Solar Now

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts
This week’s question: Why is there no rugby culture in Germany?
I would like to know why we build solar farms over green space, when we could just put them over massive car parks as a popular current internet meme suggests. Chris, Middlesbrough
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Sure … and how about mandating that data centres put them on their roofs? Come to think of it, perhaps solar panels should be added to all new structures. DrBlamm0
For the same reason that we insist on storing water in lakes even though millions of people have sinks. That might be a bit flippant, but bear with me. The real answer is that we can do both and we don’t have to choose. Solar panels on car parks would be good for local generation to take strain off the grid and I encourage people to make it happen – the more local electricity generation, the better.
But for national-level generation, you need much bigger installations. NESO, the National Energy System Operator for Great Britain, has to balance the generation sources across the country and fine-tune the frequency being delivered to homes. To do this, they ask generators to switch on and off throughout the day. It is much easier to do this with one very large installation than 100 smaller ones on top of car parks. Person123456789
Good analogy. Extending it slightly, millions of people have water tanks in the loft. It helps smooth out peak demand and reduces required capacity in the distribution network. There’s been a transformation change in the price of battery storage over the last five years. Distributed generation has become a much more useful part of the strategy for electrification of energy supply and a good match for solar panels on car parks and the top of every structure we build. It also might be worth mentioning that solar panels are now cheaper per square metre than roof tiles, so there’s no excuse not to deploy them everywhere. imperialforce
The amount of farmland used by solar panels is negligible. Sure, put them on car parks, but they cost a lot more that way – every metre off the ground is more steel and more resistance to wind load needed. It’s not a reason to stop building ground-mount solar, the cheapest source of new electricity available. Most of the time, “we could put that somewhere else” is just an excuse to not build anything at all. pavanne
Start with putting them over golf courses. How come the people outraged about farmland never get enraged about how much good land is used for golf? Five to six times that used for solar farms. Secret_squirrel29
It’s more expensive, yes, and very few companies are going to do it voluntarily. Just give them no choice. Car parks, warehouses, leisure centres – everywhere. While we’re on the subject, line motorways with wind turbines. The scenery has already been “scarred” by the road, and all motorways link towns and cities, so the power should be easy to distribute. Now, stop talking about it and do it! LeroyB
Of course, this is a false dichotomy – car park and greenfield are not mutually exclusive. We should do both. MaynardSmithFan
In France, they had to make it a planning requirement for car parks to include them – that way, it’s not just a question of money. Once they’re up, you see it makes a lot of sense – shade for the cars while also generating useful amounts of electricity to recharge them. wyldfam
It has just been legislated this year – 40% of the roof [40% of the ground-floor area of the building in homes built in England from 2028] should be solar panels. Randomusername222
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I would support renewables being installed by default over car parks. I’d also want to see it become commonplace for members of the royal family to be buried beneath car parks, like they did with Richard III. Undoubtedly, these are the major planning reforms that successive governments have failed to deliver. Dorkalicious
Put them on pontoons and float them on reservoirs – it would help reduce evaporation as well as providing green electricity – or next to train tracks, where presumably you don’t have to worry about grid connections. Stoichenens
There are solar panels above rivers and open water in China; it is often called “floatovoltaics”. China is the global leader in this, as well as many other things, good and bad. Lovecars
We conveniently forget that car parks, warehouses, shopping centres, football pitches, golf courses and vineyards have been built on what were fields for food production. GardnerJoe
Giant warehouses and now vast datacentres, power distribution networks, solar farms … are we so mad we can’t coordinate the requirements of communities and industry? Why must we always be at loggerheads? Communities invest in green spaces only to find them being reoccupied by whatever the next growth spurt demands. Would it not benefit everyone if we simply required datacentres to include closed cooling and power systems with a view to generating thier own power and reusing water in a closed loop? We should work toward locating these objects where they don’t encroach on people – who got there first, but have no say in government-endorsed industrial change happening all over their investment. You only get one go at finding a happy place. Stuart_Dixon

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Plan for balcony photovoltaics  eKathimerini.com
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Open source local news · Lexington, Kentucky ·  
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La Comisión de Planificación del Condado Urbano de Lexington-Fayette rechazó una propuesta que habría permitido granjas solares a gran escala en las zonas agrícolas alrededor de la ciudad, reflejando preocupaciones locales sobre la conversión de tierras productivas en instalaciones solares. La decisión subraya la tensión continua entre el desarrollo de energías renovables y la preservación de tierras agrícolas en la región, un debate que se ha vuelto cada vez más común en Kentucky y otros estados. Aunque el rechazo no impide futuras propuestas de energía solar en áreas agrícolas de Lexington, señala la postura actual de la comisión de planificación sobre cómo deben regularse estos proyectos.
Traducción y resumen generados por IA a partir del artículo en inglés. Puede contener errores; consulte el texto original.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — City planners have rejected a recommendation that would have opened the door to large-scale solar farms in Lexington’s agricultural zones, according to WUKY 91.3 FM.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Planning Commission voted against the proposal, which would have permitted utility-scale solar projects on agricultural land surrounding the city. The decision reflects ongoing tension between renewable energy development and farmland preservation in the region.
The vote underscores local concerns about converting productive farmland to solar facilities, a debate that has become increasingly common as Kentucky and other states seek to expand clean energy generation. Agricultural preservation advocates have raised questions about whether large solar installations align with the long-term protection of the region’s farming community.
The rejection does not preclude future solar development proposals in Lexington’s agricultural areas, but it signals the planning commission’s current stance on how such projects should be regulated. City planners will likely revisit zoning and land-use policies related to renewable energy as solar technology becomes more prevalent.
The decision comes as communities across Kentucky grapple with balancing environmental sustainability goals against land-use preservation, particularly in areas designated for agriculture. Local officials have not indicated whether they plan to revisit the issue or develop alternative approaches to solar development that might satisfy both energy and agricultural interests.


This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from WUKY 91.3 FM. The original source is available at https://www.wuky.org/wuky-news/2026-07-11/lexington-planning-commission-gives-thumbs-down-to-large-scale-solar-field-in-agricultural-zones.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.
“I’m a buy once, cry once kind of guy looking to spend my money wisely.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Power outage planning can get complicated quickly when a home has two panels, dual 50-amp interlocks, and an owner who wants backup power to feel as seamless as possible.
Going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy over time. Homeowners can use EnergySage to get quick solar installation estimates, and EnergySage also makes it easy to compare quotes before committing to a major backup power purchase.
In a post on Reddit, a homeowner said they were looking for “a portable generator to use as a whole house backup” for a property with “two 50A interlocks (one for each panel; two-panel, 300-amp service).”
Fuel flexibility was one of the homeowner’s priorities. They said they wanted a tri-fuel generator so the system could run on gasoline, natural gas, or propane during an emergency.
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They also estimated that each 50-amp interlock could support roughly 12,500 watts, so they were looking for natural-gas output at or above that mark.
“Generator, preferably tri-fuel, as if they shut off utilities I have plenty of propane canisters,” they wrote.
They were trying to determine whether a single generator or several units would provide the best value while still keeping the home “as normal as possible in case of outage.”
Questions such as this are increasingly common as homeowners try to balance comfort, safety, and equipment costs.
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A large portable generator can keep critical systems operating during an outage, but sizing one for whole-home use can get expensive quickly, particularly when two panels are involved.
Tri-fuel models are especially appealing because they give households flexibility. Natural gas can be convenient during short outages if service remains available, while propane can serve as a practical backup if gas lines are disrupted or gasoline becomes difficult to access.
Still, generators are generally a resilience purchase rather than a bill-cutting one. While they can offer peace of mind, they also come with fuel costs, maintenance needs, noise, and pollution.
Comparing generator plans with solar and storage options can help households save money year-round while improving outage protection before they spend thousands of dollars upfront.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
The first step is to get a load calculation and confirm with a licensed electrician what each panel and interlock can safely support.
Even in a large home, prioritizing essential circuits — such as those for a refrigerator, internet, cooling and heating equipment, lights, and medical devices — can reduce the size and cost of the backup system needed.
EnergySage’s free services can help homeowners compare alternatives to a generator-only setup. That could make a major difference for anyone deciding between a fuel-based backup system and an investment that lowers monthly utility bills.
Homeowners can also check EnergySage’s mapping tool, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state as well as details on solar panel incentives in each state. Together, these resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. It can also reduce reliance on fuel deliveries and noisy equipment when the grid goes down. Homeowners can explore EnergySage’s free tools for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
The homeowner framed the decision in practical terms, saying, “I’m a buy once, cry once kind of guy looking to spend my money wisely.”
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A contract signed last month for a large-scale, centrally managed storage batteries system is anticipated to be followed by other such projects, the Cyprus Mail is told, as the island gradually transitions to accommodate a growing penetration of renewables in the energy mix.
Back in June the Transmission System Operator (a state entity) and the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (a state-run organisation) entered into a contract to deploy storage batteries.
The €50 million project is expected to see the batteries delivered in January 2027 and installed within two to three months, allowing them to enter operation by the summer of that year.
It covers 120 MW of centralised storage capacity to be managed by the Transmission System Operator (TSO).
The storage systems are intended to capture excess renewable electricity during periods of overproduction and release it when demand rises, helping to reduce the controversial – and highly unpopular – curtailments currently imposed on solar generators across the island.
The project involves installing and operating three battery energy storage systems, located at transmission substations – one in Nicosia, one in Paphos and one in Larnaca.
The locations were selected so the storage systems can be directly connected to the transmission system.
Why was CyTA involved? First, because in March this year parliament had green-lit legislation allowing the telecoms company to expand its activities into the energy sector. During a hotly debated session at the House plenum, lawmakers passed an amendment restricting CyTA to green energy without conventional fuel production, setting up direct competition with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC).
Second, because for this particular 120 MW battery project, CyTA partnered up with Huawei. The latter will provide so-called Smart Battery Energy Storage Systems (Bess) which utilise AI to optimise, automate and monitor energy storage. Algorithms predict weather patterns, solar generation and facility demand to dictate exactly when to charge – for example during low-cost or peak solar hours – and when to discharge.
We reached out to the EAC, asking what’s next, and also the relevance of battery storage to the grid in general.
In an emailed response, the organisation’s generation unit said battery storage energy systems “are expected to play a key role in the transition of Cyprus towards a cleaner, more sustainable and resilient electricity system”.
“Their importance is particularly significant because the Cyprus power system is electrically isolated and is not currently interconnected with neighbouring countries. As a result, the electricity system must continuously maintain the balance between generation and demand using only domestic generation resources.”
Over the past few years, said the EAC, Cyprus has experienced a rapid increase in electricity generation from renewable energy sources, particularly photovoltaic systems. Since solar generation is highly dependent on weather conditions and peaks during the middle of the day, there are periods when renewable electricity production exceeds the amount that the power system can safely absorb.
Absent sufficient storage or interconnections with neighbouring electricity markets, part of this renewable generation has to be curtailed to ensure the secure and reliable operation of the power system.
“Battery storage provides the flexibility needed to address this challenge,” the EAC stated.
During periods of high renewable generation and lower electricity demand, batteries can store surplus energy that would otherwise be curtailed. This stored energy can then be discharged during the evening peak or at other times when renewable generation decreases and electricity demand remains high. In this way, storage helps shift renewable energy from periods of generation surplus to periods of higher demand, improving the overall utilisation of clean energy.
Nevertheless, the state-run organisation stressed, the role of battery storage extends well beyond reducing interruptions or curtailments affecting household photovoltaic systems.
At system level, battery storage enhances grid stability by providing fast-response services that help maintain the balance between electricity generation and consumption. It can contribute to frequency regulation, reserve capacity, voltage support, improved system flexibility and increased operational reliability. These services become increasingly important as the share of variable renewable energy sources continues to grow.
Also, battery storage reduces the need to rely on conventional generation units solely for balancing purposes, thereby improving the efficiency of the electricity system and supporting the country’s decarbonisation objectives. It also facilitates the integration of additional renewable energy projects in the future, allowing a greater share of clean electricity to be accommodated while maintaining the high standards of security and reliability required for the operation of the power system.
We next asked what other large-scale battery storage projects are currently in the pipeline.
The EAC is undertaking a major utility-scale battery storage project at the Dhekelia power plant. The project consists of an 80 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage system (Bess), making it one of the largest battery storage installations currently being developed in Cyprus.
“The Dhekelia Bess forms part of the EAC’s strategy to modernise the electricity system and facilitate the transition to a low-carbon energy sector. Once commissioned, the system will provide fast-response balancing services, improve frequency stability, enhance operational flexibility and enable greater integration of renewable energy sources into the national electricity grid. By storing excess renewable electricity during periods of high generation and supplying it back to the grid during periods of increased demand or reduced renewable output, the project will contribute to reducing renewable energy curtailments and improving overall system efficiency.”
According to the state-run power utility, this project is currently at the early stages of construction and is expected to become “an important asset” in supporting the secure and reliable operation of the electricity system as renewable energy penetration continues to increase.
Regarding future or coming ventures, the EAC said only that “a number of potential projects are currently at different stages of development” – including preliminary planning, engineering design, feasibility studies, licensing, environmental assessment, regulatory approvals and other preparatory activities. The scale, configuration and implementation of each project will be determined according to the operational needs of the electricity system and the applicable regulatory framework.
In terms of power output/production, is there some ‘cap’ from renewable energy that the grid in Cyprus can take?
The EAC said there’s no hard-and-fast number one can quote.
“The capability of the grid to absorb renewable generation varies continuously according to real-time operating conditions, including electricity demand, weather conditions, network constraints and the level of conventional generation that must remain online to provide essential system services and ensure security of supply.”
In practical terms, the amount of renewable generation that can be accommodated also varies seasonally. During the summer months, when electricity demand is high due to air-conditioning loads, the system can generally absorb substantially higher levels of renewable generation, typically in the range of 700-900 MW under favourable operating conditions.
During the spring and winter, particularly on weekends and public holidays when demand is lower, this may drop to approximately 350-550 MW. These figures are indicative only and vary depending on the prevailing operating conditions.
When renewable generation exceeds the level that the system can safely accommodate, curtailments may become necessary to maintain the balance between electricity generation and demand and to preserve the stability and reliability of the electricity system.
The practical maximum amount of renewable energy that the Cyprus electricity system can safely hold will continue to increase through investments in battery energy storage systems, reinforcement of the transmission and distribution networks, advanced grid management technologies, greater demand-side flexibility and, in the longer term, electrical interconnections with neighbouring countries.
Elias Hazou is a veteran Cyprus Mail reporter. His expertise lies in the fields of energy, politics and parliamentary shenanigans
Since 1945, Cyprus Mail has been the trusted source for breaking Cyprus news and independent journalism. From politics, government and the economy to culture, society and everyday life, our newsroom delivers timely reporting, independent journalism, clear analysis and balanced coverage from across the island.
With correspondents on the ground and a strong focus on public interest, we bring you the latest developments as they happen — alongside context that helps explain why they matter. Whether you are a resident, an expat or following Cyprus from abroad, Cyprus Mail keeps you informed with reliable news and real-time updates on the stories shaping the country.

