with capacity contracted through private PPAs falling below 2023 levels. The following week, the report’s authors told PV Tech Premium that a “complimentary” relationship between government support and private investment would help deliver new solar capacity the most effectively in the years to come. While European auctions largely cover utility-scale solar projects, comparison with the US residential sector shows a broad political and financial divergence between the two markets. The US residential sector has clearly moved away from federal tax rebates and towards ownership models that minimise up-front costs. This is significant, as cutting energy bills remains a priority for most residential customers. The graph below shows how often each of five motivating factors were named as the most important by residential customers eager to install a solar system. The Aurora Solar report splits the results by political affiliation, and while there are variations in the priorities of some installers based on party lines, the overall trend is clear. Utility bill savings are, by far, the most common motivating factor behind installing a residential solar system, with Democrats, Republicans and independent voters all naming this the most important factor more than 40% of the time. Survey respondents were also asked to name their top three motivating factors, from the same list of five factors, for a different part of the report; more than 80% of voters for all three political parties named utility bill savings in their top three factors, demonstrating the overwhelming support for cutting energy bills through residential solar installations. Elsewhere, there is a clear correlation between political affiliation and motivation; Democrat voters are more likely to consider reducing environmental impact a key motivating factor, while independents and Republicans are more likely to prioritise energy independence. The Aurora Solar report also notes that energy storage—and, more broadly, grid resilience mechanisms—are becoming increasingly important for residential solar installers. Of the respondents asked, 53% said that US grids have been impacted by climate change, down from 55% last year but up considerably from 33% in 2024, suggesting diminishing confidence in the US’ conventional grid infrastructure. This is reflected in increasing levels of curtailment in many of the US’ grids. Between 2023 and 2024, CAISO, ERCOT, MISO and PJM all reported increasing levels of curtailment, while PJM saw more curtailment in the first nine months of 2025 than in the entirety of 2024. These grids reported phenomenal curtailment costs of US$5.4 billion in 2024, the last year for which there is complete data, and a lack of available grid infrastructure is likely to remain a challenge for renewable energy developers in the US for some time as appetite for new clean energy capacity grows at a faster rate than new transmission infrastructure additions. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are often touted as a means of delivering grid resilience, that are faster, cheaper and easier to deploy than building thousand of miles of conventional grid infrastructure. This is reflected in the Aurora Solar survey, where almost one-third of residential solar installers now expect more than three-quarters of their 2026 projects to include battery storage alongside a solar system. Indeed, more than half of sales professionals surveyed by the report say that backup power and outage protection is “the primary reason” that homeowners purchase BESS. The report also asked the homeowners themselves, and 72% of those asked, who were in the process of buying or interested in installing solar projects, said that energy independence was in the top three motivating factors for buying a home power system. The Aurora Solar report notes that now, energy resilience has become “a mainstream solar driver” and is no longer “a niche add-on”. This is one area in which the US residential sector mirrors the European solar sector. Earlier this month, attendees at Solar Media’s Solar Finance & Investment Europe event highlighted the importance of co-locating solar PV systems with BESS, in order to create a more robust business case for the project. The Aurora Solar report describes “making solar ‘policy-proof’” as the “ultimate market catalyst”. Considering the significant upheaval brought about by the second Trump administration, with his ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ slashing renewable energy tax credits more severely than many commentators anticipated, ensuring that residential solar has strong market fundamentals would be to the long-term benefit of the industry. “The past year tested the solar industry in new ways,” said Chris Hopper, co-founder and executive chairman of Aurora Solar. “This year’s Aurora Solar Snapshot shows demand for solar remains strong, but the path to adoption is changing. “The companies that win in this next chapter will be the ones that make solar simpler to buy and easier to understand, while building businesses that remain resilient even with policy changes.” While solar remains the form of electricity generation with the lowest levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), the global solar sector saw a 6% increase in LCOE between 2024 and 2025, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. While this trend was described as “anomalous” by Bloomberg solar analyst Jenny Chase, fluctuations in the cost of solar highlight the value that a supportive policy framework can bring to an industry. Indeed, despite Aurora Solar highlighting the importance of strong market fundamentals outside of a policy framework, the respondents to its survey show that policy remains a vital part of the US residential solar sector. Of those surveyed, 49% said they didn’t think they would be able to afford solar without IRA tax credits, while 68% of those with residential installations said they had benefited from the IRA, demonstrating the importance of the policy, and the uncertainty that its removal could create on the future of US residential solar. After five editions of Large Scale Solar USA, the event becomes SolarPLUS USA to mirror where the market is heading. The 2026 edition, held this week in Dallas, Texas, will bring together developers, investors and utilities to discuss managing hybrid assets, multi-state pipelines, power demand increase from data centres and AI as well as the co-location of solar PV with energy storage in a complex grid. For more details and how to attend the event, visit the website here.