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Timing of Devon switchoff ‘could not be worse’, says board, as members face an estimated £2m in lost revenue
Britain’s biggest community solar project has been forced to shut for the duration of its first summer by the government’s energy system operator to avoid overloading the local grid with renewable energy.
The north Devon solar farm was ordered to shut weeks before record high temperatures across Europe led to power supply warnings, due to concerns that the large amount of rooftop solar in the area could destabilise the power grid by triggering a “thermal overload”.
The shutdown is expected to cost the cooperative scheme’s nearly 10,000 members about £2m in lost revenue before it is allowed to restart again in September.
In a letter to more than 9,500 people and small business owners who own a stake in the Derril Water solar park, the cooperative’s board said the “unexpected” shutdown order was “enforced on our solar park and other generators in north Devon with no warning”.
The timing of the shutdown at the beginning of its first summer “could not be worse”, according to the board, and would “substantially impact” the scheme’s finances, including payments to members.
It said: “The interruption creates unexpected financial pressure and will impact our ability to pay members at least in the near-term.
“We are not clear on what triggered the shutdown, which came on the Friday before the half-term heatwave with no notice,” the board told the Guardian. “However, it does seem the network operators knew there was a looming problem.”
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) is understood to have ordered National Grid to shut a vital “super grid transformer” over the summer to prevent the rooftop solar in the area from driving the transmission network’s voltage beyond its safety limits.
The surge in rooftop solar power is particularly difficult to manage during the summer when long, sunny days lead to more generation than a local grid might need. Specialist equipment can help to manage potential voltage issues, but these upgrades have not yet taken place in the area near the Derril Water solar park.
The board believes that the problems with the north Devon network have been known since 2023, and new equipment was due to be installed by the end of 2025. However, these measures were delayed and are now due to be completed in September this year.
The project does not expect to receive compensation or insurance to cover the lost summer revenue from the solar park, which was funded by £20m raised from members of the cooperative and a £22m long-term bank loan.
Members originally joined the scheme through Ripple Energy, which offered households the chance to invest in Britain’s first “shared” solar park to earn average savings on their energy bills of at least £200 a year.
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Ripple Energy had hoped that Derril Water would begin generating electricity in 2024 and “become a blueprint for consumer-owned solar parks around the world”. However, construction delays and rising costs caused the company to go bust in early 2025, before the park began operations.
Derril Water began generating electricity in September last year under the leadership of its volunteer board, less than six months after Ripple was bought out of administration by the business energy provider 1st Energy.
“Although there has been some justified frustration, the majority of the coop’s 9,500 members who have been in touch understand that the issue does not lie with the solar park, nor its management through the park’s volunteer board of directors,” the board said.
A spokesperson for National Grid confirmed that it had curtailed some generation in the local area to keep the system secure after Neso called for its super-grid transformer to be turned off. “We’re now working with Neso to help provide solutions to these temporary constraints,” the spokesperson added.
Neso declined to comment.

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The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan will help to insulate the UK from volatile international gas prices, and further boost the UK’s growing ability to attract significant investment into new energy infrastructure, growing the country’s economy and boosting jobs.
The One Earth Solar Farm project is led by Solar Energy UK members PS Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
The decision to approve the project follows the Government’s approval of the 320-megawatt Peartree Solar Farm north of Hull and the 150 MW Dean Moor Solar Farm in Cumbria last week. Taken together, the three projects will power the equivalent of 330,000 homes.
So far, the largest project to have received planning consent is Springwell Solar Farm in Lincolnshire, which will have a capacity of 800 MW. Four even larger projects have been submitted for approval.
“Solar power at scale means cheap, clean, homegrown power, insulated from the global instability that has caused energy prices to rocket” said Solar Energy UK Chief Executive Chris Hewett. “Solar farms offer the cheapest power available – and the larger they are, the bigger the economies of scale. Every panel, whether on the ground or on rooftops, is a step towards to a better Britain, with an economy safeguarded from the whims of geopolitics.”
The solar industry estimates that around 26 gigawatts of solar generation capacity is currently in place across the UK, with multiple gigawatts being installed every year.
More than 1.7 million UK homes already have solar panels fitted, part of over 2 million smaller-scale installations.
Currently, solar and battery storage support around 20,000 UK jobs.
The sector contributes almost £1.9 billion to the economy annually (measured as gross value added). By 2035, the sector could support around 43,000 jobs and contribute over £5 billion GVA.
Utility-scale solar provided around £61 million of additional farm income in 2024.
84 percent of the public support solar energy according to Government polling, while 77 percent of the public support local solar farm development (SEUK polling).
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Plans for a massive solar farm in North Staffordshire have been thrown out by councillors who ruled that the land was in the Green Belt. Stafford Borough Council's planning committee deferred its decision on the 30MW solar farm, spread across 19 fields at Stallington Road, Blythe Bridge, because of a dispute over officers' classification of the land as green or grey belt.
The application returned to the committee with an officers' report concluding that the 171-acre site earmarked for the application was defined as grey belt. The report added that land 400m away, that had been subject to a planning appeal, had been "correctly classified as green belt land".
The committee also heard that 12 further neighbour representations had been received by the council since the application was discussed last time, in addition to more than 50 objections previously submitted. They raised road safety concerns due to HGV movements during the construction phase as well as questioning why a brownfield (previously developed) site hadn't been proposed for the solar farm.
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Fulford Parish Council member Janet Crossley said: "The land is in the green belt and the proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the green belt. The proposal does not meet any of the listed exceptions.
"The proposed development will set a precedent for inappropriate development in the green belt and pose challenges for the viability of brownfield sites in the borough. The proposed development goes into the countryside and it will result in the loss of productive farmland that contributes positively to food production."
Committee members were told that Leaford Solar Farm would be capable of producing 30MW of clean energy – the equivalent to supplying around 8,000 homes every year – during its 40-year lifespan. The proposals were set to include 1.8 miles of new or improved hedgerow, with a biodiversity net gain of 74%.
Beth Thomas, who spoke in support of the application, said: "Solar farms are temporary in nature and the Leaford proposal will not result in the reclassification of the land (to brownfield). The land is currently used for cattle grazing and it is proposed sheep farming will continue the agricultural use of the land throughout the operation of the site – 95% of the land which will be used by the solar farm has not been classified as best and most versatile (BMV) land."
Claire Chamberlain, who also spoke in support of the application, said: "The site at Leaford was chosen for its good solar irradiation levels, its location outside any statutory environmental and archaeological designations and its sufficient distance from potentially sensitive residential receptors. The site is not visible from the vast majority of people.
"Two of the major challenges currently faced by the UK are energy security and the need for more homegrown electricity to protect consumers from volatile gas and oil prices and the impact of climate change on our weather, agriculture, infrastructure and ecosystems. The NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) states that significant weight should be given to renewable and low-carbon energy generation."
But in a written statement ward councillor Mike Dodson said: "Forty years isn't temporary in any sense for the communities who live there – it represents two generations. Many residents living near the site today will spend the remainder of their lives looking at this development and children born this year may be raising families of their own before the site is even removed."
Committee members spent more than an hour considering the definition of the land – and in the end they deemed it to be green belt. Councillor Scott Spencer said: "I can't see any reasoning this is grey belt – I think the erosion of the green belt in this application should be avoided.
He added that the site would produce just 0.06% of green energy required nationally. "It's such a minuscule amount of electricity for such a significant loss and such an impact on the local community", he said.
Councillor Ann Edgeller said: "Yes we need electricity, but I'm sure there are other ways of producing it. Why aren't we looking at putting solar panels on top of industrial buildings instead of decimating our lovely green belt"
Councillor Jill Hood said: "They come to us asking to sacrifice an enormous amount of green belt towards this application and they give nothing back to the community. I do not support this application."
But Councillor Andy McNaughton, who voted against rejecting the application, said: "We have declared a climate emergency and bought into the requirement for net zero. Someone, somewhere else has a solar farm giving us electricity – it's about looking at the national interest."
Councillor Spencer proposed the application be rejected and his motion was seconded by Councillor Alec Sandiford. The committee voted to refuse permission on the grounds the land did not constitute grey belt, and therefore the proposal was considered inappropriate development that would have an adverse impact on the openness of the green belt.
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Think more Pacific hurricanes, a wetter and colder winter across the southern U.S. — and potentially the hottest year on record.
The World Cup — along with a heat wave in Europe — has brought to the forefront a cultural divide between the U.S. and European countries when it comes to air-conditioning.
Forecasters warn of dozens of record-high temperatures across the eastern U.S. in the coming days.
The system could produce up to 20 inches of rain in some isolated areas, forecasters say.
Henderson did not play in Sunday's game, but managed to hurt himself in the celebrations.
Norway fell 2-1 to England in extra time after a goal in the second half was overturned.
The meeting follows years of fractured family relations between the royals.
President Trump suggested on Wednesday that the apparent end of the ceasefire deal with Iran could quickly escalate and floated a return to a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Quansah received a straight red card in England's win over Mexico.
Per FIFA, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) is "declared jointly liable" for paying the fine.

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RENOGY ShadowFlux 200w Anti-shading Vs 250 Renogy Bifacial Solar Panels on My Boat Review  YouTube
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A solar farm in Bedford County, pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
A solar farm in Bedford County, pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
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A major overhaul is planned for the U.S. 501/U.S. 221 intersection in Lynchburg. Here’s what to know.
Efforts to bring long-awaited, much-anticipated passenger rail service back to Bedford continue to steam ahead.
Campbell County officials are examining whether to create a new zoning district where a small modular reactor would be allowed as a by-right use.
The Republican primary race for the 5th Congressional District features a former U.S. Navy SEAL who is running against a Marine, both of whom …
A 32-unit townhome development is planned for 7 acres on White House Road in Moneta, a busy stretch in an area near Virginia 122 and Smith Mou…
A solar farm in Bedford County, pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
A solar farm in Bedford County, pictured Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
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Published 5:00 am Sunday, July 12, 2026
By Matthew Claxton
The portable solar panels offered by the Fraser Valley Regional Library are available to anyone with a card. (FVRL)
With summer camping season here, the Fraser Valley Regional Library is reminding its cardholders they can check out solar panels.
The portable panels, intended for campers and hikers, were added to the catalogue in 2023 as part of the Playground collection, which includes a variety of items well outside what would traditionally be found in a library.
The library began with 100 of the solar panels.
“They have been consistently [checked] out, of course,” said Heather Scoular, FVRL’s director of customer experience.
About 70 per cent of the panels are checked out at any one time, with popularity picking up in the summer.
Libraries have traditionally loaned out books and audiovisual items, which have evolved over the years from books on tape to DVDs and ebooks.
FVRL’s Playground collection has steadily expanded into a number of items that are fun, practical, or educational over the years.
The current Playground catalogue includes 17 separate items. They include ukuleles, portable Blu-ray players, programmable Sphero robots, disc golf kits, backpacks for bird and bat watching, telescopes, monitors for air quality, radon, and home energy measurement.
Providing about 24 watts of power, and with grommets to attach it to backpack frames or tent poles, it has three USB ports and is intended to charge phones, cameras, smart watches, flashlights and other small electronic items when away from a regular electrical socket.
The latest item added to the Playground, earlier in June, is the ChompSaw, which allows precision cutting of cardboard for crafts.
Scoular said the FVRL’s mandate includes a commitment to literacy, but also to help people understand technology in a changing world.
Most of the items in the Playground are about the environment, sustainability, and STEM education.
Scoular said the FVRL is always considering new items to add to the Playground collection, or updating existing items.

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Solar panels mounted on rooftops across New England significantly eased overall demand for electricity from the regional grid during an intense heat wave in early July, according to a new analysis.
Jamie Dickerson, senior of climate and clean energy programs at the Acadia Center, said distributed solar generation helped New England electric customers save at least $130 million in wholesale energy costs during the heat event between June 28 and July 4.
“Basically, we saw between 28% and 43% of daily costs were avoided by the distributed solar in the region,” Dickerson said.
Rooftop mounted solar, sometimes called “behind the meter” generation, provides power to offset energy use in individual homes and businesses. But excess electricity is sent onto the local grid, helping meet demand from nearby buildings.
“It’s distributed solar, it is close to where the load is, you know the actual electricity consumption, that means that it effectively reduces the peak demand that is seen on the regional grid,” Dickerson said.
That power also helped eased strain on the regional electric grid as it pushed to meet soaring demand from air conditioning as the region broiled, according to Dickerson.
The Acadia Center analysis found that the region’s rooftop solar was, at times, feeding about 25% of all electric demand.
“Between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on that hottest day of July 2, the distributed solar actually contributed more to the fuel mix than the region’s nuclear fleet,” Dickerson said.
Regional grid operator ISO-New England said in a release this summer that installed solar can reduce demand by more than 1,700 megawatts during normal weather conditions.
Increased rooftop solar generation has shifted the hours of peak summer electric demand from the hottest part of the day around 4 pm into the early evening, according to ISO-NE.
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What makes for a good solar module? A few things are obvious: high energy yield, low cost, and reliable in the field.
Reliability plays a huge role in the lifetime costs and performance of solar modules and systems. These high-tech semiconductor devices must continue generating electricity for 30 to 40 years of sun, wind, hail, snow, and heat.
We expect modules to slowly degrade and produce slightly less electricity over time as they are exposed to outdoor conditions over the years. A major question in the solar energy industry is exactly how much we should expect solar modules to degrade each year (generally 0.5%–1%) and when they will eventually degrade so much that they no longer produce adequate power (often about 20% loss from their original output) or become unsafe. 
For modules built today, it is probably 30 years. Each additional year makes the cost of electricity from that module cheaper and means we will need to mine or recycle fewer raw materials to reach our clean energy goals. Could research push that age of retirement to 50 years?
 
 
Launched in November 2016 with funding from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), the Durable Module Materials (DuraMAT) Consortium is a multi-laboratory consortium led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as core research labs. Additional researchers from multiple universities, solar companies, other national laboratories, and an industry advisory board provide perspectives from across the solar energy community.
After five years of researching solar module reliability and awarding $30 million in high-impact projects, DuraMAT was awarded an additional $36 million by SETO for six more years of funding starting in 2021.
Photovoltaic (PV)—meaning they convert light to electricity—modules have existed in their modern form since the middle of the 20^th century, but the technology has seen explosive growth over the last two decades. And the next two decades promise even greater growth for solar technologies.
“If solar is going to expand and become this ubiquitous technology that we have across our power system, on our houses—and be responsible for 40% of our electricity generation—old technologies are not enough,” said Teresa Barnes, a senior researcher at NREL and director of DuraMAT. “PV modules need to be made more efficient, less expensive, and more sustainably at much larger scale. But we also need to know that these new modules—whether they’re new module designs or new cell technologies like bifacial or tandem cells—will perform predictably in the field.”
DuraMAT is exploring ideas that could extend solar module lifetime up to 50 years. And it is looking at new variations of module and cell technologies, such as bifacial modules that also collect reflected light on their backsides, or new, high-efficiency cells that require advanced packaging to survive for longer than 30 years.
 
 
To better understand how modules fail, DuraMAT has developed accelerated stress tests based on the environmental conditions seen in different climates. These tests are paired with powerful materials science forensics (think CSI but for degraded PV modules) and detailed physics modeling of those failures to better understand what causes module degradation, with the ultimate goal of predicting when they will fail. To top it all off, DuraMAT collects the resulting data in a central, shared data repository and applies its insights to develop new, creative approaches to improve module durability.
The ultimate goal is to better predict how new materials and module designs will perform, building confidence that they will last for more than 30 years in the field, despite our lack of long-term field data for new technologies. Field data shows that older PV technologies are durable. DuraMAT is applying that knowledge to make more accurate predictions about newer technologies.
One of DuraMAT’s most celebrated successes is its application of combined, accelerated stress testing. Traditional stress testing subjects solar modules to a range of stressors—such as heat, humidity, or sunlight—but only one, or perhaps two, at a time. However, some of the failures seen in fielded modules are not easy to reproduce in these traditional stress tests, possibly because outdoor conditions stress modules in combination—heat, light, and voltage often occur together on sunny days, or wind and rain during a storm. DuraMAT researchers have found that stressors often need to be applied in combination to get field-relevant results more quickly.
 
 
While combined stress testing is not an entirely new idea, DuraMAT has taken it to a new level. In controlled chambers at NREL’s Outdoor Test Facility, PV modules are subjected to multiple stressors, such as extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), being drenched in water, and ultraviolet light exposure to simulate in a few weeks or months what happens outside over years.
Other tests are meant to simulate other stresses, such as how years of wind exposure could expand cracks in PV cells (see video below). DuraMAT then pairs that information with computer modeling and microscopic materials analysis from solar modules that failed in the field to better understand the mechanisms that drive these failures.
One such effort was led by a team of early-career scientists—DuraMAT places an emphasis on opportunities for early-career researchers. The team combined expertise and strengths from several national laboratories to develop a method to predict which backsheet materials would crack in the field based on accelerated testing. The industry experienced a fairly large batch of module failures (approximately 10 gigawatts) due to a new backsheet material that was widely used between about 2010 and 2015. This material started cracking after a few years in the field, despite passing all of the industry’s standard qualification tests.
A backsheet is the bottom layer of a solar module that encloses the back of the module and is often made from polymer (plastic) materials. This layer provides critical electrical insulation and mechanical integrity to a module, and the material’s failure forced PV developers to replace modules with the “bad” backsheet. (The PV industry also has several well-established “good” backsheet materials that have lasted for decades.)
Using the known good and bad backsheets enabled the DuraMAT team to develop a procedure to validate new test sequences. Combining that sequence with advanced materials analysis techniques, the team was able to understand why backsheets of the “bad” material were failing on both a chemical and mechanical level. By comparing the samples that failed under combined stress tests with failed modules from the field, the team of early-career researchers validated that the stress-test failures match this type of field failure. Now the team is examining other types of module materials and designs, including the screening procedures for new backsheet material development and studies of modules with glass backsheets.
“DuraMAT, in the way that it’s structured, incubates early-career scientists in a unique way,” said Laura Schelhas, who participated on the team as an early-career researcher at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and has since moved to NREL as executive director for the second phase of DuraMAT. “DuraMAT allows early-career researchers to try their hand as the principal investigator on projects, and it gives them a taste of reporting, project management, staffing, and budgeting that really speaks to career development for less-experienced researchers. The backsheet project was a great example of how that works—we got a lot of highly collaborative publications. The early-career researchers were invited to conferences to present their work, and some have transitioned to staff positions within NREL and other labs.”
Watch We Break Solar Panels (So Yours Won’t) on YouTube.
After starting from scratch five years ago, the next, six-year phase of DuraMAT is off to a strong start. Many projects having already been awarded from the $36 million in total funding available for the consortium’s work in the second phase.
“A lot of our research continues to focus on reliability and durability in the commercial technology portfolio,” said Barnes, when asked where DuraMAT is headed. “We are now shifting our emphasis towards predictive testing and modeling methods that will enable us to assess reliability more quickly and more accurately in new technologies. Solar needs to keep improving, and product development cycles can be a lot faster than reliability testing cycles. We need to find a way to assess reliability and durability at the speed of product development as the industry scales up rapidly.”
It is a challenging goal, but the DuraMAT community is now aiming to begin predicting module lifetime and how that could shape the materials supply chain for solar modules. Driven by physics of failure and physics of degradation mechanisms, there will be more focus on predictive lifetime modeling, allowing for further research and possible commercialization of modules with 50-year lifetimes.
“We are trying to shift into a reliability research mode where we’re directly targeting modules that last 50 years,” Barnes said. “We’re very focused on high-energy-yield modules and making those in a sustainable way. We know there are going to be big material and energy impacts from ramping up deployment as fast as we need for the energy transition. But our question is, ‘How can we do that in a way that’s environmentally sustainable and in a way that our supply chain can keep up?’”
“We’re aiming for the same high quality of research but at a greater quantity in this phase,” Schelhas said.
For more information on DuraMAT, visit their website or browse their most recent annual report.
This article has been updated to reflect editorial changes made after its original publication.
Last Updated April 28, 2026
The National Laboratory of the Rockies is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, operated under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308.

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Solar bust: Bankruptcies leave some solar customers with broken panels, faulty systems  CBS News
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At TOI World Desk, our dedicated team of seasoned journalists and passionate writers tirelessly sifts through the vast tapestry of global events to bring you the latest news and diverse perspectives round the clock. With an unwavering commitment to accuracy, depth, and timeliness, we strive to keep you informed about the ever-evolving world, delivering a nuanced understanding of international affairs to our readers. Join us on a journey across continents as we unravel the stories that shape our interconnected world.Read More

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Power Roll in County Durham is using pioneering technology to make solar panels
A solar panel company which is planning to create hundreds of jobs is calling for certainty from politicians to aid its expansion.
Power Roll currently employs around 35 people at its test plant in Murton, County Durham, where it is developing pioneering new technology using cells smaller than human hairs.
But the firm said it needed clarity on government green policies as it was making plans for up to 20 years ahead.
Labour MP Luke Myer told Politics North "clean power" was "an opportunity for our region… it's also an opportunity to make sure we have energy security as well".
Power Roll chief executive Neil Spann said the flexible film they were developing was "first of a kind" and not being done "anywhere else in the world".
The film is packed with thousands of tiny solar cells which the firm said would provide a cheaper and more flexible way of putting energy-generating panels on buildings and cut energy bills.
Neil Spann said his firm needed certainty on policies to aid its expansion
"We're the only company using solar cells smaller than a human hair to generate solar energy," Spann said.
"It's truly groundbreaking and we are working with partners in the UK and internationally to scale this up and bring it to market."
The company has attracted employees from all over the world, but also local staff such as Jack Mason-Young, 21, from nearby Shotton Colliery.
He joined as an apprentice at 18 and said it was good he could find work in the solar sector and stay close to home.
The company has plans to build a full factory which it says could employ up to 500 people in one of the most deprived parts of the region.
The existing premises are on a site that was once used by the coal industry, but now Power Roll hopes to play its part in helping the UK meet the government's commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But Spann said any uncertainty over that target could make it harder to realise the investment and risk driving jobs overseas.
Jack Mason-Young said he was pleased to find work in the solar sector so close to home
The company's future expansion will rely on decisions by politicians now and in the future, including a new prime minister, he said.
"It's absolutely critical that we can have a clear direction of travel irrespective of what government happens to be in place," he said.
"When you are building a factory you are looking over a 10, 15 or even 20-year time schedule not one or two years."
Power Roll is not the only company looking anxiously at what a change in Downing Street might mean.
A recent report by the CBI and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) estimated more than 35,000 people in the North East were now employed in the net zero sector and it generated £2.7bn per year for the economy.
But Jess Rawlston, the ECIU's head of energy, said the sector would continue to rely on government commitment to reach net zero.
She said: "We do not know what the new prime minister will want to do about net zero.
"But any sort of scaling back doesn't just jeopardise investment, it also risks energy security and jobs.
"With the economic contribution it makes, it would be rather silly to row back on it now."
Power Roll currently has a test factory but is hoping to build a full production facility
Other parts of the energy sector here though are seeing the change in Downing Street as an opportunity.
The UK oil and gas industry has been declining as North Sea reserves diminish and politicians look to switch away from fossil fuels.
But the industry will be pressing the prime minister to look again at opening new production, and it believes that could benefit the North East.
David Whitehouse, from Offshore Energies UK, said British oil and gas would be a better choice than using imported fuel while the country makes the transition to net zero.
He said: "There are more than 5,000 people from the North East directly in the oil and gas sector on offshore platforms, and there are more in the supply chain in the region.
"I think it is time for an approach that makes the most of all our energy, and all of our skills.
"That is the way we tackle climate change, grow our economy, put value into our regions and drive reindustrialisation."
Myer said: "One of the biggest issues we encounter is energy bills, people regularly feel the pinch in their pockets – the challenge we have in this country is that we are dangerously exposed to international oil and gas markets and so we do need more independence, which means investing in green power."
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CONTRIBUTOR’S VIEW – L. Michelle Moore: Virtual Power Plants for the Real World  LaGrange Daily News
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Havells Enters India’s Battery Energy Storage Market Through Strategic Collaboration with Pixii AS  SolarQuarter
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The Iran war has pushed some countries away from oil and toward clean energy  NPR
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The Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), a German industry-focused research center, has expanded its calibration capabilities to include large-area perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. The institute said it will now offer calibration services for perovskite-silicon tandem devices up to the G12 wafer format, with an edge length of 210 mm.
“Tandem solar cells are significantly more complex than conventional silicon cells. Specialized calibration is required to ensure that reported efficiencies are accurate, comparable, and trusted by researchers, manufacturers, and investors,” said Karsten Bothe, head of the ISFH Calibration and Test Center (CalTeC). “We provide the measurement confidence needed to advance tandem photovoltaics from laboratory breakthroughs to commercial products.”
According to ISFH, the new measurement infrastructure addresses several key challenges in tandem solar cell characterization. These include subcell-specific spectral adjustment and precise spectral mismatch correction, compensation for shading effects caused by contacting bars, correction of irradiance non-uniformity across large-area devices, homogeneous temperature control, and measurement protocols that account for device metastability.
“By combining internationally recognized calibration expertise with dedicated tandem photovoltaic metrology, ISFH CalTeC provides reliable and traceable efficiency measurements that support technology development, performance benchmarking, and the commercialization of high-efficiency tandem solar cells worldwide,” the institute said.
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Thursday, July 16, 2026
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
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The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, September 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
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Colorado recently reached a major clean energy milestone: In the first three months of this year, the majority of its electricity – 53 percent – came from renewable sources, like wind, solar and geothermal.
That’s according to an article from the news website Big Pivots. And it marks a significant step toward Colorado’s goal of getting to 100% emission-free electricity by the year 2050.
But despite hitting this threshold, energy officials say the most challenging part of the transition may still lie ahead — and big questions remain about how to keep the grid reliable while keeping costs down.
To learn more, we spoke with Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, who has led the state’s clean energy strategy since 2019.
He talked with Erin O’Toole about how Colorado reached this point — and what it will take to get all the way to 100% renewable energy.