An English professor writes: Why Hindi is to blame for the decline of India’s other languages Qatar’s gas terminal could take years to repair and India will suffer the cost A Hindi professor responds: English is the real bottleneck stifling other Indian languages How India found common ground with Iran after the Shah’s fall in 1979 AI for beginners: A new book unpacks the models, languages, and systems that drive the technology Rush Hour: X booked for ‘defamatory’ Modi video, Iran letting Indian ships cross Hormuz and more Fiction: When Allauddin Khilji conquers Madurai, the city’s goddess Meenakshi flees to Kumari India among ‘friendly countries’ allowed Strait of Hormuz passage: Iran Indian dies in Abu Dhabi, seventh to be killed in West Asia conflict ‘Glorification of couplehood skews honest conversations about love’: Writer Arundhati Ghosh SC-appointed panel urges Centre to withdraw 2026 trans rights amendment bill: Report ‘Bait’ review: Riz Ahmed is first class in a biting satire
An English professor writes: Why Hindi is to blame for the decline of India’s other languages Qatar’s gas terminal could take years to repair and India will suffer the cost A Hindi professor responds: English is the real bottleneck stifling other Indian languages How India found common ground with Iran after the Shah’s fall in 1979 AI for beginners: A new book unpacks the models, languages, and systems that drive the technology Rush Hour: X booked for ‘defamatory’ Modi video, Iran letting Indian ships cross Hormuz and more Fiction: When Allauddin Khilji conquers Madurai, the city’s goddess Meenakshi flees to Kumari India among ‘friendly countries’ allowed Strait of Hormuz passage: Iran Indian dies in Abu Dhabi, seventh to be killed in West Asia conflict ‘Glorification of couplehood skews honest conversations about love’: Writer Arundhati Ghosh Pakistan saw electricity prices jump by 155% in three years, while solar panel prices fell by nearly 50% and were exempted from import duties and sales taxes, making solar power a cheaper alternative for households and farmers, said an analysis by the World Resources Institute, an international NGO. South Asia has seen a rapid expansion in rooftop solar power generation in the last two years as the region tries to cut its reliance on polluting and often-imported fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. The most spectacular growth has happened in Pakistan, where rooftop solar power now accounts for a quarter of the country’s electricity supply, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a US think tank. Other South Asian countries lag far behind. India, the region’s largest renewable energy producer, boosted its rooftop solar capacity from about 11 gigawatts, or 2.6% of the total energy mix in 2023, to 18 GW by May 2025, the think tank said. But that still only makes up 3.9% of the total generating capacity. Sri Lanka also more than doubled its rooftop solar capacity from 516 MW in 2022 to 1,347 MW by the end of 2024. It now makes up 23% of the Indian Ocean island nation’s energy capacity, the study said. But Bangladesh’s rooftop solar sector has shown little momentum, with capacity at just 245 MW, or just below 1% of the energy supply. In Pakistan, the rooftop solar boom has been largely driven by market forces, according to REN21, a Paris-based think tank. Pakistan saw electricity prices jump by 155% in three years, while solar panel prices fell by nearly 50% and were exempted from import duties and sales taxes, making solar power a cheaper alternative for households and farmers, said an analysis by the World Resources Institute, an international NGO. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs trained themselves to install rooftop solar technology and spread its adoption to the local level, the WRI said. By contrast, India’s solar expansion is driven by government plans and incentives, like a programme launched in February 2024 offering a total of Rs 75 billion ($9 billion) in subsidies to install 30 GW of capacity on about 10 million homes. The country has already disbursed $1.05 billion in subsidies to 1.6 million households, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. India’s overall rooftop solar potential could be as high as 960 GW, nearly double the country’s current entire power generation of 500 GW, said the New Delhi-based think tank The Energy and Resources Institute in a June 2025 report. Densely populated Bangladesh should be ideally suited to rooftop solar power, but the country’s homes and business have lacked affordable and accessible finance to do so, while high import duties on rooftop solar components also throttled quick adoption, said an analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in August. In July, the government set a goal of adding 3GW capacity to be installed on government buildings, schools and hospitals across the country. However, Bangladesh would need to train bank officials about financing solar projects, offer low-cost finance to solar energy businesses and waive import duties on solar components, said the study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. No. The growth of rooftop solar power has often been uneven across regions and income groups. In India, states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, or Kerala had rooftop solar capacity of about 6 GW, 4.1 GW and 1.6 GW respectively, while others like the northeastern states Manipur and Meghalaya had only 10.6 MW and 0.21 MW as of September 2025, said the country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. In Pakistan, the national grid has a total installed generation capacity of 46 GW from all energy sources, though peak demand hovers between only 20 to 30 GW, said a report by Renewables First, an Islamabad-based think tank. The government has to pay the power plants a capacity payment – a set fee based on the amount of power that plants can generate – even when they remain idle due to surplus capacity. With a large number of wealthy consumers switching to solar and leaving the main grid, the demand for grid power has fallen. The government, faced with capacity payment obligations nearly tripling to 2.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.46 billion) in 2024 from 721 billion Pakistani rupees in 2022, has slapped a 10% tax on imported solar panels in this year’s budget. Meanwhile, utilities have put up prices. Grid-dependent poorer consumers, unable to switch to solar, were hardest hit. This article first appeared onContext, powered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
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About LONGi Continuing to focus on mono-crystalline technology Collaborative Employee-Focused Workplace We want to hear from you! On March 23,2026, LONGi announced its partnership with Innoptus Solar Team, Belgium’s leading solar racing team, providing its high-efficiency Back Contact (BC) technology and flexible photovoltaic solutions to support the team’s 11th-generation solar race car, “Infinite Apollo,” as it competes in the American Solar Challenge (ASC) this summer. The new car was officially unveiled at an innovation launch event held in Belgium. The unveiling of the new car marks a critical milestone for the team, transitioning from the vehicle assembly phase to the testing and validation stage after 10 months of research and development. Over the coming weeks, the Innoptus Solar Team will conduct thousands of kilometers of on-road testing across Belgium to comprehensively evaluate the vehicle’s performance under long-distance and complex road conditions, laying a solid foundation for preparing for what is set to be the longest and most challenging solar race in the team’s history. At the launch event on March 23,2026, Innoptus Solar Team provided a comprehensive overview across multiple dimensions, including the race route, competition strategy, and technological innovations. This year’s American Solar Challenge route traverses the heart of the United States, starting from the Mississippi River and passing through the scenic Great River Road and the iconic Route 66, offering both technical difficulty and visual appeal. According to the race schedule, the team must first pass a three-day qualifying round at the Brainerd International Raceway to secure a spot in the main event. In response to the technical challenges presented by the new race regulations, Innoptus Solar Team has comprehensively upgraded the vehicle’s core systems, encompassing high-performance solar modules, an advanced battery system, and the signature dual-fin aerodynamic design. As a partner, LONGi has once again engaged in deep collaborative development, continuously optimizing its BC technology products to support comprehensive improvements in the vehicle’s overall system performance. As early as 2025, LONGi served as the exclusive photovoltaic partner for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC), leveraging its advanced BC technology and flexible photovoltaic solutions to help the team achieve dual breakthroughs in power generation efficiency and reliability under extreme conditions. It is precisely based on the high level of mutual trust and technical synergy established during that time that both parties have been able to deepen their collaboration this year, integrating cutting-edge photovoltaic technology with extreme engineering applications to continue exploring the possibilities of clean energy utilization. This collaborative model has gradually become a new paradigm for industry-academia integration, drawing widespread attention both within and beyond the industry.In response to the technical challenges presented by the new race regulations, Innoptus Solar Team has comprehensively upgraded the vehicle’s core systems, encompassing high-performance solar modules, an advanced battery system, and the signature dual-fin aerodynamic design. As a partner, LONGi has once again engaged in deep collaborative development, continuously optimizing its BC technology products to support comprehensive improvements in the vehicle’s overall system performance. As early as 2025, LONGi served as the exclusive photovoltaic partner for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC), leveraging