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What every household debating rooftop solar needs: a champion  Ohio State News
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European-style plug-in solar could quickly cut soaring utility bills in Massachusetts  The Boston Globe
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Spurs’ solar ambitions kick off  Energy Live News
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A solar panel company which is planning to create hundreds of jobs is calling for certainty from politicians to aid its expansion.
Power Roll currently employs around 35 people at its test plant in Murton, County Durham, where it is developing pioneering new technology using cells smaller than human hairs.
But the firm said it needed clarity on government green policies as it was making plans for up to 20 years ahead.
Labour MP Luke Myer told Politics North "clean power" was "an opportunity for our region… it's also an opportunity to make sure we have energy security as well".
Power Roll chief executive Neil Spann said the flexible film they were developing was "first of a kind" and not being done "anywhere else in the world".
The film is packed with thousands of tiny solar cells which the firm said would provide a cheaper and more flexible way of putting energy-generating panels on buildings and cut energy bills.
"We're the only company using solar cells smaller than a human hair to generate solar energy," Spann said.
"It's truly groundbreaking and we are working with partners in the UK and internationally to scale this up and bring it to market."
The company has attracted employees from all over the world, but also local staff such as Jack Mason-Young, 21, from nearby Shotton Colliery.
He joined as an apprentice at 18 and said it was good he could find work in the solar sector and stay close to home.
The company has plans to build a full factory which it says could employ up to 500 people in one of the most deprived parts of the region.
The existing premises are on a site that was once used by the coal industry, but now Power Roll hopes to play its part in helping the UK meet the government's commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But Spann said any uncertainty over that target could make it harder to realise the investment and risk driving jobs overseas.
The company's future expansion will rely on decisions by politicians now and in the future, including a new prime minister, he said.
"It's absolutely critical that we can have a clear direction of travel irrespective of what government happens to be in place," he said.
"When you are building a factory you are looking over a 10, 15 or even 20-year time schedule not one or two years."
Power Roll is not the only company looking anxiously at what a change in Downing Street might mean.
A recent report by the CBI and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) estimated more than 35,000 people in the North East were now employed in the net zero sector and it generated £2.7bn per year for the economy.
But Jess Rawlston, the ECIU's head of energy, said the sector would continue to rely on government commitment to reach net zero.
She said: "We do not know what the new prime minister will want to do about net zero.
"But any sort of scaling back doesn't just jeopardise investment, it also risks energy security and jobs.
"With the economic contribution it makes, it would be rather silly to row back on it now."
Other parts of the energy sector here though are seeing the change in Downing Street as an opportunity.
The UK oil and gas industry has been declining as North Sea reserves diminish and politicians look to switch away from fossil fuels.
But the industry will be pressing the prime minister to look again at opening new production, and it believes that could benefit the North East.
David Whitehouse, from Offshore Energies UK, said British oil and gas would be a better choice than using imported fuel while the country makes the transition to net zero.
He said: "There are more than 5,000 people from the North East directly in the oil and gas sector on offshore platforms, and there are more in the supply chain in the region.
"I think it is time for an approach that makes the most of all our energy, and all of our skills.
"That is the way we tackle climate change, grow our economy, put value into our regions and drive reindustrialisation."
Myer said: "One of the biggest issues we encounter is energy bills, people regularly feel the pinch in their pockets – the challenge we have in this country is that we are dangerously exposed to international oil and gas markets and so we do need more independence, which means investing in green power."
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
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Teams like Germany and the United States had especially disappointing ends to the tournament.
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From pv magazine Australia
The latest data from Rystad Energy shows that Australia’s growing fleet of large-scale solar and wind assets generated 5.0 TWh of clean energy last month, up 11% from 4,519 GWh recorded in February 2025.
Rystad senior analyst David Dixon said New South Wales (NSW) was the biggest contributor to the month’s total with the state’s utility-scale solar assets generating 853 GWh of clean energy while its wind assets produced 617 GWh – a total of 1,470 GWh.
The top-performing utility solar assets for the month, based on capacity factor (CF), were however in Western Australia with Sun Energy’s 100 MW Merredin Solar Farm and the Potentia Energy and Synergy co-owned 40 MW Greenough River Solar Farm taking the top two spots with 41.2% CF and 38.0% CF respectively.
The third best rating solar farm for February 2026 was Cimic Group’s 102 MW Glenrowan Solar Farm in Victoria with a capacity factor of 37.2%. Neoen’s 36 MW Griffith and Metka EGN’s 30 MW Corowa solar projects in regional NSW rounded out the top five.

Western Australia is also home to the top-performing wind assets for the month with the Warradarge (60.5 % CF), Badgingarra (55.6 % CF) and Yandin wind farms (53.9 % CF) topping the charts.
Dixon also highlighted the increasing presence of battery energy storage systems in the Australian energy landscape, pointing out that discharging from batteries reached 245 GWh in February for the National Electricity Market, up 266% from the 67 GWh in the corresponding month last year.
This comes as new capacity continues to enter the market, with 8.2 GW of utility battery capacity at various stages of commissioning or in operation.
In New Zealand, utility solar and wind assets producing 294 GWh of clean energy last month, a 28% increase from 230 GWh in February 2025.
The top-performing utility solar assets were Lodestone Energy’s 32 MW Rangitaiki and 33 MW Kaitaia solar farms with 29% CF and 28% CF respectively, ahead of Genesis Energy’s 47 MW Lauriston solar farm with a capacity factor of 26%.
Meridian Energy’s Mill Creek wind farm (40%) was the top performing wind asset, ahead of Mercury NZ’s Tararua (35%) and Turitea wind farms (32%).
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Thursday, July 16, 2026
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
6:00 am – 7:00 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, September 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy.
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Topic:Solar Energy
Wed 1 Apr 2026 at 2:10pm
About one in three Australian households have rooftop panels. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
Australians are expected to throw away 90,000 tonnes of solar panel waste in 2030, a federal government hearing has been told.
A $24.7 million, three-year solar panel recycling pilot is aiming to develop a national plan for safely and economically handling solar waste.
The pilot, which aims to collect up to 250,000 solar panels from 100 sites nationwide, is expected to begin by July.
The annual level of solar panel waste generated in Australia is expected to grow by 30,000 tonnes by 2030, according to forecasts from a federal government department working to create a national recycling plan.
In January, a $24.7 million, three-year solar panel recycling pilot aimed at developing a national plan for handling solar waste was announced by the federal government.
Australia is on the brink of a solar panel waste crisis. Experts say there's much to do before a national recycling program can stand on its own two feet.
The pilot aims to collect up to 250,000 solar panels from 100 sites across the country to gather data on how best to recycle them.
In a parliamentary committee hearing today, officials from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water explained some of the challenges the pilot faced.
Cameron Hutchison, from the department's packaging, stewardship and investment branch, said the recycling issue might be bigger than the federal government anticipated.
"At the end of last year around 60,000 tonnes of solar panels in Australia reached their end of life and that — on our current projections — could end up being around 90,000 tonnes by 2030," he said.
"There's some industry work there though that starts to bring that number into question, as maybe a bit of an underestimate.
"Some of that is predicated on the fact that we think solar panels are used for around 20 years."
Mr Hutchison said this life span was "shortening" with the emergence of new technology and better panels.
"People are replacing them more quickly … the problem is there and known and possibly even bigger than we anticipate," he said.
Up to 50,000 solar panels could end up in landfill by 2035, the federal government has forecast. (ABC News: John Gunn)
James Tregurtha, from the department's circular economy branch, told the committee the logistics of moving discarded solar panels to waste facilities had prevented many of them being recycled.
"They're heavy, they can break if they're not handled properly, if they break they are less able to be recycled due to the shards of glass," he said.
"Getting intact panels from in situ to a recycling facility in a way that maintains their recyclability is, from our perspective, one of the key challenges."
Many solar panels are not recycled because they are damaged while being removed or discarded. (ABC News: John Gunn)
About one in three Australian households have rooftop panels, making the country one of the highest users of the technology, according to the federal government.
End-of-life solar panel waste forecasts released by the International Energy Agency in 2016 showed Australia could generate as much as 145,000 tonnes by 2030.
Early government forecasts compiled from self-reported industry data have suggested up to 50 million solar panels may become waste by 2035, equating to around 1 million tonnes of waste.
Australia does not yet have a national dataset for tracking solar panel waste and the number of products that enter landfill or are recycled.
"A lot of challenges are around the logistics of getting them to the right places in the right condition," Mr Hutchison said.
"We understand that in the right condition with the right system, about 90 per cent of a panel can be recycled.
"We need to do more work to understand how we can set that system up in Australia and support that system."
Many Australians have been discarding rooftop solar panels so they can replace them with newer, cheaper and more efficient models, according to Mr Tregurtha.
"Over a period of the last five to 10 years, your top end panel … would have been 330 kilowatts. It's now 450, so it's like 25 per cent better and it's cheaper," he said.
"The reason it's cheaper is effectively because of … the vast scaling up of production, particularly across some Asian nations.
"As people seek to self-supply more of their own electricity off their own roofs or, in the case of commercial venture, how do you improve your bottom line. By getting those more efficient panels that will generate more power for a cheaper investment."
Australia's renewable energy push has resulted in a surge in household solar power. But what does that mean for private solar farms?
Mr Tregurtha said there was limited evidence showing Australians were choosing to re-use their old solar panels.
"Generally what we're finding is once the panels come off the roofs and are taken into a stream of disposal, the re-use proposition is probably uneconomic given the amount of testing [and] maintenance that you would have to do," he said.
"People have suggested things like using them for community housing or for facilities, voluntary organisations [and] scout halls.
"The issue there is one of making sure they're safe because you are then taking a whole system apart and putting it back together somewhere else."
The federal government pilot would also aim to assess best practice for reducing toxicity and electrical safety risks related to solar panel waste, Mr Tregurtha said.
The government was still in the early stages of finding an organisation to run the pilot, the committee heard.
"We anticipate that we would have the pilot up and running this side of the end of the financial year," Mr Hutchison said.
"From there we expect the pilot to run for 12 to 18 months, where we're really extracting the data and learnings.
"We're really at the forefront of this. Australia is a leader in the uptake of solar."
Wed 1 Apr 2026 at 2:10pm
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Misinformation and targeted anti-solar campaigns — often funded by groups tied to fossil fuel industry interests that benefit from keeping us dependent on dirty energy — aim to prevent our communities from advancing projects that help make us more self-reliant and better stewards of our land while saving money.
Building solar energy infrastructure is critical in reducing pollution that causes climate change, because most of our pollution comes from burning coal and methane gas for electricity. Cleaner air also means healthier communities. A recent study found that in 2022, solar and wind power generation reduced pollution enough to prevent 1,200-1,600 premature deaths in the United States.
It’s going to take all of us to get our communities on board with the benefits of solar. We’ve put together five facts about solar that can help you answer common questions and push back against misinformation when solar projects are discussed in your community. 
Solar opponents love to say, “Well, the sun doesn’t always shine, and if the sun isn’t out, how are those solar panels going to work?” The answer is simple: battery storage. With solar battery storage, you have your own rechargeable battery that can power your home at any time, so you can power your home when the sun isn’t shining or when the power is out. Large batteries connected to the electric grid do the same thing, storing electricity when it’s plentiful and releasing it when demand is high or other power sources aren’t available.
In fact, energy storage has played an important role in bolstering the power grid on the hottest and coldest days, helping to keep HVAC systems cranking at night when solar generation stops. Energy storage comes in many forms — most commonly as batteries that can store anywhere from 1 to 8 hours worth of energy, which can help to bridge the gap in solar generation between when the sun sets and rises. Battery storage capacity has increased tenfold over the last three years, providing more stability and reliability to grids during peak hours.
Today, solar is one of the most affordable ways to generate electricity. As we add more solar energy to the grid, the price of solar will continue to drop as manufacturers scale up production, reducing the cost per panel.
Federal clean energy tax credits also allowed people, companies and organizations in Appalachia to claim 30% or more of the cost of an installation as a tax refund or direct payment. These credits helped to blunt rising electricity prices for all of us by bringing more lower-cost renewable energy into the mix. 
Unfortunately, most of these tax credits expired earlier than Congress had initially approved due to the 2026 “Big Beautiful Bill.” This bill also significantly shortened the timeline for businesses, nonprofits and local governments to qualify for the federal solar Investment Tax Credit. Learn more about the ITC in this blog post from the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund.
Costs for farmers are going up, making it hard for them to stay in business. Leasing land to solar developers helps farmers stay on their land and generate income. Farmers who lease their land for solar can benefit from steady sources of income for 20-plus years — while keeping their land in the family for future generations. 
Solar doesn’t have to replace agriculture. It can co-exist with certain crops, grazing livestock like sheep and cattle, native vegetation and beekeeping. This growing practice of combining agriculture and solar is called agrivoltaics.
Urban and suburban expansion are the biggest drivers of farmland loss. We can responsibly put solar on farmlands by paying attention to community desires through good planning and development, while protecting farmland and the environment.
Solar panels are built to withstand decades of rain, wind, hail and changing weather. Most continue producing electricity for 25 to 30 years or more. The global energy industry generates as much toxic coal ash waste in one month as all of the waste solar panels are expected to produce in the next 35 years. 
Solar panels are made from the same materials used to produce hurricane windows, making them well-protected from the elements. They rigorously test for:
Solar panels are primarily made from recyclable materials. Glass, metal and wiring make up as much as 95% of the weight of a panel. Multiple companies are working to recycle solar panels, and federal agencies are helping to improve the process. As more panels reach the end of their lifespan over the coming decades, recycling technologies will improve rapidly, helping recover valuable materials that can be used again in future panels and other products.
As we build more solar, wind and energy storage across the country, we can power our homes with affordable clean energy while keeping us safe. Solar won’t solve every energy challenge we face, but it’s one of the most effective tools we have to lower energy costs, improve public health and build stronger communities. It’s time to embrace the power that solar has to offer.

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by Jamie Burch, ABC 7 News
AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — Ten residents were displaced after a fire involving rooftop solar panels at an Amarillo apartment complex.
The fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a two-story apartment complex at 900 S.E. 10th Ave.
When Amarillo firefighters arrived, they found fire and smoke coming from the roof.
Firefighters determined the fire involved the rooftop solar panel system. Crews evacuated residents, searched affected apartments, secured electrical disconnects for the solar system and used aerial equipment to extinguish the fire.
The fire was contained to the solar panel system and roof covering. It did not spread into occupied living spaces, according to the Amarillo Fire Department.
No residents were injured.
The fire caused moderate damage to the building. The Amarillo Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the fire accidental, but the official cause could not be determined.
AFD said homeowners and businesses with solar energy systems should make sure disconnect switches are clearly marked and accessible. In the event of a fire, people should evacuate and call 911. AFD said people should not try to put out a fire involving electrical equipment or solar panels themselves.
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Home – Energy – California is covering its irrigation canals with solar panels for clean power, and the shade solves a second problem nobody expected
California’s Central Valley may be heading toward a very different kind of harvest. In the western San Joaquin Valley, the Westlands Water District wants to turn up to 136,000 acres of drainage-impaired and water-constrained farmland into a vast network of solar panels, battery storage, and transmission lines.
The idea is simple, but the scale is anything but. If fully built, the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan (VCIP) could add up to 21 gigawatts of clean-energy capacity while giving farmers another way to use land that is becoming harder to irrigate. “This will be the biggest project in the world,” said Jeff Fortune, president of the Westlands board.
Westlands sits in one of America’s most productive farming regions, but water is no longer something growers can count on the way they once did. Years of drought, limits on surface water, and deeper pressure on underground aquifers have forced many farmers to rethink what can realistically grow there.
That is where California’s groundwater law comes in. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was created to stop long-term overpumping, and critically overdrafted basins must reach sustainability by 2040. In practical terms, that equals less pumping and, for many farms, less land in production.
Some of the land targeted for solar already struggles with drainage problems and salty soil. Instead of leaving those acres idle, Westlands and its supporters are pitching sunlight as a different kind of crop.
“We’re harvesting the energy of the sun and producing electricity,” said Jeremy Hughes, a Westlands board member and fifth-generation farmer. It is a tidy phrase, but the stakes are not tidy at all. For growers, this is about water deliveries, field decisions, and the electric bill that comes with moving water across a farm.
California also changed the legal landscape. AB 2661 authorizes Westlands to generate solar photovoltaic electricity, build storage and transmission infrastructure, use power for its own operations, and sell surplus electricity, though it does not allow the district to sell electricity at retail.
Solar panels will get the attention. The bigger prize may be the wires.
Westlands says the project would include the transmission backbone needed to deliver clean power from the San Joaquin Valley to California’s grid. Its VCIP website describes the system as a long-term framework for solar generation, battery storage, and transmission across the district.
That matters because California’s grid is already under pressure from rising demand, hot summer afternoons, and the steady push to bring more renewable energy online.
In May 2026, the California Independent System Operator approved a transmission plan with 38 projects, including work meant to reduce congestion and support renewable development in the Westlands area.
The proposed 136,000 acres equals about 212 square miles. That is more than four times the size of San Francisco and roughly nine times the size of Manhattan.
At full build-out, the 21-gigawatt figure would put the plan in a category far beyond a local solar farm. Westlands also says the project could support more than 6,000 construction jobs over the decade, though those jobs would not automatically replace farm work one for one.
And that is the human question sitting underneath the engineering plan. What happens to workers whose experience is in tomatoes, lettuce, onions, almonds, or irrigation crews, not solar installation?
For nearby towns, the project could bring jobs, training, tax revenue, and infrastructure money. But residents also want to know when those benefits would arrive, who would qualify, and whether decisions will be made before local voices are fully heard.
AB 2661 requires Westlands to establish a community benefits agreement plan for the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan and related electrical projects. The law says the plan should give local communities meaningful opportunities to participate and may include job training, local business use, and financial contributions to community development programs.
That requirement is important, but it does not answer every question. If solar revenue arrives years after construction begins, families already dealing with job losses or high electricity bills may not feel relief right away.
No solar farms or transmission lines under the plan have been built yet. The proposal still depends on developers, buyers, grid approvals, local negotiations, and the practical challenge of turning an enormous land-use map into working infrastructure.
The biggest unanswered questions are straightforward. Which utilities or power buyers will sign up? How much electricity will be used locally? When will community benefits start flowing?
For Westlands farmers, the plan is not being framed as a farewell to agriculture. It is being pitched as a tool for survival in a region where water rules are tightening and the old math no longer works.
To sum it all up, California’s water crisis could turn part of its farming heartland into one of the world’s most ambitious clean-energy corridors. Whether that becomes a lifeline for rural communities, or just another transition that leaves people behind, will depend on what happens after the first panels go in.
The official plan materials were published on Westlands Water District.

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The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on Wednesday announced that more than one-third of its planned 47 community solar power projects are operational.
When fully built out, the community solar program is expected to deliver 200 megawatts of renewable energy in areas serviced by Public Service Company of New Mexico, Southwestern Public Service Company and El Paso Electric, the PRC announced. As of Wednesday, 16 projects are online – stretching from Clovis to Santa Fe – and collectively generating about 71 megawatts of power.
The community solar program, which consists of large, shared installations that several customers can draw power from, is aimed at business owners, renters and people who’d prefer not to install rooftop panels, the PRC noted in a Wednesday news release.
While the current project has yet to reach its full goal of delivering 200 megawatts across 47 developments, the PRC in 2024 approved a 300-megawatt expansion, which has yet to be scheduled.
The projects currently online include the Cuidando Los Niños Community Solar Project and Central New Mexico Community College Community Solar Project in Belen; the Pino solar project in Las Vegas; Global Give a Book Community Solar Project in Los Lunas; Bent Bow Solar, LLC in Salem; SLT Las Cruces and Wings for Life Community Solar Project in Las Cruces; Curry Road North and Clovis Concrete North in Clovis; Locker 505 Community Solar Project in Rio Rancho; Reynolds in Tularosa; WESST Project and Ben Thomas in Roswell; SLT Hidalgo in Lordsburg; Rockhound Sol Community Solar Garden in Deming and Juniper Sol Community Solar Garden in Santa Fe.
Trina Jellison, CEO of the anti-child homelessness nonprofit Cuidando Los Niños, told Source NM she was excited to see the project come online.
Although the site is in Belen, PNM customers in Albuquerque can sign up to receive energy from it. Jellison said it overlaps with her nonprofit’s goal of addressing youth homelessness in large part because a portion of the energy is dedicated to low-income residents.
“Not everybody can afford to put solar on their house,” she said.
The PRC’s community solar website, csnewmexico.com, has instructions on how residents can join the program.
While the state’s efforts continue to build community solar projects, federal funding for residential solar projects is currently under litigation.
The federal government has cut more than $177 million in grant funding to New Mexico since President Donald Trump took office in early 2025, and the lion’s share of those cuts were to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Solar for All” program, according to a recent New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration report.
About $156 million of those cuts were to the solar program, which sought to help install solar panels in low-income communities. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez signed onto a multi-state lawsuit in October to challenge the cuts.
As of Wednesday, the case is still pending in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Source NM is an independent, nonprofit news organization that shines a light on governments, policies and public officials.

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AI-made
Offshore fish farming isn’t traditionally known for sustainability. The industry relies on burning a lot of diesel. 
One farm in Chile wanted to move towards a renewable solution and reduce the farm’s footprint. They decided on solar and covered the holding pens with panels. 
The main goal was to cut emissions but also to do away with the noise of the diesel generators. 
The efforts were a success, but they also attracted a new variable that engineers didn’t forsee. 
What drew thousands of unexpected residents to the new solar setup?
Fish farms built offshore need constant energy. Mowi’s Huar Norte salmon farm in the waters of Chile relied on diesel generators for years.
The engines were used to power everything, generating a scary amount of carbon emissions. 
But they also created a problem under the surface, resulting in noise, vibrations, and stress. It was relentless, and the fish and staff alike needed a break.
Mowi decided to act, teaming up with the AKVA group to build a cutting-edge solar pen system. The point was to slash fossil fuel reliance and clean up operations. Cutting out the noise was a bonus.
The results of installing panels on the water surface were immediately clear. A silence settled over the site in Los Lagos, and the underwater vibrations stopped.
It may have seemed tranquil, but there were changes happening below.
There was serious teamwork involved in the fish farm upgrade.
The resilient pens were built by the AKVA group. Alotta Energy was behind the floating solar grid, providing it as a service. 
Fjord Maritime came to the party with advanced battery storage packs to cover the power management.
The engineering is notably efficient, with the hybrid solar system now covering about 57% of the farm’s energy needs. This eliminates more than 36,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year. This is the equivalent of keeping 386 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere.
There are benefits for logistics, too, because fewer fuel delivery boats have to visit the site.
There are new shadows over the pens created by the solar arrays. It’s a large canopy that offers a form of protection.
Now, with the absence of the noise of the turbines and disturbance of the fuel delivery vessels, the farm is an ocean oasis. 
And it’s super attractive to wildlife from below. 
This technology is growing fast, with Alotta Energy already having tested their systems in Norwegian waters. They’re even behind the northernmost floating solar plant in the world.
In Chile, the workers are happy with the results of the upgrade. The site is cleaner and safer, and they can work in peace. Huge volumes of diesel fumes are a thing of the past. 
And one species of fish has discovered a new fortress for gathering.
It was salmon that decided to capitalize on the shade that the new panels provide. They’ve now claimed the space under the pens. The solar footprint is their new home.
The cleaner water also contributed to a more accepting environment.
But the protection and shelter from predatory birds and harsh sunlight were great drawcards for salmon. Cod have taken advantage of the same conditions in other parts of the world. 
The shade and cleaner habitat were just too good for the smart salmon to pass up. They’re thriving in a new environment we built by accident.
Innovation often helps the planet in ways we hadn’t expected. We might just build a better home for the wildlife around us by fixing heavy industry.
What other industrial spaces could become sanctuaries if we turn down the noise?
© 2026 by Ecoportal
© 2026 by Ecoportal

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Spain’s ambitious expansion of renewables is facing growing scrutiny over fears that too much solar power could trigger a mass investor exodus.
Over the last fortnight, two major news publications have criticised the country’s efforts to wean itself off of polluting fossil fuels by investing more than €70 billion in clean energy in the last 15 years.
Headlines declaring that “Spain’s solar is so cheap investors are looking for an exit,” and “How Spain’s solar power boom turned to bust” suggest that the country’s excess electricity is devaluing solar farms and turning business away.
But, is this the full picture, what solutions does Spain have and what does all of this actually mean for citizens?
Last year, 75 per cent of Spain’s electricity came from clean sources – with wind and solar making up 42 per cent of the country’s overall mix.
According to energy think tank Ember, Spain relied on fossil fuels for just 25 per cent of its electricity in 2025. Its per capita emissions of 0.9 tonnes of CO2 equivalent were below the EU average of 1.3 tonnes of CO2e.
“Thanks to the rise of renewable energy, Spanish households and businesses have access to some of the cheapest electricity in Europe,” Roselow tells Euronews Earth.
The merit order principle ensures that electricity prices are based on the most expensive power plants still needed to meet demand. So, if a country’s electricity needs can’t be covered exclusively by clean energy – more expensive (and polluting) sources such as coal or gas step in.
This is the main reason why electricity prices remain high across Europe despite investment in renewables.
However, a report published by Ember last month found that Spain’s strong growth of wind and solar had “significantly weakened the link between gas and electricity prices” since the gas crisis of 2021-2024.
As a result, Spanish bill payers are avoiding costs of around €10 per month thanks to the shielding of electricity prices.
However, low consumer prices do not dictate the movements of private investments.
Bloomberg recently reported that at least four Spanish projects or companies have been offered for sale, claiming that the surge in solar investment has created a “glut of electricity” so large that solar farms are plummeting in value.
Sources who wished not to be named say one solar producer has received “lowball offers” from potential buyers and has since stalled its asset sales.
José Donoso, director general of UNEF, the main association of the solar photovoltaic sector in Spain, tells Euronews Earth that in a sector where investment funds are key players, “corporate transactions involving the purchase and sale of companies and projects are a normal cyclical occurrence”.
“At present, there is no unusual level of this type of activity,” he adds. “On the one hand, some companies have decided to sell, while on the other, there are companies that believe current market valuations are too low and are therefore choosing not to sell.”
While some firms may be thinking of selling up, Spain’s expansion of renewables hasn’t yet slowed. Between May 2025 and April 2026, following nationwide blackouts, the country has added an average of 1.2 GW of combined wind and solar capacity per month, slightly more than the average in the year preceding the power outage.
However, that doesn’t mean that Spain’s solar glut isn’t an issue that needs to be tackled.
This year, between January and March, Spain recorded 397 hours of negative electricity prices – a significant spike compared to the 48 hours registered in the same period last year.
Electricity prices can fall below zero when supply outstrips demand. In these periods, some generators bid increasingly low – or even negative – prices to remain on the grid, as shutting down or being ‘curtailed’ can be more costly and in some cases would result in loss of subsidies or other sources of revenue.
Unlike markets such as Germany or the UK, Spanish law doesn’t legally oblige the grid operator to compensate generators when they are forced to reduce output to prevent flooding the grid. This means investors will be seeing less return on their solar farms.
Solar, in particular, is a rather inflexible form of renewable energy. It is generated in the day, when energy consumption tends to be low, and stops producing energy in the evening – when many households will be returning from work and school and needing more energy.
Donoso argues that the electricity market currently operates under rules that are not suited to solar, adding: “We have a technology with virtually zero marginal costs, so it cannot be efficiently priced through a market mechanism based on marginal costs.”
To tackle this, he suggests introducing a price floor and a price ceiling similar to the mechanism used under the “Iberian exception”. This allowed Spain and Portugal to decouple the price of gas from that of electricity for 12 months back in 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“We also need a price floor to prevent the widespread occurrence of zero or negative prices and to ensure that renewable generators, which have no variable operating costs, can earn an adequate return on their investments,” Donoso says.
“In addition, we have proposed several measures to the government, including the abolition of the electricity generation tax, which has already been announced.”
UNEF is also calling for technical curtailments to be compensated at market prices and for the social tariff contribution – a mandatory levy that helps fund discounted electricity for vulnerable and low-income households – to be calculated as a proportion of the revenues actually earned by each plant rather than as a fixed amount.
While the business case for solar is weaker than what it was, multiple experts have argued that batteries present the best solution – allowing both households and solar farms to store energy produced during the day for citizens to use later in the evening.
It would help even out Spain’s energy consumption and reduce the amount of negative electricity prices.
Bloomberg even states that one solar firm it interviewed in Spain pulled its sale after choosing to invest in batteries.
In the last 10 years, battery costs have plummeted by 85 per cent, making them a much more affordable solution. Last year, the EU installed 10GW of battery storage capacity – enough to power on average 7.5 to 10 million households.
The European Commission approved €200 million in Spanish State aid last year to accelerate the green transition. This includes providing aid for investments in “all renewable energy sources as well as energy storage”.
“Battery storage has been slower to materialise in Spain, but the installed capacity of large batteries quadrupled in 2025, albeit from a small base,” Roselow says.
“Ember’s analysis of grid operators’ scenarios shows a ten-fold growth expected in batteries between 2025 and 2030 for Spain, with colocation at existing solar sites a major driving force.”
Donoso argues that solar projects can no longer be seen as viable without including battery storage.
“At present, 27 GW of battery storage projects are going through the administrative permitting process, including both standalone installations and hybrid systems paired with solar plants,” Donoso adds.
Household battery storage systems can significantly lower energy bills, particularly for those with solar rooftop panels who don’t work from home, and therefore use less energy during the day.
While battery storage can help solve Spain’s solar glut, it will take time for the technology to roll out on a large scale. However, Ember points out that it’s not the only tool the country has.
“Another important solution is to create more demand at times of high renewables output, either by shifting existing demand in time, or creating new demand through smart electrification,” Roselow says.
Around 99 per cent of Spanish households already have a smart meter, making demand flexibility much easier.
According to Ember estimates, smart charging EVs alone would have the potential to absorb around three per cent of peak hourly wind and (utility) solar generation in Spain.
“This would be significant to the system considering that in May 2026, an estimated 10 per cent of monthly power generated by Spanish wind and solar farms was curtailed.”
The problem is that, at the moment, components of people’s electricity tariffs are partially linked to electricity market prices – which encourages consumption during low price, high solar hours – but most of the typical bill is made up of network charges and taxes that do not vary based on energy supply.
“Even worse, the variable part of the network charge is at its highest level during the hours of 10am to 2pm and 6-10pm, discouraging consumption precisely at the time of the midday solar peak,” Roselow explains.
“This prevents consumers from taking full advantage of periods with cheaper and more abundant energy and reduces the overall efficiency of the system.”
Greece has already confronted this issue, by introducing legislation that will allow households to access reduced electricity prices during specific daytime hours when production is abundant – primarily due to solar energy generation. Under the new system, reduced electricity rates will be available for a total of six hours each day. The schedule will vary by season, to reflect the change in sunlight hours.
In the UK, the government says it is considering providing free or discounted electricity during these peak times to avoid strain on the grid.
Before the end of the year, Spain’s government is expected to publish a new energy network plan to increase grid connection capacity by more than 27 GW.
The expansion is expected to support new electricity demand from sectors such as industry and data centres, which Donoso says investors are viewing “very positively”. As a result, he says, the vast majority intend to continue moving forward with their projects.
The energy transition needs electricity demand to increase, as electrification becomes the most efficient way to decarbonise. At the moment, Spain’s energy consumption is barely budging.
In fact, demand in 2025 was only two per cent higher than in 2024 and was still lower than before the COVID pandemic.
However, the more the country moves towards electrification (switching to electric vehicles for example) the more consumers will be able to take advantage of Spain’s cheap solar and prevent it from being wasted.
“If new electricity demand, for example from transport or industry, can be directed towards renewable production peaks, it can support a better price for renewable projects, improving their business case while reducing the cost of curtailments, benefitting all consumers,” Roselow says.
“With its increasingly renewable, competitive, homegrown electricity supply, Spain is perfectly placed to electrify.”