its advanced BC technology and flexible photovoltaic solutions to help the team achieve dual breakthroughs in power generation efficiency and reliability under extreme conditions. It is precisely based on the high level of mutual trust and technical synergy established during that time that both parties have been able to deepen their collaboration this year, integrating cutting-edge photovoltaic technology with extreme engineering applications to continue exploring the possibilities of clean energy utilization. This collaborative model has gradually become a new paradigm for industry-academia integration, drawing widespread attention both within and beyond the industry. About LONGi Founded in 2000, LONGi (Stock code: 601012. SH) is committed to being the world’s leading solar technology company, focusing on customer-driven value creation for full scenario energy transformation. Under its mission of ‘making the best of solar energy to build a green world’, LONGi has dedicated itself to technology innovation and established several business sectors, covering monosilicon wafers, cells and modules, commercial & industrial distributed solar solutions, green energy solutions, building integrated photovoltaic and hydrogen equipment. As an international company, LONGi’s business covers more than 160 countries and regions. Actively practicing its “Solar for Solar” concept, LONGi is accelerating the global transition to sustainable energy and promoting energy equity, enabling more people around the world to access affordable clean energy. More details here: www.longi.com/ LONGi Hotline
The Australian Rooftop Valuation Report, published alongside the official launch of AI-powered platform GreenSketch, finds Australian homes could be saving a collective $26 billion a year on electricity through solar – more than $3,000 annually for an average household. Image: GreenSketch The Australian Rooftop Valuation Report, published alongside the official launch of One Stop Warehouse (OSW) Group’s AI-powered platform GreenSketch, finds Australian homes could be saving a collective $26 billion (USD 18 billion) a year on electricity through solar – more than $3,000 annually for an average household. The report found the financial returns in Australia for rooftop solar over 10 years is estimated to be $148.25 billion and over 20 years, $394.94 billion. “For the average Australian home, this translates to financial returns of an estimated $17,600 after 10 years, and $46,888 after 20 years,” the report says. Analysing over 8.4 million individual rooftops across 49 significant urban areas using GreenSketch’s artificial intelligence (AI) agent Emily, the analysis calculated the solar potential of each rooftop individually using AI models for 3D building reconstruction. Technology deployed included satellite imagery, digitally recreating most buildings with high fidelity, AI-based roof recognition, geographical information systems (GIS), and computational logic to determine roof slope, orientation, and installable panel capacity for each address. “Emily then derived electricity demand based on state-level consumption data, calculated optimal system capacity and hardware selection following Australia’s technical standards (DC/AC ratio and single-phase grid limitations), simulated hourly energy generation and flow patterns using PV-GIS data, and projected financial returns including government Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) incentives,” a GreenSketch statement said. The analysis applied the “High Performer” configuration, balancing high performance with actual state-level electricity usage and available subsidies to generate 10 and 20 year return projections, Internal Rate of Return (IRR), payback periods, and annual bill savings for each property. Rooftop solar value The free-to-use online platform offered by GreenSketch for installers and homeowners, automates rooftop solar and financial analysis in seconds, providing a user-friendly visual tool to understand a property’s rooftop solar value. GreenSketch Country Manager Richard Cameron said Australia has one of the highest rates of residential solar adoption in the world, “yet most homeowners have no way to measure what their roof is actually worth or how to maximise that value.” “This research quantifies that hidden value – around $50,000 for the typical Sydney home over 20 years and billions of dollars collectively across the country,” Cameron said. “Until now, there has been no standardised way to value a home’s rooftop energy infrastructure. We can tell you what any house is worth, but not what the roof itself is worth. GreenSketch and Emily solve that by making rooftop value visible and measurable across millions of properties, we are creating the system of record for Australia’s distributed energy economy.” This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com. More articles from Ev Foley Please be mindful of our community standards. Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *
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Researchers in Canada found that semi-transparent cadmium telluride and low-transparency crystalline silicon solar panels can boost turnip root and leaf yields in agrivoltaic systems by optimizing light quality, distribution, and heat stress. Their study highlights that PV module type, transparency, and spectral transmission must be carefully matched to plant physiology to maximize both crop productivity and renewable energy generation. Image: Western University From pv magazine Global Researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada have examined the effects of thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) and crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar panels on agricultural yield in agrivoltaic settings and have found that PV transparency and spectral transmission are key to shape optimal crop-atmosphere interactions. “We took a hard look at agrivoltaic turnips and discovered several semi-transparent treatments that resulted in substantially more food while providing solar energy,” the research’s lead author, Joshua M. Pearce, told pv magazine. The team investigated, in particular, turnip growth under thirteen types of PV modules with varying transparency and spectral properties. Experiments were conducted outdoors at the Wired facility, Western University Field Station in Ilderton, Ontario, using stilt-mounted PV racks for field-scale agrivoltaic trials. McKenzie Turnip seeds were sown on May 21, 2025, initially with two plants per pot, later reduced to one after germination. The PV modules included three semitransparent c-Si types with transparency of 8%, 44%, and 69%, respectively, and ten CdTe thin-film modules with blue, green, and red spectral filters, varying in transparency from 40% to 80%. While CdTe modules provided relatively uniform light distribution, c-Si modules produced non-uniform patterns due to their intermittent solar cell arrangement. Throughout the growing period, key variables such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), spectral irradiance, plant height, leaf count, and fresh biomass were measured. These data were analyzed to compare turnip growth across PV treatments and to assess the potential economic impacts of agrivoltaic adoption in Canada. This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com. More articles from Emiliano Bellini Please be mindful of our community standards. Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *
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After reluctantly approving two solar power projects March 18, the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission asked for information on similar projects to help it decide whether to recommend rules to protect farmland. The commission passed conditional uses for RWE Clean Energy’s project on 69 acres west of the Cliff and Cypress roads intersection, and FFE DE Vines Creek LLC’s project on 25 acres off Vines Creek Road near Dagsboro. The Clean Energy conditional use passed by a 3-1 vote. Commissioner John Passwaters cast the only vote in opposition, but Commissioners Holly Wingate, G. Scott Collins and Jeff Allen all reluctantly voted in favor. “I’m not against solar arrays, but I think there are more suitable areas where this can be built, where it’s not a perfectly good farm field,” Passwaters said. “I have similar concerns about converting productive agricultural lands into solar farms,” Collins said. “I’m thinking that there should be redevelopment opportunities promoted instead of consuming more ag lands or, even worse, cutting forest, which we’ve seen a little bit of in the past.” The commission voted 4-0 to approve the Vines Creek conditional use, as Wingate, the chair of the commission, was the only one to voice reservations, saying only that she did so reluctantly. At the end of the meeting, Wingate asked county Planning & Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse and Assistant County Attorney Vince Robertson to gather information on solar generation projects in the county. “I would like Mr. Whitehouse to see where we are with the solar farm applications that we’ve had, what’s been approved, what’s under construction, what’s completed,” she said. “I just feel like we have been inundated with solar farms, and my concern is that we’re putting conditions on these approvals that we’re giving, not knowing if we’re making the right decision,” Wingate added. Whitehouse said he would be glad to do the research, but needs time because the next two meetings will be long to accommodate projects that were rescheduled from March 18. He said he would do research in April and provide information in May. Whitehouse estimated offhand that there have been about 40 solar projects in the county. Wingate said she worries the effects of solar generation projects need more consideration, and rules governing them may need revisions. “We have seen so many and, honestly, I’m tired of seeing these solar farms without knowing more information of what we’re going to end up with,” she said. “I’m saying I’ll reluctantly vote yes, but I really don’t have any option to vote against it because of the way the ordinance is written.”