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Suffolk County Council has ordered the temporary shutdown of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across approximately 80 schools following a series of fires in buildings with solar panels
The decision follows a fire at Sidegate Primary School in Ipswich on Wednesday 8 July, alongside two earlier incidents at Brooklands Primary in Brantham in March and East Bergholt Primary in August 2025. While no conclusive causal link has been established, solar installations were identified as a potential factor in each case, prompting urgent precautionary action.
In a statement, the council said: “In response to this incident and following two other fires in school buildings where solar panels have been identified as a potential factor, the council has taken the decision to temporarily switch off all solar panel systems installed in identified schools between 2011 and 2016.”
The affected systems were installed under a county-wide programme, and engineers are being deployed to isolate installations across all identified sites. The council indicated that the process would be completed within a fortnight while further investigations continue.
Despite the precautionary measure, a spokesperson for the authority emphasised that “currently there is no firm evidence that the three school fires were caused by the same issue and there is no conclusive evidence linking the fires.”
Emergency services confirmed that one of the incidents was directly associated with rooftop solar infrastructure. Suffolk Fire and Rescue said it had “confirmed beyond reasonable doubt that the cause was a solar panel on the roof” at Sidegate Primary, where approximately 100 staff and 650 pupils were safely evacuated.
The move has been welcomed by some stakeholders, though concerns have been raised about the timeliness of the response. The National Education Union (NEU) Eastern Region described the situation as a serious safety issue and called for an independent review. NEU Suffolk joint branch secretary Wendy James said it was “deeply troubling that no decisive action was taken until after a third fire occurred in a fully occupied school”.
Council officials have defended their approach, stressing that safety remains the overriding priority. Sarah-Jane Smedmor, executive director of children and young people, said: “We cannot take the risk that those incidents were unrelated or coincidental – we must act with precaution to eliminate any potential fire risks,” adding that the action was “about ensuring that our children and young people and staff remain safe”.
Industry experts have also suggested that the issue may lie not with the panels themselves but with associated electrical components. Speaking to BBC News, energy expert Tony Slade stated it was unlikely that the panels were the direct ignition source, noting they are “mostly made of glass”. He explained: “solar panel fires would more likely be caused by incorrectly sized or damaged wiring or the device that makes the power generated by the panels usable.”
Slade added that while high ambient temperatures may place additional stress on systems, most installations “should have an ambient air temperature rating normally greatly in excess of expected”.
He concluded: “Until the cause of the fires is established, the council's move is sensible… this is not a renewable energy problem, but potentially one of electrical system specification, installation and maintenance.”
 
 
 
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Stand in the middle of Abu Dhabi’s western desert on a July afternoon and the ground temperature can climb past 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nothing lingers in the open for long.
But step into the shadow of a solar panel and the air drops, the sand softens, and something else is already there ahead of you.
That is what scientists and engineers are starting to notice underneath one of the planet’s largest solar installations, and the story it is telling was never written into any blueprint.
Al Dhafra Solar PV, at its inauguration in November 2023, was declared the world’s largest single site solar power plant, spanning more than 20 square kilometers of desert and using almost 4 million solar panels.
To get a sense of the scale, picture Manhattan south of Central Park, then fill every rooftop, road and sidewalk with gleaming blue glass.
It sits about 35 kilometers from Abu Dhabi and powers nearly 200,000 homes while displacing 2.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
During construction, a record 10 megawatts of solar panels went up on average every day.
Its shadow footprint at any moment covers more ground than many nature reserves in the region.
But once the crews packed up and the desert fell still again, something else began.
The Arabian Peninsula is not empty.
Sand gazelles, Arabian sand cats, desert hedgehogs, monitor lizards and dozens of bird species share this landscape with the oil fields and highways humans built across it.
All of them are shaped by one obsession, finding shade.
Solar panels shade the ground and alter the microclimate underneath them, changing how heat is absorbed and reflected and creating both warmer and cooler patches.
In a desert where survival is a game of degrees, that shift is enormous.
In arid zones, the shade beneath panels can hold soil moisture and support native grasses that would otherwise struggle.
The ground beneath a panel becomes, by desert standards, a small miracle.
At solar farms built in American deserts, the pattern has already started showing itself.
Desert tortoises have been photographed resting in the shade of panels, and some sites have built openings in their perimeter fences that let tortoises, reptiles and small mammals pass through freely.
Tortoises, rattlesnakes, black tailed jackrabbits and kit foxes have all been recorded using those fence gaps at wildlife friendly solar sites.
In the Gulf the animals are different, but the instinct is the same.
Panels can offer thermal refuges for wildlife that would otherwise be pushed to the edge of a desert, along with new places to forage, roost, shelter and nest.
Sand cats, which survive weeks without drinking by pulling moisture from their prey, are among the Gulf species best placed to exploit a cool pocket beneath a panel.
The farm did not set out to be a refuge, it became one because the desert animals did not wait for permission.
What is happening at Al Dhafra sits inside a larger shift in how scientists read solar infrastructure and the living world.
A review by wildlife ecologist Professor Trish Fleming from Murdoch University finds solar installations already occupy almost 14,700 square miles of land, roughly the size of West Virginia.
The review also cautions that poorly designed solar parks can harm birds, bats and other wildlife, notably by throwing polarized light that migrating birds mistake for open water.
The question is no longer whether big solar farms change the ecology around them.
It is whether that change can be steered toward something good.
A farm covering the equivalent of 4,600 football fields, as Al Dhafra does, could reshape a real patch of desert without a single extra dollar of conservation spending.
The desert life that has already colonized solar farms in California suggests this is not a one off curiosity, and that solar geometry may be redrawing the map of where desert animals can live.
The good news is that nudging a solar farm toward wildlife friendliness costs little.
Many solar farms now weave native wildflower meadows and pollinator friendly plants beneath and around the panels, drawing bees, butterflies and other useful insects.
A solar facility in Nevada left most of its native plants and desert washes in place when installing panels, keeping openings in the fences for desert fauna to pass freely.
At a site the size of Al Dhafra, small choices like fence gaps, native ground cover and monitored corridors could compound into something vast.
The research on solar farm ecology is still young, and outcomes vary widely with site management and local species.
But the possibility is real, one of the world’s largest solar farms is already, without anyone designing it that way, becoming a second kind of power station, one that runs on shade.
© 2026 by Ecoportal
© 2026 by Ecoportal

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The 87 solar power plants, installed on public buildings and at parking lots, are expected to generate around 6.6 GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to the consumption of about 1,700 households. All installations are expected to be commissioned by the end of July, Naš stik reported.
The solar power plants are projected to generate 6.6 GWh a year
The project was supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the European Union through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
It was carried out by two consortia of municipalities and public institutions. The overall investment amounted to about EUR 6.5 million, with EUR 4.5 million coming from EU funds.
The first consortium installed solar power plants totaling around 3.9 MW at 53 locations, while the second added just over 2.4 MW at 34 locations.
Construction took place between October 2025 and May 2026, with the Municipality of Ravne na Koroškem coordinating the effort. In Ravne na Koroškem, solar power plants were installed on 13 buildings, including a health center, schools, and the local sports center.
Public institutions are expected to cut electricity costs
At the project’s closing ceremony, Tomaž Rožen, mayor of Ravne na Koroškem, said the participating partners are expected to benefit from lower electricity costs. The electricity generated will primarily be used by the buildings where the solar power plants are installed, as well as by other public facilities within the same municipality.
The event also included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 232 kWh battery energy storage system.
Slovenian consultancy Eutrip managed, coordinated, and supervised the entire project.
Eutrip noted that the project demonstrates how joint efforts can help accelerate the public sector’s transition towards energy independence.
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From pv magazine Australia
South Australia is about to reach parity between rooftop solar capacity and peak load – a globally unprecedented scenario. Moreover, other Australian states are on a similar trajectory, hurtling Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) towards new international territory.
Australia’s rooftop solar has more than tripled in the past seven years, growing from approximately 7 GW in 2018 to 25 GW in 2025 across all NEM states. It is the single largest electricity source in Australia by installed capacity, with the nation steadily leading the world in solar per capita. Meanwhile, peak demand in the main grid has remained relatively even, bar a modest jump in Queensland.
In New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, rooftop solar capacity now represents roughly 60–70% of peak load. In South Australia (SA), it is closer to ~90%. Of course, peak rooftop generation and peak demand occur at different times of the day, which is highly consequential for flexibility needs but more on that later. Nonetheless, at this scale, rooftop solar is no longer simply contributing energy – it is actively reshaping demand; dictating dispatch, pricing, and investment decisions; and creating ever-deeper ramp dynamics.
The structural changes effected by rooftop solar are clear when we look at how demand has shifted throughout the day. Figure 2 charts the difference in intraday demand (average) between 2018 and 2025, showing a pattern of hollowed out demand during daylight followed by a steep swing into the evening peak across all mainland states.
Midday demand has fallen by ~0.3 GW in South Australia and as much as 2 GW in NSW. This energy has not disappeared, it is still being consumed, but it is now generated behind-the-meter and therefore invisible to the market.
This withdrawal does not smooth the demand curve but sharpens it. As the sun sets and rooftop output declines, demand returns, often within a compressed window (5pm – 8pm). Evening peaks have only increased by ~0.12 GW (SA) to 0.6 GW (Queensland) but, importantly, the ramp has grown by up to 2 GW, particularly in NSW and Queensland where the scale of both demand and rooftop penetration is largest. For context, this means that, on average, the ramp in Queensland is equivalent to turning on its largest coal generator (1.6 GW) from zero generation to full production during a five- to six-hour period, only to be turned down again as the sun rises.
To offset this ramping rollercoaster and add flexibility, the Australian government introduced the popular Cheaper Home Batteries Program in 2025. The home battery subsidy enables households to store excess solar and meet part, or all, of their own evening demand. As covered in our previous analysis this policy is already reshaping grid dynamics. It may even shift the Australian grid (NEM) into a different operating regime in which the system no longer just manages peak demand, but balances midday surplus and progressively self-supplied peaks, pushing flexibility onto the demand-side.
This creates space.
There is now growing capacity in the system for new, sizable loads – particularly those that can align with periods of excess renewable generation or operate flexibly. In this context, parts of the NEM – especially South Australia – are increasingly well suited to support new demand-side investments. Not because demand is needed everywhere, but because at the right times, the system is starting to quietly need it.
For a long time, the current demand profile and behaviour was viewed as a South Australian phenomenon – a function of its smaller system size and high rooftop uptake. But this is no longer the case. NSW, Victoria and Queensland are increasingly exhibiting the same characteristics of suppressed midday demand, sharper evening rebounds, and greater intraday volatility.
South Australia, however, retains the clearest signal of where this trajectory leads.
Rooftop solar alone contributes between 15% and 30% (and growing) of total quarterly generation in South Australia today, with spring and summer seasons (Q1 and Q4) unsurprisingly the highest. And as midday demand has decreased, the number of negative price intervals has increased – significantly. In fact, in Q4 2025, over-supply led to almost half (46%) of all dispatch intervals in the state returning negative prices, a NEM quarterly record.
While rooftop solar is a key contributor to these negative price trends, South Australia also has the highest grid-scale renewable, predominantly wind, penetration (energy mix %) of all NEM mainland states. So much so that the same Q4 saw grid-scale renewables meet 80% of operational demand in the state. In other words, in Q4 2025 NEM-connected loads (with spot price exposure) not only got paid to use electricity about half the time, but the electricity they used was overwhelmingly supplied by renewables.
Historically, the central grid challenge has been ensuring enough generation to meet peak demand. That challenge remains, but it is now accompanied by another: managing periods where there is too much generation relative to demand. This is not to imply demand itself is declining. Underlying consumption across the NEM has remained relatively stable, with some growth in regions driven by population increases and early electrification trends. What has changed is the visibility and timing of that demand to the NEM. Rooftop solar effectively removes a portion of load during daylight hours. With the rapid uptake of household batteries, it remains to be seen when – or if – that load reappears in the evenings. In short, there is a growing demand for demand itself.
 
This is especially so with South Australia just last week opening 11,000 km2 in Whyalla West and Gawler Ranges East to new renewable proposals as it strives towards its target of sourcing 100% net electricity from renewable generation by 2027. This further opens the field for new loads – and it is encouraging to see South Australia’s transmission planner, Electranet, preparing for such a future. It is planning for peak demand in South Australia to double over the next 15 years, with CEO Simon Emms saying it has already seen significant growth in industries including data centres, magnetite mining (a feedstock for green steel) and copper mining in the region. “If electricity is a proxy for economic growth, increased electricity consumption means we’ve got a really exciting future ahead for the state,” Emms said.
Certainly, the state is making itself attractive for demand-side investment. Such an approach may become increasingly necessary for grids with high solar penetrations.
Author: Lumi Adisa, Managing Partner, Synapse Technologies
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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Mayor of St. Ann’s Bay Michael Belnavis has noted the need for a regulatory framework to guide the safe installation of solar panels.
He expressed concern about potential safety risks, as more Jamaicans turn to renewable energy, in the aftermath of hurricane melissa.
Speaking at Thursday’s meeting of the St. Ann Municipal Corporation Mayor Belnavis called for greater collaboration among the relevant authorities to develop and enforce standards for the installation of solar panels and related infrastructure.
He said regulations would not only protect citizens but also support the country’s sustainability goals and strengthen resilience to future natural disasters.
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IRIE FM began test transmissions in July 1990 with a heavy bass line and rocking Reggae rhythms. The station officially went on air on August 1, 1990. Reggae in the morning, Reggae in the evening, Reggae in the night was the cry. Critics said it was impossible to sustain a 24-hour Reggae music station. In fact, so strong was the impact, it proved that this format was something the Jamaican public…
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Charge Robotics raises $22 million to deploy portable robotic factories for utility-scale solar farm assembly  Energies Media
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The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is proposing to modernize its distribution network planning, which it says will help to lower curtailment of rooftop solar.
A draft rule released earlier this week proposes to replace the existing distribution annual planning report with a distribution network plan. The plan would be published every five years covering a 20-year timeframe, with distribution network service providers also required to provide concise annual updates.
The commission is also planning to establish a new framework for distribution network data reporting. It says that with rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles transforming the distribution networks, in turn creating both opportunities for consumers and challenges for the grid, planning needs to be backed by clearer, more accessible data on how and where these technologies are being used.
Chair of the commission, Anna Collyer, said the reform will give decision-makers across the energy system better information to act earlier.
“With detailed visibility of where solar, batteries and electric vehicles are emerging, distributed network service providers and investors can plan ahead through targeted upgrades or non-network solutions,” Collyer said. “That means fewer constraints, less curtailment of rooftop solar, and ultimately more efficient investment decisions that flow onto everyone’s power bills.”
The draft rule also proposes to boost visibility of the low-voltage network, which the commission says will help identify the best stops to install electric vehicle chargers and community batteries.
AEMC is now seeking stakeholder feedback, with submissions due by 4 June, before publishing a final determination and rule later this year.
The planned reform comes as the rollout of rooftop solar in Australia accelerates, with recent analysis finding Australia’s rooftop solar market surged 19% last month as consumers race to take advantage of battery subsidies.
A report by the Clean Energy Council found the capacity of Australia’s rooftop solar fleet reached 28.3 GW by the end of last year, with approximately 4.3 million installations across the country. Rooftop solar’s contribution to Australia’s total electricity generation reached 14.2% in the second half of the year of 2025, up from 13.4% in the same period the previous year.
In January, AEMC permitted virtual power plants to compete directly with large-scale generators in Australia’s energy market from 2027.
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Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
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Solar boom: Cheap at noon, costly after sunset  The New Indian Express
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Superyachts
Published on Jul 12, 2026 at 1:49 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jul 12, 2026 at 1:49 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by Mason Jones
The man behind the solar-powered yacht that could run forever has conducted an interesting experiment.
Lukas Sjoman has invested a lot of time in creating Helios 11, a yacht that lives on sunlight and needs no marinas to fuel up.
In the months since, he’s been documenting every upgrade and every step of his journey across the open waters.
But this time he was aiming for something a little different – he wanted to see what would happen if he ran his solar-powered yacht down to zero battery.
Sjoman, through his YouTube channel TRUE NORTH, has left no stone unturned in documenting his progress with the Helios 11.
The Helios 11 had gotten an abundance of coverage over recent months, from its ability to overtake boats three times its size to its maiden voyage on the frozen canals of France.
Sjoman has been more than happy to divulge details, whether that’s new upgrades or the build guide.
Even more exciting than that has been the adventures he’s been on, living a happily independent lifestyle.
There have been some bumps along the way, as he found in Spain when the yacht got pelted with rocks.
But in his latest video, he was doing something a little different.
So much had been said about how the Helios 11 was self-reliant.
But Sjoman wanted to see what would happen if the main batteries simply ran out.
To prepare for this test – which would take place during a 25-nautical-mile journey to Alicante – Sjoman turned off the solar panels temporarily the day before to intentionally knock down the battery levels.
Remarkably, there was still some battery left when he got to Alicante.
As a result, he drove around in circles until he fully depleted it.
When he hit that long-awaited zero percent, the boat’s system immediately restarted and adjusted to run on the available 3,300W of solar power.
So in conclusion, it did ‘pretty much nothing’, as the boat would still continue cruising on the available real-time solar input, rather than what was in the batteries.
It’s not just on self-made yachts that solar power is packing a punch.
In May 2026, the energy source overtook coal in the US in a huge step forward for the eco-energy movement.
And that’s not forgetting China, which did more for solar power in 2025 than any other country in the world.
We’re at the point where we’re seeing panels on practically everything, and is that such a bad thing?
If the savings this man accumulated by putting solar panels is anything to go by, then it’s not a bad thing at all.
# Tags – Solar power, Solar powered, superyacht, Yacht
Ben joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025 after being published by international organizations including LADbible, The Sun, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. He covers supercars, rare and collectible vehicles, aviation, luxury assets, and the fascinating people behind them. His reporting has explored everything from seven-figure supercars and historic Ferrari collections to unusual aircraft adventures and extraordinary automotive discoveries from around the world. Ben has also gained first-hand insight into vehicle craftsmanship and customization, including visiting specialist workshops to see bespoke vehicles up close.
Supercar Blondie finds and covers the coolest cars, tech, luxury and gaming in the world.
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“One of the most low cost accessible ways to get into solar.”
Photo Credit: bonusmoles
For people who cannot install rooftop solar panels, such as renters, New Jersey’s solar move could make cleaner energy much more practical.
As creator bonusmoles’ (@bonusmoles) TikTok video describes, the state has cleared the way for plug-in solar, a simpler setup that can help households chip away at their electricity bills without a major home renovation.
New Jersey’s policy shift on plug-in solar, often called balcony solar, formed the topic of the creator’s “good news” post. 
In the video, the creator said lawmakers in the state “just unanimously passed legislation that approved plug in solar for everybody,” ending older restrictions that had limited its use. 
These systems are designed to be smaller and easier to place than traditional rooftop setups. Rather than putting a full array on a roof, residents can use compact panels in places like a balcony, patio, or backyard and, once everything is properly set up, connect them through a standard outlet. 
The creator described that option as “one of the most low cost accessible ways to get into solar.” 
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That could be especially important for people who are usually excluded from home energy upgrades, including many renters and apartment dwellers. 
“Even if you’re renting an apartment you can buy some panels put them on your balcony plug them in and you’re immediately saving a ton on your electricity bill,” bonusmoles says.
The creator also said the measure appears to have strong support, claiming that nearly “80% of New Jerseyans support plug in solar.”
Traditional rooftop solar can help households save significant amounts of money, but it often comes with high upfront costs, permitting hurdles, and the requirement that the resident own the property. 
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Plug-in solar lowers that barrier. For many people, particularly renters, it could offer a more realistic first step toward generating their own electricity.
Utility costs continue to strain household budgets. Even a modest reduction in monthly electricity use can help families keep more of their money. Smaller solar systems also let people try cleaner energy without committing to a full-scale installation.
Plug-in solar also carries environmental benefits. The easier it is for everyday residents to participate in renewable energy, the faster cleaner power adoption can spread beyond single-family homeowners with larger budgets. 
A plug-and-play option will not replace every household energy need, but it can broaden who gets to benefit from solar technology.
“Who is the 20% against this?” a supportive user wrote. “I just want to talk lol.”
New Jersey’s move appears to be part of a growing effort to modernize rules around small-scale solar panel systems. Older regulations in many places were written with large rooftop installations in mind, not compact plug-in units designed for balconies or small yards.
If similar policies spread, more consumers could gain access to lower-cost solar options that fit their living situations. That could be especially helpful for people who get strong sun exposure but have no authority to alter a roof or make permanent upgrades.
Anyone interested in trying something similar should check local rules before purchasing equipment. Utility requirements, outlet standards, and safety regulations can vary, and proper installation remains important.
More states and countries are getting behind the plug-in solar movement, and New Jersey’s move provides another example to follow for interested states.
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Watt Women Want  The New Indian Express
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Home – Tech – It isn’t recycling: a new solar reactor turns plastic waste into hydrogen fuel at scale using clever chemistry
Plastic waste is one of those problems people see every day, in trash bins, sidewalks, rivers, beaches, and overflowing recycling containers. Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge say they have taken an important step toward turning part of that mess into something useful: clean hydrogen fuel.
The team has demonstrated a solar-powered reactor that can convert everyday plastic waste, including PET soda bottles, into hydrogen and valuable industrial chemicals at a scale that is closer to real-world use.
The device was tested outdoors under natural sunlight outside Cambridge’s Chemistry Department, moving the technology beyond the safer comfort zone of the laboratory.
This reactor may look like a solar panel, but it does not generate electricity in the usual way. Instead, it uses sunlight to drive a chemical reaction, breaking down waste materials while also helping release hydrogen from water.
That process is known as photoreforming. In practical terms, sunlight is used to pull useful products out of waste that would otherwise be burned, buried, or left to pollute ecosystems. For households, that could start with something as ordinary as a soda bottle.
The Cambridge device is 10.8 ft.², a major jump from earlier lab-scale versions. The team says this is the first time the technology has been shown outdoors under real-world conditions using scalable techniques.
Plastic is useful, cheap, and everywhere–that is also the trouble. The United Nations Environment Programme says humanity was expected to consume more than 550 million tons of plastics in 2024, with a large share quickly becoming about 441 million U.S. tons of plastic waste.
The recycling system is not keeping up. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned that plastic waste could almost triple by 2060, with roughly half still going to landfills and less than one-fifth being recycled under current policy trends.
That is where technologies like this become interesting. They are not a magic fix, and they do not replace reducing plastic use, but they could add a new tool for waste that is already in circulation.
Earlier versions of these solar-powered panels needed high temperatures, harsh chemicals, or complicated manufacturing. That might work in a research lab, but it quickly becomes a headache when someone tries to build larger panels.
Ariffin Bin Mohamad Annuar, co-first author from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, said the team found that small-scale success did not automatically translate into a practical system. He called giant vats of solution “not practical at scale.”
The new method is simpler. Researchers spray a light-absorbing material onto a glass panel at room temperature, then coat it with specially designed molecules containing cobalt and zirconium. After years of optimization, Mohamad Annuar described the result as “simple and scalable.”
The reactor was shown to work on materials ranging from cellulose to PET plastic bottles, the kind commonly used for soda. One side of the system breaks down waste molecules, while the other helps produce hydrogen.
Hydrogen is often described as a clean fuel because it can be used without releasing carbon dioxide at the point of use. However, most hydrogen today is not clean at the production stage. The International Energy Agency reported that global hydrogen production reached 107 million tons in 2023, and less than 1% was low-emissions hydrogen.
That gives the Cambridge work its sharper edge. If future versions can use sunlight and waste feedstocks at scale, they could address two problems at once: plastic pollution and cleaner fuel production.
The Cambridge team also carried out a cost analysis, which matters because many promising clean technologies struggle when they leave the lab. A clever reactor is not enough; it has to be affordable to build, maintain, and operate.
According to the researchers, the spray-coating method dramatically lowers reactor production costs. That could open the door to local recycling hubs powered by sunlight, where waste streams are processed closer to where they are collected.
Still, this is not ready to show up behind supermarkets or municipal recycling centers tomorrow. The researchers say durability and efficiency must improve before the reactor is ready for commercial production. That is a key point, and it keeps the story grounded.
Outdoor testing is a big deal because sunlight is messy. Clouds move in, temperatures shift, dust settles, and real equipment has to keep working beyond a perfect afternoon.
Professor Erwin Reisner, who led the research, said the goal is to develop a scalable way to make photocatalyst materials and prove they work outdoors. That is a practical challenge as much as a chemistry challenge.
There is also the question of feedstock. Not all plastic waste is the same, and real recycling streams are often mixed, dirty, or contaminated. A technology that works on PET bottles and cellulose is promising, but commercial systems will need careful sorting, pretreatment, and quality control.
The most interesting part of the Cambridge reactor is not just that it makes hydrogen. It is that it reframes plastic waste as a chemical resource, not simply as trash.
That idea fits into a broader shift in waste management. Recycling can no longer mean only melting plastic down and hoping the material survives another product cycle. Sometimes, the better route may be chemical transformation, especially for waste that mechanical recycling cannot handle well.
At the end of the day, this reactor is still a research breakthrough, not a finished industrial product. But it points toward a future where plastic waste, sunlight, and clean fuel production are part of the same conversation.
The official statement was published on University of Cambridge.