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed. His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards. Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper. Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
Science and Technology Initially, Becker Dairy FactoryA company located in Rio Fortuna (SC) implemented a solar system that directly reduced approximately 70% of electricity consumptionFurthermore, the project was structured with GoodWe technology, consolidating a significant advance in energy efficiency. At the same time, the solution was developed by Neolight Solar, in partnership with WS Representations, using two 75 kW HT series inverters. In addition, the following were installed more than 400 solar modules of 560 W, expanding the industry’s capacity for self-generation. Firstly, the project was designed to ensure High performance without increasing contracted demand. together with the dealership. In this way, the strategy prioritized a balance between cost and efficiency. Archaeologists in Saxony-Anhalt have discovered a mysterious, narrow, and unusual underground tunnel within a prehistoric enclosure, and the most striking detail is that it was intentionally sealed. Measuring just 3 cm and possessing skin that resembles a starry sky, the “galaxy frog” lives hidden in the mountains of India and is one of the rarest and most enigmatic species of the Western Ghats forests. Scientists want to transform internet cables into sensors to listen for tremors on the Moon, and the plan could permanently change how the Artemis missions explore, map risks, and protect astronauts on the lunar surface. A 58 km² space city with 2.400 people on board could travel for 400 years to Proxima Centauri b, according to the Chrysalis concept, which proposes a new form of human life in deep space. Second Tarcísio WeberFrom WS Representações, the client was looking for an efficient solution. In this sense, the combination of engineering and technology was considered ideal for the industrial scenario presented. Furthermore, the adopted system allows for stable operation adapted to the production routine. Consequently, energy consumption has been significantly reduced while maintaining operational reliability. Subsequently, the financial results began to be observed clearly. According to Jonas BiancoAccording to the CEO of Neolight Solar, the monthly savings reach approximately… R $ 10 thousand. Thus, considering the two-year operating period, which began before the consolidation of the current data, the accumulated savings already exceed… R $ 200 thousand. Furthermore, this financial return is proportional to the investment made. Therefore, the project demonstrates economic viability within a short timeframe. At the same time, the partnership between Neolight Solar and GoodWe stands out for its continuous technical support. In this context, the integration between the teams facilitates the implementation and maintenance of the system. Second Paulo CésarAccording to engineer and CEO of Neolight Solar, the relationship between the companies directly contributes to the efficiency of the projects. Furthermore, after-sales support is highlighted as a significant differentiator. In this way, collaboration between technical teams allows for quick responses and greater operational safety. Consequently, system performance is maintained at high levels. Finally, the project reinforces the role of solar energy in the Brazilian industrial sector. According to Fabio MendesAccording to the vice president of GoodWe South America, the solution demonstrates the adaptability of the technology to different operations. Furthermore, the executive highlights that the initiative demonstrates the capacity of solar energy to generate real economy and sustainabilityThus, the project contributes to the transformation of the country’s energy matrix. Therefore, by integrating technology, efficiency, and cost reduction, the initiative consolidates a replicable model for other industries. Given this, to what extent can solutions like this accelerate the adoption of solar energy in the Brazilian productive sector?
Founded in 2021, Mumbai-headquartered Aerem Group is a Mumbai-headquartered “FinTech for CleanTech” company, specializing in full-stack solutions for rooftop and distributed solar adoption. It currently empowers over 2,000 EPCs, MSMEs, and households, enabling 1,200+ MW solar capacity with massive CO₂ reductions. In this exclusive interaction, we have Anand Jain, Founder & CEO, Aerem Group, explaining the full suite of Aerem Group solutions that addresses the entire solar value chain. Anand Jain is bullish on India’s 500 GW RE target by 2030 and foresee Aerem Group growing three-fold, backed by increased solar adoption by C&I customers and MSMEs. We broadly understand that Aerem provides end-to-end solutions to both EPC companies and potential owners of solar power plants. Tell us in brief about the bouquet of solutions that Aerem offers for these two categories. Aerem provides a comprehensive, integrated ecosystem tailored for EPC companies and solar plant owners, uniting stakeholders like EPCs, financiers, equipment suppliers, and MSMEs to accelerate rooftop solar adoption across India. For EPCs, our bouquet includes SunStore, a curated marketplace for high-quality, ALMM-compliant solar equipment procurement; AeROC, our advanced remote operations center for real-time monitoring, diagnostics, and performance analytics; design and simulation tools for optimized plant layouts; comprehensive training programs to upskill partners; and flexible financing options such as solar loans and supply chain finance through NetZero Finance, enabling EPCs to scale projects without capital constraints. For plant owners, particularly in the C&I and residential segments, we offer the user-friendly Aerem App for seamless real-time tracking of generation, savings, and health metrics, alongside hassle-free funding via NetZero, all aligned with MNRE’s Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme aiming for 40 GW by 2026. This end-to-end approach has already enabled over 800 MW across 1,500+ projects in 70+ cities, delivering 50-70 per cent energy cost reductions, as I’ve emphasized in podcasts like “Solar Is My Passion” where I describe Aerem as “Aapka Solar Saathi” to democratize solar.
On a finer point, can the owner of an existing solar plant avail services by Aerem, say for ongoing monitoring and maintenance? Yes, owners of existing solar plants whether rooftop or small ground-mounted can seamlessly integrate Aerem’s services for ongoing monitoring and maintenance without requiring hardware retrofits, making it highly accessible under MNRE-backed rooftop schemes. Our AeROC platform delivers centralized dashboards with real-time metrics like generation yield, inverter health, string-level diagnostics, and predictive maintenance alerts, while the Aerem App provides mobile-friendly insights including state-wise performance trends crucial in India’s diverse climates from Rajasthan’s highs to Kerala’s humidity. This retrofittable solution has optimized over 1,200 projects, unlocking 50-70% cost savings through proactive issue resolution and downtime minimization. In interviews like “Solar Is My Passion,” I’ve highlighted how such tech bridges EPC and owner gaps, addressing common pain points like underperformance in aging plants amid rising O&M needs in India’s C&I rooftop market, where over 75 per cent of capacity requires such enhancements.