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Published 11:46 am Saturday, July 11, 2026
By Jeff Moore
The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors approved changes to its zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan to comply with state laws governing utility-scale solar projects and battery energy storage systems that took effect July 1. 
At a June 22 special meeting, supervisors took up the proposed changes that were tabled earlier in the month following a public hearing. 
In a memo explaining the need for the changes, Zoning Administrator Nicci Edmondston explained that the recommendations calibrate the county regulations as protective as the new Virginia law will allow. 
“This is not a discretionary policy initiative,” Edmondston stated in the memo. “Two enactments of the 2026 General Assembly rewrite the rules that govern how every Virginia locality may regulate utility-scale solar and battery energy storage, and both take effect July 1, 2026.” 
Her memo states that new laws tied to House Bill 711 and its companion Senate Bill 347 put in place a uniform statewide framework on ground-mounted solar, which includes a mandatory special-exception pathway, 12 ordinance criteria and specific ranges and caps on setback, screening, height and revegetation.
It goes on to explain the second set of new laws, tied to HB 891 and SB 443, allow battery energy storage as a permitted accessory use in every zoning district that already holds an approved special exception for a solar facility.
Edmondston said that under the Dillon Rule, counties only have the powers granted by the General Assembly, which means parts of the zoning law and comprehensive plan that conflict with the new laws are void.
Had supervisors not approved the changes, Edmondston wrote, it would have fallen to the zoning administrator to determine which ordinance provisions remained valid and which became void. She said that would expose the county to legal risk by relying on day-to-day administrative judgment.
“Existing county setback, screening, height and decommissioning-bond figures that exceed the statutory caps become unenforceable, and there is no adopted ordinance setting the county’s figures at the maximum the statute allows,” Edmondston said in the memo.
She further explained that any application filed after the new laws take effect would be governed by the bare state framework, applied case-by-case, rather than by a single, defensible county ordinance.
“In short, declining to adopt does not make the county more protective,” Edmondston stated in the document. “It makes the county less protective, because the protections the proposed ordinance locks in would never take effect, and the county would administer the new state floor without the county’s own maximum-restriction choices on top of it. The proposed ordinance is the instrument — the only instrument — by which the county captures every protection the 2026 acts still permit it to impose.”
County Attorney E.M. Wright Jr. also recommended approval of the changes to the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan.
In a report prepared for supervisors, Wright outlined four consequences of not approving the updates, including leaving it to Edmondston to determine which ordinance provisions remain valid, making future denials of special use permits more vulnerable to legal challenges, potentially rendering decommissioning bonds that exceed state limits unenforceable, and complicating the county’s position in pending or future State Corporation Commission proceedings involving transmission lines or other facilities tied to solar battery storage.
“None of these consequences is catastrophic, but all of them transfer legal risk from a properly adopted ordinance onto the zoning administrator’s day-to-day judgment and create a meaningful window during which adverse applicants have improved leverage supervisors voted unanimously to approve the most restrictive options allowed under the new laws for both solar projects and battery storage,” the county attorney stated in his report.
Supervisors approved the updates to both the zoning ordinance and the comprehensive plan, imposing the most restrictive options the county is now allowed under the new state laws.
ZONING CHANGES
Edmondston’s memo explaining the updated ordinances stated that the state law sets a range that allows the county to determine what is appropriate for the community.
“Staff has set every such value at the most protective end of the permitted range, and has made the three adjustments needed to reach that posture across the board,” she stated in the document.
These include:
Raising the setback from an abutting road to 100 feet, up from the previous 75-feet. Under the new state law, 100 feet is the maximum setback allowed.
Sets the vegetative screening buffer at 50 feet, the maximum allowed under state law.
Makes a viewshed analysis mandatory for every project rather than discretionary, exercising the fullest authority allowed.
Edmondston noted that the current 200-foot setbacks from dwellings and 75-feet from shared property lines, the three foot screening height cap at planting and the permanent 75% vegetative cover requirement were already set at the statutory maximum. 
For battery energy storage systems, the zoning law updates add needed definitions, set the maximums allowed for dimensional, screening and setback standards and other changes to bring the county ordinance in line with the new state law.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
Edmondston explained the update to the comprehensive plan is needed to make the changes in the zoning ordinance enforceable.
“The companion comprehensive plan amendments are not optional housekeeping; they are what gives the county’s siting preferences real legal weight and what the new statute assumes will exist,” she explained in the document.
Edmondston said the ordinance and comprehensive plan are intended to operate together, adding that adopting one without the other would leave a gap exposed by the new law.

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Cleveland Scene
Cleveland’s trusted source for local independent news and culture
This story was originally published by Canary Media.
Last year, Ohio legislators almost unanimously enacted a sweeping law meant to get energy generation online faster and meet surging electricity demand.
The law, Ohio House Bill 15, is meant to be apply evenly to all types of energy when it comes to adding new generation, according to some leading state lawmakers.
“We said we’re going to have a level playing field. Let the free market work,” Republican Sen. Brian Chavez, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee, said of HB 15 during a legislative panel at the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners in Columbus last week.
Yet now state lawmakers are advancing a bill that would expand preferences for natural gas and nuclear generation while adding even more hurdles for solar and wind — energy sources that the state has already stymied over the last decade.
On June 10, the Republican-dominated Ohio Senate voted along straight party lines to pass Senate Bill 294, which is based on a model bill from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, and calls for electricity generation to ​“employ affordable, reliable, and clean energy sources.” Louisiana and Utah have passed similar laws, and bills are also under consideration in Arizona, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and West Virginia, according to an April report from ALEC.
But the bill’s current definition of ​“reliable” could cause the Ohio Power Siting Board to block many utility-scale solar and wind projects, even after many groups testified against the original version, introduced in the General Assembly last October.
“We need more supply, not less,” said Democratic Sen. Kent Smith, ranking minority member of the Senate Energy Committee, who also spoke at the conference. He cited calls by both grid operator PJM Interconnection and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for an all-of-the-above approach to adding new generation. ​“We need to be generation-agnostic. We need to let the market work.”
Chavez said the current version of SB 294 could allow solar and wind to qualify as reliable if they are combined with batteries. And developers wouldn’t need to meet the bill’s criteria for projects that are below the threshold needed for state review: under 50 megawatts for solar and under 5 MW for wind.
“If it goes to the Power Siting Board, we just said you have to have 50% reliability,” said Chavez, who has worked in and has had multiple connections to the oil and gas industry. But, he continued, ​“flat land is at a premium. … So we would say, if you’re going to put your bigger power supplies in Ohio, you shall consider if it is dispatchable more than 50% of the time.”
Still, it’s not clear how many wind or solar projects could qualify. SB 294 mandates that any ​“reliable energy source” have a ​“site-combined minimum capacity factor” of 50%. The capacity factor describes the ratio of a generator’s actual electricity output over the course of a year to the maximum that source could theoretically produce.
The average capacity factor for photovoltaic solar farms in the United States was just 24.4% last year, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. If solar projects are required to install enough battery storage to reach a 50% threshold, project costs would significantly increase.
“Capacity factors are not measures of reliability and the wrong thing to focus on,” said Andrew Linhares, Midwest director of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association. ​“Ohio won’t solve its energy challenges by sidelining solar and storage, which are the fastest-growing and most affordable sources of new power on the grid.”
Further, SB 294 demands that power be readily available and dispatchable ​“at all times” of high usage and ​“in times of need.” Facilities often discharge batteries’ energy at high-usage times to take advantage of higher prices, but whether that could qualify as ​“at all times” is also unclear.
The bill’s focus on the reliability of any single resource is misguided because of how the grid functions, according to Democratic Rep. Tristan Rader, the ranking minority member of the House Energy Committee, who spoke at the conference as well. ​“That’s why we have peaker plants.”
While states issue permits for different facilities, and state policies affect what types of generation investments they attract, PJM is responsible for ensuring the reliable operation of the regional grid for Ohio and all or parts of a dozen other states and the District of Columbia.
“PJM is not favoring or disfavoring any resources class during this time when we need every megawatt of power generated to manage our supply/​demand imbalance being driven by data center growth,” said spokesperson Jeffrey Shields.
The grid operator already accounts for variability in power production and the likelihood that resources will be able to supply electricity when needed, noted Evan Vaughan, executive director for MAREC Action, who also attended last week’s conference and heard the Ohio lawmakers’ comments. The tool for that is a metric called the effective load-carrying capacity, which is meant to capture how reliable a given resource is for purposes of PJM’s capacity market.
“Ultimately, the grid is reliable because it is a diverse mix of resources,” Vaughan said. ​“It’s not reliable because of any one particular resource.”
No single facility is immune from problems. PJM tweaked its methodology for calculating effective load-carrying capacity after multiple gas plants failed during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022. That storm’s high winds also caused water levels to fall near the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Numerous gas plants also failed during Winter Storm Fern this January, while wind farms performed above their expected output, according to a Grid Strategies report for the Niskanen Center, which was released in March.
Affordability remains a major issue, too. Prices reflect energy markets, the capacity market, and an ancillary services market, which helps maintain balance on the electric grid and minimize blackouts.
“If you look at the wholesale price in each of those markets, energy is actually the biggest factor in a consumer’s bill, not capacity,” Vaughan said. And while there are roles in the system for different types of generation, ​“energy is provided best by cheap electrons, which is what wind and solar provide.”
Proponents of SB 294 during its Senate hearings included ALEC and the Heartland Institute, which both have multiple links to fossil fuel interests and a history of undermining climate science and lobbying against renewables. The Oil & Gas Workers Association also supported the bill.
Opponents include the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum, American Clean Power, the Utility Scale Solar Energy Coalition, multiple environmental organizations, and dozens of individuals.
The bill is now in the Ohio House, where it was introduced on June 16 and is likely to be taken up when lawmakers return from their summer recess.
While the bill no longer states that its requirements apply ​“in all cases,” as in the original version, it does preserve other siting criteria under Ohio law — including a requirement that projects serve the ​“public interest, convenience, and necessity.”
Serving the public interest broadly is a good thing. However, officials at the Power Siting Board have taken a narrow view in some cases where local townships have objected to solar and wind projects, treating such opposition as ​“controlling” on the public interest question, even over environmental, economic, and other considerations. If SB 294 becomes law, there’s a risk that regulators might similarly rely on it to rule against renewable energy projects — in contrast to the state’s lax stance toward permitting fossil fuel infrastructure.
“If you create a policy, that policy drives investments,” said Ohio Consumers’ Counsel Maureen Willis. And when and if it’s passed by the General Assembly, ​“it’s out there. It is policy.”
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Safety concerns over solar panels were raised a year before massive Boyle Heights fire  Yahoo
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Personal Finance
The OBBBA signed July 4, 2025 eliminated the 30% federal solar tax credit for any system installed after December 31, 2025.
“Placed in service” requires utility interconnection approval, not just installation. Your permission-to-operate letter must be dated 2025 to qualify.
Leased panels and PPAs are ineligible, and because the credit is nonrefundable, it cannot generate a refund beyond taxes actually owed.
Many financial professionals are salespeople paid on what they push, not whether you end up wealthier. A fiduciary is the opposite. The SEC legally requires them to put your interests first. Advisor.com’s free matching tool pairs you with vetted fiduciaries from major national firms, all in under three minutes. See who you match with today.
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If you had rooftop solar panels installed in 2025, the IRS still owes you back about a third of what you paid. The Residential Clean Energy Credit gives you a 30% federal tax credit on qualifying solar installations. A law signed last summer, though, gutted the timeline. If you install in 2026, you get nothing at the federal level. The solar tax credit is essentially ending, not merely shrinking.
Section 25D of the Internal Revenue Code lets you knock 30% of your solar system cost directly off your federal tax bill. This is a credit, not a deduction, so it comes off dollar for dollar. A $24,000 rooftop system produces a $7,200 credit. There is no cap on the dollar amount, and if the credit is larger than your tax liability in one year, the unused portion carries forward to future years while the credit still exists on the books.
The credit lives in 26 U.S. Code Section 25D. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 extended it at 30% through 2032, then stepped it down to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 4, 2025, accelerated the sunset dramatically. Under the new law, qualifying expenditures for residential solar electric property must be made on or before December 31, 2025. Systems placed in service in 2026 or later receive nothing at the federal level.
Homeowners who paid for a solar system on a home they use as a residence in the United States are eligible. Both primary and secondary homes qualify. Pure rental properties you do not live in do not. You must own the system outright or finance it. Leased panels and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are excluded, because the credit goes to the owner of the equipment, which in those cases is the solar company, not you.
The financial squeeze is real. Average credit card APRs sat at 21.00% as of February 2026, and core PCE inflation reached 130.08, its highest level in the past year. The personal savings rate has slid to 3.9%, the lowest in eight quarters. If you financed a 2025 install on a credit card or HELOC, using that 30% credit to knock down the balance quickly is the difference between a smart upgrade and an expensive one.
Two traps snag people every year. First, “placed in service” means the system is operational, not just bolted to the roof. If your panels were installed on December 20, 2025 but the utility did not flip the interconnection switch until January, you likely miss the window. Get the permission-to-operate letter in writing and dated in 2025.
Second, this is a nonrefundable credit. It can zero out your federal income tax liability, but it will not generate a refund beyond taxes you actually owed. Retirees and low-income filers with little tax liability may see less benefit than the sticker percentage suggests, though the carryforward provision softens the blow for as long as the statute remains in effect.
One more thing worth checking: many states still layer their own solar credits, rebates, or property tax exemptions on top of the federal credit, and those did not disappear with OBBBA. Your state energy office is the place to look.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
I am a long time investor and student of business, and believe finding good companies that can become great investments is the best game on earth. After 20 years of writing and researching the public markets it is clear that individuals have never had more tools and information to take control of their financial lives. From ETFs and $0 commissions to cryptos and prediction markets there has never been a greater democratization of access to investing. 
I write to help people understand the investments available to them so they can make the best choice for their portfolio, whether they’re starting out or looking for income in retirement. 
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