Does Aerem deal with rooftop solar alone or does it support larger ground-mounted grid-tied installations as well? While Aerem’s core strength lies in rooftop solar for C&I and residential user driving the bulk of distributed generation, our scalable platform fully supports larger ground-mounted grid-tied installations up to MW-scales through our nationwide partner network spanning 70+ cities. Solutions like SunStore kits scale for ground projects, Partner App streamlines EPC coordination, and AeROC provides unified monitoring for hybrid setups, complementing MNRE’s estimate of India’s 748 GW rooftop solar potential alongside utility-scale growth. Having enabled 800+ MW total, we focus on C&I rooftops as the immediate growth engine toward the 500 GW RE target, but our flexible tools adapt to ground-mount needs like higher capacity factors in solar-rich states. My 15+ years in solar, as shared publicly, underscore building ecosystems that serve all scales without silos.
“Aerem empanels partners through stringent AAA quality framework, mandatory ALMM compliance, and in-house engineering validation.”
When Aerem empanels EPC partners and solar equipment providers on its ecosystem, how do you ensure the quality standards of their products and services? In other words, how do you create the confidence that “SunStore” is an assured marketplace and not just an aggregated platform? Aerem empanels partners through our stringent AAA quality framework, which includes rigorous pre-testing for durability, compatibility, and real-world performance (e.g., PID resistance, thermal cycling), mandatory ALMM compliance, and in-house engineering validation featuring trusted brands like Waaree and Emmvee in DCR kits, directly matching MNRE’s DCR mandates for subsidies under PM-KUSUM and PLI schemes. Unlike mere aggregators, SunStore is an assured marketplace backed by our 2,000+ vetted EPC network, performance warranties, and post-installation support, mitigating supply chain risks like quality variances that plague small projects. This has sustained trust across 1,500+ deployments, as I’ve noted in interviews where I stress integrity as key to scaling solar amid India’s fragmented market.
We presume that Aerem’s “owner” clients are largely from the C&I space. Are there some categories (within the C&I domain) that are showing more inclination towards solar? How is Aerem approaching the residential space? Our owner clients are indeed predominantly from the C&I space, where high-baseload users like manufacturing (textiles, chemicals), pharmaceuticals, and SMEs show the strongest inclination due to escalating grid tariffs, ESG mandates, and 50-70 per cent savings potential accounting for over 75 per cent of India’s rooftop capacity as C&I consumes 51 per cent of electricity. Aerem approaches residential users strategically with plug-and-play SunStore kits (e.g., DCR-compliant for subsidies), zero-collateral NetZero loans, and simplified app onboarding, aligning with MNRE’s extended Phase-II rooftop program to boost household adoption. In podcasts, I’ve discussed how tech-finance hybrids like ours bridge C&I scale with residential accessibility, targeting MSMEs first while expanding home solar nationwide.
We understand that for solar plant owners, the issue of net metering and gross metering was always a point of contention, especially with state-to-state variations in guidelines. How is the situation today? Net metering remains state-specific but has stabilized with MNRE’s national cap at 500kW (up to 100 per cent load), enabling successes like Gujarat’s 1,232 MW installed; Karnataka offers virtual/group net metering at Rs.3.57 per unit up to 5 MW, Maharashtra supports 5 MW projects, while 2025 reforms promote storage-integrated gross metering for captives. Variations persist, but policy maturity via MNRE guidelines eases adoption; Aerem’s seventy city footprint provides localized compliance navigation, from Delhi’s single-window clearances to Tamil Nadu’s incentives. As I’ve shared publicly, this evolution accelerates our mission, turning contention into opportunity for self-consumption.
As a market place, how is Aerem supporting the “Make in India” philosophy? Also, how do you gauge India’s self-reliance in the field of solar cells (not modules)? Aerem strongly supports Make in India by curating SunStore with PLI/DCR-compliant domestic products like Waaree panels, fostering local manufacturing and jobs while qualifying for MNRE subsidies—echoing the June 2026 mandate for India-made PV cells in schemes. India’s solar cell self-reliance lags critically at under 30 GW capacity (vs module overcapacity), with heavy imports for wafers/polysilicon despite ambitious 40 GW wafer targets by 2027 and PLI incentives; progress is moderate but accelerating. My 15-year solar advocacy highlights the need for upstream focus to match our module prowess.
“NetZero Finance, Aerem’s wholly-owned RBI-approved solar-focused NBFC, pioneers tailored financing as India’s first such entity.”
Tell us about your subsidiary “NetZero Finance” that we understand is India’s first and only RBI-approved solar-focused NBFC. NetZero Finance, Aerem’s wholly-owned RBI-approved solar-focused NBFC, pioneers tailored financing as India’s first such entity, offering collateral-free loans from Rs.10,000 to multi-crore with quick approvals via app integration fitting MNRE’s call for calibrated solar financing.
With a test case, can you illustrate the ease of servicing a solar loan, given the savings in electricity costs? Let us take a test case: A Mumbai C&I firm’s Rs.5-lakh 10-kW rooftop generates 15,000 kWh/year, saving Rs.1.2 lakh at Rs.8 per unit grid rate, easily covering Rs.9,000 monthly EMI over 5 years (20-30 per cent bill cut), with Aerem App verifying RoI in 3-4 years. Backed by our Rs.136 -crore funding round, it unlocks 50-70 per cent savings nationwide.
In future, when grid electricity rates drop, thanks to larger solar power injection, will captive solar power plants still be as profitable; more so, when BESS potentially irons out the “intermittency” effects of solar power? Absolutely captive solar’s Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE, the average net present cost of electricity generation over a system’s lifetime) remains at Rs.2-3 per unit, far below grid tariffs (Rs.5-8 per unit even post-drops), with BESS enabling peak arbitrage, reliability, and higher value per MNRE’s hybrid/RTC power focus; our projects showcase Rs.14,000 crore lifetime savings over 25 years. Grid pressures from 35 GW FY26 solar additions reinforce captive advantages like zero transmission losses and inflation-proof generation, regardless of utility-scale influx.
“For small plants, pain points include module oversupply, fragmented logistics, inconsistent quality, financing bottlenecks and trade tensions.”
When we see the solar supply chain for small solar power plants (rooftop or ground-mounted), what are the currently the pain-points? For small plants, pain points include module oversupply contrasting cell/wafer import shortages (90 per cent reliance), fragmented logistics delaying 20-30 per cent of projects, inconsistent quality eroding 10-15 per cent yields, financing bottlenecks for EPCs, and trade tensions inflating costs despite MNRE’s ALMM List-II safeguards. Aerem counters via SunStore’s pre-vetted kits, rapid NetZero funding, and software for our 2,000+ EPCs, streamlining end-to-end for reliable delivery.
India’s 500-GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030 rests mainly on solar. Given this, how do you see the years ahead for Aerem? What would you regard as your main business growth drivers? Aerem is bullish on India’s 500 GW RE target by 2030 (solar comprising 280+ GW, needing 46 GW annual adds), with MNRE noting 15 GW bid wins in 2025 alone via C&I/rooftops/system strength shifts. We foresee 3-4x growth post-Rs.136 crore raise, driven by C&I/MSME adoption (75 per cent rooftop share), NetZero’s financing scale, SunStore’s marketplace expansion, and tailwinds like PLI/net metering reforms, positioning our 800 MW milestone centrally in the solar surge.
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India added 36.6 GW of solar in CY 2025, up 43% YoY, marking the country’s highest-ever annual installation, according to Mercom India Research About 81% (29.5 GW) of additions came from large-scale projects, while rooftop solar made up just over 19% of new capacity Open-access projects accounted for 26% of large-scale additions, highlighting growing demand from the C&I segment Grid curtailment, ALMM-II-related cell supply risks, equipment delays, and a growing PPA backlog could lead to uneven growth in 2026, it forecasts India’s annual solar installations in calendar year (CY) 2025 hit a record 36.6 GW, up 43% year-on-year (YoY), driven by a supportive regulatory environment, accelerated project execution, and favorable market conditions, according to a new Mercom India Research report. This helped expand the country’s cumulative installed PV capacity to around 136 GW at the end of December 2025, comprising almost 85% large-scale and 15% rooftop solar facilities. Mercom says the bulk (81% or 29.5 GW) of the annual additions last year were contributed by large-scale projects, including open-access installations, while rooftop solar accounted for more than 19% of the total mix. Open access facilities alone accounted for 26% of the large-scale additions, highlighting the growing demand from the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment. The trio of Rajasthan (34%), Gujarat (28%), and Maharashtra (15%) led large-scale installations last year. The last quarter of CY 2025 contributed 9.9 GW of new PV capacity, up nearly 11% sequentially and about 21% annually. It, however, was not as high as 11.3 GW, which the country installed in Q2 2025 (Q1 2025: 6.7 GW) (see India Adds 18 GW Solar PV Capacity In H1 2025). Q4 2025 additions included 7.6 GW of large-scale capacity that improved by 12% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Solar also added the largest chunk of new power capacity in 2025, with its 57 GW accounting for 68% of all the additions the country recorded last year, according to Mercom. Despite this strong growth, Mercom highlights some pain points, calling curtailment as the ‘most pressing issue’, especially in solar-heavy states. “At the same time, the upcoming Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM)-II deadline is creating uncertainty around cell availability, raising the risk of short-term supply bottlenecks,” stated Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu. “Equipment delays and a growing PPA backlog are also weighing on the market. Unless transmission expansion and manufacturing scale move in sync with capacity additions, growth will remain uneven in 2026.” The complete Mercom report, titled Q4 and Annual 2025 India Solar Market Update Report, can be purchased on its website. Mercom’s annual capacity addition statistics are slightly lower than the 37.9 GW JMK Research & Analytics earlier reported for 2025 (see India Installed Close To 38 GW Solar PV Capacity In 2025). Meanwhile, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has reported 4.8 GW of new solar power capacity additions in January 2026. This expands India’s cumulative installed solar power capacity as of January 31, 2026, to 140.6 GW. TaiyangNews 2024
The Chinese manufacturer has unveiled a hybrid photovoltaic–geothermal heat pump system that uses solar electricity to directly power the unit, boosting efficiency and self-consumption. The 8–112 kW ground- and water-source system delivers heating, cooling, and domestic hot water with coefficients of performance often exceeding 4–5, while smart controls and the ground loop act as a thermal battery to optimize year-round performance. Image: Nulite Chinese heat pump manufacturer Nulite New Energy has introduced a hybrid photovoltaic and geothermal heat pump solution for residential and commercial settings. “When paired with a standard electric resistance system or an air-source heat pump, solar panels can offset a portion of the energy bill. But when paired with a Nulite geothermal system, the synergy becomes exponential,” the manufacturer said in a statement. “The geothermal system’s ultra-low electricity consumption means that a modest PV array can cover nearly 100% of the system’s operational energy needs.” In the proposed system configuration, solar electricity is fed to directly power the heat pump, which reduces operating costs by using self-generated power instead of grid electricity, while increasing PV self-consumption and overall system efficiency. In summer, peak solar generation drives highly efficient cooling by transferring heat into the cooler ground. In winter, the system extracts stable heat from the ground. “While the PV array may not cover 100% of the energy needs during the darkest months, net metering credits accumulated during the summer months often offset the winter deficit. For off-grid applications or areas without net metering, Nulite’s variable-speed drives allow the system to “load-shift,” running primarily during sunny daytime hours and relying on minimal battery storage for the night. Smart controls allow operation to align with daytime solar availability, reducing reliance on storage. Additionally, the ground acts as a natural “thermal battery,” storing excess energy to improve long-term system performance, according to the manufacturer. The 8 kW–112 kW geothermal heat pump is a ground- and water-source system designed for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water applications. It features a Mitsubishi inverter compressor and operates on 220–240V single-phase or 380–400V three-phase power supplies. The unit offers rated heating capacities from 2 kW to 36 kW and cooling capacities from 10 kW to 33 kW, ensuring flexible performance across varying load requirements, according to the company. “By circulating fluid through ground loops, these systems utilize the earth as a heat sink in the summer and a heat source in the winter,” it also explained. The result is a coefficient of performance (COP) often exceeding 4.0 or 5.0, meaning for every unit of electricity consumed, four to five units of heating or cooling are produced.” The system reportedly offers a maximum outlet water temperature of 60 C. The smallest system of the series measures 670 mm × 454 mm × 830 mm, while the largest has a size of 800 mm x 572 mm x 1,070 mm. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Guangzhou, Nulite New Energy produces a range of heat pump technologies, including air-source heat pumps. The company reports exporting products to more than 100 countries, including several European markets.
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The solar panel outside Ron Burton’s home in Great Bend.
The 10kw Tesla Power Wall Ron Burton has installed to power his home.
The solar panel outside Ron Burton’s home in Great Bend.
The 10kw Tesla Power Wall Ron Burton has installed to power his home.
GREAT BEND — Energy costs are going up, but not for Ron Burton, a retired lineman living in Great Bend powering his home for cheap and making money while doing so. “It’s sort of now kind of like a hobby,” Burton said, “I was into mining cryptocurrency and the cheapest way to do it is to have solar energy running the miners. So that’s what got me interested in it. But one thing led to another and I was able to get the Tesla Powerwall installed with a solar panel so I hooked it up to the house (in 2020).” Burton said he got into crypto currency by his nephew who showed him how mining Bitcoin could be profitable. “My nephew was down around Baltimore and he had solar installed in his house and then he said ‘hey, I got to show you something,’ and he showed me his cryptocurrency miners and I said, ‘what’s that?’ And he said, ‘well, it’s mining Bitcoin.’ And this is way back when it first came out. So I got interested in that and kind of helped pay the house off by mining.” An article on ecgsolar.com broke down how exactly this works: “Simply put, these computer systems are like modern-day oil derricks, drilling for and pulling valuable data up from the depths of the web in exchange for cryptocurrency. And because these machines need to run nearly all day, every day, they need a power source that is dependable, and now more than ever, sustainable in the long-term.” Hence, solar power. Burton uses graphic cards to mine the crypto currency. Think of it as if your laptop overheating in your lap was actually productive instead of just annoying. “I’ve got what they call GPU miners, graphic cards, and that was mining the Bitcoin but it was also helping to heat the house,” he said. “Because these graphic cards run so hot that they generate a lot of heat so in the wintertime it helps heat the house and I’ve got four small ones running right now.” Graphic cards can cost a lot of money, and now there’s such a thing as AI graphic cards. “What it is is people that can’t afford the big AI systems, they can actually go in and rent these smaller units that people are running the graphic cards on,” Burton said. “You could spend anywhere from $400 to $4,000 on high end graphic cards if you can get them. I got mine in a package deal when I built my first GPU miner.” Now, he gets his graphic cards from Best Buy. How does this work? Electricity rates are usually tied to the Public Utility Commission (PUC), Burton said. “They regulate the electricity rates. I put these solar panels in about five and a half years ago, and the rate was 6 cents a kilowatt (with Penelec). Now it’s almost 12, or it’s almost doubled. They took away the tax credits for people to install them. When I put mine in, it was 25% solar credit and then they bumped it to 30%, and then they took all that away.” The “they” in question being the federal government after the One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025, ending the section 25D solar tax credit for most homeowners as of December 31, 2025. With energy costs rising amid the war with Iran, Burton is one of the few people shielded from the increased prices. In fact, the surge stands to benefit him rather than harm him. “With this energy crisis coming up, I don’t think with all the bombings and stuff that happened over there they’re going to get those facilities (solar installation companies) up and running for the next six months,” he said. “So if the electric bill goes up to 15 cents a kilowatt, I’ve almost tripled my payback on my solar.” Banking kilowatts “If I’m producing more electricity than I use, those hours are banked,” Burton said. “And then towards October, November I have something like 2,000 hours, kilowatt hours banked and those go against my electric bill in the winter time— The hours that are banked are like if I’m using two kilowatt hours in the house running a small air conditioner, and my solar panels are putting out 8kW, which is the max, those 6kW hours are banked and they’re sent back into the grid.” Burton said that on a yearly basis in May, if there’s any kilowatt hours that are stored in the bank or you produce more in the last two months of April and May, you’ll receive a check in the mail if there’s a plus on it. If you didn’t hop on the crypto currency trend a few years back, chances are you won’t be able to get the same setup he has. With the federal tax credit for residential solar energy no longer existing as of 2026, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to obtain credit. If you have a third-party owned system through a solar lease or Power Party Agreement, you may still qualify for commercial tax credits (Section 48E) “for systems that begin construction before July 2026 or are placed in service before January 2028,” according to energysage.com. It isn’t a completely free energy setup, but it’s close. “I have to pay the taxes on it, so they run about $11. That’s what the utility company charges on your bill,” Burton said. “There’s fees and stuff like that with the electric utility. Now the price goes up on electric in the wintertime, because there’s less sun and there’s a lot more use because I have a split heat pump running. So that kind of puts the electric bill up a little bit. But for the most part during the day, the heat pump runs for nothing.” The whole project cost Burton around $38,500, brought down to around $27,000 after the 25% solar credit helped him out. “There’s 26 panels down below, and there’s two inverters underneath the panel system itself and then that’s fed underground to my electrical panel box,” Burton said. It’s tied in with the 10kW Tesla Powerwall, and that’s the key. Anybody that’s putting solar in now, that’s the key. Enphase makes some Powerball batteries and that’s the key. I get up in the morning and I can set the Powerwall down to 60% and I can make my breakfast, run a load of wash and dry it and then when the sun comes up I start charging the battery back up again.” The company that installed his system, EMT Solar, is now defunct with the end of the tax credit. Burton hopes they may be able to restart business at some point. Couldn’t the average Joe jerry-rig a similar one? Not wise, Burton said. 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TOWN OF FULTON — Authorities say a blaze driven by strong winds ignited about 10 acres of grass beneath the North Rock Solar Farm in the town of Fulton on Monday. Lakeside Fire-Rescue said crews were called out at about 12:30 Monday afternoon for reports of a grass fire burning beneath solar panels at the solar farm off West Pomeroy Road and County M in the town of Fulton. Fire crews used brush fire tank trucks to knock down the blaze, which they said was driven by strong winds. North Rock Solar Farm is a 50-megawatt, 475-acre solar farm with about 120,000 panels that’s operated by Alliant Energy. Lakeside Deputy Fire Chief Brandon Whitmore said fire crews soaked the ground in areas between solar arrays, and used hand tools to cut the fire down. He said fire suppression appeared to keep flames close to the ground, well below the solar panels and attached electrical wiring, which he says stand between three and seven feet off the ground. Whitmore says there was no apparent damage to any solar equipment. He say fire crews would tend not to spray solar equipment if it did catch on fire, because solar equipment has a constant electrical charge, making it dangerous for firefighters to put water on it. The fire department said in a written alert that multiple local fire crews joined in to knock the fire down quickly. All told, the fire burned about 10 acres of grass under panels at the solar farm. Officials are still investigating what caused the fire. Get the latest news, sports, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.
JANESVILLE – The Rock County Medical Examiner’s Department has released the name of a 55-year-old Beloit man who died as a result of a steam explosion at NaturPak in Janesville on March 18. To view our latest eEdition, click the image on the left. Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks. We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Sorry, an error occurred.
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Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 56F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 56F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Updated: March 25, 2026 @ 11:14 pm FILE – A solar panel from Bright Saver hangs at Craig Keenan’s home Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Baltimore.
FILE – A solar panel from Bright Saver hangs at Craig Keenan’s home Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Baltimore. Connecticut lawmakers are considering whether to lift restrictions on the installation of portable, plug-in solar panels that have piqued the interest of many utility customers struggling with high electric bills. While there is no law in Connecticut explicitly prohibiting the use of plug-in panels, also known as balcony solar, the need for interconnection agreements with local utilities and a lack of clear regulations has effectively stifled their widespread adoption, experts say. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Connecticut Mirror.
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KDH News covers government, military, education, crime, sports, political and other news in the Killeen-Fort Hood area. FILE – A solar panel from Bright Saver hangs at Craig Keenan’s home Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Baltimore.
FILE – A solar panel from Bright Saver hangs at Craig Keenan’s home Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Baltimore. Connecticut lawmakers are considering whether to lift restrictions on the installation of portable, plug-in solar panels that have piqued the interest of many utility customers struggling with high electric bills. While there is no law in Connecticut explicitly prohibiting the use of plug-in panels, also known as balcony solar, the need for interconnection agreements with local utilities and a lack of clear regulations has effectively stifled their widespread adoption, experts say. That could soon change under language included in House Bill 5340, a more far-reaching solar bill that is working its way through the General Assembly. The legislation would allow customers to utilize plug-in solar panels with an output of up to 1,200 watts without the approval of their local electric utility — so long as the devices meet certain safety and consumer protection requirements. Panels of the size allowed under the law would be capable of powering several electronic devices, or a single appliance such as a refrigerator. While the U.S. has been slow to adopt plug-in solar, the smaller panels are already widely used in other countries, such as Germany, where they can help renters offset a portion of their monthly electric bills. Last year, Utah became the first state in the country to pass legislation eliminating regulatory hurdles for the installation of plug-in solar panels. Virginia followed suit earlier this year, and more than two dozen states are weighing similar laws, according to an analysis by Canary Media. “The advantages are for the consumer, for one, you’re able to charge or power some of your biggest (appliances) like a refrigerator,” said Connor Yakaitis, deputy director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters and a supporter of the bill. “I think it ties in very well to energy efficiency,” he added. “If people are aware of even a little amount of power that they’re producing, they’re more conscious of the power that they’re using.” H.B. 5340 was passed out of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee last week on a party-line vote. Republicans’ stated objections to the bill, however, dealt mostly with other sections that were unrelated to the legality of plug-in solar devices. “I’m intrigued by the plug-in solar,” said state Rep. John Piscopo, R-Thomaston. “If that were a standalone bill, we could take a look at that and the ramifications around that and how we could maybe take our first steps to implement that kind of a system.” Despite the bipartisan interest in the legislation, concerns have been raised about the safety of the devices and their ability to work within existing electrical setups. In written testimony on the bill earlier this month, Andrew Belden, Eversource’s vice president of renewable programs and strategy, said that anti-tampering features on most of the utility’s meters wouldn’t recognize any excess electricity unregistered panels might feed back onto the grid, resulting in customers being charged for the extra power they produce. While homes with rooftop solar panels are typically equipped with bidirectional meters that can overcome that problem, the company’s rollout of newer “advanced” meter technology has faced delays amid regulatory disputes. An Eversource spokesperson said Monday that the utility is not aware of any customers who have sought permission to use plug-in solar devices. United Illuminating did not weigh in on the plug-in solar provisions of H.B. 5340, and a spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. In order to address safety concerns, the Connecticut bill would require that any plug-in solar devices conform to the state’s building code and undergo testing and certification by a national product safety group, such as UL Solutions. While the company announced in January that it had begun a certification process for plug-in solar, it has yet to approve any systems for the U.S. market. Still, plug-in panels are currently available for sale online for prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Much of the buzz around the technology has centered on a California nonprofit, Bright Saver, which began shipping a limited number of small solar systems to customers last year. The organization has also advocated on behalf of legislation lifting restrictions on plug-in solar, including in Connecticut. Cora Stryker, cofounder of Bright Saver, said the organization halted its initial pilot after getting pushback from utility officials, and it currently only ships to existing solar customers in California who she said exist outside the devices’ “regulatory gray area.” Still, Skryker said Bright Saver plans to resume shipping its smaller kits to customers in states that have authorized their use. “We are just trying to knock down the barriers, because we know people want this stuff and we want them to be safe and installing certified systems,” she said. The co-chair of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, said that the sudden interest in plug-in solar has left lawmakers scrambling to get up to speed on the technology and the implications for consumers. “There’s a general consensus that this is becoming popular, but we’re not all convinced the safety standards are being met,” he said. Both the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the state’s Office of Consumer Counsel, which advocates on behalf of utility customers, have also called for further analysis before lawmakers open the door to plug-in solar. Steinberg said officials at each agency, along with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, met with lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss the legislation. As a potential fallback, Steinberg said lawmakers could always approve a legislative study on the topic, in effect delaying passage of a new law for at least a year. For now, however, he said there is still hope of working out the details before this year’s session adjourns in early May. “We want to be able to do this, we really do,” Steinberg said. “But we’re not sure we’re there yet.” This story was originally published by The Connecticut Mirror and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Connecticut Mirror.
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THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE ARTICLE BY JENNIFER BAILEY
Earthrise Energy solar project Signs against solar farms can be seen along Catlin-Tilton Road. File photo
Want to purchase today’s print edition? Here’s a map of single-copy locations. CATLIN — With their moratorium on solar farms set to sunset at the end of April, the villages of Tilton and Catlin are looking to update their related zoning regulations — while the company behind a long-proposed project is anxiously looking on. Tilton’s village board has scheduled a special meeting Thursday to address utility-scale solar projects. Catlin officials are expected to follow suit in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Earthrise Energy’s proposed solar-farm project, which would occupy about 1,000 acres along Catlin-Tilton Road, still needs zoning approvals from the two villages. The company announced Monday it has signed a letter of intent with the Salt Fork school district outlining a future tax abatement agreement “that will provide earlier access to more than $3.5 million in expected property tax revenue within the first two years of the solar project’s operation.”
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